Photo from Boxysuite
Originally Posted On: https://blog.boxysuite.com/boxysuite-vs-kiwi-for-gmail/
While Gmail works acceptably on browsers, it won’t provide the best experience. Slow content loading, limited offline support, and distractions are some of the issues with using the Gmail website. Thankfully, there are now more dedicated desktop apps for this email provider than before, particularly Boxysuite and Kiwi for Gmail.
Boxysuite and Kiwi are both popular Gmail clients—however, there are differences that make one better than the other. In this article, the following sections will compare the features of each app and explain how Boxysuite is the superior choice; please read on.
Features BoxysuiteKiwi for Gmail $49/year$5899/yearNotificationsGoogle Apps IntegrationSupport for Other Email ServicesQuick LauncherEmail Tracking DetectionInbox FiltersKeyboard ShortcutsTask ManagerReader ModeDefault Email ClientInstant Account SwitchingNative Desktop Apps for Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, & Keep Try Boxysuite for Free!
Boxysuite vs Kiwi for Gmail: Features
Multiple Accounts & Email Services Support
Boxysuite and Kiwi both support multiple Google accounts. However, it’s easier to access different accounts with Boxysuite. Using its Quick Launcher feature, users can quickly switch to accounts by typing keywords. It’s also possible to use Boxysuite’s Menu Bar shortcuts to select an inbox to view manually. Additionally, it retains Gmail’s native account adding style, which is accessible in a pop-up menu after clicking the profile photo.
Although Kiwi assigns a unique color theme for each account, notifications don’t reflect such colors, so one can’t quickly tell if an email is for a personal or work account, for instance. Moreover, Kiwi only accepts Gmail addresses, whereas Boxysuite supports other email services and accounts with custom domains (e.g., @boxysuite.com, @acmeinc.com).
Inbox Filters
Kiwi offers Google’s inbox filters and day or week view. Although it works fine, it takes some time to get used to, especially since the app has a different interface than Gmail. Luckily, it’s not the case with Boxysuite. Along with the robust Google filters, it retains the original Gmail interface and filters access modes. Accordingly, users won’t have to learn anything new about inbox views as Boxysuite provides a familiar experience.
Email Tracking Detection
Email is one of the most popular marketing channels used globally. Aside from promotions, companies also use emails to track respondents for A/B testings, campaigns, and other purposes. However, while this is beneficial for businesses, it’s not always good for end-users.
With Boxysuite, it’s possible to identify tracked messages in the inbox. It shows an easily recognizable CCTV icon whenever it detects that an email uses tracking software. Unfortunately, there’s no email tracking detection or a similar feature in Kiwi for Gmail.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts make tasks faster and users more productive, so it’s best if a Gmail app supports this feature. With Kiwi, users are limited to a few hotkeys, including message compose, which still requires more keystrokes. On the other hand, Boxysuite preserved all the keyboard shortcuts of the Gmail website. It also supports native macOS keyboard shortcuts, making the experience more familiar.
Integration with Google Apps
People who use Gmail typically also rely on other Google apps. Accordingly, a desktop Gmail app must work with other tools from the company as well. Thankfully, one can access the most popular Google apps, namely Calendar, Contacts, and Keep, through Boxysuite. Each of these apps can launch on a separate window and have its own shortcut on the macOS dock and Launchpad. All four apps can also communicate with each other, making transferring and accessing emails, notes, events, and other things seamless.
While Kiwi supports other Google tools, users still have to launch its Gmail client first, as individual app shortcuts are absent. When multiple apps and app instances are open, the interface gets busier, and it’s hard to identify which tool is in the active view—the window tabs add clutter, and the app headers look the same except for the colors.
Task Managers Integration
If a person uses a desktop Gmail app, chances are, there is also a task manager involved in the productivity system. If unfamiliar, task managers can be to-do lists, kanban boards, and scheduler apps. Besides events and time/day, users also attach emails, notes, and other data to entries in such tools. All this to say that a Gmail client should be able to integrate with external task managers.
Regarding Kiwi, there is no current official option to send emails and other data to task managers. Boxysuite, on the contrary, has native task managers support, making it easier to attach emails to reminders or events. Boxysuite works well with Things, Omnifocus, Todoist, 2DO, and other popular ones.
Quick Launcher
Quick Launcher is a feature of Boxysuite which acts like Spotlight on macOS. It’s activated with a hotkey and allows fast email search and switching of accounts and inbox view (e.g., Starred, Snoozed, Sent). Unfortunately, again, this is non-existent in Kiwi, and it has no feature that comes close to the convenience of Quick Launcher.
Reader Mode
Kiwi has no reader mode, so opening long emails can be quite cumbersome. Also, it can only show 100 emails per view, like the Gmail website; thus, it won’t take full advantage of large screens. Regarding Boxysuite, its reader mode makes paragraphs of message more pleasing to view. As such, the feature removes the extra menus and icons in the message body and collapses the sidebar and top menu bar. It also centers the content and allows a quick fullscreen toggle for an even more focused and distraction-free experience.
Mac Menu Bar Shortcuts
Boxysuite and Kiwi both offer several quick actions on the Mac Menu Bar. In detail, users can do things like launch the mini email compose window or event creation pop-up. However, compared to Kiwi, Boxysuite provides more Menu Bar options, including accounts and integrations management.
Offline Support
Even for Gmail, a service that requires a stable internet connection, having offline support is still beneficial. Although it’s impossible to fetch new emails or send replies when offline, being able to download messages for later reading is great. Regardless, as Boxysuite understands this, it hasn’t removed the ability to download emails, unlike Kiwi. As such, it allows users to select emails up to from the last 90 days to download and decide whether to save attachments or not. Boxysuite also does this without needing to use Chrome or any Chromium-based browser, a requirement with the Gmail website.
