I think OP meant that he will clearly realize if someone used his email account to reset his password because next time he tries to log in his old password will no longer work. However with passwordless authentication, someone with access to your email account could issue your account for potentially a long period of time without you noticing. You would still be under the impression that your account is secure.
I am assuming the indicator would be an email from a service stating password reset but if the person has access to your email account, the obvious thing to do would be delete such an email. There is no difference.
Passwordless login is basically piggy backing on the security of the email account. You'd have to login to a site anyway but you are just logging in to your email which is assumed to be protected better.