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You shouldn’t need a new email address to get a fresh start.

HEY asks you to leave Gmail, change your address, and re-train every contact. Swizero gives you the same inbox peace on the Gmail you already have.

HEY built a beautiful new house for your email. But they forgot to mention you have to move.

HEY

Full replacement

New email address. New provider. New system with Imbox, Feed, Paper Trail, and a manual Screener for every new sender. HEY does not fix Gmail. It asks you to leave Gmail behind. And if you ever leave HEY, you face the entire migration in reverse.

you@gmail.com
you@hey.com
contacts
forwarding
logins
Swizero

A layer that finishes

Same email address. Same Gmail underneath. AI ranks your most important messages into a stack you swipe through and complete. When the stack is empty, email is done. No new address, no migration, no lock-in. Just the relief of being finished, on the same email address you have used for years.

you@gmail.com
Done

Feature-by-feature comparison

Not just checkmarks. Context on what each feature actually means for your daily workflow.

Philosophy

How it works

HEY asks you to uproot your digital life. Swizero just gives you a finish line.

SwizeroA layer on your Gmail that lets you finish email and walk away
Swizero
HEYA full email replacement that asks you to move everything

Email address

Changing your email address means updating every account, contact, and login you have.

SwizeroKeep your current Gmail address
Swizero
HEYNew @hey.com address required

What done looks like

HEY organizes your email beautifully. It just never tells you when to stop.

SwizeroStack empty. App closed. You walked away.
Swizero
HEYImbox screened, Feed browsed, Paper Trail filed. Still open.

Opinionatedness

Both products have strong convictions. HEY redesigns the entire email experience. Swizero redesigns only the daily workflow.

SwizeroOpinionated about sessions, flexible about email
HEYOpinionated about everything
AI Features

AI email ranking

HEY's Screener is thoughtful but manual. You approve every new sender one by one. Swizero's AI learns your priorities automatically.

SwizeroOn-device ML ranks by importance
Swizero
HEYManual Screener (you approve each sender)

AI summaries

37signals deliberately avoids AI. That principled stance means more manual reading.

SwizeroEvery card, one-line summary
Swizero
HEYNone (minimal AI by design)

AI drafts

HEY trusts human intelligence over artificial intelligence. Swizero trusts both.

SwizeroPre-written draft, never auto-sends
Swizero
HEYNone (write everything yourself)

Sender sorting

Different approaches. HEY gives you deliberate control. Swizero gives you automatic prioritization.

SwizeroAI-powered, learns continuously
HEYScreener: manual approve/deny per sender
Privacy

Tracking protection

HEY pioneered tracker blocking in email. This is genuinely excellent.

SwizeroInherits Gmail's protections
HEYBlocks spy pixels, strips trackers
Better

Data handling

HEY is your email provider, so they host your emails. Swizero never stores them.

SwizeroZero-retention cloud AI. Emails processed, never stored.
Swizero
HEYEmails stored on 37signals servers

Ranking intelligence

SwizeroOn-device. Your patterns never leave your phone.
Swizero
HEYNo AI ranking (manual organization)
Platform

Mobile app

HEY has broader mobile platform support today.

SwizeroiOS (native, gesture-first)
HEYiOS and Android
Better

Desktop app

HEY has full desktop coverage. Swizero is mobile-first for now.

SwizeroNot yet (coming later)
HEYWeb app and Mac native
Better

Works with existing email

This is the core difference. HEY is a new email provider. Swizero is a layer on your current one.

SwizeroYes (Gmail via OAuth)
Swizero
HEYNo (requires @hey.com or custom domain)
Pricing

Personal plan

Similar price point. But HEY's cost includes a new email address you may not want.

Swizero$9.99/mo or $79.99/yr ($6.67/mo)
HEY$99/yr (~$8.25/mo) for @hey.com

Work/team plan

HEY for Work supports custom domains and team features today.

SwizeroIndividual only (teams planned)
HEY$12/user/mo for HEY for Work
Better

Switching cost

The hidden cost of HEY is not the subscription. It is the weeks of migration and the lock-in once you are there.

SwizeroZero. Connect via OAuth in 2 minutes.
Swizero
HEYHigh. New address, contact migration, forwarding setup.

A morning with each app

Same person. Same 23 important emails. Two different experiences.

HEY
7:01 AM

Open HEY. Check the Screener first. Three new senders waiting for approval.

Gatekeeper duty before you even read email.

7:04 AM

Approve one sender, deny two. Move to the Imbox. 23 screened emails waiting.

7:08 AM

Read through the Imbox. Some belong in the Feed, some in Paper Trail. Drag them to the right buckets.

Organized, but you are doing the organizing.

7:16 AM

Time to reply. No AI help. Write each reply from scratch. Copy-paste a previous response for a common question.

7:28 AM

Check the Feed for newsletters. Scroll through. Check Paper Trail for receipts. Everything is sorted, but nothing is finished.

Clean, but still open. You are 27 minutes in and HEY has not once told you that you are done.

7:35 AM

Close the app. A friend emails your old Gmail address. You forgot to update forwarding for that contact.

Six months in and the address change still catches you. It always will.

34 minutes. Everything screened and sorted. But nothing is finished, and your old address still leaks through.

Swizero
7:03 AM

Open Swizero. No screener to check. No senders to approve or deny. Your Gmail address, your existing contacts, your regular inbox. AI already built your stack.

Zero setup. You skipped the gatekeeper step entirely.

7:04 AM

First card: a friend who emailed your Gmail address. No forwarding needed. No missed messages from contacts who do not know your new address. It just works.

7:06 AM

Client thread that HEY would have required you to screen, then sort into Imbox or Paper Trail. Here it is card number three, with an AI draft already written. Tweak one sentence, swipe up to send.

