You’re a 3–5 person startup. You’ve got support@, billing@, hello@—emails that need to be seen by everyone but shouldn’t be shared via one password. MessageBox is free for up to 5 people, one inbox. No credit card. No usage limits. Everyone sees the inbox, coordinates replies, and keeps emails organized. When you need more inboxes, Pro ($25/mo for 10 boxes) scales with you.
The problem
You Don't Have Money for Helpdesk Tools
Help Scout costs $22/user. Hiver costs $19/user. A 5-person team pays $100–110/month for email coordination. You need that money for engineering, marketing, or paying yourselves.
Shared Passwords Feel Wrong
You share one password for support@. It works, but it’s clunky. And it gets worse as people join, leave, or move to different roles.
You're Still Coordinating Manually
Without a shared inbox, you forward emails to each other. Threads split. Context vanishes. You end up in Slack saying “Who’s handling the billing@ issue?”
You Don't Need 100 Features
You’re not a giant company. You don’t need SLA tracking, custom fields, automation, or ticket templating. You just need: “Everyone sees the same emails and coordinates who replies.”
MessageBox solves this for free.
Why choose us
Free Forever for Your Size
Up to 5 people, one inbox. $0/month. No credit card. No trial ending. When you need more inboxes:
- Pro ($25/month): 10 boxes + unlimited team members
- Unlimited ($50/month): Unlimited everything
Real-Time Coordination
When Sarah's handling a customer issue, Tom sees it. Tom doesn't duplicate her work. You don't waste time on Slack asking "Is anyone on this?"
No Shared Passwords
Each person logs in as themselves. Security is better. If someone leaves, you remove them in one click. No password reset drama.
Quick Setup
Create a box. Connect Gmail with one-click OAuth. Invite your team. Done. 3 steps, 5 minutes total. No onboarding specialist required.
You Own Your Email
MessageBox doesn't lock you in. Your emails live in Gmail/IMAP. If you leave MessageBox, your email goes with you.
Real-world example
Early-Stage SaaS
You’re 4 people. Customer support emails land in support@. You take turns checking it. MessageBox lets all 4 see it in real time, assign tickets, and coordinate replies. You grow to 15 people and need support@, billing@, and hello@. Upgrade to Pro ($25/mo, 10 boxes). Simple.
Small Freelance Agency
You and your co-founder run an agency. Client emails hit hello@. You split who responds. MessageBox coordinates it without a shared password. When you hire a junior person, add them to the box (still free under 5 people).
Open Source Project
A dozen volunteers help maintain your open source project. They can’t all be active at once. Create a contact@ inbox in MessageBox for free. Everyone who can access it sees community questions and decides who replies.
Non-Profit or Side Project
Running a non-profit or side project on a volunteer budget. MessageBox is free. If you grow and need more inboxes, Pro ($25/mo) or Unlimited ($50/mo) scale affordably. Much better than email chaos or shared passwords.
Comparison
Tool | Free tier | Small team (5 people) cost/mo | Growing team (5 people, 3 inboxes) cost/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
MessageBox | Up to 5 people, 1 inbox | $0 (free forever) | $25/mo (Pro: 10 boxes) |
Help Scout | No free tier | $110 (5 × $22) | $330+ (5 × $22 × 3 inboxes) |
Hiver | Free (limited) | $95 (5 × $19) | $285+ (5 × $19 × 3 inboxes) |
Front | No free tier | $150+ | $450+ |
Gmail + Forwarding | Free | $0 + coordination pain | $0 + more coordination pain |
MessageBox wins: Completely free for small teams. When you grow, Pro ($25/mo) is 10–15x cheaper than alternatives.
Your small team starts free. What happens as you grow?
FREE_PLAN
1 box · up to 5 members
Perfect for one shared email address (support@ or hello@).
PRO_PLAN
10 boxes · unlimited members
When you need support@ AND billing@ AND hello@ and you’re growing, upgrade once.
UNLIMITED_PLAN
Unlimited boxes · unlimited members
For companies running 20+ shared inboxes across departments.
Why it scales: You grow from $0 → $25 → $50. Not $0 → $100+ → $500+ like other tools. MessageBox stays affordable at every stage.
Related features
Assignments
Assign tickets to the right person. Track ownership.
Collision Detection
See who’s replying to prevent duplicate support responses.
Security
Individual access, audit trail, GDPR-ready.
Shared Inbox
The foundation: everyone sees the same inbox.
All included. No upgrade required.
Getting Started (Free, Forever)
You’re done. Start sharing your inbox together. No credit card. No trial to cancel. Just free, effective coordination.
FAQ
Yes. Start free. Upgrade to Pro ($25/mo) when you need more inboxes. Then Unlimited ($50/mo) if you need unlimited everything.
Free tier supports up to 5 people. Pro ($25/mo, 10 boxes) supports unlimited team members.
No. Completely free. No credit card required. Upgrade to Pro or Unlimited only when you choose to.
Remove them from the inbox in one click. They lose access immediately. No password to reset.
Free plan: 1 inbox. Pro ($25/mo): 10 inboxes. Unlimited ($50/mo): unlimited inboxes. So if you have support@ and billing@, start with Pro.
Free: 1 inbox, up to 5 people. Pro ($25/mo): 10 inboxes, unlimited people. Unlimited ($50/mo): Unlimited everything. No hidden fees, pause or cancel anytime.
No credit card. No helpdesk cost. Just a shared inbox that actually works.
