Best-of guide
The best task managers with Gmail integration in 2026
Seven task managers that connect to Gmail, from simple forwarding add-ons to a full inbox inside the app, ranked on how little you have to switch tabs.
Updated September 22, 2026
How we ranked them
- Can you read, reply and archive Gmail inside the task app, or only import from it?
- Does an email become a task in one action with the thread still linked?
- Does anything triage the inbox for you: summaries, priority, suggested actions?
- Can rules act on incoming email automatically?
- Does it handle several Gmail accounts, labels and unsubscribes?
- What Google permissions does it ask for, and what does it store?
Tasks, email, calendar and contacts with AI, so you always know what to do next.
Fluidwave does not integrate with Gmail so much as absorb it. Multiple Gmail accounts sit inside the app with two-way labels, compose and reply, a Newsletters view with one-click unsubscribe, and AI triage that summarizes, scores and suggests an action for every thread. Any email becomes a task in one action and the thread stays linked with chips on both sides, and automations can react when an email arrives, including an AI reply step. It is free forever with no credit card. Gmail is the only email provider supported, and the desktop app is macOS-only for now.
Pros
- Tasks, Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Contacts live in one app, and they link to each other.
- Auto-prioritization and the Active filter hide what you cannot work on yet, so the top of the list is always what to do next.
- AI email triage summarizes, scores and suggests an action for every thread; you confirm with one key.
- AI time blocking packs tasks into real free time inside your working hours and syncs the sessions to Google Calendar.
- A visual automation builder covers both email and tasks, including an AI reply step.
- Works offline, with a Claude MCP connector, voice control and 16 languages.
- Completely free.
Cons
- Email works with Gmail only; there is no Outlook or IMAP support yet.
- Windows and Linux desktop apps are still coming; macOS, web and mobile are live.
- Built for individuals and small teams rather than large-scale project portfolios.
- Pricing:
- Free Free forever. No subscription, no credit card.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, email, calendar and contacts in one place and want the app to decide what comes next.
- #2
Todoist
A cross-platform to-do list known for natural-language capture and a large integration ecosystem.
Todoist offers the classic approach: a Gmail add-on and a per-project forwarding address turn any email into a task, and Email Assist on Pro drafts the task for you. Two-way Google Calendar sync, the best natural-language quick add on the market and apps for every platform round it out. You still triage in Gmail because Todoist cannot read or reply, nothing summarizes or scores your inbox, and the free plan is capped at five projects.
Pros
- Best-in-class natural-language quick add that parses dates, projects, labels and priorities as you type.
- Apps for every platform, including Windows, Linux, Apple Watch and Wear OS, all working offline.
- An official MCP server at ai.todoist.net lets Claude and other agents read and write your tasks.
- Two-way Google Calendar sync and, on Pro, a calendar layout with task durations for time blocking.
- A mature ecosystem of templates, filters and integrations built up over more than a decade.
Cons
- No email client: email gets in by forwarding or an add-on, so you still triage your inbox in Gmail.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering, time slots and planning are manual.
- The calendar layout, task durations, custom reminders and unlimited Ramble all sit behind Pro.
- The free plan caps you at five personal projects.
- Pricing:
- From $5/month (annual) Pro is $5/month billed annually ($60/year) or $7 month to month; the free plan is limited to five projects.
- Best for:
- People who want a fast, reliable to-do list on every device and are happy to keep email and calendar in separate apps.
- #3
Asana
A work-management platform for coordinating projects, goals and workflows across teams.
Asana’s Gmail add-on creates tasks from email without leaving your inbox and attaches the message, and every project has an email address for forwarding. For teams already running projects, portfolios and goals in Asana, that keeps requests flowing into the right place. Rules can route them on Starter and above, though they cover tasks only. There is no inbox in Asana, the Google Calendar sync is one-way, and the Personal plan now caps at two users.
Pros
- Mature project tooling: portfolios, goals, workload, dashboards and a well-tested rules engine.
- Official MCP server, Slack app and Gmail and Outlook add-ons that turn email into tasks.
- AI Studio lets you write plain-English instructions that classify and route work.
- List, board, calendar and timeline views on the same project, with native apps on every platform.
- Free and unlimited guests on paid plans.
Cons
- Email stays in Gmail or Outlook; Asana only imports tasks from it and cannot read, reply or triage your inbox.
- Timeline, dependencies, rules, custom fields and most Asana AI need Starter at $10.99 per user per month.
- The Personal plan now caps at two users, and offline editing exists only on Android.
- Nothing places tasks on your calendar; the Google Calendar integration is one-way and there is no time blocking.
- Pricing:
- From $10.99/user/month (annual) The Personal plan caps at two users; Timeline, rules, custom fields and most Asana AI need Starter or above.
- Best for:
- Teams that run many cross-functional projects and want portfolios, goals and reporting on top of task tracking.
- #4
Sunsama
A daily planner that gathers tasks from your other tools and walks you through planning each day.
