MailRules compared
How MailRules differs from Apple Mail rules, Clean Email, Inbox Zero, SaneBox, Shortwave, Sieve filters and Thunderbird message filters, with every claim about them sourced and dated.
MailRules vs Apple Mail rules
Apple gives you two rule systems: rules in Mail on your Mac, and simpler rules in iCloud Mail settings on iCloud.com. Both match exact text. MailRules runs on its own, on the server, and understands rules written as sentences.
MailRules vs Clean Email
Both connect to your mailbox and work with any IMAP provider. Clean Email is built for clearing out a big mailbox and keeping it clear: bulk actions, unsubscribing, and Auto Clean rules. MailRules is built for sorting new mail by rules you describe in your own words.
MailRules vs Inbox Zero
Both let you write email rules in plain English, and both can be self-hosted. Inbox Zero is a full AI assistant for Gmail and Outlook; MailRules does one job, sorting, on any IMAP mailbox.
MailRules vs SaneBox
Both sort mail on the server and work with almost any provider. SaneBox decides what's important by learning from your behaviour; MailRules follows rules you write in your own words.
MailRules vs Shortwave
Shortwave is an email app for Gmail with an AI assistant and AI filters. MailRules isn't an email app: it sorts mail on your server by rules you write, and you keep reading it wherever you do now.
MailRules vs Sieve filters
Sieve is the standard filtering language that Fastmail, Proton Mail and many self-run servers use under their rules screens. It runs at delivery and matches exact text. MailRules works alongside it over IMAP and handles the rules that are about meaning, not wording.
MailRules vs Thunderbird message filters
Thunderbird's filters are built into the app and run when Thunderbird fetches new mail. They match properties such as Subject or From. MailRules runs without a desktop app, on the server side of IMAP, and follows rules written as sentences.