NuncioHow to use multiple Gmail accounts on a Mac
Two or three Gmail addresses is normal. Keeping them apart on a Mac is where it goes wrong, and the reason is not you: it is how Google handles more than one signed-in account in a single browser.
- One browser window shares one session between all your accounts, which is why links open in the wrong inbox.
- The fix is always the same: give every account its own session, with a browser profile or an app built for it.
- Browser profiles cost nothing but scatter your inboxes over separate windows, with no unread overview.
- A dedicated app keeps every account in one window, with its own unread badge and notifications.
Why one browser window struggles
When you add a second account to Gmail in a browser, Google does not open a second, independent session. It signs both accounts into one session and numbers them in the address: your first account becomes /u/0, the second /u/1, and so on. The number, not the address, decides which mailbox opens.
That is where it breaks. A link in a calendar invitation, a document shared with your work address, a notification you click: they all open in whichever account happens to sit at that number in that browser, which is usually the one you signed in with first. You land in the wrong inbox, switch, and lose your place.
It also affects what you see. Google Drive, Calendar and Meet follow the same numbering, so a document shared with one address can refuse to open while you are looking at the other. And if one account belongs to an organisation with its own security rules, those rules apply to the whole browser session.
The four ways to keep accounts apart
Every working solution does the same thing: it gives each account its own storage for cookies and sign-ins, so the accounts never share a session. They differ in what you give up.
Separate browser profiles
One Chrome or Edge profile per account, each with its own window, bookmarks and extensions. Free, and the accounts are genuinely isolated.
A separate window per account, no overview of unread mail, no count on the Dock, and notifications only while the browser is open.
One browser, one account
Work in Chrome, personal in Safari. Quick to set up and needs nothing extra.
Stops at two accounts, and the second browser exists only for mail.
A mail client
Apple Mail, Mimestream, Thunderbird and the like fetch your messages and show all accounts in one combined inbox, offline included.
Not the Gmail interface. Labels, filters, snooze, Chat and Meet behave differently or not at all, and each account needs setting up.
A dedicated Gmail app
An app that shows the real Gmail, each account in its own isolated session, side by side in one window.
Still needs a connection, because it is the Gmail website. There is no combined inbox across accounts.
Setting it up with browser profiles
This is the free route and it works. In Chrome, use one profile per Google account and never add a second account inside a profile.
- In Chrome, click your profile picture at the top right and choose Add, then Continue without an account or sign in with the address for this profile.
- Give the profile the name of that account and pick a colour, so you can tell the windows apart.
- In that profile, sign in to Gmail with one account only. Do not use Google's Add another account.
- Repeat for each address. Each profile keeps its own cookies, extensions and default account.
- Pin each profile window to the Dock if you want to reach them quickly.
Guest windows and incognito windows are not a substitute: they forget your sign-in as soon as you close them.
Setting it up with a dedicated app
Nuncio is our app and it exists for exactly this problem. It shows the genuine Gmail web interface, but gives every account its own isolated storage on your Mac, the same way separate browser profiles do, and puts them side by side in one window.
- Install Nuncio from the Mac App Store and open it.
- Add your first account. You sign in on Google's own page, with your usual two-step verification.
- Add the next account with the plus button. Each one gets its own colour, name and unread badge.
- Switch with a click in the account bar, or with ⌘1 to ⌘9. Every inbox stays loaded, so switching is instant.
- Add the Google tools you need per account: Calendar, Drive, Docs, Meet and the rest open as tabs next to that inbox, signed in as that account.
Because each account is its own session, a link inside an account always opens in that account. There is no /u/0 to get in the way.
Read more: Gmail on the Mac: frequently asked questions
Which one fits you
There is no single right answer. Two accounts and a tolerance for extra windows, and browser profiles are enough. More accounts, or mail you switch between all day, and the extra window per account becomes the problem.
| Browser profiles | Mail client | Dedicated Gmail app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts stay separate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| The real Gmail interface | Yes | No | Yes |
| All accounts in one window | No | Yes | Yes |
| Unread count per account | No | Depends | Yes |
| Notifications without a browser | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline | No | Yes | No |
| Combined inbox | No | Yes | No |
| Price | Free | Free or paid | Paid |
Questions people ask
How many Gmail accounts can I have open at once?
As many as you have addresses, as long as each gets its own session. Google's own switcher slows down and starts mixing links after a few accounts, while separate profiles or a dedicated app keep working. In Nuncio there is no limit, and the first nine get the shortcuts ⌘1 to ⌘9.
Does this work with Google Workspace accounts from work?
Yes. A Workspace account behaves like any other Google account in the browser or in a wrapper app, with your organisation's sign-in rules applied. If your administrator restricts sign-in to managed devices or specific browsers, that restriction follows you into any app.
Will I stay signed in, or do I have to sign in every day?
You stay signed in, the same way you do in a browser. Google may ask again after a password change, a security event, or because your organisation sets a session limit. A personal Gmail address has no fixed limit at all.
Can I get one combined inbox across all my accounts?
Only with a mail client such as Apple Mail or Mimestream, which fetch your messages and merge them. Anything that shows the Gmail website, Nuncio included, shows one account at a time, because Gmail itself has no combined view across accounts.
All your Gmail accounts, one window
Nuncio keeps every account in its own session, in the real Gmail interface, with notifications and an unread badge per account. Seven days free, then a yearly subscription.
