Superhuman Email Review 2025: Is £25/Month Worth It for Faster Inbox?

Category: Reviews · Stage: Evaluation

By Max Beech, Head of Content

Superhuman costs £25/month (or $30 USD) for email. That's absurd on its face—Gmail is free. But after 60 days using Superhuman as my primary email client: it genuinely makes email faster, though only worth paying for if you process 50+ emails daily.

What Superhuman Actually Is

Not: Another email app with folders and filters Actually: Keyboard-first email client designed for speed

Key premise: Every action (archive, reply, schedule send, snooze) accessible via keyboard shortcut. No mouse required.

Target user: Executives, founders, VCs, consultants drowning in email (100-300 emails/day)

Core Features

1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Everything

Example workflow (reading inbox):

• E - Archive and move to next email (0.4 seconds)
• Cmd+Shift+H - Snooze until tomorrow (0.6 seconds)
• R - Reply (0.2 seconds)
• Cmd+Shift+B - Schedule send for 8am Monday (1.2 seconds)

Comparison to Gmail:

• Gmail: Click email → Click archive → Click next (2.8 seconds)
• Superhuman: Press E (0.4 seconds)
• 7× faster per action

Over 100 emails/day: 240 seconds saved vs 1,400 seconds = 19 minutes saved daily.

2. Split Inbox (Important vs Other)

AI sorts emails into:

• Important: From people you frequently email, marked urgent, or meeting calendar logic
• Other: Newsletters, notifications, bulk email

Benefit: Focus on important emails first, batch-process newsletters later.

User quote: "Split Inbox alone worth £25/month. I was drowning in noise. Now I see signal first." — Startup founder, 33

3. Read Statuses (Email Tracking)

See when recipients open your email.

Use case: Follow-up timing

• Sent proposal Monday. Recipient opened it Tuesday 3pm but didn't reply.
• Send polite follow-up Wednesday: "Wanted to check if you had questions about the proposal."

Controversy: Some find read tracking creepy. Superhuman now lets recipients opt-out via privacy-focused indicator.

4. AI Triage & Auto-Summaries

Superhuman AI suggests:

• Which emails to prioritise
• One-line summaries of long threads
• Suggested replies (similar to Gmail Smart Reply)

Quality assessment: AI summaries accurate 70-80% of time. Suggested replies too generic (rarely use).

5. Remind Me / Snooze

Snooze emails until specific time:

• "Remind me if no reply in 3 days"
• "Snooze until Monday 8am"
• "Ping me in 2 weeks"

Comparison to Gmail snooze: Superhuman's is faster (keyboard shortcut Cmd+Shift+H vs Gmail's multi-click process).

Real-World Testing (60 Days)

My email volume: 60-90 emails/day (moderate-high for knowledge worker)

Week 1-2: Learning Curve

Challenge: Unlearning mouse habits, memorising shortcuts

Frustration: Muscle memory kept reaching for mouse. Shortcuts felt awkward.

Onboarding: Superhuman provides 1-on-1 onboarding call (genuinely helpful—trainer customised shortcuts to my workflow).

Week 3-4: Keyboard Fluency

Breakthrough moment: Processed 73 emails in 22 minutes vs usual 45 minutes (2× faster).

Realisation: Speed compounds. Saving 0.5 seconds per email × 70 emails = 35 seconds. But faster actions mean less context-switching penalty—saved closer to 50% total time.

Week 5-8: Sustained Productivity

Average inbox processing time:

• Before Superhuman: 45-60 min/day
• With Superhuman: 25-35 min/day
• Time saved: 20-30 min/day

Value calculation:

• 25 min saved/day × 22 workdays = 550 min/month = 9.2 hours
• £25 / 9.2 hours = £2.72/hour time-savings cost
• Worthwhile for knowledge workers billing £30+/hour

When Superhuman is Worth £25/Month

1. High Email Volume (50-150+ emails/day)

If you process <30 emails/day, Gmail works fine. Time savings don't justify £300/year cost.

