Shortwave
AI-powered email tool enhances productivity and organization.
At a glance
Price not confirmed · Source review 2026-10-24- Price & billing
Business $30/seat/month, Premier $45, Max $120, with a 14-day trial and a limited free plan. Verified August-September 2026; annual pricing is not published, confirm on shortwave.com/pricing.
- Free allowance
Business $30/seat/month, Premier $45, Max $120, with a 14-day trial and a limited free plan.
- Best suited to
Gmail power users whose bottleneck is finding and understanding old email: deep AI search, summaries and drafting matter more than raw speed.
Fit is editorial guidance, not a measured result.- Platforms
Access: not separately verified. Operating systems not separately verified.
Published-source facts and editorial guidance. No product test is implied. Confirm current conditions before purchase.
No product screenshot is claimed for this listing. Use the official website ↗ to inspect the current interface.
What to know before choosing
Good fit
Gmail power users whose bottleneck is finding and understanding old email: deep AI search, summaries and drafting matter more than raw speed.
Limits and trade-offs
Gmail-only: Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts are not supported. Pricing tiers buy different AI capacity (filters, search depth, search history), so the $30 floor is only the entry poin
Plans and free allowances
Business $30/seat/month, Premier $45, Max $120, with a 14-day trial and a limited free plan. Verified August-September 2026; annual pricing is not published, confirm on shortwave.com/pricing.
Evidence
Official website ↗ (reviewed 2026-10-24)
Official published documentation reviewed; not a product test
Dates: Last reviewed 2026-10-24. Last reviewed is the latest source or editorial review date; it is not a content-change date.
A closer look at Shortwave
Shortwave is an AI-first email client for Gmail. Instead of optimizing triage speed, it optimizes understanding: natural-language search across years of email, AI filters, thread summaries, attachment analysis and personalized AI drafting that learns from your sent mail. It replaces the Gmail interface entirely via OAuth.
Editorial guidance based on published documentation. The workflow below is a suggested starting point, not a measured product result.
When to choose Shortwave
- Gmail power users whose bottleneck is finding and understanding old email: deep AI search, summaries and drafting matter more than raw speed.
- Users who want AI filters and bundles to auto-organize incoming mail plus personalized AI drafting that learns from sent mail.
When to choose something else
- Outlook or Microsoft 365 users (not supported
- the vendor tells them to auto-forward into Gmail), and teams that need a uniform client across mixed providers.
A practical starting workflow
- Sign in with Google and let Shortwave index your Gmail.
- Use natural-language search to find facts across years of threads.
- Set up AI filters and bundles to auto-organize incoming mail.
- Draft replies from a short instruction; review before sending.
Check before committing
- Gmail-only: Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts are not supported. Pricing tiers buy different AI capacity (filters, search depth, search history), so the $30 floor is only the entry point; heavy AI users land on Premier or Max.
- Pricing and feature availability may change; confirm current terms on the official website before committing.
Common questions
Does Shortwave work with Outlook?
No. Shortwave is Gmail-only as of 2026; its docs tell non-Gmail users to auto-forward into a Gmail address.
Is there a free Shortwave plan?
A limited free plan exists alongside a 14-day trial of paid tiers; the paid ladder starts at Business $30/seat/month.
How is Shortwave different from Superhuman?
Superhuman optimizes triage speed and keyboard workflows across Gmail and Outlook. Shortwave optimizes AI understanding of Gmail: deep search, filters and drafting. Pick by which bottleneck hurts more.
Compare approaches for this task
- Superhuman — Founders, executives and anyone processing 100+ emails a day who will actually adopt keyboard shortcuts and follow-up workflows.
- Cora — Gmail and Google Workspace users buried in email who want inbox zero and drafted replies.; People who want AI drafting but insist on reviewing and sending every message themselves.
- Ellie — Gmail and Outlook users who want replies drafted in their own writing style, with a human sending them
Sources and checks
Last source review is not a date of product testing. No rating or test result is implied by inclusion. Check the current plan and terms before buying.