HEY Review
Email and calendar with built-in filtering to keep strangers out of your inbox
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Looking for a HEY alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is HEY?
HEY is an email service built by 37signals (the Basecamp company) around one idea: you decide who gets into your inbox. New senders land in a screener, and you approve or block them before their mail ever shows up. Approved mail gets sorted into Imbox (the important stuff), The Feed (newsletters and receipts), and Paper Trail (confirmations and receipts you may need later).
It comes with its own calendar, a personal blog feature called HEY World, and apps for every platform. There's no folders, no labels, and no third-party inbox plugins. You either like the opinionated workflow or you don't.
HEY for Domains extends the same product to teams, letting you use your own company domain instead of @hey.com and manage everyone's accounts from one admin panel.
HEY screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ People who get buried in cold email, newsletters, and marketing mail and want a hard gate before any of it reaches them
- ✓ Small teams or founders who want a shared company domain with simple, centralized billing and admin
- ✓ Anyone who wants spy-pixel and read-tracking blocking on by default
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Teams that live in Gmail or Outlook add-ons, shared labels, or deep third-party integrations
- ✗ Anyone who wants to check HEY from a third-party client like Apple Mail or Outlook, since HEY does not support IMAP or POP
- ✗ Anyone who checks email rarely and wants a client built around search over old mail rather than triaging new mail
Pros
- + The screener genuinely stops unwanted senders before they hit your inbox, not after
- + Imbox, Feed, and Paper Trail auto-sorting cuts down on manual filing
- + Calendar, blog (HEY World), and email all live in one account with one login
- + Flat, simple pricing for individuals with no seat math to do
Cons
- – No free tier. You pay $99/year even for a single personal address once the trial ends
- – Short @hey.com addresses cost far more ($349/year for 3 characters, $999/year for 2 characters)
- – No folders or labels, so if you rely on a specific filing system from another provider, you have to relearn HEY's model
HEY pricing
At about $8/month to start, it sits at the higher end of Email Providers pricing.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| HEY for You | $99/yr | One @hey.com address · 100GB storage · Calendar included · Spy pixel and spam blocking · HEY World personal blog |
| HEY for Domains | $12/seat/mo | Your own domain instead of @hey.com · Centralized admin for the whole team · Thread sharing and comments · Email aliases · First seat discounted to $10/month |
| HEY for Families | $179/yr | Up to 5 people, each with their own @hey.com address and calendar · One shared bill |
HEY for You is a flat $99/year (billed annually only), not monthly. Shorter @hey.com addresses cost extra: $349/year for 3 characters, $999/year for 2 characters. HEY for Domains bills monthly per seat and has no free trial, only a 30-day setup window. Prices are USD only, taxes added at checkout.
Pricing verified July 16, 2026 · source
How HEY's pricing compares
HEY next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEY | $99/yr | flat | Trial (30 days on HEY for You, no credit card required) | Public |
| Gmail | $7/seat/mo | freemium (personal) / per-seat (Google Workspace for business) | Yes | Partly public |
| Proton Mail | EUR 3.99/seat/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
| Fastmail | $3/seat/mo | per-seat | Trial (30 days, no credit card required) | Public |
| Zoho Mail | $1/seat/mo | per-seat | Yes | Partly public |
| Microsoft Outlook | $5.4/seat/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
| Tuta | EUR 3/mo | tiered | Yes | Public |
Is HEY still actively developed?
Last significant update: January 2026. HEY Calendar added a year view so you can see your whole year at a glance.
Top HEY alternatives
HEY FAQ
Is HEY free?+
No. HEY for You costs $99/year after a 30-day free trial that doesn't require a credit card. There's no permanent free plan.
Can I use HEY with my own company domain?+
Yes, through HEY for Domains, which costs $12 per user per month ($10 for the first seat) and adds centralized admin, thread sharing, and aliases.
Does HEY have a family plan?+
Yes. HEY for Families covers up to 5 people for $179/year total, and each person gets their own @hey.com address and calendar.
Can I get a short @hey.com address?+
Yes, but it costs more. A 3-character address is $349/year and a 2-character address is $999/year, versus $99/year for standard-length addresses.