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Gmelius Meli AI 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. Gmelius Meli AI starts at $19, Shortwave at $30.

Gmelius Meli AIAn AI assistant inside Gmail that drafts replies in your tone, sorts incoming mail, and books meetings.ShortwaveAI-first email client for Gmail with deep assistant search

Side by side

FactGmelius Meli AIShortwave
CategoryEmail ManagementEmail Management
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starts at$19 seat_month$30 month
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWebWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
CompanyGmelius SAShortwave Communications, Inc.
Last verifiedSep 1, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Gmelius Meli AI

Meli is Gmelius's AI assistant for Gmail — it drafts replies in the user's tone, sorts incoming mail, and books meetings, running on Google's Gemini models. Gmelius itself is an established, Geneva-based platform with over 10,000 teams using its shared-inbox tools, so Meli isn't a bolt-on from an unproven vendor. The $19/user/month entry price is specifically for the AI assistant tier — team collaboration features cost more on the Growth and Pro plans above it.

Pros

  • Backed by an established company (10,000+ teams) rather than an early-stage vendor
  • States user data isn't used to train the underlying AI models
  • Drafts, sorting, and meeting scheduling are handled in one assistant rather than three tools

Cons

  • Entry AI tier is priced per user, so cost scales linearly with team size
  • Gmail-only — no Outlook or other email provider support mentioned

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 Gmelius Meli AI if you need

  • Individuals or small teams who want AI drafting and sorting inside Gmail itself
  • Teams already running shared addresses like support@ who want AI folded into that workflow

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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