Email remains the cornerstone of modern sales communication, serving as the platform where deals advance, follow-ups occur, and relationships grow.

As teams increasingly depend on automated outreach, multi-channel engagement, and precise tracking, CRMs are competing more on the strength of their native email integrations.

While both Streak and Attio provide built-in email workflows, their usability, depth, and impact on daily sales processes can vary significantly. For teams that prioritize simplicity and seek efficient, reliable email execution, folk offers one of the cleanest and most powerful email integrations available in any CRM—streamlining the process of sending, tracking, and automating outreach directly from your workspace.

Why Does Email Integration Matter?

Good email integration elevates a CRM from a mere database to a cohesive communication hub. Instead of toggling between tabs or utilizing disparate tools, representatives can send messages, automate follow-ups, and monitor engagement all from a single platform.

• Centralized communication. All emails—both sent and received—sync automatically with the appropriate contact or deal.
• Smarter follow-ups. Automated reminders and sequences ensure reps follow up at the optimal time with minimal manual effort.
• Real-time tracking. Open rates, clicks, and replies are captured directly in the CRM, guiding subsequent actions.
• Cleaner data. Emails instantly enhance contact profiles with contextual information and conversation history.
• Email templates. Reusable, personalized templates allow teams to maintain consistency while saving time.
• Outreach automation. Send bulk emails, sequences, or triggered messages based on deal stages or contact activities.

When a CRM manages email seamlessly, representatives can shift their focus from juggling multiple tools to engaging in conversations that generate revenue. This distinction is what sets apart a good CRM from one that genuinely accelerates sales!

What is Streak?

Streak is a lightweight CRM integrated directly within Gmail, transforming your inbox into a collaborative pipeline for sales, support, and account management. Users can manage deals, track progress, and collaborate on threads without switching tabs, all from the familiar Gmail interface. At its core, Streak leverages email, offering real-time tracking and pipeline views layered over your existing Gmail conversations.

What is Attio?

Attio is a modern and customizable CRM designed as a shared workspace where teams can centralize contacts, companies, and deals within a live database. It seamlessly integrates with Gmail and Microsoft 365 to automatically sync emails and calendar events, ensuring every conversation is tied to the appropriate contact or opportunity timeline. Users can send emails from their connected inboxes right inside Attio, utilize templates, and monitor engagement, all without leaving the CRM.

Feature comparison of Streak and Attio

Integration Capabilities

Streak seamlessly integrates within Gmail, transforming your inbox into a comprehensive CRM without the need for additional windows or applications. Every email you send or receive is automatically logged into the appropriate pipeline and shared within your team's workspace, providing you with a real-time timeline for each deal without the hassle of manual bcc’ing.

On the other hand, Attio does not incorporate a built-in inbox or calendar plugin; instead, it utilizes Zapier’s Email by Zapier or Pipedream to capture both incoming and outgoing emails, reflecting them in Attio’s contact timelines. You only need to set up triggers such as “New Email Received” or “Send Email” and map relevant fields like subject, body, and attachments to Attio properties.

Sync Frequency and Reliability

Streak offers real-time email synchronization, as it operates within Gmail’s own infrastructure. The moment you send or receive a message, Streak instantly logs it into the relevant pipeline, ensuring your team has immediate access to the latest activity. There's virtually no lag or queuing—messages and thread updates are reflected right away in both your inbox and Streak’s interface. By integrating directly with Gmail, you also leverage Google’s exceptional uptime and reliability.

In contrast, Attio depends on platforms like Zapier or Pipedream to capture email and calendar events, meaning that the sync frequency is contingent upon your chosen automation platform's plan.

Two-Way Email and Calendar Sync

Streak’s Mail Merge tool is integrated directly into Gmail, allowing you to send personalized mass emails to hundreds of recipients in under two minutes—no need for CSV imports or third-party applications. You can easily insert custom variables like first name, company, and deal data from your pipelines, set up automatic follow-up sequences within the same thread, and even A/B test subject lines to enhance reply rates. Every sent message and follow-up is automatically logged in your Streak timeline, ensuring you always know who has opened, clicked, or replied to your emails. However, Streak’s campaign features do fall short in advanced analytics, meaning you won't receive detailed reporting on unsubscribes or bounce handling without incorporating another tool.

Attio sets itself apart by instantly importing your email and calendar data during onboarding: simply connect your Google or Microsoft account, and Attio will pull in email events and calendar appointments as CRM activities in real time.

