Quartz vs Shortwave

Quartz

Quartz is worth a look if the idea of an email client whose sorting and reply model never leaves your Mac appeals to you, and Gmail is your main account. Being Mac-only, beta-stage, and Gmail-only narrows who can use it today, and pricing after beta is still unknown.

Pros

• +Sorting and reply-drafting model runs on-device rather than on a vendor server
• +CASA Tier 2 certified under Google's Cloud Application Security Assessment
• +Free for the full beta period with no credit card required

Cons

• −Mac and Apple Silicon only, with no Windows, Linux, or mobile version
• −Gmail is the only supported provider right now
• −Beta status means pricing and the long-term feature set are not yet fixed

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

Is Quartz cheaper than Shortwave?

Quartz is free to use; Shortwave starts at $18/mo.

Does Quartz or Shortwave have a free tier?

Both: Quartz is free to use, and Shortwave has a free tier.