Default Email Client Option
Having the ability to set a desktop Gmail app as the computer’s default email client is necessary. Luckily, Boxysuite and Kiwi support this functionality. Upon clicking a ‘mailto’ link or sharing something through email, both will open instead of the Apple Mail program or Gmail website.
The two apps have implemented this feature similarly, but Boxysuite supports Google Contacts, which automatically prefers Boxysuite’s Gmail app and takes the ‘default email client’ approach slightly to the next level. Kiwi also can’t integrate with the macOS Contacts app, so users won’t be able to access iCloud contacts. Lastly, Kiwi doesn’t support ‘.gdsheet’ and ‘.gddoc’ files, so it’s not an ideal default email client when using Insync, a popular cloud storage sync/backup tool for desktops.
Why is Boxysuite the Best Alternative to Kiwi?
Boxysuite is the best Kiwi for Gmail alternative due to different sound reasons. In detail, it has all the features of Kiwi but even better. To name a few, Boxysuite offers more keyboard and Menu Bar shortcuts, retains all Google inbox filters, and enhances integration with support for task managers. Moreover, it has many useful features that Kiwi and other alternatives don’t have, like email tracking detection, Quick Launcher, and Reader Mode. Also, Kiwi’s night mode execution isn’t complete and flawless, while Boxysuite offers a custom dark theme with great contrast and color scheme and is easy on the eyes.
Compared to other alternatives, Boxysuite had existed for years, making it already an established and well known product. Accordingly, there’s no need to worry about sudden app update cutoffs or bad privacy practices—Boxysuite is a secure app that is developed and ensured by a reputable company.
Besides the well-designed interface, Boxysuite runs smoothly and doesn’t freeze or crash from time to time like Kiwi. Lastly, it’s the first and only native Gmail macOS app, meaning it can take advantage of system level functions, won’t hog the memory like Chrome and Kiwi, nor consume significant disk space.
4 Reasons to Consider Boxysuite as Kiwi Alternative
Looks and Functions Familiar
Unlike other email apps, including Kiwi, Boxysuite retains the original look and functionality of Gmail. As such, it preserved the interface of not just Gmail but also Google Calendar, Contacts, and Keep. Boxysuite also didn’t remove the ‘Side Panel’ so users can quickly switch to other Google tools and access add-ons. Besides the interface, the behavior of Gmail on Boxysuite also remained the same. Buttons and menus work as intended, inbox views are complete, and the Google AI-powered search is untouched. In short, Boxysuite offers a familiar experience minus the issues and distractions of browsers.
Offers Excellent Features
Apart from the functions of the Gmail website, Boxysuite also offers its own set of features for productivity, comfort, and privacy. First, it integrates with task managers and Google tools, supports various Gmail accounts and other email services, and allows quick account switching to eliminate the need for multiple windows/tabs. Next, it has a ‘Reader Mode,’ which makes reading long emails more comfortable, a dark mode to protect the eyes when working at night, and offline support for downloading emails. Lastly, it has an exclusive email tracking detection function, making it possible to know if a message is tracked by a marketer or company.
Native App
If unfamiliar, Boxysuite is the first and only native Mac Gmail app. It means it’s not a website wrapper or app developed with the Electron framework. Due to the mentioned approach, Boxysuite works very well on macOS. In detail, it opens and runs smoothly and only consumes a low portion of the battery. It also syncs automatically, so it won’t have to reload accounts periodically like Kiwi, which is inconvenient. Besides that, it can access system-level functions, including dock icon alerts counter, automatic dark mode, and deeper integration with the Menu Bar.
Lightweight, Minimal, and Offers Excellent Shortcuts
Although Boxysuite supports Gmail, Google Calendar, Contacts, and Keep, it’s still very lightweight to the system. It doesn’t take up so much storage space with its app data, isn’t a memory (RAM) hog, and doesn’t trigger the fast spinning of fans inside the computer. In short, Boxysuite doesn’t consume significant resources, unlike Kiwi, which requires a high percentage of CPU processing and RAM allocation. Boxysuite has a minimal interface with no unnecessary buttons or menus that only make the app cluttered and clunky. It also provides shortcuts in different places for quicker task completion and enhanced productivity. As such, it offers hotkeys, Menu Bar shortcuts, Quick Launcher, and a static status bar icon.
Sign Up How to Switch to Privacy Protected Boxysuite?
There are several reasons why Kiwi isn’t the best option for those concerned with security and privacy. Additionally, Kiwi for Gmail doesn’t integrate with macOS Contacts, notifications don’t reflect the per-account color theme and there is no support for other email services.
Luckily, Boxysuite offers and implements all Kiwi features better, making it the best replacement for the email client. Switching from Kiwi for Gmail to Boxysuite is straightforward, and the process is as follows:
Step #1
Connect to a Wi-Fi and sync changes in Kiwi
Step #2
Go to Boxysuite’s website, click the “Try for Free” button, and fill out all details
Step #3
Download, install and launch the Boxysuite app
Step #4
Sign in to a Google account and add other accounts later or right after
Step #5
Access and use Gmail, Google Calendar, Contacts, and Keep right away
Conclusion
Boxysuite and Kiwi are both good Gmail client desktop apps. However, regarding functionality and promoting productivity, Boxysuite is evidently the superior option.
It supports multiple accounts and other email providers, integrates directly with task managers and Google tools, is lightweight and very stable, and offers useful extra features. Most importantly, it handles Gmail perfectly and preserves its original look/functionalities, making the experience familiar and pleasing.
Boxysuite supercharges Gmail on Mac and provides users with a clean and productive environment for emails, notes, and calendars. Clearly, Boxysuite is the best desktop Gmail client, so learn more about it or try it out today!