Sunsama shows your Gmail inbox in a side panel next to your day, so you can read a message and drag it onto the calendar as a task with a time budget. That makes it a strong choice if the goal is to plan email work rather than file it. It also pulls tasks from Todoist, Asana, Notion, Jira and Trello. Email is read-only inside the app, replies happen in Gmail, and there is no free plan at $17 a month on annual billing.
Pros
- A calm, guided daily and weekly planning ritual with realistic time budgets.
- Pulls tasks from Gmail, Outlook, Todoist, Asana, Notion, Jira, Trello and more into one day view.
- Drag emails and tasks onto the calendar and see planned versus actual time.
- Official MCP server plus apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
- Auto-schedule lets the AI place your planned tasks into free calendar slots.
Cons
- Email is read-only inside the app; you still reply in Gmail or Outlook.
- No free plan; the price is on the high end for a personal planner.
- Planning is deliberately manual, so nothing prioritizes your list for you.
- Desktop and web need a connection; only the mobile app works offline, with basic features.
- Pricing:
- From $17/month (annual) $22 billed monthly; there is a 14-day trial with no card required but no free plan.
- Best for:
- People who like a guided daily planning ritual and pull work in from many tools rather than living in one.
- #5
Akiflow
A keyboard-driven task consolidator and time blocker for busy professionals.
Akiflow pulls Gmail messages into a universal inbox alongside Slack, Notion, Todoist and Asana items, and its keyboard command bar with natural-language dates turns each into a scheduled task on a two-way synced calendar. It fits people whose email problem is that tasks live in six places. Email is one-way, so you cannot read, reply or archive inside Akiflow, there is no AI summary per thread, and there is no free plan at $19 a month on annual billing.
Pros
- A fast command bar with natural-language dates for capturing and scheduling tasks entirely from the keyboard.
- Consolidates tasks from Gmail, Slack, Notion, Todoist, Asana, ClickUp, Jira and more into one inbox.
- Drag-and-drop time blocking with two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync.
- Aki AI assistant and an official MCP connector for managing tasks from Claude.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android.
Cons
- Email is one-way: messages become tasks, but you cannot read or reply to email in Akiflow.
- No free plan and one of the pricier planners when billed monthly.
- No automatic prioritization; you still decide the order of your day.
- Habit tracking, dependencies and project views like Kanban or Gantt are missing.
- Pricing:
- From $19/month (annual) Pro is $34 billed monthly; only a 7-day trial, no free plan.
- Best for:
- Keyboard-first professionals who want to consolidate tasks from many tools and time block them fast.
- #6
ClickUp
An all-in-one work platform that combines tasks, docs, chat, goals and dashboards.
ClickUp goes further than most by letting the Email ClickApp send and receive email from inside a task, and Brain can summarize attached emails. Gmail can also create tasks through the add-on, and the Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks, Gantt and dependencies. It is not an inbox you can browse, so you still need Gmail open, email is an action in automations rather than a trigger, and Brain costs $9 per user per month on top of a paid plan.
Pros
- Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks and users, Gantt, dependencies and calendar view.
- ClickUp Calendar syncs two-way with Google Calendar and lets you drag tasks in as time blocks.
- Fifteen-plus views, custom fields and custom statuses on every list.
- Docs, whiteboards, chat and time tracking are built in rather than bolted on.
- Official MCP server and a deep Slack integration.
Cons
- The feature surface is enormous, so setup and learning take real time and the interface can feel slow.
- AI is a separate add-on: Brain costs $9 per user per month on top of a paid plan, and Everything AI costs $28.
- Email lives inside tasks rather than in an inbox, so you still need a separate mail client.
- Offline mode only lets you create tasks; existing tasks cannot be edited without a connection.
- Pricing:
- From $7/user/month (annual) Brain AI is a separate $9 per user per month add-on on top of any paid plan; Everything AI is $28.
- Best for:
- Teams that want one configurable workspace for tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards and dashboards and are willing to set it up.
- #7
TickTick
A cross-platform to-do list that bundles a calendar, habit tracker and Pomodoro timer.
TickTick keeps things simple: forward an email to a list’s address or use the Gmail add-on and it becomes a task with the text preserved. Around that you get a habit tracker, Pomodoro timer, Kanban and calendar views, and apps on every platform that all work offline, at one of the cheapest Premium prices around. The task keeps the text rather than a live link to the thread, nothing triages your inbox, and the day and week calendar grids need Premium.
Pros
- Built-in habit tracker with streaks and statistics, plus a Pomodoro timer and focus stats.
- Calendar, Kanban and Timeline views on top of the list, with tasks draggable onto the calendar.
- An official MCP server at mcp.ticktick.com covers tasks and habits and is listed in Claude’s connector directory.
- One of the cheapest paid tiers among major task managers, with a usable free plan.
- Apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, all working offline.
Cons
- No email client and no AI triage; email arrives by forwarding and you still work your inbox elsewhere.
- Nothing prioritizes or schedules for you; ordering and time slots are manual.
- Day and week calendar grids, calendar subscriptions and the Timeline view are Premium only.
- The free plan is capped at 9 lists and 99 tasks per list.