No manual sorting. No drag-and-drop into buckets.

7:08 AM

A newsletter and two receipts. In HEY, these go to the Feed and Paper Trail. In Swizero, the AI already decided they do not need you. They never made it into the stack.

7:09 AM

Stack is empty. Close the app. Your Gmail address is the same one on every account, every login, every business card you have ever printed.

Same email address. Same contacts. No migration headaches. Six minutes and you are free.

6 minutes. No screener, no sender approvals, no address change. Same Gmail, same contacts, stack complete.

60-second match

Which one is right for you?

Five quick questions. We will point you to Swizero or HEY, and tell you honestly when HEY is the better call.

0 / 5
01Are you willing to change your email address?

HEY is an email provider, not a client. Personal accounts come with a new @hey.com address, and only HEY for Domains lets you bring your own.

02How should a new sender reach you for the first time?
03How much filing do you want to do?
04What are you willing to spend, and on what?
05Where do you actually process email?

Answer all 5 to see your personalized match.

The honest case for each app

One asks you to move. The other meets you where you are.

Choose Swizero if...

You want the peace of mind HEY promises without abandoning the email address you have used for years. You want sessions that end, not just inboxes that sort.

  • You want to keep your existing Gmail address and all the accounts tied to it
  • You want AI that ranks, summarizes, and drafts so you spend less time in email
  • You want a clear finish line for every email session, not just better organization
  • You value zero lock-in: if you leave Swizero, nothing changes about your email
  • You have tried HEY (or considered it) but cannot stomach the address switch

Choose HEY if...

You want a fresh start with a principled, opinionated email platform built by 37signals.

  • You genuinely want a new email address and a fresh start
  • You value built-in tracker blocking and spy pixel protection
  • You prefer intentional, manual sorting over AI automation
  • You need HEY for Work with custom domains for your team
  • You want to leave Google entirely for a privacy-respecting provider

Migrating from HEY, step by step

The exact steps, the real time it takes, and the honest reasons you might stay put.

No data migrated. No lock-in.
  1. 1

    Start with the address question, not the app

    5 min

    This is the honest first step. Leaving HEY is not like swapping email clients, because your @hey.com address came with the subscription. Work out whether it is your main address now, and how many logins and contacts would need updating if it stopped being one.

  2. 2

    Keep HEY running while you decide

    0 sec

    Do not cancel anything. HEY for You bills annually at $99, so you almost certainly have runway left. Nothing here touches your HEY account or your mail.

  3. 3

    Install Swizero on iOS

    1 min

    Join the beta and add the app from your invite. It is built mobile-first for one-handed use, so there is nothing to set up on a desktop.

  4. 4

    Connect the Gmail you still have

    30 sec

    Sign in with Google through secure OAuth. Most people who moved to HEY kept their old Gmail alive for logins and legacy contacts. This is the moment that pays off. Your labels, filters, and full history stay exactly where they are.

  5. 5

    Swipe your first stack

    2 min

    Swizero ranks your inbox and hands you a fixed card limit. Swipe left to clear, down to archive, right to flag, up to reply. Most people finish their first stack in minutes, with no screener to clear first.

  6. 6

    Decide about @hey.com on your own timeline

    There is no deadline here and nothing to migrate on the Swizero side. Run both for a few weeks. If the @hey.com address is worth keeping, keep it. Swizero does not need you to give anything up to work.

Where HEY is the better choice

We are not going to pretend HEY has no edge. It is the most original rethink of email in years, and here is where it genuinely wins.

  • The Screener is a genuinely original idea

    No mainstream email product had let you approve a sender before their first message could ever reach you. If you want that gate, HEY invented it and still does it best.

  • You actually want to leave Google

    HEY is a full email provider that strips spy pixels and blocks trackers by default. Swizero is a layer on top of Gmail, so Google is still your provider underneath.

  • Desktop and Android today

    HEY ships web, Mac, iOS, and Android apps right now. Swizero is iOS-first, with desktop still to come.

  • A custom domain for your team

    HEY for Domains covers custom domains, aliases, shared threads, and private comments at $12 per user per month. Swizero is individual only for now.

HEY plans and prices ($99/yr for HEY for You with a 30-day trial, $179/yr for HEY for Families, and $12 per user per month for HEY for Domains) as published on hey.com, last checked July 2026. Swizero launch scope reflects the current iOS beta.

Check HEY's current pricing

Trying Swizero takes 2 minutes

What you keep, what changes, and what gets better.

Your Gmail address stays yours

Swizero connects via secure OAuth. Your address, contacts, labels, and login credentials remain exactly where they are. Nothing to migrate.

Every email, still in Gmail

Swizero surfaces the most important emails as cards. Everything else lives in Gmail whenever you need it. No data moves to a new provider.

From sorting to swiping

Instead of manually screening senders and organizing into Imbox, Feed, and Paper Trail, you swipe through an AI-ranked stack. Most people adapt in one session.

From organized to finished

The biggest shift: you stop screening, sorting, and maintaining. You swipe through a stack that empties, and then you are done.

No lock-in, ever

With HEY, leaving means reverse-migrating your address. With Swizero, disconnecting takes one tap. Your Gmail is untouched.

AI that reads so you don't have to

One-line summaries on every card. Pre-written drafts for replies. The manual work HEY leaves to you, Swizero handles with zero-retention AI.

HEY looked great but I could not face changing my email address. Swizero gave me the same calm on my existing Gmail. No migration, no address change.

Beta tester, considered HEY before switching

<10 min

Average session in beta

0

Addresses to change

0

Emails stored on our servers

1 tap

To disconnect if you leave

Same peace of mind. No new address.

Keep your Gmail. Skip the migration. Get the calm inbox HEY promised, without changing a thing. No credit card. No lock-in.