Consul vs Superhuman: AI Email Execution vs Email Speed

Quick Comparison

What Superhuman Does Well

Superhuman is a premium email client designed for speed. Everything about it optimizes time-per-email: keyboard navigation, split inbox, instant search, and clean design.

Superhuman's Core Strengths

Speed Optimization: Superhuman is built for keyboard-driven email processing. 100+ shortcuts let you navigate, archive, reply, and manage email without touching your mouse. For high-volume email users, this adds up to significant time savings.

Split Inbox: Emails are automatically categorized (Important, Other, Notifications) so you see what matters first. Combined with keyboard navigation, you can process batches rapidly.

AI Auto-Drafts: Superhuman's October 2025 update added auto-drafts—AI automatically writes follow-up emails in your voice without prompting. Drafts appear ready to edit and send.

Auto-Labels: Incoming emails are classified (response needed, waiting on, meetings, marketing, cold pitches) automatically.

Auto-Archive: Marketing and cold emails are archived automatically. Users report hundreds of emails cleared daily.

AI Search: Ask questions about your inbox in natural language and get answers with source emails referenced.

Voice Learning: Superhuman learns your writing style from previous emails and can rewrite content in your voice.

Who Superhuman Works Best For

Superhuman excels for professionals who:

• Process hundreds of emails daily
• Value keyboard-driven workflow
• Want to minimize time per email
• Are comfortable with autonomous AI features
• Prioritize reading speed over delegation

Where Superhuman Falls Short

Superhuman is optimized for processing email fast. It's less helpful for executing on email—the coordination work that generates and closes conversations.

No Scheduling Execution

When someone emails "Can we find time next week?", Superhuman doesn't help with the response. You still need to:

1. Check your calendar
2. Identify available times
3. Draft a response with options
4. Handle their reply
5. Go back-and-forth on alternatives
6. Create the calendar event
7. Send confirmation

Superhuman offers booking links, but the actual scheduling conversation—the 5-7 emails to book one meeting—remains your work.

No Follow-Up Execution

Superhuman tracks threads awaiting response. It will show you "waiting for reply" status. But when follow-up is needed:

1. You notice the reminder
2. You decide timing is right
3. You write the follow-up
4. You send it

Tracking without execution means you still do the work.

Fully Autonomous AI

Superhuman's auto-drafts appear without approval. The AI decides what to draft and does it. This is efficient when it works, but:

• No opportunity to review before draft exists
• Mistakes might not be caught until almost sent
• Less control over what AI prioritizes

No Calendar Integration for Scheduling

Superhuman syncs with your calendar for context, but doesn't execute scheduling. No checking availability, drafting time slots, handling back-and-forth, or booking meetings automatically.

Premium Price for Speed

At $30-40/month, Superhuman costs more than most email clients. You're paying for speed optimizations (keyboard shortcuts, split inbox, search)—not for delegation of work.

Acquisition Uncertainty

In July 2025, Grammarly announced acquisition of Superhuman for ~$825 million. While Superhuman continues operating independently, product direction may shift.

How Consul Is Different

Consul focuses on execution—doing email work for you, not just helping you do it faster.

Email Execution, Not Just Speed

When email arrives, Consul:

1. Triages immediately with priority labels
2. Drafts a reply in your voice (if one is needed)
3. Identifies scheduling requests and prepares responses
4. Waits for your approval before any external action

You're not processing email faster—you're reviewing AI's work and approving. The actual drafting is done.

Full Scheduling Execution

When someone asks to meet:

1. Consul recognizes the request
2. Checks your real calendar and preferences
3. Drafts a response with available times
4. Waits for your approval
5. Sends when you confirm
6. Handles counter-proposals automatically
7. Books meeting when times align
8. Sends confirmation to all parties

The entire scheduling coordination—typically 5-7 emails—becomes 2-3 quick approvals.

Follow-Up Tracking AND Execution

Consul tracks threads awaiting response and:

1. Identifies appropriate follow-up timing
2. Drafts the follow-up message
3. Waits for your approval
4. Sends when you confirm

Not just reminders—actual follow-up emails drafted and sent.

Human-in-the-Loop Safety

Every external action requires approval. You see exactly what will send before it sends. Edit anything. Reject anything.

Superhuman's autonomous approach means drafts appear without your involvement. Consul's human-in-the-loop approach means nothing external happens without explicit confirmation.

Multi-Tool Integration

Consul works across Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Contacts, and Slack. Daily briefings synthesize what matters across your workspace, not just email.

Superhuman is email-only.

Use Cases: Who Should Choose What

Choose Superhuman If You:

• Process hundreds of emails daily
• Value keyboard-driven, mouse-free workflow
• Primarily need to read email faster
• Want autonomous AI that acts without asking
• Don't have heavy scheduling coordination needs
• Prefer email client replacement over assistant addition

Typical Superhuman user: VC partner who processes 300+ emails daily and needs to get through inbox as fast as possible. Speed is the bottleneck.

