Boomerang for Gmail is a 3rd party email scheduling and tracking tool that integrates with Gmail and Google Workspace.
The extension has been around since 2010, and it’s widely considered to be an ideal browser extension for users who want to supplement their email with additional automation and functionality.
But, while Boomerang can do wonders for email productivity, it’s not the only app that does. There are some free alternatives out there that may be more than enough to suit your needs.
Here’s a closer look at some of the best free Boomerang alternatives and competitors out there today.
Boomerang Is Great — But It’s Pricey
Without a doubt, Boomerang brings a lot to the table. Even on the free plan, you’ll have the ability to do each of the following:
- Schedule emails.
- Track responses.
- Attach read receipts.
- Pause inbox/snooze notifications.
- Get email reminders.
- Schedule meetings (limited).
On top of that, Boomerang is browser-based, unlike a desktop app like Outlook or Apple Mail. You can run it out of any compatible browser, and that includes Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Opera.
Sounds great, right?
Just one problem: With the free plan, you can only do this for 10 emails each month.
That limitation is enough to seriously hamper any workflow, especially if you’re relying on Boomerang for anything serious.
Of course, Boomerang offers paid plans that remove those limits and add additional functionality — but there some odd restrictions here, as well.
The Personal plan ($5/month) only works for Gmail accounts, meaning that if you’re a small business, you’ll need the Pro plan ($15/month) for Boomerang to work with G Suite / Google Workspace.
From there, you can jump up to the Premium plan ($50/month), if you really want the full package. This plan features advanced tools and insights, Salesforce / CRM integrations, and more.
But that’s pretty expensive, especially if you’re just looking for email tracking or the ability to generate a few templates!
In those cases, Boomerang may not be the best fit.
Gmail (by itself)
What is it? A browser-based email application.
Good fit for: Personal and professional users.
Platform availability: All platforms.
Price: Free.
Link: Gmail by Google.
It might sound like a bit of a gotcha, but you should explore Gmail in-depth before you start searching for extensions — especially if you’re trying to transition from using a desktop-based software tool accessing Gmail via your browser.
Desktop applications are incompatible with several Gmail features, so it’s possible that your inbox offers all the functionality you need without any extra help.
Over the years, Google has added some interesting features to assist with email management, including the ability to recall sent emails, schedule sending, and change views, leverage AI tools, and more.
And you won’t need any additional extensions or add-ons to take advantage of those features.
Key features
- Recall / undo. This feature allows you to recall an email before it’s actually sent. This limited-time functionality can be extended in the settings to work for up to 30 seconds. If you find that you made an error while sending, getting your email back is as simple as a click.
- Email scheduling. Want to schedule an email? You can do that from Gmail without needing an extension or plugin. Click on the little arrow beside the send button to schedule your next email in advance.
- Limit notifications. While it’s not an inbox pause feature, you can limit notifications by restricting notifications to specific messages that land in your inbox. You can select key messages or messages flagged as high priority (or you can turn off all notifications entirely).
Free Email Tracker by PandaDoc
What is it? A Chrome extension that enables free email tracking.
Good fit for: Users who want to know when their email is read.
Platform availability: Google Chrome.
Price: Free.
Link: Free Email Tracker by PandaDoc.
The ability to track sent emails is an important feature that Google has excluded from Gmail. However, with the Free Email Tracker by PandaDoc, free and unlimited email tracking is fast and easy.
This Chrome extension automatically embeds a tracking pixel into your outgoing emails and notifies you when those emails are delivered and opened.
By checking inside your Sent folder within Gmail, you’ll see a series of checkmarks beside your outbound emails.
- One checkmark indicates that the email has been delivered.
- Two checkmarks indicate that the email has been opened.
It’s that simple.
Free Email Tracker is a great fit for business users running personalized email campaigns and individuals looking for real-time insights into email deliverability.
Key features
- Free email tracking. This app provides fast and easy email tracking for every email sent through your Chrome browser. Know when emails are read and when to send follow-ups with an easy-to-use system.
- Data and analytics. Get insights into how your emails are opened and handled. Free Email Tracker will tell you when your email was first opened and how often it has been viewed so that you can see how viewers are interacting with your messages.
- No ads or inserts. Some email tracking tools notify users that they’re being tracked by adding a signature block to your outbound messages. Free Email Tracker doesn’t do that. This extension is free and doesn’t include ads.
Snov.io Free Email Tracker
What is it? An email tracking and scheduling extension.
Good fit for: Users looking for behavior-based notifications.
Platform availability: Google Chrome.
Price: Free.
Link: Unlimited Email Tracker by Snov.io.
The Snov.io approach to free email tracking is centered around gathering data and using it to empower your email marketing and outreach.
This unlimited email tracking app tracks all emails in your Gmail account and will even send you real-time desktop notifications based on a variety of factors, including when emails are opened or links are clicked.
You’ll also be able to review a full activity log of opens and views from your Gmail account, which makes it easy to adjust the cadence of your email follow-ups. From there, scheduling emails can be done in a few clicks, and your email will be sent automatically at the designated time.
Key features
- Live notifications. It’s hard to beat desktop-based notifications. If you’re working, just leave Chrome open in the background and let Snov.io push those notifications directly to your desktop while you focus on something else.
