In this SaneBox review, I will share what I found after spending more than two weeks with this email app. Blame on me, but my email inbox was pretty stuffed with almost twenty thousand unread emails. So, I expected that it would not be easy to clear this mess up. But I read that PCMag called SaneBox “the best thing that’s happened to email since its invention.”
This made me even more curious – can I achieve inbox zero with SaneBox?
In this SaneBox review, I will share everything from key features, my experience, and pricing to the pros and cons you need to know to find out if this is the best email app for managing your inbox and reaching inbox zero.
Let’s dive in!
What is SaneBox?
SaneBox is an AI-powered email app that helps you manage your inbox and incoming emails with high efficiency. Imagine it like a virtual assistant that sorts your emails based on your email communication habits and preferences. And this could be really valuable when it comes to how much time you can save with proper email management.
Let’s be honest: emails are productivity killers. Based on Mailbutler’s data, an average employee spends 4.1 hours with emails. This is quite shocking, considering it is more than half of a workday. This is why an email app like Sanebox is crucial to minimize the time spent with emails.
SaneBox is the all-in-one solution to deal with email overload. The average SaneBox user saves 2 hours per week dealing with emails. This is quite a significant number if we calculate how much time this email app can save in a year.
Thanks to SaneBox’s AI, it categorizes and puts incoming emails into different folders so you can clearly differentiate the non-urgent messages from the ones that need your attention. During my SaneBox review, I used it for my Gmail accounts, and the folders are shown under the labels. But I will talk about these smart folders later.
Nevertheless, there is one thing you need to understand. SaneBox will not replace Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, or other email clients you already use, but it works alongside them. This means that on a day-to-day basis, you do not need to use a new app, but you can manage your emails using the email client you use and SaneBox will optimize your inbox inside the email client.
Furthermore, you can connect SaneBox to many email accounts. So, SaneBox will make not only your professional life more organized but also your personal life.
In the past two weeks, I have used SaneBox to clear up my Gmail inbox and help me manage my emails. This is what my inbox looked like before SaneBox:
And this a picture after using Sanebox for a few days:
A little bit different, right?
Now, let me show the features I used to achieve this!
SaneBox Key Features
Here are the key features I tried during my Sanebox review.
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SaneLater: Filtering incoming messages
This feature filters your incoming emails and moves the non-urgent emails into the SaneLater folder so you can focus on the important emails in your primary inbox. You can check anytime you want this folder, but Sanebox sends you an email summarizing these messages once a day or more often if you want.
You can turn on this feature in the trainable folders menu. Personally, I found it useful to minimize the number of distracting emails coming in daily, so I recommend turning on this feature.
SaneBlackHole: Blocking unwanted emails
The SaneBlackHole is an awesome feature that maintains inbox zero and eliminates spam emails. SaneBlackHole is a feature that allows you to block any sender so their emails never appear in your inbox again.
It is a great way to deal with unwanted emails without manually dragging and dropping them whenever you receive one. If it turns out that it is an important email, you can remove it from the Blackhole, and Sanebox will not automatically forward that email to the Blackhole.
SaneNews: News and updates from SaneBox
SaneNews is a feature that manages your subscriptions and newsletters, keeping them organized in a separate folder. When you activate this feature, Sanebox will collect future messages from email subscriptions here, so you do not have to face the newsletter overload on a daily basis. Sanebox will also send you a digest of the newsletters so you can quickly see if there is something interesting.
What I especially loved about this feature is that Sanebox can automatically move these newsletters into the trash or other folders. If you click on the settings menu next to the SaneNews’ on/off button, you can choose which folder you want Sanebox to move these emails to and when.
Ultimately, SaneNews helps you stay on top of your reads and keep your email inbox clean from unnecessary newsletters.
SaneReminders: Email-based reminders
SaneReminders is a feature that lets you schedule reminders for emails that need attention. When creating a reminder, you have plenty of options to specify when Sanebox should send you the reminder.
This feature can be powerful, particularly if combined with the SaneNoReplies feature.
SaneNoReplies: Folder for unanswered emails
Another useful folder that I found during the Sanebox review is the SaneNoReplies. It helps me to stay on top of my tasks and emails. This folder collects all my unanswered emails to easily track which ones I should follow up on.
Combining this feature with reminders offers a really efficient way to keep track of your emails and always know when and to whom you should send messages.
Deep Clean: The easiest way to free up storage space
The Deep Clean is an easy-to-use feature you can utilize to free up storage space and get rid of old emails. Instead of manually filtering and deleting old emails, SaneBox will do the heavy lifting for you.
For me, it took around 15 minutes to delete almost ten thousand emails from my Gmail account. This feature scans your inbox and summarizes the non-important emails by size and count. After, you just need to select the emails you want to delete, and Sanebox will remove them from your inbox.
Before deleting the emails, you can click on the “show more” button to see more information on the selected messages. This way, you can ensure that you only delete the non-essential emails with the Deep Clean feature.
Daily Digest: Summary of unimportant and unread emails
The Digest is the summary of unopened emails that were sorted out from your inbox. You can choose how frequently and when you want to receive the Digest prepared by Sanebox.
If you go into the Digest, you can take different bulk actions on the collected messages. Under each folder, you can mark them as read, send them to the archive folder, or put them in the trash.
Moreover, you have the option to deal with these emails one by one. If you click on the checkboxes, you can select specific emails and move them into different folders, archives, or the trash.
SaneDoNotDisturb: A feature to eliminate distractions
The DoNotDisturb feature provides an excellent solution to focus on your tasks and not allow your emails to distract you from work. When activated, new emails will go to the SaneDoNotDisturb folder.
