Email tracking is when you use software to gather analytics about emails you send. It includes checking whether the recipients open the mail, how they interact with it, and how often they view it. Various email tracker tools exist, including SalesHandy, well-known software, and competitor options.

SalesHandy logo What Is the SalesHandy Extension?

SalesHandy is a comprehensive solution to scale your cold email outreach, It offers various features, but for this article, we’ll mainly be looking at the email tracking feature. The pricing for this extension ranges between $34/month and $179/month or higher with the custom package.

With this tool, you can see how often recipients open your emails, track emails from multiple inboxes, and gain 1-1 email insights. These insights include knowing whether a recipient interacted with any links and allowing you to also see a history of your email chain with a prospective or a client.

You can imagine why this type of software is vital for businesses. If you know how your recipients interact with the emails you send, you can create a more successful marketing strategy using that information. However, while SalesHandy has a seven-day free trial, it doesn’t have a free version.

SalesHandy website

Pros and Cons of SalesHandy

Before we move on to view the alternative choices in software, we first look at the primary pros and cons of SalesHandy.

Pros:

  • It provides comprehensive email tracking systems
  • You can track multiple mailboxes from one account
  • It allows push notifications
  • You can use email insights for more analytics

Cons:

  • There’s no free version
  • It doesn’t tell you if a client downloaded an attachment
  • It’s not available on some platforms, like Outlook for Mac

We also consider various alternative options as we understand that SalesHandy might not have all the features you’re looking for. Join us as we explore 10 other email tracker tools and see which is the top competitor.

RightInBox Logo RightInbox

RightInbox provides an all-in-one email tracking solution that works for small and large businesses. A free option is available, but it’s limited to five emails you can track per month. The monthly pricing of the packages ranges from $5.95 to $14.95, billed annually. However, this software also offers various other benefits and features:

  • Email Tracking
  • Private Notes
  • Templates

Email Tracking

You can track your emails now using this SalesHandy competitor, which lets you see how many times it’s opened, the number of times the recipient clicked a link, the number of locations it was opened in, and even how many devices opened this mail.

Private Notes

This feature is helpful if you need to remember something specific about a client. For example, if a client clicks more on one type of link than another, you can make private notes to personalize the offers to that client.

Templates

If you’re writing a new message, you have access to various templates, like Outreach Corporate, Project Pitch, and Coffee Date, to help get you started with the message. It means you never have to wonder how to write a specific message.

This alternative tool to SalesHandy is excellent for freelancers or small businesses, as it’s one of the less expensive options.

RightInbox - Email Reminders, Tracking Notes

Pros and Cons of RightInbox

Pros:

  • Features comprehensive sales tools
  • Allows you to receive detailed document analysis
  • Has a free version
  • Compatible with Chrome, Safari, and Firefox

Cons:

  • The free version is limited to five emails
  • It’s a Gmail-exclusive tool

Hubspot Logo Hubspot Sales

Hubspot Sales is closer to a comprehensive CRM tool than solely an email tracker. You can view various analytics, but this platform might be slightly complicated for small businesses or someone who’s not tech-savvy. You link your inbox to Hubspot and work from their platform, as it’s not an integrated extension. The monthly costs range from $50 to $3,600, which is quite expensive. The following are the main features of this competitor:

  • Tracks Emails
  • Document Management and Tracking
  • View Lead’s History

Tracks Emails

You can track whether leads open your emails and see if and when they click on a link. This data helps you track whether a lead is interested and the type of deals they’re interested in. You can even set it so that you receive a push notification when the lead clicks a link, opens an attachment, or views the message for the first time.

Document Management and Tracking

Use this feature to create and share a sales content library with your team. Send content to prospects and see which content fares better with clients.

View Lead’s History

This feature is helpful, allowing you to view a lead’s history at a glance. Accessing the history lets you see all the messages you’ve sent, how they interacted with each other, and more. This information helps you personalize your offers for a higher chance of success.