- Open history. You’ll have a full audit trail of email opens and clicks with Snov.io, and most of the information is visible immediately from your Sent folder. Use this information to adjust your email outreach accordingly.
- Conditional reminders. With Snov.io, you can set conditional notification reminders. Only want to get follow-up reminders on emails that haven’t been opened or read? What about emails where the recipient never clicked a link? Snov.io allows you to adjust what it tells you about so that your notifications are always useful and actionable.
Mixmax
What is it? An email software suite for Gmail.
Good fit for: Sales teams working from the Gmail interface.
Platform availability: Google Chrome.
Price: Free plan available. Paid plans from $29 – $69 per month.
Link: Mixmax for Google Chrome.
Mixmax is a sales engagement platform designed to help sales teams succeed. The company offers a variety of features in their paid plans that go far and above what you might see in Boomerang for Gmail, but everything is geared toward closing deals and generating revenue.
However, the company also offers a free plan and extension that includes the ability to track emails, generate email templates, conduct polls, and more. The extension even offers meeting scheduling at no cost.
Because this is a paid platform, some features are withheld. For example, Mixmax offers mail merge functionality and Salesforce integration, but these come with a cost.
Key features
- Email templates. With Mixmax, you don’t have to write the same email over and over again. Just set the email up as a template, and you’ll be able to generate personalized outreach in just a few clicks.
- Polls and surveys. Unique to Mixmax, the platform allows you to send polls and surveys to recipients. Get feedback on everything from your sales process to your email outreach process directly from your users.
- One-click meetings. Many Boomerang alternatives won’t handle meetings, but Mixmax allows you to auto-populate your availability directly inside your email. Fast and easy meeting scheduling — at no charge!
Pigeon
What is it? A free mail merge tool for Gmail.
Good fit for: Teams and sales reps using templated outreach.
Platform availability: Google Sheets and Gmail.
Price: Free plan available. $4.99/month, $25/year, or $99/lifetime.
Link: Mail Merge for Gmail.
Looking for fast and easy mail merges?
Pigeon can help you send dozens of emails a day through your Gmail account with minimal effort. This mailing tool uses Google Sheets and Gmail to send emails to your mailing list with a single click.
This approach is great for individuals who need to send a large number of emails as part of a marketing or outreach campaign.
With Pigeon, you’ll need to create an email draft in Gmail and add the information to be included in your mail merge to Google Sheets. From there, you’ll use the Google Workspace add-on to connect Sheets to Gmail.
When you connect the two via the add-on, you’ll be able to send emails via Google Sheets and refer back to the document to see who opened your sent emails.
The free plan allows you to send up to 75 emails per day. Every other plan offers the same features and allows you to send up to 2,100 emails each day. The only difference in cost is determined by how long you need to pay for this functionality.
Key features
- Simple mail merge. Pigeon offers a simple, uncomplicated mail merge solution that will be more than sufficient for sales teams. While larger marketing campaigns might need to touch thousands of users, 75 mail merged emails per day is more than enough for many small, targeted campaigns.
- Workspace add-on. This app is unique on our list because it’s not a Chrome extension. It’s a Google Workspace add-on. This means that you’ll be able to use it from any browser by connecting it to your Google Workspace and signing in to your Workspace tools.
- Sent from Google Sheets. Aside from creating the draft template in Gmail, most of Pigeon’s functionality comes from Google Sheets. To send email, you’ll use the Google Sheets sidebar to connect the two apps. You’ll also refer back to your spreadsheet for analytics and open data.
Are There Other Options Out There?
So far, we’ve primarily focused on free alternatives to Boomerang for Gmail, but there are plenty of other options out there if you’re willing to pay.
Here are a few apps, platforms, and extensions that caught our eye during our research:
- Gmelius. Offers some project management tools, along with email tracking and analytics. Share emails and drafts, create templates and automate workflows from your Gmail inbox.
- Yesware. Although they offer a free plan, Yesware makes the most sense with some money behind it. The Premium plan allows for unlimited campaign sending, team reports, and integration with Microsoft Team and Zoom.
- Saleshandy. Great for large outreach campaigns, Saleshandy offers email attracting, prospecting, and sends for thousands of monthly emails. Outreach Basic, the entry-level plan, allows for up to 10,000 monthly emails, and the number of sends increases from there.
- Mailtrack. Although Mailtrack offers a free plan, you’ll have to pay to avoid the mandatory signature ad. The extension offers many of Boomerang’s features and has a few items that Boomerang doesn’t offer, but you should plan on paying to get the most out of this tool.
Which Boomerang alternative is best?
There are a ton of great Boomerang alternatives out there, and we’ve covered several of them above.
But, in our view, the best alternative is the one you actually use. For some users, that’s Boomerang. However, if you don’t need all the added functionality, it might make the most sense to take a step back and determine why you would use a service like Boomerang in the first place.
With so many extensions available in the Chrome web store, it’s possible that there are other tools that can suit your needs with minimal cost. Extensions like the Free Email Tracker by PandaDoc are a great example.
Give these tools a try today, and learn how to do more with Gmail at no cost.
