Apple Mail for Gmail, or a Mac app built on the Gmail API
Apple Mail comes with the Mac and reads Gmail the way most mail apps do, over IMAP, alongside your other accounts. Hark Mail is a native Mac app that does only Gmail, through Google’s own Gmail API, and puts Google Calendar and Google Tasks in the same window. Both are native Mac apps; the difference is how they talk to Gmail and what sits beside your inbox.
Side by side
Including the rows where Hark Mail is behind. Apple Mail facts are from Apple’s own user guides and website, and Google’s Gmail help, as of October 2026.
| Feature | Hark Mail | Apple Mail |
|---|---|---|
| How it reads Gmail | Google’s Gmail API | IMAP — Google’s Gmail help lists Apple Mail among IMAP clients |
| Native Mac interface | Yes | Yes |
| Mail accounts it works with | Gmail and Google Workspace accounts only | iCloud, Gmail, Exchange, school, work and other accounts |
| Multiple accounts | One Gmail account per Mac during the beta; the unified inbox is built and switched off | Yes — all your accounts in one app |
| Google Calendar | Yes — a week view you can edit, in the same window | In Apple’s separate Calendar app, which can add a Google account |
| Google Tasks | Yes | Not listed among its features |
| Keyboard shortcuts | A few today — j, k, the arrow keys and Esc; more coming in updates | Yes — a full list in Apple’s Mail guide |
| Platforms | Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later); Windows next | Mac, iPhone and iPad |
| Price | Free during the beta; after it, 30 days free, then $5.99/month | Comes with the Mac, already installed |
IMAP is the standard way mail apps fetch mail from any provider; Google says that when you add Gmail to a client such as Apple Mail, your messages and labels are synced with it. The Gmail API is Google’s own interface to Gmail, so an app built on it works with Gmail’s labels, threads and search as Gmail defines them.
Who should stay on Apple Mail
- You have mail outside Google. Apple Mail keeps iCloud, Exchange and other accounts together with Gmail; Hark Mail is Gmail and Google Workspace only.
- You use several accounts every day. Apple Mail shows all of them; Hark Mail connects one account per Mac during the beta.
- You run your mail from the keyboard. Apple Mail has a full set of shortcuts; Hark Mail’s set is small for now.
- You do not want to pay for a mail app. Apple Mail comes with the Mac. Hark Mail is free during the beta, then $5.99 a month after a 30-day trial.
- Your Mac has an Intel chip or runs macOS 13 or earlier. Hark Mail needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.
Who Hark Mail is for
- You want an app built on Gmail’s own API. Hark Mail is built on the Gmail API, so your labels, filters and categories are Gmail’s own, read and changed through Google.
- You want mail and calendar in one native window. Inbox, a full Google Calendar week view you can edit, and Google Tasks, without a second app or a browser tab.
- You live in one Gmail or Workspace account. That is what the beta supports, and it is where Hark Mail is complete today.
- You want your data to stay between your Mac and Google. Hark Mail has no server for your mail; it talks to Google directly from your Mac.
Questions
Is Hark Mail made by Apple?
No. Hark Mail is an independent app made by Souplin Labs LLC. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.
Can I use Apple Mail and Hark Mail at the same time?
Yes. Both read the same Gmail account from Google, so a message you archive or label in one shows that way in the other.
Does Hark Mail replace Apple Calendar?
For Google Calendar, it can: Hark Mail has a week view you can edit, in the same window as your mail. It shows your Google Calendar, so calendars kept in iCloud stay in Apple’s Calendar app.
How much does Hark Mail cost?
Hark Mail is free during the beta. After the beta it is free for 30 days, then $5.99 a month for the whole app — mail, calendar and tasks.
Apple, Mac and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Hark Mail is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple. Comparison based on publicly available information as of October 2026.
Hark is in a free public beta.
macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon.
See the app — the window on the home page is the real interface, and you can change its accent and theme from the page.