However, Hubspot Sales is better for large businesses and enterprises, as it’s mostly a CRM tool. If you’re an individual or a smaller company, you can use the free version, but it’s limited.

Hubspot Sales website

Pros and Cons of Hubspot Sales

Pros:

  • Complete CRM Tool
  • Gives a detailed email tracker
  • Provides a free version
  • Let’s you see the lead’s history at a glance

Cons:

  • You can’t access the tracking software separately from the CRM
  • The platform can be slightly complicated for beginners

Yesware Logo Yesware

Yesware offers a complete and free solution for email tracking. However, four other paid plans are also available for companies who prefer more features, as the free version is quite basic. You can also use the tutorials to learn how to install it with Outlook or Gmail. Depending on your needs, the monthly package costs start at $19 and go up to $85 or higher with the custom plan. Below, we look at some of the most prevalent features of this software:

  • Presentation Reports
  • Engagement History
  • Outreach Personalization 

Presentation Reports

You can pull a presentation report showing how many people interacted, which is helpful after you’ve sent a mass email. You don’t need to check each mail personally. Instead, read this report and learn how many views you got.

Engagement History

On your inbox dashboard extension, you can see the engagement history for any contact. You can view previous messages you sent and understand which types of links and offers the client is more likely to interact with.

Personalize Your Outreach

Seeing data analytics on what messages clients respond to and which campaigns are more successful, you can personalize your outreach. Personalizing allows you to build a better relationship with your client, making it less likely for a lead to ignore your message.

This alternative to SalesHandyis good for small and intermediate businesses, as it’s not the most expensive option we’ve seen, but still more pricey than others.

Yesware in Chrome web store

Pros and Cons of Yesware

Pros:

  • Gives you an engagement history
  • Provides helpful presentation reports
  • The paid packages fall in the mid-price range
  • Has a free version

Cons:

  • The free package only allows for 10 basic campaigns
  • Can be pricey for freelancers or micro companies

Streak Email Tracking Logo Streak

Streak offers an integrated CRM extension for Gmail/Chrome. Its free version limits the CRM features to 500 contacts, and the mail merge to 50. However, it provides a basic email tracker. Should you prefer the paid packages with more features, you’re looking at a monthly price starting at $19 and going up to $159, though you can save 20% of it if you pay it annually. The best features of this software are:

  • Email Tracking Capabilities
  • CRM
  • Mail Merge

Email Tracking Capabilities

Streak provides basic email tracking, which means you can see when someone viewed your message and how many times. You can also view the emails you track in a list and send mass emails to any recipients who view your messages.

CRM

The CRM solution gives you access to project management, sales, hiring, business development, and more features. Using these features, you can track your marketing campaign and always understand who you’re talking to for you to personalize offers and messages.

Mail Merge

The mail merge features let you create a CVS file to personalize the messages you send within seconds. You can use a generic template, and specific fields are filled with the contact’s information with the click of a button. It also gives you smart alerts of your or your team’s activities so everyone is on the same page.

This SalesHandy competitor is ideal for a freelancer with a small group of customers or small to medium businesses looking for a standard extension that integrates with their Gmail.

Streak Email Tracking for Gmail

Pros and Cons of Streak

Pros:

  • Provides a free version
  • Integrates thoroughly with Gmail and Google Apps
  • The email tracker is user-friendly
  • Ideal for a range of business needs

Cons:

  • It’s Chrome/Gmail-exclusive
  • The tracking capabilities are basic

GMass logo GMass

GMass is an integrated Gmail extension that helps turn your inbox into a cold email and marketing platform. There’s a free version, but the paid packages range from $19.95/month to $49.95/month for individuals and start at $125/month for teams of five or more. Below, we look at the features that make this platform worthwhile.

  • Integrated Email Tracker
  • Verifies Links and Fixes Spam Triggers
  • Campaign Dashboard

Integrated Email Tracker

This feature sits right in your inbox, making it easy to access and use. You can turn the tracker on or off when composing a message and download it free from the Chrome Web Store. It allows you to send mass emails based on who opened the message and more.

