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The best AI email assistant that never sends without your approval, if privacy matters to you, is Off Grid AI Desktop (OGAD) Pro. It reads Gmail, Outlook and your calendars with a model on your own computer, writes the draft you ask for, and sends only when you tell it to. Anything it suggests on its own waits for your yes. You pay for it once, and the same key also covers meetings, memory, dictation and sync.
We make Off Grid AI. Every rival fact below comes from its own pages, checked 14 November 2026.
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How we ranked
- Can it send on its own? Does mail go out only when you say so, by default?
- Where the AI reads your mail. On your computer, or on the vendor’s or an AI provider’s servers.
- Calendar help. Reading your schedule, offering times, adding events.
- Price for one person.
The ranking at a glance
| Sends on its own? | Where the AI reads your mail | Calendar | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Off Grid AI Pro | No. It sends when you ask; its own suggestions wait for your yes | Your computer, local model | Reads Google primary and Outlook calendars; adds Apple Calendar (Mac) or Outlook (Windows) events, and Google events through Web Use | $34.99, paid once, or $7.99 a month |
| 2. Superhuman Mail | “Never sent automatically” (Auto Drafts) | Cloud; Anthropic and OpenAI listed as subprocessors | Calendar and scheduling | Business $33 a member a month, yearly |
| 3. Jace | Not by default; auto-send is opt-in | Cloud | Calendars and scheduling | From $20 a month, yearly |
| 4. Fyxer | No for replies; meeting recaps can go out if you choose | Fyxer’s servers | Not listed in detail | Free plan; Pro $37 a month, yearly |
| 5. Lindy | Outside-impact actions wait for approval | Lindy’s cloud | Scheduling, prep, follow-up | Team from $29.99 a month |
| 6. Shortwave | Not stated for the assistant | Cloud; Claude models | Checks availability, sends invites | Business $30 a seat a month |
| 7. Gemini in Gmail | Not stated; inbox changes wait for your confirmation | Google’s cloud | Proposes times, adds events to primary calendar | Needs a Google AI or Workspace plan |
Rival facts from each product’s own pages, linked in each section. “Not stated” and “not listed” mean the product’s own pages don’t say. Off Grid AI Pro is paid once, with no subscription unless you pick monthly. Its $34.99 is a limited-time lifetime price, down from $119.
1. Off Grid AI Pro
What it is. OGAD is free and open source. Pro connects your Google account (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Contacts) and your Microsoft account (Outlook, Calendar, OneDrive). Those connections only read: Gmail search, Outlook search and read, and calendar lists. Sign-in and mail traffic go straight from your computer to Google or Microsoft, and a local model reads what comes back.
Drafts, sending and events. Ask in Chat for a draft and you get a draft in Chat. If you’d rather find it in Gmail, Web Use works in your own signed-in Gmail tab and writes the draft there, through the Off Grid AI extension in Chrome or Firefox or in OGAD’s own browser. Ask it to send and it sends, through Apple Mail on a Mac or Outlook on Windows, straight away because you asked. The same goes for events: Apple Calendar on a Mac, Outlook events and tasks on Windows, and Google Calendar through Web Use.
What waits for your yes. Anything Off Grid AI suggests on its own, such as a follow-up email after a call or a Linear issue, waits in Actions with the source it came from. A routine never changes anything without your approval. If the request comes from a paired browser, sending an email and creating or changing events wait for approval in OGAD. Web Use hands passwords, codes, CAPTCHAs and card numbers back to you in code, and it hands you steps you can’t undo.
Best for. Client, legal or personal mail you don’t want read by any AI company.
Price. $34.99 once for lifetime access, a limited-time price down from $119, or $7.99 a month. No account.
The catch. Chat runs what you ask for straight away, so ask for a draft when you want a draft. The connectors read Google’s primary calendar only, and on Linux there’s no mail or calendar tool. Reading mail needs the internet, and Google setup can ask you to create your own Google Cloud sign-in client. OGAD runs on Mac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux. See how to read Gmail and draft replies with local AI and how to find emails across Gmail and Outlook.
2. Superhuman Mail
What it is. A fast email client for Gmail and Outlook. On Business, Auto Drafts writes follow-ups and replies. Its help center says the drafts are “never sent automatically” and appear as normal drafts you review.
Best for. Busy inboxes where you want a ready draft in every thread.
Price. Starter $25 and Business $33 a member a month, billed yearly (plans). Auto Drafts is on Business.
The catch. Your mail goes through cloud AI. Its subprocessor list names Anthropic and OpenAI. See the Auto Drafts help page.
3. Jace
What it is. An AI inbox assistant with drafts ready when you open your inbox, and Flows that can create calendar events. Its home page says replies are saved as drafts by default.
Best for. People who want drafts waiting without changing email client.
Price. Plus $25 a month, or $20 a month billed yearly. Pro $50, or $40 yearly (pricing).
The catch. Automatic sending exists as an opt-in setting, so check it stays off. It runs on cloud infrastructure and doesn’t name its AI model.
4. Fyxer
What it is. An assistant that drafts replies in your inbox and writes follow-ups after meetings. Its FAQ says you decide what gets sent.
Best for. Solo operators who want meeting notes and email drafts in one tool.
Price. Free plan; Pro $37 a month billed yearly or $49 monthly (pricing).
The catch. The same page says you can choose whether meeting recaps go out to attendees, so one path can send. Your mail is processed on Fyxer’s systems (security), and calendar features are not described in detail.
5. Lindy
What it is. A cloud assistant for inbox, calendar and meetings. Its pricing page says anything with outside impact, such as sending an email, waits for approval.
