HelloBoxHelloBox vs Resend Inboxes: which one fits?
Updated
Short answer
If you only send with Resend and want everything in one place, Resend Inboxes is the simpler choice: it's built into Resend, every plan includes 3 inboxes, more cost $1 per inbox a month on paid plans, and it's API-first with an MCP server and a built-in agent. HelloBox fits when you send with Amazon SES, Postmark or Mailgun, or several providers, want campaigns in the same app as the inbox, or want a flat price per team rather than per inbox. Resend facts were checked against Resend's public pages on November 12, 2026.
What Resend Inboxes is
Resend announced Inboxes on October 22, 2026. An inbox sends and receives at an address on one of your domains, like support@, and can be shared with your team. Conversations are threaded, with labels, drafts, assignment, notes and search, and the same inbox can be worked by people and agents side by side.
It needs a domain verified in Resend with receiving turned on. It's available in Resend's dashboard, API, CLI and remote MCP server, and it has its own webhooks, such as inbox.email.received. (Resend docs: Inboxes)
When Resend Inboxes is the better choice
- You only send with Resend and want your sending, receiving, inboxes, contacts and Broadcasts in one account and one bill.
- You're building on the API. Inboxes is API-first, with inbox webhooks and a CLI, so your own code can create inboxes and react to mail.
- You want a built-in agent. Resend's agent can draft replies, forward, label, assign, mark spam, archive and delete, and you choose which of those it may do.
- You need a few inboxes for free. Every Resend plan, Free included, comes with 3 inboxes.
When HelloBox fits better
- You send with Amazon SES, Postmark or Mailgun, or more than one provider. HelloBox connects all four, Resend included, and shows every domain in one inbox. If you change provider later, the inbox stays the same.
- You want campaigns next to the inbox. HelloBox sends campaigns to your contacts through your own provider: Resend Broadcasts on Resend, and one email per contact on SES. Campaigns on Postmark and Mailgun are coming.
- You'd rather pay per team than per inbox. HelloBox doesn't limit mailboxes. Plans limit people, domains, storage and contacts, never how much you send.
- You want agents to work as you, with limits. HelloBox's MCP server gives each agent connection read, write or send access, never more than you have, with sends marked and logged. The built-in assistant uses your own AI key and only writes drafts.
Side by side
| Resend Inboxes | HelloBox | |
|---|---|---|
| Providers | Domains verified in Resend, with receiving on | Amazon SES, Resend, Postmark and Mailgun |
| Price | 3 inboxes on every plan; more at $1 per inbox a month on paid plans (Free stops at 3) | Free for 1 person and 2 domains; Starter $8/mo for 3 people, Team $20/mo for 10, Business $60/mo for 50 |
| Email volume | Inbox email counts toward the plan's transactional quota | Billed by your provider at its own prices |
| Team features | Shared inboxes, assignment, notes | Shared and personal mailboxes, assignment, notes, rules, snooze |
| Campaigns | Broadcasts, a separate Resend feature | Campaigns in the same app, through your provider (Resend and SES today) |
| Agents | Built-in agent; your own agents over API, MCP or skills | MCP server with read, write or send access; assistant that only drafts |
| Built for | Developers on Resend, API-first | Teams answering mail on the domains they send from |
Resend's prices and quotas come from its pricing page as of November 12, 2026: the Free plan includes 3,000 emails a month, at most 100 a day, and every email sent or received through an inbox counts toward the transactional quota. Check the page for current numbers.
Agents on each side
Resend calls Inboxes "the inbox for agents". Its remote MCP server can create, list, update and remove inboxes, and the announcement names Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Grok and Gemini as agents you can connect through MCP or skills.
HelloBox's MCP server works on conversations: search and read, label, archive, assign and snooze, write drafts, manage contacts and templates, and send only on connections you gave send access. See giving an AI agent access to your email.
Sources
Every fact about Resend on this page comes from these public pages, read on November 12, 2026. HelloBox isn't affiliated with Resend.
- Announcing Inboxes, Resend blog
- Inboxes introduction, Resend docs
- Inboxes product page
- Pricing
- MCP server, Resend docs
- Broadcasts, Resend docs
Frequently asked questions
- What is Resend Inboxes?
- A feature Resend launched on October 22, 2026: inboxes that send and receive at addresses on your Resend domains, shared with your team and usable by agents through the API and MCP.
- How much does Resend Inboxes cost?
- Per Resend's pricing page on November 12, 2026, every plan includes 3 inboxes, and paid plans can add more at $1 per inbox a month. Email sent or received through an inbox counts toward the plan's transactional quota.
- Does Resend Inboxes work with Amazon SES, Postmark or Mailgun?
- Resend's docs require a domain verified in Resend with receiving enabled. HelloBox works with Amazon SES, Resend, Postmark and Mailgun.
- Should I use Resend Inboxes or HelloBox?
- If you only use Resend and want everything in one place, use Resend Inboxes. If you send with SES, Postmark or Mailgun, use more than one provider, or want campaigns and a flat team price in one inbox app, HelloBox fits better.