Missive

Combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $18/mo per seatsubscription / year $216estimated build time closest consolation build: one sittingreplaced by 0 people

A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Missive, combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team. The hard boundary is real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability
  • mail hosting and deliverability
  • push on every platform
  • advanced team collaboration
  • provider-specific AI and search

Why people still pay

People still pay for Missive because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox
  • OAuth client credentials where required
  • desktop keychain access
  • local disk space
01
Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available.
02
Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
03
Interface for this email clients and hosted mail workflow: a desktop window with source import, a work list, and result export.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available. Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.

2

Phase 2, implement

Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain.

3

Phase 3, implement

Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: A reconnect must not duplicate mail; after an ambiguous send response, retain pending status until the provider confirms it. State the practical limit: real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused email clients and hosted mail workflow for the personal core of Missive. Requirements:

- Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available. Model mail accounts, message IDs, threads, folders, and pending actions; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
- Paid product context: Combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team. Build only this DIY scope: Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team, and send through the account's normal SMTP service.
- Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain.
- Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search.
- Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default. Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft. Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging.
- Use a desktop window with source import, a work list, and result export. Required input or access: existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox; OAuth client credentials where required. Keep credentials in .env.
- Recovery: Record delivery failures and retries by message ID; never duplicate a send after restart.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: A reconnect must not duplicate mail; after an ambiguous send response, retain pending status until the provider confirms it.
- Out of scope: real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability; mail hosting and deliverability. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

share on X ↗

Alternatives to building your own

ChatwootCollaborative email with private notes, mentions and ownership; also handles chat when Missive was doing too much.36kaug 2026open source↗ZammadA mature team inbox with internal notes and ticket owners; it feels like support software because it is.5.8kaug 2026open source↗FreeScoutShared mailboxes, internal notes and assignments without seat fees; chat-style polish is traded for server care.4.5kjul 2026open source↗

all 4 free alternatives to Missive →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

Missive pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
free$0/user$0/userUp to 3 users; 15 days of email and chat history.
starter$18/user$14/userUp to 5 users; unlimited history; up to 10 personal accounts and 5 shared accounts per user; no rules, integrations, analytics, API or AI.
productive$30/user$24/userUp to 50 users; up to 1,000 rules; unlimited history; basic analytics, API, integrations and AI.
business$45/user$36/userUnlimited users; up to 1,000 rules; unlimited history; advanced analytics, SAML SSO and IP restrictions.

free tierUp to 3 users; 15 days of email and chat history

billingmonthly + annual (-20%); 30-day free trial, no card

hidden costsShared accounts are capped at 5 per user; each additional block of 5 shared accounts costs $15/month. Productive and Business AI can use prepaid Missive credits (accounts begin with $5) with a 25% markup over provider cost, or the customer's own API key; annual seats removed mid-term remain billed but can be reassigned.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Missive

Can you build your own Missive with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For Missive, combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team. The hard boundary is real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish.

What does the Missive build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Connect an existing mailbox, index messages locally, combine email with internal comments and assignments for a small team, and send through the account's normal SMTP service. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability; mail hosting and deliverability; push on every platform. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Missive prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Missive project take?

The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Missive?

real-time collaboration, many channels, rules, integrations, and shared-inbox reliability; mail hosting and deliverability; push on every platform; advanced team collaboration; provider-specific AI and search. People still pay for Missive because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Starter plan is $18/mo per seat (monthly per user), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Missive?

Chatwoot: Collaborative email with private notes, mentions and ownership; also handles chat when Missive was doing too much. Zammad: A mature team inbox with internal notes and ticket owners; it feels like support software because it is. FreeScout: Shared mailboxes, internal notes and assignments without seat fees; chat-style polish is traded for server care. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/missive/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

Every week, more subscriptions die.

New verdicts, new prompts, the week's most-doomed apps.
One email. Unsubscribe in one click.

last week:100 Questions · KINDA1of10 · KINDA1Password · KINDA+1090 more

free forever · no scanner spam · the prompt stays on the site, the deaths come to you

$weekly: what got a verdict, what died.