Best for. Teams that want one shared assistant across many apps.
Price. Free plan with $50 in credits for 7 days; Team from $29.99 a month.
The catch. It runs “on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure” (security), and costs grow with credits. See Off Grid AI vs Lindy.
6. Shortwave
What it is. An AI email client for Gmail with instant replies, autocomplete and an assistant that checks availability and sends calendar invites. Its pricing page names Claude models.
Best for. Gmail power users who want strong AI search across years of mail.
Price. Business $30, Premier $45, Max $120 a seat a month.
The catch. Its assistant guide shows it sending calendar invites when asked, but doesn’t say whether it confirms first.
7. Gemini in Gmail
What it is. Google’s AI inside Gmail. It drafts and refines emails, proposes meeting times and adds events to your primary calendar (Google help).
Best for. People already paying Google for AI.
Price. Needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan. Price varies by country.
The catch. Your mail is read in Google’s cloud. The page says inbox changes wait until you confirm, but doesn’t say how sending works.
Which one should you pick
- You want no AI company reading your mail, and nothing sent unless you ask: Off Grid AI Pro.
- You want a draft already waiting in every thread before you ask: Superhuman Business or Jace. Off Grid AI writes a draft when you ask for one, in Chat or in Gmail through Web Use.
- You want meeting notes and email drafts in one cloud tool: Fyxer.
- Your team wants one shared assistant with approvals: Lindy.
- You want an assistant to book meetings for you: Off Grid AI books Apple Calendar or Outlook events from Chat and Google Calendar events through Web Use. Shortwave and Gemini in Gmail do it from inside Gmail, in the cloud.
For a wider look at assistants that brief you and prep meetings, see the best private AI chief of staff apps.
Everything in one app
Most apps on this page do one job. Off Grid AI does all of these, on your own computer and phone, in one app.
Free, on every device
- Local chat with open models, no account
- Answers from your files, with the source shown
- Images made on your own GPU
- Voice in and out
- A local API for your own tools
- iPhone and Android with on-device models
Pro, $34.99 once
- Memory of your screens, meetings, mail and docs
- Meetings recorded without a bot, summarised locally
- Dictation into any app on your computer
- Actions in Gmail, Linear, Jira and Notion, only with your yes
- God, a chief of staff that briefs you and preps your meetings
- Web Use and Computer Use for tasks in your own browser and apps
- Reflect: where your time went, by project and person
- Vault, Clipboard and Sync on up to 5 devices
They work together
- A call becomes a transcript. Its decisions become to-dos. The follow-up email waits in Actions for your yes.
- God's morning brief draws on all of it: yesterday's screens, today's meetings, what people owe you.
- Vault fills logins in the same browser where Web Use runs a task, so the agent signs in and your password never goes to a model.
That is a notetaker, a dictation app, a time tracker, a password manager, a clipboard manager and an AI assistant, for one price. Get Pro for $34.99 once
Is there an AI assistant that drafts my emails but never sends without my approval? Yes. Off Grid AI Pro drafts replies with a model on your own computer and sends only when you ask it to. Anything it suggests on its own, such as a follow-up email after a call, waits in Actions for your yes, and a routine never changes anything without approval. Superhuman says its Auto Drafts are never sent automatically. Jace saves drafts by default, and automatic sending is a separate opt-in setting.
Can Off Grid AI put the draft in my Gmail drafts folder? Yes, with Web Use. It works in your own signed-in Gmail tab, through the Off Grid AI extension in Chrome or Firefox or in Off Grid AI Desktop’s own browser, and writes the draft in Gmail itself. If you just ask in Chat, the draft appears in Chat.
Which AI email assistant keeps my mail off an AI company’s servers? Off Grid AI. It fetches your mail and events straight from Google or Microsoft, and a local model reads them on your computer. Superhuman, Shortwave, Jace, Fyxer, Lindy and Gemini in Gmail all process your mail on their own or their providers’ servers.
Does Off Grid AI need the internet to read my email? Yes. Gmail, Outlook and your calendars are online services, so reading them needs a connection. The model that reads and drafts runs on your computer, after a one-time model download.
Can Off Grid AI add events to my calendar? Yes. When you ask in Chat, it adds events to Apple Calendar on a Mac, and creates Outlook events and tasks on Windows. With Web Use it can add an event in your own signed-in Google Calendar tab. The Google and Microsoft connections themselves only read your calendars.
What do AI email assistants cost in 2026? On 14 November 2026, Off Grid AI Pro is $34.99 once or $7.99 a month. Superhuman Business is $33 a member a month billed yearly. Jace starts at $20 a month billed yearly. Shortwave Business is $30 a seat a month. Fyxer Pro is $37 a month billed yearly. Lindy Team starts at $29.99 a month.
What does an AI email assistant cost over three years? Superhuman Business at $33 a member a month billed yearly is $1,188 over three years. Fyxer Pro at $37 a month billed yearly is $1,332. Shortwave Business at $30 a seat a month is $1,080, Lindy Team from $29.99 a month is at least $1,079.64, and Jace Plus at $20 a month billed yearly is $720. Off Grid AI Pro is $34.99 once, and the same key covers meetings recorded without a bot, dictation into any app, Memory of your screens and docs, and Reflect.
Related guides
- How to read Gmail and draft replies with local AI on your Mac
- How to automate tasks in your signed-in browser with local AI
- Connector support in OGAD: approval-gated integrations
- Off Grid AI vs Lindy: an assistant that asks before it acts
Get Off Grid AI Pro and draft your next reply on your own computer.