- Pricing:
- From $49.99/year (about $4.17/month) Premium is US$49.99/year on TickTick’s site; a monthly option and promotional prices are available through the app stores and vary by region.
- Best for:
- People who want tasks, habits and a calendar grid in one affordable app and do not need email inside it.
Feature comparison
AI
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | Asana | Sunsama | Akiflow | ClickUp | TickTick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI email triageEvery incoming thread gets a summary, a priority score and a suggested action you confirm with one key. | Included | Not availableEmail Assist (Pro) turns a forwarded email into a task; nothing summarizes or scores your inbox. | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not availableEmails attached to tasks can be summarized by Brain, but there is no inbox with priority or suggested actions. | Not available |
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | Asana | Sunsama | Akiflow | ClickUp | TickTick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in email clientRead, reply, archive, label and search your inbox without leaving the app. | Included | Not availableEmail reaches Todoist by forwarding or through the Gmail and Outlook add-ons; you cannot read or reply inside the app. | Not availableGmail and Outlook add-ons create tasks from email; there is no inbox inside Asana. | PartialGmail and Outlook show in a side panel so you can read and drag emails into tasks, but you cannot reply from Sunsama. | Not available | PartialThe Email ClickApp sends and receives email from inside a task; it is not an inbox you can browse. | Not availableEmail gets in by forwarding to a list address; you cannot read or reply inside the app. |
| Email to taskTurn an email into a task with one action and keep the thread linked to it. | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | Included | PartialForward an email to a list’s address or use the Gmail add-on; the task keeps the text, not a live link to the thread. |
| One-click unsubscribeBulk unsubscribe from newsletters using RFC 8058 one-click links. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
Calendar
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | Asana | Sunsama | Akiflow | ClickUp | TickTick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar syncRead events to find free time and write back only the sessions you choose to sync. | IncludedReads events to find free time and writes only the sessions you choose to sync. | Included | PartialOne-way sync from Asana to Google Calendar; changes made in the calendar do not flow back. | Included | Included | Included | PartialTwo-way Google Calendar sync exists, but calendar subscriptions are a Premium feature. |
Automation
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | Asana | Sunsama | Akiflow | ClickUp | TickTick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visual automation builderNode-based rules with triggers, conditions and actions across both email and tasks, with live match preview. | Included | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier, Make or IFTTT rather than inside the app. | PartialRules and the workflow builder need Starter or above and cover tasks only, not email. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier, not inside the app. | PartialScheduled AI workflows can send summaries and check-ins; there is no trigger/condition/action rule builder. | PartialTrigger-action automations for tasks, capped at 100 runs per month on Free; email is an action, not a trigger. | Not availableAutomations run through Zapier or IFTTT rather than inside the app. |
| AI auto-replyAn automation step that drafts or sends an email reply from plain-English instructions. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | PartialBrain can draft an email inside a task; there is no AI reply step in automations. | Not available |
Integrations
| Feature | Fluidwave | Todoist | Asana | Sunsama | Akiflow | ClickUp | TickTick |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Contacts syncTwo-way sync with your address book so contacts can be linked to tasks and mentioned in notes. | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
What makes a great Gmail integration for a task manager
Almost every task manager claims a Gmail integration. Most of them mean a button in Gmail’s sidebar. A useful integration is measured by how rarely you have to switch back.
Email to task in one action, with the link intact. The task should carry a live reference to the thread, not a pasted copy of its text, so that when you sit down to do the work the original conversation is one click away. Our free inbox converter shows what a good conversion looks like.
The inbox inside the app. If you can read, reply, archive and label without leaving your task list, triage and planning become one session instead of two. Only Fluidwave and, in a limited read-only way, Sunsama offer this on the list.
Help deciding. Summaries, priority scores and suggested actions turn a hundred unread threads into a few minutes of confirmations. See how that works on the Gmail integration page.
Rules. Emails from your accountant should become tasks without you touching them; receipts should archive themselves.
Waiting-on tracking. Half of email work is waiting for a reply. A waiting-for list that links to the thread closes the loop that most integrations leave open.
How we evaluated and ranked these apps
This is a criteria-based comparison of published features, pricing and documentation as of September 2026, not a hands-on trial of each add-on. Every product was scored against the six criteria at the top of this page, with the weights below.
Depth of integration counted most: a built-in inbox outranks a sidebar add-on, which outranks a forwarding address, because each step removes a tab switch. Email to task with a live link to the thread came next, followed by triage help such as summaries, priority scores and suggested actions, and rules that can act on incoming email inside the app. Multiple accounts, two-way labels and unsubscribe tooling were weighted together. Permissions and storage were read from each vendor’s privacy documentation and counted in favor of apps that store less.
Apps that support both Gmail and Outlook were credited for it, and Fluidwave’s Gmail-only support and macOS-only desktop app are listed as plainly as every competitor’s limits, since it is our own product. Todoist’s add-on and Sunsama’s side panel are good at what they set out to do, and the verdicts say so. For what a deep integration should look like in practice, see the Gmail integration page.
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