👋 Hello again, Product Hunters!
We originally built Shift to help you manage multiple Gmail accounts, end the logging-in-logging-out, multiple tab nightmare, and generally just get sh*t done.
Now, we've taken things to the next level, and Shift 2.0 might just be the end to all of your productivity woes.
We're now offering 3 plans: Basic, Pro, and Advanced to accommodate all of the requests we’ve received since our original launch.
With the newest Shift 2.0 Advanced plan, we’ve added:
- Unified Search - search across all of your Google accounts, or as I call it, the “receipt finder.”
- Extension Support - right now, we’ve added Boomerang and Grammarly. More coming soon!
- Apps - access to all of the most popular productivity apps (Slack, Trello, Asana, Invision, Jira…+20 others)
- Google Services - before we had Mail, Calendar, and Drive… now we have more!
Shift Pro has not been forgotten! It's faster than ever, and we’ve added access to Google Services and Notification Muting to the existing plan 🎉
If you’re just thinking about testing us out, Shift Basic is FREE, no strings attached 😇
Can’t wait to hear what you all think!
Tobyn
Pssst 👀 ...coupon codes are coming in the comments soon, but act fast as they are limited! Also, make sure to check out our referral program (refer 5 friends, and get Shift Advanced for free!).
@adithya Great question! Shift is different in that it really zeroes in on email being at the center of the typical user’s workflow, and 2.0 honors that, while offering support for all of the tools our users asked for. To add support for Chrome Extensions, we worked closely with the team at Brave for several months, and we're committed to building a sustainable business model that will make Shift a staple for many years to come.
@tobyns quick note here, we are seeing lots of our Pro users upgrade to Advanced today. Just for clarity, you will be charged a pro rated fee for the remainder of your current subscription, in the case you're wondering why it's less than the discounted annual price. Thanks again for all your support!
Contacted sales about testing the unified search, since it sounds like a useful feature. However, in reality, its utility is dependent on implementation and performance.
Was told by sales to go ahead and pay for a subscription, since they're confident I'll like it, and if not, contact them back and they'll "see what they can do." (No assurance of a refund) In fact, I can't seem to find their refund policy anywhere.
Expecting customers to throw money at you just to see whether your software fits their needs seems like a bold policy.
Pros:
Integrated workflow. Well designed.
Cons:
Goodness, that price. No demo. Can't test any new features, including unified search, without plunking down the money.
Hi E.T.Cook. - appreciate you taking the time to review, and glad you like the overall design. Would you mind emailing us directly and mention this post? We'll make sure you're taken care of!
Guys the price isnt worth it,,, and also the way they are asking money is a shitty way... first they asked 100 then 10% off, then when i closed the app they went to 50% off... no demo, cant add more apps without upgrade. well cant also uninstall the version 3.... Im using now Station which the same thing and allows you to manage and add your own apps, with just a link and a logo. added my crm.
This reminded me of Franz, which is similar and free and which I'm using every day. I like Shift’s UI better, and apparently it supports Chrome Extensions, which is a plus. As a software engineer myself I support paying for good software, but $99 _per_year_ for what’s essentially a browser is just "interesting".
TIL that for desktop and e-mail apps, stickyness & retention is hard. Make me keep and use your product so long that using it becomes a habit and part of my routine, and I will miss it when it’s gone. With its very limited trial version, Shift 2 will be gone long before it had a chance to become a part of my work day.
Pros:
Nice, polished interface
Cons:
Wants to read my email(!), very limited trial, price doesn't match value
Hi Andreas, glad you like the UI so much! We request permissions using OAuth in order to enable unread counts and notification (not read your email!). Privacy and security are #1 around here.
As a software engineer, you might be interested in seeing all of the work we put into adding the support for Chrome Extensions as it was quite a huge feat. We are one of the first commercial Muon apps to do so.
Thanks again for your review!
yes, that was my first reaction, it is like a paid form of Franz. I wonder if I should pay to get a nice version of franz. There's no trial period or test to see if the other channels work well, eg whatsapp slack or skype. If I can try, that will be best.
I do like the new Shift, being a Pro user for a while, even when i use Station mostly now, since it has more apps, and extensions. But now with the addition of Trello, and Boomerang, i'm sold. Especially since it is pretty fast compared to Station. Just upgraded to Advanced. Still not convinced about the price, but thanks for the coupon. Keep up the good work, and i do hope to see more integrations and Chrome extensions in the future.
I don't mind paying a yearly fee for multiple accounts and extra features, but to charge an additional $30 freaking dollars just to get new features activated is crap! Raise your monthly fee slightly, don't punish your loyal users. I'll be moving on to another app at this point which is really sad.
