Gmail Manager vs Obsidian Bases

Gmail Manager

By Google Workspace

Send, read, reply, and organize your Gmail inbox without touching code.

Obsidian Bases

By Steph Ango (Kepano / Obsidian)

Create database views over your Obsidian notes to track projects, tasks, and reading lists.

Gmail Manager

• Sends new emails with attachments and formatting
• Reads and extracts content from messages in your inbox
• Replies to emails and handles threading automatically
• Forwards messages to new recipients
• Shows unread inbox summaries with sender, subject, and date
• Watches for new emails and streams them as they arrive

Obsidian Bases

• Creates table, card, list, or map views of your notes based on filters you set
• Lets you group and sort notes by any property (status, date, tags, folders)
• Calculates fields automatically like days until deadline or price totals
• Shows summaries like averages, sums, and counts across your filtered notes
• Works with your existing Obsidian notes without changing how you write them

Reach for Gmail Manager when…

• You need to send bulk emails or templated messages quickly
• You want a daily summary of unread messages without opening Gmail
• You're replying to dozens of emails and want AI to draft responses
• You need to forward important threads to your team automatically

Reach for Obsidian Bases when…

• You're managing projects or tasks in Obsidian and want a cleaner view than scattered notes
• You need to track reading lists, book notes, or research with custom filters and groupings
• You want to see calculated info like "days overdue" or "total budget" without manual updates
• You're organizing lots of notes and need different views (table vs cards) for different contexts