Verifies Links and Fixes Spam Triggers 

Tired of your marketing emails ending up in the spam folder? This feature ensures you can identify and fix any spam triggers before you send the message. It also allows you to verify links to ensure you don’t send a virus or broken link to your clients.

Campaign Dashboard

The campaigns dashboard shows you all the campaigns you have active and previous ones. You can look at the analytics and statistics of previous ones to adjust your current campaign. It also provides a list of transaction messages, so you can see what’s been happening at a glance.

This SalesHandy competitor is an excellent option for businesses trying to avoid having their emails marked as spam. Medium to large companies will benefit the most from GMass.

GMass website

Pros and Cons of GMass

Pros:

  • It integrates with Gmail
  • You can verify links
  • The campaign dashboard makes management easier
  • It provides a free version

Cons:

  • It’s limited to Chrome and Gmail
  • It can be slightly complicated to navigate

Woodpecker logo WoodPecker

WoodPecker provides three products, Cold Email, Sales Assistant, and Agency packages. Luckily, all three contain email-tracking features, but the monthly price per email slot ranges from $49 to $69. If you decide to pay annually, you get two months of the year for free. We list some of its primary features below.

  • Cold Email
  • Sales Assistant
  • Agency

Cold Email

The Cold Email client allows you to create and manage campaigns intuitively. It sends follow-ups from your inbox and tracks your opens, clicks, and reply rates. You can also learn the statistics of how many times your messages experience soft and hard bounces or even opt-out rates.

Sales Assistant

The Sales Assistant contains all the email tracking tools and helps automate your workflow. It can automate LinkedIn activities, remind you which calls to make, emails to send, and more. Overall, it’s better for businesses that need a more comprehensive solution.

Agency

The agency-client focuses on ensuring it’s easier to generate leads. You can integrate it with your toolkit, like Slack, Zapier, Pipedrive, and more. It’s better for teams, as it’s the only option that automatically gives you a one-click dashboard to your company profile and lists all clients on one dashboard.

However, this alternative can become slightly expensive, so this software is mainly for large businesses or enterprises.

Woodpecker website

Pros and Cons of WoodPecker

Pros:

  • Offers comprehensive sales solutions
  • Gives detailed email tracking statistics
  • Supports all email providers
  • Provides a seven-day free trial

Cons:

  • There’s no free version
  • It can become expensive for more than one email slot

Lemlist logo Lemlist

Lemlist is primarily a CRM tool, providing excellent features such as A/B Testing, automated follow-ups, and integration with Zapier. You can use the Chrome extension and the Lemlist API, and it’s compatible with GSuite, Microsoft, and SMTP platforms. The monthly price per seat starts at $59 and ends at $99, although you can also become an agency partner. All of the following tool’s features are available:

  • Custom Tracking Domain
  • A/B Testing
  • Native CRMs

Custom Tracking Domain

Lemlist’s custom tracking domain helps you track your open and click rates and white-labels your emails, ensuring it’s not identified as spam. Further, it uses your brand image in the message and domain, which makes you look more trustworthy.

A/B Testing

The A/B testing in this software allows you to concretely test what type of campaign fares better than others. It sends two versions of the same email or campaign to different people and sees which version receives more open and click rates.

Native CRMs

Lemlist integrates with your favorite tools to provide a comprehensive CRM environment. It has a Chrome extension, integrates with Hubspot and Zapier, and even software like Salesforce, Pipedrive, Dropcontact, Zerobounce, Aircall, and more.

However, it’s pretty expensive, which makes it better for businesses with a more significant budget.

