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Superhuman vs Thought Machine

Superhuman logo

Superhuman

Technology

The fastest email experience ever made

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thought Machine logo

Thought Machine

Technology

Cloud native core banking where products are written as smart contracts

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Superhuman high pricing compared to free alternatives like Gmail; Thought Machine a core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • They diverge on capability: Superhuman covers Blazing fast performance, Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Superhuman and Thought Machine actually diverge.

Attributes where Superhuman and Thought Machine differ
AttributeSuperhumanThought Machine
Starting price$30/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, iOSWeb, API, Cloud
Founded2015Unknown

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

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 Superhuman

  • Blazing fast performance
  • Keyboard-first design
  • AI-powered triage
  • Split inbox
  • Read statuses
  • Remind me later
  • Social insights
  • Calendar integration

Only in Thought Machine

  • Smart contract product engine
  • Cloud native architecture
  • Real time ledger
  • Vault Payments
  • API first design
  • Multi entity and multi currency
  • Product versioning and testing
  • Configurable posting rules

What people use each for

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

Superhuman

  • Email managementnot Thought Machine
  • Inbox zeronot Thought Machine
  • Team collaborationnot Thought Machine
  • Sales outreachnot Thought Machine
  • Executive communicationnot Thought Machine

Thought Machine

  • A large bank launching a separate digital brand on a clean core rather than migrating the back booknot Superhuman
  • A bank whose product launches are blocked by vendor change requests on a legacy corenot Superhuman
  • An institution needing real time balances and postings for instant payment obligationsnot Superhuman
  • A group consolidating multiple country cores onto one multi entity platformnot Superhuman

Where each one falls short

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

Superhuman

  • High pricing compared to free alternatives like Gmail
  • Lacks unified inbox for managing multiple email accounts in a single view
  • Limited calendar functionality compared to dedicated scheduling tools
  • No native task management features

Thought Machine

  • A core replacement is a two to four year programme at an established bank, and the licence is a minority of total cost against system integrator fees, parallel running and data migration.
  • The smart contract model presumes a bank can write and maintain Python financial products, and institutions without that engineering capability end up outsourcing the very flexibility they bought.
  • Cloud infrastructure cost sits with the bank and is not trivial at scale, so total cost of ownership comparisons against a hosted legacy core often miss a large recurring line.
  • Thought Machine has made two rounds of job cuts pursuing profitability, which is a legitimate supplier stability concern for a system a bank expects to run for fifteen years.
  • The functional footprint is core ledger and product engine, so origination, collections, regulatory reporting and channels all come from other vendors, and the integration estate around Vault is the bank's problem to design and own.

Pricing, plan by plan

Superhuman

$30/month
  • Starter$30/month
    • Email productivity
    • Superhuman AI
    • Team collaboration
  • Business$40/month
    • Auto Drafts
    • Ask AI
    • CRM integrations

Thought Machine

On request
  • Vault Core$undefined/year
    • Quoted per institution, typically on account volumes or annual contract value
    • Implementation and system integrator costs commonly exceed the licence fee
    • Cloud infrastructure costs are the bank's and are not included

Which should you pick?

Choose Superhuman if

  • You need blazing fast performance.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want keyboard-first design.
Superhuman review

Choose Thought Machine if

  • You need smart contract product engine.
  • You work on Web, API, Cloud.
  • You also want cloud native architecture.
Thought Machine review

Questions people ask

Is Superhuman or Thought Machine better?
Neither clearly leads. Superhuman starts at $30/month and Thought Machine at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Superhuman or Thought Machine?
Superhuman starts at $30/month and Thought Machine at On request.
Does Superhuman or Thought Machine run on more platforms?
Superhuman runs on Web, iOS. Thought Machine runs on Web, API, Cloud.
What is Superhuman best used for?
Superhuman is most often used for email management, inbox zero, team collaboration, sales outreach. Of those, email management and inbox zero are not what Thought Machine is typically brought in for.
What can Superhuman do that Thought Machine cannot?
Superhuman covers Blazing fast performance, Keyboard-first design, AI-powered triage, Split inbox. Thought Machine covers Smart contract product engine, Cloud native architecture, Real time ledger, Vault Payments.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Superhuman: How much does Superhuman cost?

Superhuman offers three plans: Starter at $30/user/month, Business at $40/user/month, and Enterprise with custom pricing. Annual billing provides approximately 16.7% savings, bringing the Starter plan to $25/month.

Source
Thought Machine: Is Vault Core genuinely cloud native?

Yes. It is containerised, runs on Kubernetes on public cloud, and posts in real time rather than in overnight batch.

Superhuman: What email platforms does Superhuman work with?

Superhuman is compatible with Gmail and Outlook, and integrates with Google Calendar and Akiflow for calendar and task planning workflows.

Source
Thought Machine: How long does a migration take?

Eighteen months at the absolute fastest for a narrow greenfield launch; two to four years for a phased migration at an established bank.

Superhuman: Does the Business plan include CRM integrations?

Yes, the Business plan at $40/month unlocks CRM integrations with HubSpot and Salesforce, along with advanced AI features like Auto Drafts and Ask AI.

Source
Thought Machine: Does the licence fee represent the total cost?

No. Implementation, system integration, parallel running and cloud infrastructure typically cost more than the licence over the programme.

Superhuman: What happened to Superhuman after the Grammarly acquisition?

Superhuman was acquired by Grammarly on July 1, 2025. The company now operates under the Superhuman name while integrating with Grammarly's AI platform.

Source
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