You can set specific rules when you want this folder to be active. For example, if you do not want to deal with an email overload on the weekends, you can just simply add this rule, and Sanebox will move the incoming emails into the DoNotDisturb folder.
Email Organize: A hub for efficient email management
The Email Organize feature provides a central hub to review all your emails, both in your Inbox and Sane folders. It works the same as the daily Digest. However, it shows both the opened and unopened emails as well. With this feature, Sanebox makes email management easy, and you can also delete non-important emails effectively.
SaneAttachments: Keep large attachments out of your Inbox
SaneAttachments lets you use a cloud storage service to store email attachments. You can connect SaneBox to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, and Evernote. This feature helps you to keep your inbox lean and download emails faster.
Integrations
Sanebox works with many email clients, including Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and Yahoo Mail. Also, you can connect Sanebox with third-party apps like Todoist.
User interface
As I mentioned, Sanebox will work day-to-day with your email client. However, whenever you want to change something in the features or connect additional email accounts, you must use Sanebox’s web app. Even though you might feel there are many features, do not worry. After you sign up for Sanebox, you will access videos and articles under each feature to learn how to use these features quickly. Thanks to this wide range of support, the learning curve is quite fast.
Sanebox has a user-friendly and simple interface. You can access all the features from your dashboard. So, it is not a big deal to turn on a feature. Additionally, adding a new email account or adjusting settings can be done with ease, making it accessible even for those new to email apps.
Overall, I found Sanebox’s user interface simple, and I especially loved the article and video support for each feature.
Pricing
Sanebox offers a 14-day trial, which is a good thing for trying out all the features and deciding if this is the right email app for you.
Sanebox has three plans. The Snack plan is $4.92 per month if choosing the annual payment. It includes the Deep Clean, Email Organize, and Daily Digest features. Also, you can choose two features from the Power Tools. If I had to choose, SaneNews and SaneBlackHole would be the most useful features for me to achieve and maintain inbox zero. With the Snack plan, you can connect one email account to Sanebox. In case of any issues, you will email and chat support from Sanebox.
The Lunch plan is $8.25 per month if opting for the annual payment. It includes everything from the Snack plan but has some more juice in it. The Lunch plan allows you to use six features from the Power Tools per email account. Furthermore, you can connect two email accounts to Sanebox if choosing the Lunch plan.
Lastly, Sanebox offers its ultimate package called the Dinner plan for $24.92. It includes all the features, and you can connect four email accounts. When it comes to customer support, you get email, chat, and phone support.
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Pros and cons I discovered during my Sanebox review
During my Sanebox review, I found these pros and cons.
Pros of Sanebox
Sanebox is an easy-to-use email app with a short learning curve. A huge plus is that you do not need to use a new app for day-to-day work, but Sanebox works with your email clients.
Additionally, I think Sanebox currently offers the most efficient way to clean up your email account and reach inbox zero. Personally, I spend only 15 minutes deleting almost 10,000 emails.
Sanebox’s features not only help you clean up your inbox but also make your email management more organized and less stressful. Features like SaneNoReplies or Daily Digest assist you in staying on top of your tasks, while the SaneDoNotDisturb or SaneLater minimize distractions during work.
Lastly, during the two-week free trial, you can try every feature, so you will know which feature you need when changing to paid plans.
Cons of Sanebox
Honestly, I did not find any cons to how SaneBox works. While some people mentioned that it takes time for SaneBox to learn and fine-tune where to put each message, I did not experience this issue. Nevertheless, similarly to other AI tools, the more you train SaneBox, the better the AI can work with you. It means better predictions and more time saved in the long run.
The only con I can add is that it does not have a free plan.
My overall experience with Sanebox
After spending many hours with Sanebox, I had a quite positive experience overall. It helped me to quickly clean up my Gmail inbox and organize messages. It saves a lot of time that Sanebox does the email sorting instead of me, and I can deal with more crucial tasks.
Also, sitting down and reading my emails is way stress-free as I do not have to face the email overload every morning, and only the important emails pop up in my main inbox.
Ultimately, I recommend Sanebox to busy professionals who want to spend less time managing emails and more doing tasks.
Wrap-up: Sanebox review
SaneBox is one of the best choices for people who are looking for an email app to clean up and organize their inboxes. You do not need to learn the app from A to Z, but you can use your email clients, and SaneBox will do the work in the background.
Overall, SaneBox is an excellent solution for dealing with email overload, sorting out the important messages that need your attention, and reaching inbox zero. It is not a surprise that it has awesome reviews from TechCrunch, Forbes, and The New York Times. And who knows, maybe you will fall in love with emails again.
In a nutshell, Sanebox is definitely among the best email apps, and I recommend giving it a try.
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Frequently asked questions
Is SaneBox safe to use?
Sanebox is a safe app to use. The emails are protected with multi-layered, bank-level encryption. Also, Sanebox only analyzes email headers, so Sanebox does not see the content of the messages.
Does SaneBox work with Gmail?
Yes, Sanebox works with Gmail, but it also supports many other email clients, such as Outlook or Yahoo Mail.
What are the Sanebox folders?
The folders are used to categorize your messages. Sanebox learns your email habits, so whenever you put a message in a specific folder, it will manage future emails accordingly. There are many folders you can use, such as SaneNews or SaneNoReplies.
Can I use Sanebox with only one email account?
If choosing the Lunch or Dinner plans, you can connect Sanebox to more email accounts. With the Dinner plan, you can utilize Sanebox in four different email accounts.
Hey there! I am Aron, the founder of Thebusinessdive. I created Thebusinessdive to help you elevate your productivity to the next level. It is a place where you find the best tools, ideas, and tips to supercharge your productivity and performance. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to hear more about the best productivity tools. Let’s dive in!