Choose Consul If You:

• Spend significant time writing email responses
• Have scheduling requests requiring coordination
• Need follow-ups tracked and executed (not just tracked)
• Want replies drafted in your personal voice
• Require approval before any external action
• Have relationship-focused work (clients, investors, partners)

Typical Consul user: Consultant or founder who spends 2+ hours on email coordination daily and needs that work delegated safely.

Use Both If You:

Some professionals use both:

• Superhuman for fast reading and processing
• Consul for execution on important emails (scheduling, follow-ups)

They solve different problems. If both apply, both help.

Pricing Comparison

Superhuman is cheaper but offers different value. You're paying for speed; Consul delivers delegation. The relevant comparison is time saved × your hourly rate.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Email Reading Speed

Superhuman: Optimized for speed. Keyboard shortcuts, split inbox, instant search. Designed to minimize seconds per email.

Consul: Standard email interface. Not optimized for reading speed—optimized for delegation.

Winner: Superhuman if speed is priority.

Email Drafting

Superhuman: Auto-drafts appear autonomously. AI writes follow-ups in your voice. You edit and send.

Consul: Auto-drafts appear for approval. AI writes in your voice based on past email analysis. You approve before anything sends.

Winner: Different approaches. Superhuman is faster (no approval). Consul is safer (approval required).

Scheduling

Superhuman: No execution. Offers booking links you can share. Actual scheduling conversation is manual.

Consul: Full execution. Detects requests, checks calendar, drafts responses, handles back-and-forth, books meetings, sends confirmation. Dedicated scheduling inbox for full delegation.

Winner: Consul, entirely.

Follow-Ups

Superhuman: Tracks threads marked "waiting for reply." No drafting, no sending.

Consul: Tracks threads, identifies timing, drafts follow-up, sends with approval.

Winner: Consul for execution. Superhuman for passive tracking.

Voice Matching

Superhuman: Learns style from your emails. Can rewrite in your voice.

Consul: Analyzes sent emails to learn your voice. All drafts written in your style.

Winner: Similar capability. Both learn from past emails.

AI Autonomy

Superhuman: Autonomous. Auto-drafts appear without prompting. Auto-labels, auto-archive happen automatically.

Consul: Human-in-the-loop. Every external action requires approval.

Winner: Depends on preference. Speed vs. control.

Calendar Integration

Superhuman: Basic. Shows calendar context. No scheduling execution.

Consul: Deep. Checks availability, considers preferences, books meetings, sends confirmations.

Winner: Consul for scheduling. Superhuman for context.

Multi-Tool Integration

Superhuman: Email only.

Consul: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Contacts, Slack.

Winner: Consul for workspace breadth.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Superhuman: 100+ optimized shortcuts. Core to the experience.

Consul: Standard shortcuts. Not the focus.

Winner: Superhuman if keyboard-driven workflow matters.

Daily Briefing

Superhuman: No.

Consul: Yes. Morning summary covering email, calendar, and Slack via email and iMessage.

Winner: Consul.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Consul better than Superhuman?

Different tools for different problems. Superhuman is better for processing email fast (reading, navigating, keyboard workflow). Consul is better for email execution (drafting, scheduling, follow-ups). If your bottleneck is reading speed, Superhuman helps. If your bottleneck is coordination work, Consul helps.

Does Superhuman handle scheduling?

Minimally. Superhuman offers booking links you can share, but doesn't handle the email conversation that leads to a meeting. You still read requests, check your calendar, draft responses, and manage back-and-forth. Consul handles all of that.

Does Consul have keyboard shortcuts like Superhuman?

Consul has standard Gmail keyboard shortcuts but isn't optimized for speed the way Superhuman is. If 100+ keyboard shortcuts and mouse-free workflow are priorities, Superhuman is designed for that.

Can I use Consul and Superhuman together?

Yes. Use Superhuman as your email client for fast reading and processing. Use Consul for execution on emails that need scheduling, follow-up, or careful response. They don't conflict.

Is Superhuman's AI safe?

Superhuman's AI is autonomous—auto-drafts appear without approval, auto-labels and auto-archive happen automatically. For most routine email, this is efficient. For high-stakes communication, the lack of approval step means you must catch mistakes before sending.

Is Consul's approval step slow?

Approval takes 2-5 seconds. You're reviewing a completed draft, not writing from scratch. The time savings from not drafting, not scheduling, not managing follow-ups far exceed the approval overhead.

The Bottom Line

Superhuman is a premium email client built for speed. Keyboard shortcuts, split inbox, auto-drafts, and instant search help you process email faster. You're still doing the work—just more efficiently.

Consul is an AI assistant that handles email execution. Drafts replies in your voice, manages scheduling conversations, tracks and sends follow-ups—with your approval before anything external happens.

If your problem is "email takes too long to read and navigate," Superhuman solves that.

If your problem is "email coordination (drafting, scheduling, following up) consumes hours," Consul solves that.

Many professionals have both problems. The tools complement each other.

---

Try Consul

Ready to delegate email execution, not just speed it up?

Create your assistant in minutes. No demos, no sales calls. Connect your Gmail, and Consul immediately starts triaging your inbox and drafting replies in your voice.

CC your Consul on scheduling emails to delegate coordination entirely. Review and approve everything before it sends.

See what email delegation feels like—with full control.