Mail Merge and Campaigns

Streak’s Mail Merge tool is conveniently integrated within Gmail, allowing you to send personalized mass emails to hundreds of recipients in less than two minutes—no need for CSV imports or third-party applications. You can easily insert custom variables (such as first name, company, and deal data) from your pipelines, schedule automatic follow-up sequences within the same thread, and even conduct A/B tests on subject lines to enhance reply rates. Every sent message and follow-up is logged in your Streak timeline, ensuring you maintain visibility on who has opened, clicked, or replied. However, it's worth noting that Streak’s campaign features do not include advanced analytics dashboards; therefore, detailed reporting on unsubscribes and bounce handling requires integration with another tool.

On the other hand, Attio currently lacks a native mail-merge or campaign module, so you'll need to subscribe to an automation tool like Zapier to achieve similar functionality.

Open and Click Tracking

Streak integrates a small tracking pixel and link tracker directly into Gmail, providing real-time “eye” icons that indicate when an email is opened or a link is clicked within a specific thread. By hovering over the green eye, you can view timestamps, locations, and link click data without leaving your inbox. Since it utilizes Gmail’s API, setup is minimal, and feedback is immediate—however, you won’t have access to aggregated campaign dashboards or multi-link heat mapping beyond individual message views.

In contrast, Attio does not offer built-in open or click tracking; instead, email events are relayed through Zapier or Pipedream triggers. This means you'll need to establish your own pixel-and-webhook workflows to monitor opens and clicks and associate them with contacts. While this approach provides significant flexibility, it lacks a straightforward analytics dashboard, requiring you to create custom reports within your automation platform or BI tool.

In-Inbox CRM Experience

Streak operates entirely within Gmail, providing complete CRM functionality—such as pipelines, contact details, and email logging—all without leaving your inbox. The sidebar displays deal stages, custom fields, and shared notes next to each thread, ensuring you always have context at your fingertips. You can effortlessly drag and drop emails into various pipelines or update statuses on the go, creating a seamless integration between your inbox and CRM. However, since Streak is exclusive to Gmail, this integrated experience will not be available if you decide to switch to Outlook or another email client.

On the other hand, Attio does not directly embed into your inbox; instead, it requires the use of Zapier or Pipedream to log emails and events back to Attio’s timeline. While you do gain a clean, contact-centric view in Attio, there is no sidebar within Gmail or Outlook for quick record updates, offering flexibility but lacking the seamless in-inbox experience.

folk CRM: The Best Email CRM

folk provides teams with the seamless, interconnected email workflow they've been missing. It consolidates communication, automates follow-ups, and simplifies sequencing—all within a clear and user-friendly CRM. With a 4.5/5 rating on G2, folk is recognized as one of the top lightweight CRMs for modern sales and partnership teams.

Designed specifically for startups, agencies, and scaling sales teams of 20-50, folk facilitates email operations without overwhelming users.

Extract Intel from Emails

One of folk’s standout features is its capability to centralize communication, turning every email and call into actionable insights. With native email sync for Gmail and Outlook, along with AI-driven analysis, teams can:

• Quickly recap past conversations with a single click using folk's Recap assistant, which gathers information from emails and notes to create a summary, providing context in seconds.
• Timely follow-ups are made easy as AI scans conversations to notify you when to reach out again and even drafts replies.

Email Sequencing & Automation

folk’s built-in sequencing engine simplifies the creation of automated outreach flows directly within the CRM. You can design multi-step email sequences, personalize messages using CRM fields, and automatically log every interaction. Whether you're nurturing leads, executing outbound campaigns, or re-engaging dormant deals, folk provides a robust yet straightforward sequencing workflow that eliminates the need for separate tools.

Set conditions based on your CRM variables to automatically send emails—like when a deal closes or when you acquire a new lead.

AI-Powered Follow-Up Reminders

folk’s AI Follow-Up feature ensures that no conversation slips through the cracks. By analyzing your email history, folk notifies you when a contact hasn’t responded, highlights cold conversations, and pinpoints the ideal time to re-engage. It serves as an integrated assistant that keeps your inbox tidy and your pipeline active—without any manual tracking.

folk starts at $20 per user per month, offers native email integration and sequences, and includes a 14-day free trial—no credit card needed.

Conclusion

In summary, Streak’s integration within Gmail provides real-time tracking and a seamless user experience for teams familiar with the platform. Attio offers a customizable workspace that syncs with Gmail and Microsoft 365 but lacks the in-inbox functionality. In contrast, folk excels with its powerful email integration, automation, and sequencing features, making it the ideal choice for teams reliant on email communication. With intuitive AI-driven follow-ups and streamlined workflows, folk positions itself as the best alternative for enhancing revenue generation through email.

Start your 14-day free trial or book a demo today.