Is HEY or x.ai better?

Neither clearly leads. HEY starts at $99/year and x.ai at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, HEY or x.ai?

HEY starts at $99/year and x.ai at On request.

Does HEY or x.ai run on more platforms?

HEY runs on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android. x.ai runs on Web, Email.

What is HEY best used for?

HEY is most often used for someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox, a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation, a family that wants shared but individually addressed email under one annual plan, a small company wanting hey for work on its own domain with the screener model for the whole team. Of those, someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox and a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation are not what x.ai is typically brought in for.

What can HEY do that x.ai cannot?

HEY covers The Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail, Reply Later stack, Focus and Reply mode. x.ai covers AI scheduling assistant, Email-based scheduling, Natural language processing, Calendar sync.

Productivity · head to head

HEY vs x.ai

HEY

Productivity

Flat annual subscription email service from 37signals, with its own hey.com domain and a distinctive Screener

From: $99/year
Rated: -

Full review Website

x.ai

Calendars

AI-powered meeting scheduling assistant

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: HEY there is no free tier and no monthly billing option, so trying it beyond the trial means committing to a full year upfront.; x.ai aPI pricing is per-token/per-unit, e.g. grok-imagine-image-2.0 costs 0.04 USD per image and text to speech costs 15.00 USD per 1M characters, not a flat subscription
They diverge on capability: HEY covers The Screener, x.ai covers AI scheduling assistant.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HEY and x.ai actually diverge.

Attributes where HEY and x.ai differ
Attribute	HEY	x.ai
Starting price	$99/year	On request
Pricing model	Per user per month	usage-based
Platforms	Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android	Web, Email
Category	Productivity	Calendars
Founded	Unknown	2014

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in HEY

The Screener
Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
Reply Later stack
Focus and Reply mode
Screen sharing style clips
No tracking pixels

Only in x.ai

AI scheduling assistant
Email-based scheduling
Natural language processing
Calendar sync
Meeting preferences
Google Calendar
Outlook
Office 365

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

HEY

Someone who wants to replace Gmail or iCloud Mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inboxnot x.ai
A user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversationnot x.ai
A family that wants shared but individually addressed email under one annual plannot x.ai
A small company wanting HEY for Work on its own domain with the Screener model for the whole teamnot x.ai

x.ai

Schedulingnot HEY
Appointment bookingnot HEY
Time trackingnot HEY
Resource managementnot HEY
Team coordinationnot HEY

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

HEY

There is no free tier and no monthly billing option, so trying it beyond the trial means committing to a full year upfront.
Adopting HEY means changing your actual email address, not just installing a new client, which is a bigger migration than switching apps on an existing address.
The Screener and categorisation model is a real departure from a standard inbox, and some users take time to adjust or find it gets in the way for high volume mail.
Short vanity addresses carry steep additional annual fees, up to 999 US dollars a year for a two character address.
It does not connect to or manage existing Gmail, Outlook or iCloud accounts, so it cannot be used as a general client the way Mimestream or Apple Mail can.

x.ai

API pricing is per-token/per-unit, e.g. grok-imagine-image-2.0 costs 0.04 USD per image and text to speech costs 15.00 USD per 1M characters, not a flat subscription

Pricing, plan by plan

HEY

$99/year

HEY for You$99/year
- One hey.com email address
- Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
- Billed annually only, no monthly option
HEY for Families$179/year
- Covers up to five family members
- Same features as HEY for You per member
HEY for Work$12/month
- Per user, for organisations on a company domain
- Admin controls for a team

x.ai

On request

DiscontinuedFree
- Now part of Bizzabo

Which should you pick?

Choose HEY if

You need the screener.
You work on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
You also want imbox, feed and paper trail.

HEY review

Choose x.ai if

You need ai scheduling assistant.
You work on Web, Email.
You also want email-based scheduling.

x.ai review

Questions people ask

Is HEY or x.ai better?: Neither clearly leads. HEY starts at $99/year and x.ai at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HEY or x.ai?: HEY starts at $99/year and x.ai at On request.
Does HEY or x.ai run on more platforms?: HEY runs on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android. x.ai runs on Web, Email.
What is HEY best used for?: HEY is most often used for someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox, a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation, a family that wants shared but individually addressed email under one annual plan, a small company wanting hey for work on its own domain with the screener model for the whole team. Of those, someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox and a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation are not what x.ai is typically brought in for.
What can HEY do that x.ai cannot?: HEY covers The Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail, Reply Later stack, Focus and Reply mode. x.ai covers AI scheduling assistant, Email-based scheduling, Natural language processing, Calendar sync.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HEY: Can I use HEY with my existing Gmail address?

No. HEY provides its own hey.com email address; it is not a client layered over an existing Gmail or other account.

HEY: Is there a free plan?

No. HEY offers a trial but bills annually only, with no free tier and no month to month option for individuals.

HEY: What is the Screener?

A feature that holds mail from any new sender until the user explicitly approves them, before it appears in the inbox at all.

HEY vs x.ai

HEY

x.ai

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in HEY

Only in x.ai

What people use each for

HEY

x.ai

Where each one falls short

HEY

x.ai

Pricing, plan by plan

HEY

x.ai

Which should you pick?

Choose HEY if

Choose x.ai if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on HEY

More on x.ai

Keep looking

Other head to heads