Email protection under two dollars per month. Only a few options qualify.
Most inbox tools live in the $7–30 per month range. A smaller number are free, which usually means the product is you — the ads, the data, the training set. Somewhere in the middle is a narrow band: paid products that clear $2 a month.
Of the sub-$2 options, most are stripped-down newsletter sorters. Rythm is the only one we know of that’s both paid-but-under-two-dollars and actually changes how email reaches you. And because strangers pay a cover charge that goes to you, it’s the only one that can pay for itself.
Inbox protection that pays for itself.
The short list of sub-$2 options
| Rythm | Gmail native | SaneBox cheapest | Hey.com | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $1.65 | $0 (ads on free tier) | $3.49 — above the bar | $8.25 |
| What you actually get | Payment gate + auto guest list + cover-charge income | Built-in spam filter | One folder of AI sorting | Full email client |
| Pays for itself | At ~1.4 paid strangers/day | N/A | No | No |
| Ads or data sale | No ads, no data sale | Ads on free tier | No | No |
| Works with existing inbox | Yes — Gmail and Outlook | Built in | Yes | No — @hey.com required |
Why Rythm is worth considering
- Rythm is structurally lightweight. A fast, deterministic, in-memory check replaces AI inference, threat-intel feeds, and model training. Less compute, less infrastructure, less cost.
- No ads, no data sold to anyone, no "free tier" quietly monetizing you.
- $1.65 a month gets you the whole product. There is no upsell, no premium tier, no per-seat negotiation.
- Cancel anytime in one click. Your inbox goes back to exactly the way it was.
Frequently asked
Why is this cheaper than everything else?
Two reasons. First, three simple payment options, no tier ladder, so we are not pricing for upsells. Second, the cover charges strangers pay keep us roughly whole on infrastructure, so we are not relying on extracting a fortune from each user.
Is the free tier of Gmail or Outlook "good enough"?
Gmail and Outlook are good at bulk spam. They are not good at legitimate-looking cold outreach or AI-written phishing. That is a separate layer they do not provide. You can keep the free filter and add this on top.
Is the Lightning annual plan cheaper?
Yes. The annual Lightning plan is $1.79/month for 12 months ($21.48 once), plus we add a bonus 13th month at no extra cost. Over 13 months that works out to about $1.65/month. You can also pay monthly by card at $2.99/month or bi-annually at $1.99/month.
Are there any hidden fees?
No. The price you see on each tier is the whole subscription price. The cover charge that strangers pay goes to you, not to us.
What about an annual discount on other tools?
Annual plans on SaneBox, Hey, and Clean Email shave a bit off but still land well above two dollars a month. If the budget line is under $2, this is a small list.
Try Rythm. Your inbox, your rules.
$1.65 a month. Cancel anytime.
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