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MailReply 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
MailReply from $19/seat/mo, Shortwave from $18/mo — different billing units, so no direct winner
Free plan
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Shortwave — 96 vs 78 for MailReply
Best fit
MailReply: People who switch between Outlook, Gmail and other clients · Shortwave: People who search and question years of Gmail history
Platforms
MailReply: macOS, Windows · 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

MailReplyDesktop app that reads an incoming message and drafts the reply for you to editShortwaveAI-first email client for Gmail with deep assistant search

Side by side

FactMailReplyShortwave
CategoryEmail WritingEmail Management
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starts at$19/seat/mo$18/mo
Trust score78 / 10096 / 100
PlatformsmacOS, WindowsWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
CompanyIYIAShortwave Communications, Inc.
Last verifiedOct 16, 2026Oct 15, 2026

What our research says

MailReply

MailReply's angle is that it is a desktop app rather than a mailbox integration, so it works across whichever client you happen to use and never asks for OAuth into your inbox. That also means it is doing less: no threading, no triage, no send-side automation, just a drafted reply you paste. At $19 a seat for 200 emails a month, the per-message cost is high for what it is.

Pros

  • Native Windows and macOS builds instead of a browser extension
  • Works with any mail client rather than one provider's API
  • Every draft is shown for review and editing before sending
  • A free preview version is offered before a licence purchase

Cons

  • Hard monthly caps of 200 and 500 generated emails per seat
  • No mobile, Linux or web version at all
  • The vendor is identified only as IYIA, with no country, entity or address

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 MailReply if you need

  • People who switch between Outlook, Gmail and other clients
  • Users who would rather not grant a web app inbox access
  • Support or sales staff sending a moderate volume of similar replies

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

MailReply vs Shortwave: the questions people ask

Is MailReply cheaper than Shortwave?

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

Does MailReply or Shortwave have a free tier?

Both: MailReply has a free tier, and Shortwave has a free tier.

More comparisons

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