Overview
An AI email client that adds triage, summaries, reminders, and scheduled send to Gmail.
Key features
- AI thread summaries
- Smart triage with custom rules
- Scheduled send and reminders
- Reading time estimates
- Bulk cleanup and mute
Trial checklist
Use a real work week with real threads. Verify whether summaries and triage rules cut read/sort time. Track volume of messages moved without review. Compare feel against vanilla Gmail and at least one alternative before renewing.
Use category-specific evidence
Arena Text Leaderboard [1] ↗ · LiveBench [4] ↗ · Artificial Analysis methodology [5] ↗
Arena Text is a human-preference leaderboard from anonymous pairwise battles. Its rank is the model's position; its rating is the statistical preference score; and any ± value is a confidence interval, not a guarantee of quality. See benchmark policy →
Pricing
Current official summary: Business is $30/seat/month, Premier is $45/seat/month, and Max is $120/seat/month. Business includes standard intelligence (Claude Sonnet 4.6), roughly 150-300 AI requests/day, 5 years AI search history, 50 threads per AI search, 3 AI filters, and AI integrations. Premier adds advanced intelligence, 2x AI usage, unlimited AI search history, 100 threads per search, and 10 AI filters. Max adds expert intelligence (Claude Opus 4.6), 6x AI usage, 150 threads per search, and 50 AI filters. A 14-day free trial is advertised; no permanent free plan is listed on the pricing page.
Open verification questions
- The Terms of Service are dated January 2023 and may not reflect current AI-feature-specific data-use practices.
- The pricing page does not publish exact API rate limits or team-plan entitlements beyond the listed AI usage tiers.
- No explicit AI-output ownership or commercial-use license clause was found in the retrieved Terms; users retain rights in User Content but commercial use of AI-generated output is not separately addressed.
Official pricing page checked 2026-09-01. Terms of Service last updated January 26, 2023; Privacy Policy last updated July 10, 2025. Terms state users own their User Content and grant Shortwave operational rights. Shortwave integrates with a sister product, Tasklet, for 24/7 workflow automation. The pricing page does not list a permanent free plan; only a 14-day free trial is advertised.
Pricing changes often — verify current plans on the official site before buying. Dated snapshots: Pricing Watch.
Use cases
- Inbox triage
- Long email summaries
- Reminders and scheduled send
- Bulk unsubscribe/cleanup
- Reading time estimates
Pros
- Works inside Gmail
- Fast AI summaries
- Clear free tier
Cons
- Mobile experience differs from desktop
- Some users prefer vanilla Gmail
Who Shortwave is for
Shortwave is aimed at teams and individuals who need ai email triage, summaries, and scheduled send in gmail. It is designed for productivity workflows where output quality, adoption effort, and operating cost all matter. Compare alternatives first if you require self-hosting, unusually deep customization, or tighter policy controls than the official plan provides.
Buying decision
| Keep it when | AI email triage, summaries, and scheduled send in Gmail is the job you repeat. |
|---|---|
| Test first when | Mobile experience differs from desktop. |
| Before you pay | Run the trial checklist and check the current plan limit on the official pricing page. |
Verdict
The call: Shortwave has an AIToolsEssentials editorial score of 4.5/5. Works inside Gmail. Price this before you renew: mobile experience differs from desktop.
Run one real task from your work this week. That tells you more than this review.
How Shortwave compares
In productivity, Shortwave sits next to AIDetector.cx, Airtable AI, Gamma and 11 others. The useful part is works inside gmail. The part to price first is mobile experience differs from desktop. Read the side-by-side before you pay for a second seat.
How we evaluated
The AIToolsEssentials rating is an editorial score—not an external benchmark. It summarizes job fit, likely output quality, ease of adoption, and operational cost using published product information, benchmark context where the exact model is identifiable, and the repeatable trial checklist above. Benchmarks never determine the final product rating by themselves. See our editorial methodology, evidence ledger, and benchmark evidence policy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shortwave free?
See the official pricing summary and source links above. Plan names and limits can change.
Shortwave vs Superhuman?
Shortwave adds AI triage and summaries on top of Gmail; Superhuman is a separate fast-mailbox experience. See our email AI tools guide.
Cite or embed this audit
The badge links to this review. It is a dated price receipt, not a ranking and not a paid placement.
