BLACKBIRDBlackbird vs Airmail
Less to set up. Nothing to renew.
Airmail is a capable, highly configurable mail app. Blackbird takes a different road: fewer settings, and an inbox that sorts itself by what each letter wants from you. And you buy it once.
| Blackbird | Airmail | |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Once. $29.99 Founding Edition, $49.99 after launch. | Free tier limited to one account; Airmail Pro is a subscription (US $49.99 a year or $7.99 a month). |
| Inbox order | Seven sections by what each letter wants: Wants you, Waiting on them, People, Receipts, New senders, Not who they say, Bulk. | Folders, smart folders and rules you set up yourself. |
| Platforms | Mac (macOS 13 or later). iPhone in the works. | Mac, iPhone and iPad. |
Why people switch
The inbox does the triage. Instead of building rules, open Blackbird and the letters that asked you something are at the top, with a line under each subject saying what it wants: “asks 2 questions”, “wants a signature”.
Follow-ups don’t slip. When you reply and the other side goes quiet, the thread comes back on its own under Waiting on them.
Search reads like a person. Type “pdfs from Marcus last week”. Typos fix themselves against the words in your own mail.
Fakes are caught. A name claiming a company its address isn’t, like “PayPal Service” from a gmail.com address, is filed under Not who they say before it can ask for your attention.
No AI reads your mail. Sorting runs on rules on your Mac.
Your accounts: Gmail, Microsoft 365 and Outlook, iCloud, JMAP accounts such as Fastmail, and your own mail server.
The Founding Edition is $29.99, once. $49.99 after launch.
Reserve for $29.99Sources
- Airmail Help Center: Airmail Pro pricing and subscription plans (updated March 2026)
- Airmail on the App Store
Airmail is a trademark of its owner. Blackbird is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.