There are over 50 email tracking extensions in the Chrome Web Store. Most of them are mediocre. Some are outright suspicious. A few are genuinely good.

We installed six of the most popular free email trackers for Gmail, tested each one, and documented exactly what you get for free, what's locked behind a paywall, and which ones quietly stamp their logo onto your emails.

How We Tested These Tools

We installed each extension on a clean Chrome profile, connected it to a Gmail account, sent test emails, and documented the free tier experience. We checked:

• What features actually work on the free tier
• Whether the tool adds any signature or branding to outgoing emails
• Whether open and click notifications are real-time
• The upgrade pressure: how often you're nudged to pay
• Any noticeable impact on email deliverability

Free Email Tracker Comparison Table

Here's what each tool actually offers on its free tier. No marketing spin, just the facts we documented during testing.

Detailed Breakdown: 6 Gmail Email Trackers

TrackMailBox

We built this, so take our enthusiasm with appropriate skepticism.

TrackMailBox gives you unlimited email tracking, link click tracking, device and location analytics, and real-time notifications, all on the free tier, which is the only tier (there is no paid plan). There's no signature branding, no upgrade popups, and no daily limits.

Where it falls short: TrackMailBox is newer than established players like Mailtrack, which means a smaller user community and less third-party documentation. It's Gmail-only, so no Outlook or Yahoo support. There are no team features, no CRM capabilities, and no API. If you need pipeline management or Salesforce integration, this isn't it.

Best for: Individual professionals who want straightforward, unlimited tracking without paying or seeing someone else's branding on their emails: freelancers, job seekers, independent sales reps, and anyone who sends a lot of important one-to-one emails.

Mailtrack (Mailsuite)

The most popular email tracker for Gmail by a wide margin, with millions of users. Mailtrack recently rebranded to Mailsuite to expand beyond just tracking.

The core open tracking works well and has been reliable for years. The interface is polished, the notifications are fast, and the company has been around long enough that you know it'll be maintained and supported.

Where it falls short: The free tier appends a "Sent with Mailtrack" signature to every email you send. Link click tracking, daily reports, and campaign tracking require the Pro plan ($4.99/month). The upgrade popups can be persistent.

Here's the thing that nobody says: if the signature doesn't bother you, Mailtrack is actually a solid choice. The tracking is accurate, the UI is polished, and the product is battle-tested. Many people genuinely don't mind the signature, and for those users, it's a great free tool.

Best for: Users who prioritize reliability and a proven track record, and either don't mind the signature or are willing to pay ~$60/year for the full experience.

MailTracker by Hunter

Hunter.io (the well-known email finder tool) built MailTracker as a companion product. The interface is clean and professional, and it adds no signature to your emails.

Where it falls short: The free tier caps you at 20 tracked emails per month. That's roughly one email per business day, which works for some people but is far too little for anyone doing active outreach or regular client communication. The paid plan ($49.99/year) removes the limit.

Best for: Light email senders who value a polished interface and send fewer than 20 trackable emails per month.

Streak CRM

Streak is not really an email tracker. It's a full CRM that happens to include email tracking as one of many features. It transforms your Gmail into a project management tool with pipelines, deal stages, and collaboration features.

Where it falls short: If you just want to know "did they open my email?", Streak is serious overkill. The learning curve is significant, and the free tier has tracking limits (~200 emails/month, varies). The tracking notifications are less prominent than dedicated tracking tools.

Best for: Sales teams that want full CRM functionality built directly into Gmail. Not ideal if email tracking is your only need.

Mailalert

Mailalert is a minimalist tracker. Unlimited tracking, no signature, and a straightforward install. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

Where it falls short: Analytics are limited, link click tracking is restricted, the UI feels dated compared to competitors, and there's no real dashboard for historical tracking data. You get a notification that someone opened your email, and that's about it.

Best for: Users who want the simplest possible tracking experience, just "opened" or "not opened," with nothing else getting in the way. Install TrackMailBox Free if you want more features without the complexity.

Snov.io

Snov.io combines email finding, email verification, and email tracking in one platform. For teams doing cold outreach, having prospecting and tracking in one tool is genuinely convenient.

Where it falls short: Independent testing (notably from Salesflare's deliverability report) has shown that Snov.io's tracking pixels can trigger spam filters in Google Workspace and Office 365 environments. This means your carefully crafted email might land in the spam folder. The free tier also caps you at 50-100 tracked emails.

Best for: Teams already using Snov.io for lead generation who want tracking bundled in. But test your deliverability carefully before committing.

The Signature Problem, Explained

Why do some free email trackers add signatures to your emails? The answer is straightforward: free advertising. Every email you send becomes a tiny billboard for their product.

Mailtrack is currently the only major free tracker that forces a signature on the free tier. The cost to remove it ($4.99/month) is effectively paying for the privilege of not advertising their product in your emails. Whether that trade-off is acceptable depends entirely on your use case.

A Note on Deliverability and Spam

A tracker that sends your emails to spam is worse than no tracker at all. This is an underrated factor when choosing a tool.

Not all tracking pixels are built the same. Some tools use widely shared tracking domains that have been flagged by spam filters over time, while others use clean-reputation infrastructure. The difference can mean your email landing in the inbox versus the spam folder.

Before committing to any tracker, test your deliverability. Send a tracked email to mail-tester.com and check your spam score. If it drops significantly with tracking enabled, try a different tool.

For more on how tracking technology works and when it's reliable, see our guide to how email tracking works. If you're specifically looking to switch from Mailtrack, check out our dedicated Mailtrack alternatives guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which email tracker has the best free tier?

It depends on what you value. TrackMailBox and Mailalert both offer unlimited free tracking without signatures. TrackMailBox includes link click tracking; Mailalert doesn't. Mailtrack offers unlimited tracking but adds a signature. MailTracker by Hunter has no signature but caps you at 20 emails/month. There's no single "best" answer. It depends on whether you prioritize volume, features, or branding.

Can I use multiple email trackers at once?

Technically yes, but it's not recommended. Running multiple trackers will insert multiple pixels into each email, which can increase the chance of triggering spam filters. It can also cause confusing duplicate notifications. Pick one and stick with it.

Do any of these work with Outlook or Yahoo?

Most of the tools in this comparison are Gmail-only Chrome extensions. Streak CRM and HubSpot have broader email client support. Yesware works with Outlook. Snov.io has its own web interface that's email-client agnostic. If Outlook support is a requirement, your options narrow significantly in the free tier.

Will switching trackers lose my tracking history?

Yes. No email tracker can import tracking history from another tool. Each extension maintains its own database. When you switch, you start fresh. Your old tracking data stays with your previous tool (and is usually deleted when you uninstall it).

Is there a tracker that works on mobile Gmail?

These tools are Chrome extensions, so they only work in Gmail on desktop browsers. However, emails you send from desktop Gmail with tracking enabled will still be tracked regardless of where the recipient opens them. You'll receive notifications on your phone if the tool has a mobile app or sends push notifications. You just can't enable tracking from the Gmail mobile app itself.

How do I test if my tracker is hurting deliverability?

Send a tracked email to the test address at mail-tester.com and check your spam score. Then send the same email without tracking and compare the scores. If there's a significant drop with tracking enabled (more than 1-2 points), your tracker may be using a flagged domain. Try a different tool and test again.