offduty vs Hey
Hey's philosophy. Your existing Gmail address.
Hey built a compelling vision of calmer email. The catch: it requires a new address, a new client, and migrating everyone who contacts you. Offduty brings the same core idea (you decide when email arrives) to the Gmail account you already have.
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Two different approaches
offdutyoffduty works with your existing Gmail. You keep your address, your contacts, your filters, and your Gmail interface. offduty holds incoming email and delivers it at times you configure. Between deliveries, your inbox stays quiet. No migration, no learning curve, no telling people your new address.
Hey
Hey is a complete email service that requires a new @hey.com email address. It rebuilds the inbox experience from the ground up with features like The Screener (approve new senders), The Feed (newsletters), and Reply Later. It is a considered, opinionated product, but it asks a lot to get started.
Feature comparison
No new address. No migration.
Switching to Hey means telling every contact, newsletter, service, and colleague that you have a new email address. That is a real cost. Offduty requires none of that. You connect your existing Gmail account (the one people already use to reach you) and control when messages arrive. Your address stays the same. Your contacts do not notice anything.
Scheduled delivery vs a redesigned inbox
Hey's approach is to rebuild the inbox with new categories, screening, and flows. Offduty's approach is simpler: hold all email until a scheduled time, then release it. No new mental model, no categories to manage, no screener queue to work through. You get a quiet inbox between delivery windows and a full inbox at the times you choose.
Keep using Gmail exactly as it is
Hey replaces Gmail entirely. Offduty works alongside it. Your Gmail interface is unchanged. Your existing labels, filters, and setup remain. The only thing that changes is when new messages appear. If you tried Hey and came back to Gmail because you did not want to change your address, offduty is the alternative that gives you calmer email without asking you to start over.
Calmer email. Same Gmail address.
offduty holds your inbox quiet and delivers email on your schedule, without changing your address, your client, or how you work. 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
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