Pros:
Great App, Beautiful, Easy to Use, Constantly Updated
Hi Wiliam, appreciate your feedback! Just a note that we are honoring the existing Pro pricing for any of our founding members. For any upgrades from Pro, we are prorating based on previous subscriptions, and hope that people will continue to take advantage of our coupon codes to enjoy Advanced at a discounted price. Our referral bonus is pretty sweet too!
I've been a big fan of Shift but seeing that you need to pay $100 a year to try out the new things is just a huge bummer. To put that in perspective, that $8.33 / month all up front.
Pros:
Easy access to common browser tabs w/ notifications
Hey Steven, thanks for the review. For all of the basic features you mentioned, we do have our free plan. For the bells and whistles in Advanced, you should try our referral program (I have a feeling you could get free Shift pretty quick!).
Thanks for your support, Greg! Shoutout to our design team for the beautiful interface. Make sure to take advantage of a coupon code today if you do want to upgrade to Advanced, or check out our referral program and get it for free 👌
Hey @chrismessina! Shift is a cleaner alternative, with Mail, Calendar & Drive + other Google apps, extensions, popular web apps, and cross-account Unified Search (that's a big one!). We've eliminated the need to open up a browser/multiple tabs to access your email at all.
@timshnaider I didn't upvote it so either I didn't see it (unlikely), or yes, had the same question. Honestly, the Chrome Profiles design is pretty limited so I can see the appeal in apps like this — I just wanted to understand if there was something else to consider, and it sounds like there's some commingling of data from the different profiles, which, for some people, is probably very useful.
Remember there are other, similar products out there which a much more friendly pricing plan. I really like Shift, but I'm switching to WaveBox now, which is as feature rich as Shift Advanced, but costs a lot less than Pro. Too bad.
Pros:
I really like this product, it's easy to set up and use. Finally a consolidated overview of my various GSuite accounts.
Cons:
The recent Pro price bump (50%!) is ridiculous. And then there's the Advanced plan. Paying $99/year for this is crazy, despite its features.
Hi Roy, thanks for the review. Awesome to hear that you've found Shift so useful!
For our Pro users, we have added 2 major new features - Google Services (Contacts, Keep, Hangouts, Analytics, Photos, Slides etc.) as well as custom Notification Muting (syncs with your Calendar, if you like). Our Advanced plan is definitely a whole other tier, with Unified Search, Chrome Extension support, and web apps being significant 2.0 additions.
We're offering some pretty sweet coupon codes below, and as an existing user, you won't have to worry about the price change for Pro at all. Hope that helps!
@dalrayes Hi Dalal, I know... we wanted to include it in Pro, however, it was a HUGE body or work with committed maintenance schedule to move our entire app from Electron to Muon (same framework as Brave) to support extensions. We couldn't see any other way to warrant the effort / cost, but also considered not doing it because of this... so in the end I'm glad we are able to deliver a new product that solves this big challenge of Chrome Extensions inside Shift. Further, we tried to provide deep discounting for our existing Pro users upgrading to Advanced.
@crowx Hey Edward! We focus on messaging as the main component of a user's day, while still providing the additional tools they need. We want Shift to help declutter the workspace, so we've managed to keep our UI really clean, while still offering support for extensions, apps, Google services.
Some major perks we offer:
- Unified Search, which makes the effort of finding an email, meeting, or file across all your accounts easy, from one simple input box
- We automatically add all of the additional Google services tied to a user's email account, without them having to lift a finger.
- We have added Extensions specific to the email experience to enhance the messaging flow.
First thing I though when seeing the pricing: You've got to be kidding. The pain points being solved by Shift aren't significant enough, for me, to justify that kind of cash. I can stay in the browser, for free, with access to all extensions and the price of a cluttered tab bar. Or, I can use Station, for free with more functionality. There are so many options out there, it will be difficult to make a case for Shift. I understand the need to create an income, but the market seems so busy, perhaps there isn't a way to monetize.
@andreasduess Hi Andreas, I can totally understand where you are coming from. Shift is a premium product that makes working on the web (with email at its core) more efficient and more productive. It's mostly tuned for those with multiple email accounts or multiple accounts on the same service so allows for quickly shifting between projects/companies/products. Free products aren't sustainable, so they need business models. There are a couple other ways to build a business model in a product like Shift but we felt that charging was the most straightforward and transparent way to build a sustainable business.
@tobyns Totally support the "a business needs income" thinking. I had one of the most humbling moments of my life many years ago when the accountant looking after my first start-up called me in and said: "Andreas, you haven't got a business. You've got a hobby." I've never forgotten that. Having said that, and without trying to be a negative Norman, I can't understand how Shift makes work more productive to the tune of $100/year. Apart from browser clutter reduction (yay) and unified search, I don't see what benefits are being offered. If anything, it feels like products in this market are constantly trying to catch up with Chrome's core functionality.
