HEY

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

As of 1 September 2026, HEY starts at $99/year. An email service built by 37signals, the makers of Basecamp, sold as its own hey. Softwr lists it under Productivity. HEY is made by 37signals (Basecamp), available on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS.

Visit siteVisit HEY

Overview

What HEY does

HEY provides an email address on the hey.com domain along with apps for Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and web, built around a different mental model from a traditional inbox. Every first-time sender is held in a Screener until the user explicitly approves them, after which their mail is sorted into categories such as Imbox for approved contacts, The Feed for newsletters, and Paper Trail for receipts and confirmations, rather than a single flat inbox with folders. The defining commercial fact is that HEY only bills annually, with no monthly option: HEY for You costs 99 US dollars a year, HEY for Families covers up to five people for 179 dollars a year, and HEY for Work is priced per user per month for organisations wanting a company domain. Short vanity addresses carry a separate premium, from 349 dollars a year for a three character address up to 999 dollars a year for a two character one. There is no free tier at all, only a trial. Buyers are individuals and families who want to replace their primary email address entirely and are willing to migrate away from Gmail or iCloud Mail, plus small companies wanting HEY for Work on their own domain. The trade-off is significant: since HEY is a full email address, not a client layered over an existing account, adopting it means changing your email address itself, which is a bigger commitment than installing a new app such as Mimestream on top of an existing Gmail account.

What people use it 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

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of HEY

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

HEYvs
Mimestream
Mimestream: If you want to keep your existing Gmail address and add a faster native Mac client rather than switch email providers entirely
HEYvs
N
Notion Calendar
Notion Calendar: If your organisational need is calendar scheduling rather than email itself
HEYvs
Reeder
Reeder: If your reading habit is RSS and social feeds rather than email

Pricing

What HEY costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

HEY for You

$99 /yr

One hey.com email address
Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
Billed annually only, no monthly option

HEY for Families

$179 /yr

Covers up to five family members
Same features as HEY for You per member

HEY for Work

$12 /mo

Per user, for organisations on a company domain
Admin controls for a team

Capabilities

Features

The Screener
New senders are held until explicitly approved before reaching the inbox
Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
Automatic categorisation into people mail, newsletters and receipts
Reply Later stack
A queue for messages set aside to answer at a dedicated time rather than immediately
Focus and Reply mode
Full-screen writing view that hides the rest of the inbox while composing
Screen sharing style clips
Attaches short screen recordings directly inside an email
No tracking pixels
Blocks common email open-tracking techniques automatically

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

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.

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.

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.

Keep looking

Where to go from HEY

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for HEY, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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HEY