Software Alternatives & Startups

PureRef VS InboxAgent

Compare PureRef VS InboxAgent and see what are their differences

PureRef

The simple way to view and organize your multiple reference images.

Rating
0 reviews
InboxAgent

InboxAgent uses AI to read your shared mailboxes, like info@ and sales@, plus everyone's own inbox, on Microsoft 365, Gmail, Zoho Mail or IMAP. It finds the sales leads and gives each an owner on a board. Never sends from your mailbox.

Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Paid Free trial $20 / Monthly

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, PureRef seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 4 times since March 2021.

social mentions
4 vs 0
Productivity popularity
90% vs 10%
alternatives listed
66 vs 30

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

PureRef
InboxAgent
Website pureref.com goinboxagent.com
Pricing —
Paid Free trial $20 / Monthly Official pricing
Platforms —
GMail M365 Zoho Hubspot +1
Listed in

About PureRef and InboxAgent

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

PureRef
InboxAgent

No description of PureRef yet.

Leads arrive at info@, at sales@, and in each salesperson's own inbox, mixed in with client questions, invoices and noise. On a busy day some are never answered, and you are the one answerable when a real lead goes quiet. InboxAgent watches the mailboxes you already have, on Microsoft 365, Gmail,...

Read more about InboxAgent

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

PureRef 6 features
InboxAgent 11 features
  • User-Friendly Interface
    PureRef offers a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to organize and manage reference images. The minimalistic design allows users to focus on their work without unnecessary distractions.
  • Lightweight and Portable
    The software is lightweight and does not require installation, making it highly portable. Users can run PureRef from a USB drive or any location on their computer.
  • Flexible Canvas
    PureRef provides a flexible canvas that can be easily resized and adjusted to fit users’ needs. This allows for seamless scaling of images without quality loss and the ability to organize the workspace freely.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    PureRef is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, allowing users to maintain a consistent workflow across different operating systems.
  • Customizable Shortcuts
    Users can customize keyboard shortcuts to fit their workflow, which increases efficiency and speeds up navigation within the software.
  • Multiple Image Formats
    PureRef supports a wide range of image formats, ensuring compatibility with most reference images beyond basic formats like JPG and PNG.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Editing Tools
    While PureRef excels in organizing and displaying reference images, it lacks advanced editing tools, which means users need to rely on other software for image adjustments or annotations.
  • No Cloud Integration
    PureRef does not offer built-in cloud storage or syncing options, which could be inconvenient for users who work across multiple devices and want seamless access to their reference boards.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic functionalities are easy to grasp, some advanced features and keyboard shortcuts may require time to learn and master, particularly for users new to PureRef.
  • Not Free for All Users
    Although PureRef offers a pay-what-you-want pricing model, users may face ethical dilemmas or budget constraints when deciding what to pay, especially if they plan to use it for professional purposes.
  • Occasional Performance Issues
    Some users report occasional lag or performance issues when handling extremely large collections of high-resolution images, which can disrupt workflow.
  • Triage-based inbox system
    Every email is sorted into one of three things: a sales lead, something else that needs a person, or noise. Leads land on a Leads board and everything else on Follow-ups, each with an owner and a stage. Read-only throughout, nothing is moved.
  • AI Classification
    AI works out what each email is once the rules have cleared the obvious noise. Anything it is not confident about is marked Needs review and waits for a person. Your team's corrections stick and become rules and sender signals you can see.
  • Pricing Model
    $20 a month for your whole organization, including the first mailbox. $5 for each additional mailbox. Users are free, no per-seat charge and no overage. 7-day free trial.
  • Noise Filtering
    Newsletters, bulk mail, known marketing senders and auto-replies are caught by rules you control and set aside before the AI is ever called. Every decision is recorded so you can see what was filtered and why.
  • Gmail Integration
    Reads Gmail and Google Workspace mailboxes, shared and individual, read-only and Google-verified. Each person authorizes their own. Nothing is moved and your team keeps working in Gmail.
  • Outlook Integration
    Reads Microsoft 365 mailboxes, including shared mailboxes like info@ and sales@, read-only. Each person authorizes their own. Nothing is moved and your team keeps working in Outlook.
  • zoho crm
    Sales inquiries become leads in your Zoho CRM as they arrive, matched to an existing record where there is one rather than creating a duplicate. Zoho Desk is supported alongside it for service requests.
  • HubSpot Integration
    Sales inquiries flow into HubSpot as contacts and deals, matched against existing records. Works on HubSpot's free tier, so there is nothing extra to buy.
  • IMAP Support
    Connects to any standard IMAP mailbox, not just the major providers. Read-only, with the same Leads and Follow-ups boards as everywhere else. Four mailbox types in total: Microsoft 365, Gmail, Zoho Mail and IMAP.
  • Follow-up Automation
    Anything that needs a person and is not a sales lead is detected and placed on the Follow-ups board with an owner, and stays open until it is marked done. Invoices, renewals, contracts, supplier requests, legal notices. The automation is in the finding and the routing. InboxAgent never sends email on your behalf.
  • Read-Only Access
    Read-only access to every connected mailbox. InboxAgent does not move, migrate, archive or delete anything. Two-factor authentication, role-based per-mailbox access, CASA security assessment completed.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