Lemlis website

Pros and Cons of Lemlist

Pros:

  • Provides a custom tracking domain
  • Comprehensive A/B testing
  • Various integrations are available
  • Lists many sales tools with a 14-day trial

Cons:

  • No free version is available
  • Expensive option

Mailmeteor logo Mailmeteor

Mailmeteor is a handy CRM interface with a fun design and valuable features. You can access a free version with 50 daily emails but won’t enable email tracking. Luckily, the monthly paid packages aren’t as expensive as others, starting at $9.99 and ending at $49.99, which could vary if you purchase it for multiple users. Check out some of the best features of Mailmeteor:

  • Tracking Report
  • Segmented Contacts
  • CRM Integration 

Tracking Report

Once you send your emails, it generates a real-time tracking report, which shows how many messages you’ve sent, how many have been opened, and how many clicks you got. It’ll also assess the bounce rate, the number of unsubscribes and list the ones who responded.

Segmented Contacts

You can easily send mass emails to the correct clients using the segmented contacts feature. This feature lets you filter the clients into specific categories, like by condition or value. This tool ensures you can add features and tags to your spreadsheet, which helps you find the right clients faster using the Google Sheet extension.

CRM Integration

This software supports any CRM tool that uses BCC addresses, meaning you can integrate it with options like Copper CRM, Salesforce, and Hubspot.

We found this alternative to SalesHandy to be an excellent option for freelancers and small businesses, as the pricing is on the low end.

Mailmeteor website

Pros and Cons of Mailmeteor

Pros:

  • Accepts filters for contacts
  • Generates a complete tracking report
  • Allows various CRM integration
  • Provides a Google Sheets extension

Cons:

  • The free version is limited to 50 daily emails
  • No email tracking in the free version

Mailshake Logo Mailshake

Mailshake delivers excellent usability to teams focusing on generating leads and driving sales. However, that’s not to say it’s unsuitable for email tracking. There’s no free version; only the data finding section has a free option. But you can choose between the available packages of $58/month for email outreach and $83/month for sales engagement. Below are some of the features you can expect from Mailshake:

  • Visibility of Lead Action
  • Automates Email Outreach
  • Tracks Lead Status

Visibility of Lead Action

The Mailshake Lead Driver allows you to monitor each email’s opens, clicks, and replies. This knowledge lets you personalize your follow-up response and improve your campaigns.

Automates Email Outreach

You can automate your email outreach to complete it within minutes instead of days. It’s possible to add personalized information to each email using this tool, and it can even pause sequences should a message bounce or the recipient unsubscribe.

Tracks Lead Status

The Lead Catcher lets you get a bird’s eye view of a prospective client, including which messages they’ve received. You can adequately manage your leads and mark leads as won or lost. It also pushes all the lead data to your native CRM and third-party integrations.

This option is ideal for sales teams, who can use email tracking to their advantage, but isn’t interested in only email tracking. They should also have a more considerable budget.

Mailshake website

Pros and Cons of Mailshake

Pros:

  • Provides visible lead action
  • Perfect for generating leads
  • Incorporates LinkedIn and social media into outreaches
  • Gives unlimited US VOIP calls

Cons: 

  • It’s an expensive choice
  • No free version

Gmelius logo Gmelius

Gmelius is the perfect solution for teams who work together on marketing campaigns. While there’s no free version, you can buy the Flex package for $15/month altogether for up to 10 users, but it can go up if you have more than 100 conversations per month. There are also the Growth and Pro Packages, which start at $29/month and $45/month but can go much higher depending on the number of users you have. Below we look at the features of Gmelius:

  • Email Sharing
  • Analytics
  • Many Integrations

Email Sharing

You can ensure your team knows what’s going on using the sharing feature, which negates the use of forwarding or BCCing emails. With one click, this tool lets your teammates view replies and conversations first-hand.

Analytics

You can track KPIs for critical emails and effectively control email distribution and traffic. Track your team’s response time, identify bottlenecks, and analyze conversation trends to create a more effective marketing strategy and teamwork.

Many Integrations

Teams don’t have to worry about struggling between apps, as Gmelius supports various integrations. The integration options range between apps like Slack, Google, Zapier, Trello, and Make.

