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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.

The short answer

Entry price
Gmelius Meli AI from $19/seat/mo, Shortwave from $18/mo — different billing units, so no direct winner
Free plan
Only Shortwave (Gmelius Meli AI has paid plans only)
Public API
Gmelius Meli AI has one; not confirmed by us for Shortwave
Best fit
Gmelius Meli AI: Individuals or small teams who want AI drafting and sorting inside Gmail itself · Shortwave: People who search and question years of Gmail history
Platforms
Gmelius Meli AI: Web, Chrome extension · Shortwave: Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

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 modelPaidFreemium
Starts at$19/seat/mo$18/mo
Public APIYesNot confirmed
Trust score96 / 10096 / 100
PlatformsWeb, Chrome extension, APIWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
CompanyGmelius SAShortwave Communications, Inc.
Last verifiedOct 15, 2026Oct 15, 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

Still the most capable AI layer we have seen on top of Gmail, and it is now cheaper to try: a free plan and an $18 individual Pro tier sit below the $30-plus business seats. The value is in asking questions of years of old mail, so people who only triage today's inbox will not get much from the paid tiers.

Pros

  • Free plan and an $18 individual tier make it possible to test the assistant without a business seat
  • AI search answers questions across the mail archive, not just keyword hits
  • Model tier, AI quota and filter count scale clearly from plan to plan
  • Native apps on all major desktop and mobile platforms

Cons

  • Business seats at $30 to $120 a month are expensive next to Gmail's built-in AI
  • Free plan limits search history to 90 days and adds a Shortwave signature to sent mail
  • No annual discount is offered; billing is monthly only

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 who search and question years of Gmail history
  • Small teams that share threads and assign emails inside the inbox
  • Users who want AI filters to sort incoming mail without hand-written rules

Gmelius Meli AI vs Shortwave: the questions people ask

Is Gmelius Meli AI cheaper than Shortwave?

They charge in different units, so there is no like-for-like answer: Gmelius Meli AI starts at $19/seat/mo, Shortwave at $18/mo. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it.

Does Gmelius Meli AI or Shortwave have a free tier?

Shortwave has a free tier; Gmelius Meli AI has paid plans only.

Which has a public API, Gmelius Meli AI or Shortwave?

Gmelius Meli AI ships a public API, as of our last verification. A public API for Shortwave is not confirmed by us — check its developer docs before you plan an integration.

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