PureRef 3 videos + Add
InboxAgent 1 video + Add

The Best Free Tool for Artists - PureRef

More videos

  • - PureRef tutorial: a free, cross-platform virtual board for artists!
  • - PureRef Review

InboxAgent: never miss a lead in your business inbox

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
PureRef
InboxAgent
90% 90%
10% 10%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing PureRef and InboxAgent.

What makes your product unique?

InboxAgent's answer:

It is read-only. InboxAgent reads the mailboxes you already have and never sends mail from them, never moves a message, and never files or deletes anything. Most tools in this category work by forwarding your mail into their own system, after which your own mailbox stops being the record of what arrived. Nothing here changes your mailbox.

For Microsoft 365, Gmail and Zoho Mail that is enforced by those providers rather than promised by us. The permissions we request are read-only, so you can check it on the consent screen before you click Allow.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

InboxAgent's answer:

  • Nothing to migrate and no new app for your team to adopt. They keep working in Outlook or Gmail exactly as before.
  • Priced per organization, not per seat. $20 a month including your first mailbox, $5 for each additional mailbox, unlimited users.
  • It covers shared addresses like info@ and sales@ as well as everyone's own inbox, on Microsoft 365, Gmail, Zoho Mail or any IMAP mailbox.
  • A salesperson can act on a lead without being given the mailbox, which usually also holds bank correspondence and password resets.
  • It works with or without a CRM. If you use Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk or HubSpot, leads flow there as well.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

InboxAgent's answer:

Businesses whose sales inquiries arrive by email, at shared addresses like info@ and sales@ as well as in individual inboxes. Typically service businesses that sell by email: agencies, professional services, trades and field service, suppliers and distributors.

It fits particularly well where email is the main source of leads and there is no proper place to manage them. Every lead lands on a board with an owner and the original email attached, moves through stages you name yourself, carries up to ten fields of your own, and can be exported to CSV at any time.

What's the story behind your product?

InboxAgent's answer:

Sales inquiries arrive in the same mailbox as invoices, supplier mail and noise. Everyone can see them and nobody owns them, so on a busy day some are never answered, and the business often finds out only when a customer goes elsewhere.

InboxAgent exists to answer one question about that mailbox: who owns this email, and has anyone actually dealt with it.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

InboxAgent's answer:

.NET on Microsoft Azure App Service. Microsoft Graph, the Gmail API, the Zoho Mail API and IMAP for mailbox access, all with read-only permissions. OpenAI for classification.

User comments

Share your experience with using PureRef and InboxAgent. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

PureRef no reviews yet
InboxAgent 5.0 · 1 review

We have no reviews of PureRef yet. Be the first one to post

  • Sales leads sorted
    SaaSHub review
    · Sep 2026

    My emails are organized now. I dont have to scroll through emails. nice delegate agent I would say.

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

PureRef 4 mentions
InboxAgent 0 mentions
  • how do u guys organize your visual inspiration/refs digitally?
    I mainly use offline means: organising all my files in a hierarchy of folders and using pureref (which I highly recommend) to make moodboards, and ofc an external hard drive to save backups. The only online means I use is google drive... Source: over 4 years ago
  • HELP! So I want to trace this Image(704x702) into a Pixel art (32 x 32 or 40 x 40) but when I resize it, it gets like this (2nd picture) and if I don't, then the pixels are too small, What do i do?
    If you just want the image to be a transparent overlay while you draw 'through the image'(with it being unchanged) you can use something like Pureref(pureref.com) to set the image as always on top + turn opacity down a bit. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Hide user name in menu bar.
    If you can’t get it to work inside of max, I thought of a free easy workaround you could try. I use the software pureref to manage and quickly access reference images. You could just resize an empty pureref window to cover your username.... Source: over 4 years ago

View more

Tracking InboxAgent since Sep 2026.

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When comparing PureRef and InboxAgent, you can also consider the following products.