QuillReply vs FollowUpThen
FollowUpThen deserves respect: it pioneered the email reminder, works with any mail client, and its address trick (send a note to 3days@followupthen.com and it comes back in three days) is genuinely clever. If you live across many email apps, that universality is hard to beat.
The short version
FollowUpThen works by putting its server in your email. You address, copy, or forward messages to its time-coded addresses, which means the content of those emails is sent to and held by their service so it can come back to you later. Nothing wrong with that design; it is how the trick works.
QuillReply takes the opposite approach for Gmail specifically. The reminder is a button on the email you are already reading or writing, the "did they reply" check runs inside your own browser, and the follow-up lands in your task manager rather than back in your inbox. No addresses to remember, no bot copied into your correspondence, and nothing sent anywhere unless you click.
Side by side
| QuillReply | FollowUpThen | |
|---|---|---|
| How you set a reminder | Buttons inside Gmail: on the open email, the inbox row, or next to Send | Address an email to a time-coded address (3days@, tuesday8am@) |
| Works outside Gmail | Gmail only, in Chrome, Edge or Firefox | Any email client, any platform |
| Where your email content goes | Nowhere unless you click; reply checks run in your browser | Emails you address to it are held on their servers to send back |
| Only if they have not replied | Yes, standard; out-of-office does not count as a reply | Response detection available on paid plans |
| Where the reminder lands | Your task manager: Apple Reminders, Microsoft To Do, Basecamp, Todoist | Back in your inbox as email (SMS on paid plans) |
| AI drafting in your voice | Yes; corrections stick between drafts | None |
| Price | 30 free actions, one time; then $5 per month, unlimited | Free tier (50 active reminders/mo, their wording); paid from $4 per month (billing term not stated on their page) |
Where FollowUpThen is stronger
Universality. It works from any mail app on any device, with nothing installed. If you split your life across Outlook, Apple Mail, and a work Gmail, its address trick follows you everywhere, and QuillReply, a browser extension for Gmail, does not.
Where QuillReply is different
- No bot in your email. Reminders are set with a click, not by adding a third-party address to your correspondence. There is no syntax to remember and no service holding a copy of the thread.
- The reminder is a task, not more email. An inbox reminder about your inbox is a loop. QuillReply files the follow-up where your other obligations already live, with a suggested title and the due date read from the email itself.
- It helps you write the chase. When the follow-up fires, one click drafts the nudge in your own voice. FollowUpThen tells you it is time; QuillReply also hands you the words.
The follow-up, without the forwarding
Thirty free actions to try it, one time and not per month. Pro is $5 a month, unlimited.
See how QuillReply worksComparison reflects FollowUpThen's published site and pricing read 26 August 2026; features and prices change, so confirm details on their site. FollowUpThen is a trademark of FollowUpThen, Inc. Gmail™ is a trademark of Google LLC. QuillReply is not affiliated with either. Corrections welcome: hello@quillreply.com.