This alternative software doesn’t allow the traditional email tracking form due to GDPR. However, it’s ideal for small and large teams looking to streamline their teamwork and workspace.

Gmelius website

Pros and Cons of Gmelius

Pros:

  • Offers a seven-day free trial
  • Features many integrations
  • Allows a transparent team channel
  • Provides various team and marketing analytics

Cons:

  • It doesn’t allow the traditional email tracking
  • No free version

How to Choose the Best Email Tracking Extensions?

Consider various aspects of an email tracker to find the ideal fit. Below, we look at the top tools and qualities email trackers should have and would be good to have.

  • Shows when someone opens your email.
  • Provides a timestamp of when the recipient opens the email.
  • Shows when the recipient opens an email multiple times.
  • Lets you know when the client clicks on a link in the email.
  • Tells you when a recipient view or download an attachment.
  • Gives you analytics like open, click, and reply rates.
  • Allows push or email notifications.
  • Provides extra tools like automated follow-up and mass sending.
  • Integrates fluidly with your email provider.

Which Is the Best Email Tracking Extension

After examining and evaluating the various alternative options, we decided that Mailmeteor is the best email tracker. While the free version doesn’t allow real-time tracking, the paid subscriptions all do, and it offers good value for money. Overall, Mailmeteor checks all the boxes.

Right Inbox is a close second, but though its free version allows email tracking, it’s only for five emails per month, which is too little, in our opinion. The SalesHandy competitor with the best email tracking tools is Hubspot, but this software is also not the most user-friendly and doesn’t integrate fully with your mail provider.

Below, we look at which competitor is best for which situation:

  • Mailmeteor – Best Overall Choice
  • Right Inbox – Best Value for Money
  • Gmelius – Best for Teams
  • Hubspot – Best for Email Tracking
  • Mailshake – Best for Lead Generation

Email Tracker Logo Another Useful Email Tracking Option to Consider

If you want to check out mail tracking software, but don’t want to commit fully or require a more user-friendly solution, then PandaDoc’s Free Email Tracker for Gmail is an excellent option. It’s a free extension you can download from the Chrome Web Store, and it completely integrates with your Gmail inbox.

This software is highly user-friendly as you sign in with your PandaDoc account, link it to your Gmail inbox, and enjoy the email tracker. It’ll show two tick marks next to the subject line, which turns green as the recipient receives and opens the message.

Email Tracking Example

You can also turn it off for specific emails and see the timestamp of when your email was opened and how many times the recipient viewed it.

While this software doesn’t necessarily compete with the other alternative options, it provides a more straightforward solution. It’s perfect for someone who wants their email tracker working within a few minutes.

Final Thoughts

An email tracker extension is crucial for any business trying to improve its marketing strategy. SalesHandy is an excellent option, but it’s not the only one, as plenty of competitor choices are available. We looked at various of these to identify the ones which work the best for your purposes. However, the Free Email Tracker for Gmail is an ideal option if you require something free with no strings attached and simple to use. It’s easy to install and is an excellent way to test if tracking emails benefit you. Check out the Free Email Tracker for Gmail to start tracking emails within your inbox without hassle or fuss.

FAQs

  • Yes, some mail providers like Gmail offer built-in trackers, but these generally have limitations. Take Gmail’s Read Receipt feature. Turning this one will send a notification to the recipient of the email that says you’re requesting to receive a read receipt. However, they can answer “no,” which means you won’t receive that receipt.

  • Various of the mentioned software give you excellent CRM tools along with the tracker. However, we would say that Lemlist and Streak are two at the top of the list when it comes to native and integrated CRM offers. Streak offers its own CRM, which gives various features like sales, business development, and more. Lemlist supports full integration with CRM tools, making it an alternative to use.

  • Yes, most of these competitor options will have a deactivate button, so you can choose to track your messages. Some, like Gmass and the Free Email Tracker for Gmail, will have an icon in your compose message screen which allows you to turn off the tracking for that specific email.