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Jetwriter 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. Jetwriter AI starts at $18, Shortwave at $30. Only Jetwriter AI has a free tier.

Jetwriter AIBrowser extension that drafts emails and replies anywhereShortwaveAI-first email client for Gmail with deep assistant search

Side by side

FactJetwriter AIShortwave
CategoryEmail WritingEmail Management
Pricing modelFreemiumPaid
Starts at$18 month$30 month
Public APINoNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome ExtWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
CompanyJetwriter AIShortwave Communications, Inc.
Launched2022—
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Jetwriter AI

The right shape if your writing happens inside Gmail, LinkedIn and support tools and you resent tabbing out to a chat window. For long-form documents it is the wrong tool entirely.

Pros

  • Learns tone from your own Gmail history rather than a generic style picker
  • Three model vendors covered by a single subscription
  • Works on arbitrary web pages, not just a fixed list of supported apps
  • Free tier is genuinely usable for occasional drafting

Cons

  • Free plan is 15 responses a month with no advanced-model access
  • $18/month is steep beside assistants already bundled into Gmail and Outlook
  • No developer API
  • Safari and Firefox builds still have not shipped

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 Jetwriter AI if you need

  • High-volume email and LinkedIn reply drafting
  • Support agents composing responses inside Zendesk or Outlook
  • People who want GPT, Claude and Gemini from one extension

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

All Jetwriter AI alternatives →Browse all Email Writing →