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ForthWrite vs Shortwave

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors. ForthWrite starts at $15, Shortwave at $30. Only ForthWrite has a free tier.

ForthWriteChrome extension that drafts Gmail and Outlook replies in your own writing voice, learned from your sent mail.ShortwaveAI-first email client for Gmail with deep assistant search

Side by side

FactForthWriteShortwave
CategoryEmail WritingEmail Management
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starts at$15 month$30 month
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome ExtWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Company—Shortwave Communications, Inc.
Last verifiedSep 1, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

ForthWrite

ForthWrite's pitch is replies that sound like you rather than like an AI wrote them, which depends entirely on how much of your sent mail it can learn from. It works only inside Gmail and Outlook through the Chrome extension, so anyone on a different mail client or browser is out of luck, and the free tier's 10 drafts a week runs out fast for a busy inbox.

Pros

  • learns tone from the user's own sent messages rather than a generic template
  • batch processing and auto-drafting on the Pro tier for high email volume
  • free tier and 14-day Pro trial require no credit card

Cons

  • locked to Chrome plus Gmail or Outlook web
  • free tier caps out at 10 drafts a week
  • Teams pricing requires a minimum of two seats

Shortwave

The strongest AI layer on Gmail right now, priced accordingly: $30 a seat is Superhuman money for a product whose real value is search and the assistant, not keyboard shortcuts. Worth it only if you interrogate old mail rather than just triage new mail.

Pros

  • AI search across multi-year history is the feature rivals handle worst
  • Real desktop apps for macOS and Windows plus iOS and Android, not a web wrapper
  • Collaboration is built in rather than bolted on
  • Model class is an explicit priced choice instead of a black box

Cons

  • No free plan and no cheap individual tier any more
  • Gmail-only, which rules out a large share of business mail
  • The $120 Max seat is hard to justify outside very heavy use
  • No public API to build on

Which one fits

Choose ForthWrite if you need

  • Gmail or Outlook users on Chrome with high email volume
  • professionals wanting drafts that match their own tone
  • teams wanting a shared persona across seats

Choose Shortwave if you need

  • People whose job is finding things buried in years of email: recruiters, founders, account managers
  • Small teams wanting shared threads and assignment without adopting a helpdesk
  • Gmail users who liked Google Inbox and want a modern equivalent

More comparisons

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