Multiple Gmail accounts on Windows

If you run multiple Gmail accounts on Windows, a work address, a personal one and maybe a client or two, you already know the pain: the wrong account answers, a link opens in the wrong session, and one sign-out takes the others with it. This page covers the common fixes, what each costs you, and where Smails fits. If you only want the background on why there is no Google app for a PC, start with the Gmail desktop app for Windows page.

1. Gmail's built-in account switcher

Add accounts under your avatar and switch between them. Free and built in, but every switch reloads the page, it is easy to reply from the wrong address, and there is no at-a-glance unread count across accounts.

2. One browser profile per account

Chrome and Edge both support profiles, each with its own window and its own signed-in Google session. Sessions stay cleanly apart, but your mail windows end up mixed in with everything else you browse, and notifications depend on the browser staying open.

3. The new Outlook app

Windows 11 ships the new Outlook app, which can add Gmail accounts and shows them in its own interface, so you get a merged inbox but not Gmail's labels, filters and search operators as you know them. Good if you want one list; not the Gmail you are used to. The old Windows Mail app stopped sending and receiving at the end of 2024, so it is no longer an option.

4. An Electron multi-app browser

Shift, Wavebox and similar tools put Gmail beside many other web apps. Great breadth, subscription pricing, and a Chromium-sized footprint. The Shift alternative page is the long version of that trade-off.

5. A native shell around the real Gmail: Smails

Smails is a small native Windows app that gives each Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account its own isolated, signed-in session in one window, with a sidebar to switch and an unread badge per account. You sign in on Google's own login page inside the app, links open in your default browser, and it remembers your window size and zoom. It is the same approach as multiple Gmail accounts on a Mac, and one licence covers both.

How many windows are you juggling?

No benchmark here, just arithmetic. Enter your accounts and see what each approach asks of you.

Where Smails loses

No unified inbox: accounts stay side by side on purpose. No iOS or Android app. If you want every account merged into one list, or you live in non-Google, non-Microsoft IMAP accounts, a traditional client is the better tool.

What it costs

Free with one account. A one-time $9.99 unlocks unlimited accounts on up to 2 devices with free updates, and there is a full refund if it is not for you. The page on an email app without a subscription explains why that is unusual, and the comparison table sets Smails beside the named apps.

Multiple Gmail accounts on Windows, compared