Lose the bloat. Keep the inboxes.
The native, pay-once way to run your Gmail accounts on a Mac. Free with one account.
↓ Download for macOSShift is an Electron app that can eat gigabytes of RAM to show you a few Gmail tabs, on a subscription. Smails does the Gmail part natively, for a one-time $9.99.
If you came to Shift just to juggle several Gmail accounts, you're paying a lot for it: a full Chromium runtime, hundreds of megabytes of RAM, and a recurring subscription. Smails is the focused, native alternative. It does one thing, keeping all your Gmail accounts in one window, and it does it without the weight.
Shift bundles its own copy of Chrome. Smails is built with Swift and WebKit, the engine already in macOS, so the whole app is a couple of megabytes and starts instantly. Your fans stay quiet and your battery lasts.
Shift charges a subscription for multiple accounts. Smails is $9.99, one time, free with one account and a single payment to add as many as you like. No monthly bill, free updates.
mailto: link pops a quick account picker and a pre-filled Gmail compose.| Smails | Shift | |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Gmail accounts, one window | ✓ | ✓ |
| Native & lightweight (not Electron) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Low memory footprint | ✓ | ✗ |
| One-time price, no subscription | ✓ $9.99 | ✗ |
| Links open in your default browser | ✓ | ✓ |
Switchers ask
If your use of Shift is multiple Gmail (and Google Workspace) accounts, yes. Smails is purpose-built for exactly that, minus the weight and the subscription. Smails focuses on Gmail, not every web app under the sun.
Shift ships an entire Chromium runtime. Smails is a small native app on the WebKit engine already in macOS, so the download is a couple of megabytes and it uses far less memory.
No. Smails is a one-time $9.99 purchase with free updates. Free with one account; pay once for unlimited.
The native, pay-once way to run your Gmail accounts on a Mac. Free with one account.
↓ Download for macOS