@andreasduess I had the same thought. I’ve been a Pro user for almost a year. I’ve found it super useful. But the price hike and the third tier makes it less appealing, especially with Station offering a similar experience for free (with more services but also more bugs/kinks). I appreciate the need to have revenue but here I feel it’s priced slightly too high. And too many paying tiers.
Shift is quite possibly one of my most useful apps, I've ever discovered.
If you guys are raising capital, let me know!
Ross Blankenship
CEO | AngelKings.com
I love using this email client over opening tabs in Chrome. I'm sure the work that went into this was passed down to the consumer but it's a bit much as the extra features for the new plan is way off base.
Pros:
Great for checking multiple email accounts in one organized place.
Thanks for being a founding member, Nikolay! We have added a few new features to Pro, and we're pretty excited about how fast the latest release is as well. We hope you'll consider Advanced as it's working seamlessly and we've worked hard to stay true to the UI that our original users (you!) love. ✌️
Replies
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Contacted sales about testing the unified search, since it sounds like a useful feature. However, in reality, its utility is dependent on implementation and performance.
Was told by sales to go ahead and pay for a subscription, since they're confident I'll like it, and if not, contact them back and they'll "see what they can do." (No assurance of a refund) In fact, I can't seem to find their refund policy anywhere.
Expecting customers to throw money at you just to see whether your software fits their needs seems like a bold policy.
Pros:Integrated workflow. Well designed.
Cons:Goodness, that price. No demo. Can't test any new features, including unified search, without plunking down the money.
Assembly
mySugr Diabetes Academy
This reminded me of Franz, which is similar and free and which I'm using every day. I like Shift’s UI better, and apparently it supports Chrome Extensions, which is a plus. As a software engineer myself I support paying for good software, but $99 _per_year_ for what’s essentially a browser is just "interesting".
TIL that for desktop and e-mail apps, stickyness & retention is hard. Make me keep and use your product so long that using it becomes a habit and part of my routine, and I will miss it when it’s gone. With its very limited trial version, Shift 2 will be gone long before it had a chance to become a part of my work day.
Pros:Nice, polished interface
Cons:Wants to read my email(!), very limited trial, price doesn't match value
Assembly
Assembly
I don't mind paying a yearly fee for multiple accounts and extra features, but to charge an additional $30 freaking dollars just to get new features activated is crap! Raise your monthly fee slightly, don't punish your loyal users. I'll be moving on to another app at this point which is really sad.
Pros:Great App, Beautiful, Easy to Use, Constantly Updated
Cons:Pricing Model Sucks!
Assembly
I've been a big fan of Shift but seeing that you need to pay $100 a year to try out the new things is just a huge bummer. To put that in perspective, that $8.33 / month all up front.
Pros:Easy access to common browser tabs w/ notifications
Cons:Pricing
Free Illustrations Club
I've been using this Shift for a couple of months now and I'm still a fan of this tool but I'm not very happy with the current price ;)
Pros:Nice interface and good idea if you need to manage with multiple accounts
Cons:Price is now maybe a little bit too high
Assembly
Assembly
AI Social Post Generator by SocialBee
Assembly
I've been using Shift for quite some time now, and the new features in 2.0 make it a one-stop shop for integrating your essential tools.
Pros:Integration of apps and extensions make Shift much more than an email tool
Cons:I plead the 5th
Remember there are other, similar products out there which a much more friendly pricing plan. I really like Shift, but I'm switching to WaveBox now, which is as feature rich as Shift Advanced, but costs a lot less than Pro. Too bad.
Pros:I really like this product, it's easy to set up and use. Finally a consolidated overview of my various GSuite accounts.
Cons:The recent Pro price bump (50%!) is ridiculous. And then there's the Advanced plan. Paying $99/year for this is crazy, despite its features.
Assembly
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Shuuka
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Pros:Works on all platforms
Cons:Price for premium
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CocoaMail
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If we increased costs of software and other goods and services, we could pay it to women, and help decrease the wage gap!
Pros:Great UI/UX, speedy, sleek, new hibernate mode should decrease battery-usage.
Cons:Not expensive enough. I've got money to burn, baby!
Assembly
I love using this email client over opening tabs in Chrome. I'm sure the work that went into this was passed down to the consumer but it's a bit much as the extra features for the new plan is way off base.
Pros:Great for checking multiple email accounts in one organized place.
Cons:Pricing model needs work.
As for advanced mode, you can't even try it before buy.
Pros:I am one of early Shift adopters and always liked their approach to GUI of an email client with multiple accounts.
Cons:Their pricing model always was a bit weird for an email client, but now it is more expensive than some professional software.
Assembly