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Metis Suite vs Inbox Zero
Inbox Zero is an AI email assistant for Gmail and Outlook that runs rules in the background, with a hosted service from $18 a month per user and a self-hosted option. Its license adds terms to the AGPL, including an enterprise license for organizations with 5 or more business users. Metis Suite is plain AGPL-3.0-or-later, adds Zoho Mail and IMAP, and puts calendars and drives from several providers next to mail, with one agent across all of them.
Inbox Zero facts checked on October 21, 2026
| Feature | Metis Suite | Inbox Zero |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source, AGPL-3.0-or-later Source | AGPL-3.0 with added terms: no paid resale without permission, and an enterprise license for 5 or more business users Source |
| Self-hosting | Yes, with Docker Compose on your own Linux server, or run for you on Metis Cloud Source | Yes, with Docker, Kubernetes, AWS, GCP or Vercel Source |
| Mail accounts | Gmail, Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com, Zoho Mail, and IMAP servers the instance owner adds Source | Gmail and Outlook / Microsoft 365; IMAP is not listed Source |
| Calendar | Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoho Calendar and CalDAV in one view, with editing and RSVPs Source | Connects Google and Outlook calendars for availability, scheduling replies and meeting briefs Source |
| Files and drives | Google Drive, OneDrive, S3, WebDAV, FTP and SFTP in one explorer, with previews Source | No drive browser; files attachments into chosen Google Drive or OneDrive folders Source |
| AI assistant | One agent across mail, calendars and drives; sending, deleting and every calendar, drive or workflow change waits for your approval Source | AI chat searches, archives, deletes, labels and unsubscribes, and confirms high-impact actions such as sending Source |
| AI model | Bring your own: OpenAI, Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including one you run yourself Source | Own key for many providers; self-hosters can also use Ollama or OpenAI-compatible servers Source |
| MCP | Built-in MCP server with OAuth for Claude, Cursor, Codex and VS Code; sending and deleting stay off until you enable them Source | Remote MCP server that searches mail, creates drafts and manages rules, but cannot send Source |
| Automation | Visual workflows on new mail, a schedule, a manual run or before a send, with AI Ask and Branch steps Source | Plain-English rules that label, archive, forward, draft replies or call webhooks as mail arrives Source |
| Apps | Web; desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux; an Android app; no iPhone app Source | Web, macOS, Windows, iPhone and an older Android app; no Linux desktop build Source |
| Price | Free to self-host; Metis Cloud from $10 a month billed yearly, or $12 monthly, per instance | Email app free; AI plans from $18 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly) to $50 per user, Enterprise by quote Source |
Choose Inbox Zero if
You mainly want AI rules triaging Gmail or Outlook in the background, with extras such as filing attachments into Drive or OneDrive folders.
Choose Metis Suite if
You want a full client for mail, calendars and drives, need Zoho or IMAP, or want an unmodified AGPL license for a team of any size.
Inbox Zero is made by Inbox Zero Inc.. Every fact about it on this page comes from its own website, documentation or source code, as linked, and was checked on October 21, 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, write to contact@astraqcyberdefence.com and we will correct it. All trademarks belong to their owners.