2. Email-Critical Job Function

Executives, sales, recruiters, customer success, consultants—roles where email speed directly impacts outcomes.

User quote: "I'm a recruiter. Faster email response = higher candidate engagement. Superhuman pays for itself via better placements." — Executive recruiter, 41

3. You Value Time Over Money

£25/month = £300/year. If saving 20 min/day matters more than £300, Superhuman delivers.

4. Keyboard-First Workflow

If you already use keyboard shortcuts everywhere (VS Code, Notion, terminal), Superhuman feels natural.

If you prefer mouse/trackpad, Superhuman's speed advantage disappears.

When Superhuman is NOT Worth It

1. Low Email Volume (<30/day)

Gmail + Inbox Zero principles work fine. Don't pay £300/year for marginal gains.

2. Budget Constraints

£300/year is significant. Gmail (free), Spark (£6/month), or Hey (£8/month) offer better value for moderate users.

3. You Need Desktop + Mobile Parity

Superhuman mobile app exists but lacks desktop's keyboard-first power. You'll process email faster on desktop, slower on mobile (no keyboard shortcuts).

4. Privacy Concerns

Email tracking (read receipts) raises ethical questions. If you're uncomfortable knowing when people open your emails, Superhuman's core feature feels wrong.

Pricing Comparison

| Email Client | Price | Best For | |--------------|-------|----------| | Gmail | Free | Everyone (default choice) | | Spark | £6/month | Teams, collaboration features | | Hey | £8/month | Email philosophy (screening, workflows) | | Superhuman | £25/month | Speed-first professionals (50+ emails/day) | | Outlook | Free (M365) | Microsoft ecosystem users |

Superhuman's premium justified ONLY if speed worth £17-25/month more than alternatives.

Missing Features

What Superhuman lacks:

1. No calendar (unlike Outlook)—must use separate app
2. No notes/tasks integration—unlike Spark's built-in tasks
3. No team shared inboxes—individual-focused only
4. Limited filters/rules—relies on AI vs manual rules

Philosophy: Superhuman intentionally stays focused on email speed, doesn't try to be all-in-one productivity suite.

The Honest Verdict

Superhuman delivers on its promise: Email becomes genuinely faster via keyboard-first design.

But £25/month is justifiable ONLY for:

• High email volume (50-150+ daily)
• Email-critical roles (sales, recruiting, exec, consulting)
• Users who value time savings over cost

For most people: Gmail (free) or Spark (£6/month) meet needs at fraction of cost.

Personal decision: I continue paying £25/month because:

• I process 60-90 emails daily
• Saving 20-30 min/day = 10 hours/month
• £25 / 10 hours = £2.50/hour—cheap relative to my time value

If I processed <40 emails/day, I'd cancel immediately.

FAQ

Q: Can I use Superhuman with Gmail/Outlook accounts?

Yes. Superhuman connects to Gmail and Google Workspace accounts (not Outlook/Exchange currently). Your emails remain in Gmail—Superhuman is just the client interface.

Q: Does Superhuman work on mobile?

Yes, iOS and Android apps exist, but the keyboard-shortcut advantage disappears on mobile. Most users report using Superhuman on desktop, defaulting to native Gmail app on mobile.

Key Takeaways

• Superhuman costs £25/month for keyboard-first email client focused on speed (7× faster than Gmail for common actions)
• Real-world testing: 20-30 min saved daily for moderate-high email volume (60-90 emails/day)
• Worth paying for: High email volume (50+/day), email-critical jobs, keyboard-first users, value time over money
• Not worth paying for: Low email volume (<30/day), budget-conscious users, mobile-primary workflows, privacy concerns about email tracking
• ROI calculation: Saves ~10 hours/month at £2.50/hour cost—justified for knowledge workers billing £30+/hour
• Alternatives: Gmail (free), Spark (£6/month), Hey (£8/month) offer better value for moderate email users

Try Superhuman: Free trial available (credit card required, cancel anytime) →