Beautiful, fast, intuitive, mobile friendly. There is no shortage of praise that can be showered on Inbox, Google’s one-year-old Gmail alternative. However, the one thing that always seems to frustrate people is the simplicity and lack of customization. The original Gmail interface integrates with limitless apps and extensions, allowing users create a completely personalized experience.

Although Inbox does not have the quantity of third party integrations, there are still a handful out there that can make a huge difference. Nothing is a one size fits all solution and with these apps you can make Inbox fit your needs. From unread notifications in the browser tab to a custom interface, these three extensions are worth a look for anyone currently or thinking about using Inbox by Gmail.

1. See your unread emails without switching away from your current tab

Anyone who has a busy workday (almost everyone) knows how important it is to always keep up with your unread emails. Rather than clicking into Inbox every few seconds to check if you have received anything new, Google Inbox Favicon Unread Count (webstore) will let you view your unread message count right in the window tab.

2. Customize your Inbox interface

Power Google Inbox (webstore) is filled with various tweaks for Inbox that you can turn on and off to your liking. Compact your emails so you can view more at once without scrolling or add a light yellow highlight to distinguish your bundles from your regular emails. There are six tweaks to choose from currently with more constantly being added. Give this one a try and make your Inbox work better for you.

3. Break away from the grey and add your own background

For awhile it seemed every Inbox user was stuck with the same grey background, whereas their Gmail counterparts could pick from endless themes and color schemes. Using Background for Inbox (webstore) you can break free from the boring grey default. Add a splash of color or even choose an image from online as your background.