Verified Oct 15, 2026

Shortwave

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Email Management Write a reviewUnited StatesEffect69/ 100

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AI-first email client for Gmail with deep assistant search

gmail clientemail searchthread summariesai filtersshared inboxFreemium · from $18/mo

Listed on EffectHub · Aug 16, 2026

Web · macOS · Windows · iOS · Android

Screenshot of the Shortwave website — shortwave.com as we captured it — our own screenshot, not the vendor’s press image.

Pricing

Pricing model: Freemium
Paid options from: $18/mo
Billing: Monthly

Individual tab: Free (basic model, limited AI quota, 90 days of search history, Shortwave signature on sent mail) and Pro $18/month. Business tab: Business $30, Premier $45 and Max $120 per seat per month. Billing is monthly only; paid plans start with a 14-day trial.

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Overview

About Shortwave

Shortwave replaces the Gmail interface with a client organised around an AI assistant that searches your mail history in plain language, summarises threads, drafts replies in your writing style and runs prompt-based filters that label, archive or delete new mail. It adds splits, bundles, todos, delivery schedules, read statuses and team features such as shared threads, comments and assignees, and the assistant can reach other apps through integrations or MCP. Plans differ by which Claude model tier answers, how much daily AI usage you get, how far back AI search reaches and how many filters you can run. It runs on the web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.

Platforms: Web · macOS · Windows · iOS · Android
API: Not confirmed
Last verified: Oct 15, 2026

Verified sources

Business tab lists Business $30, Premier $45 and Max $120 per seat per month with a 14-day free trial; model tiers are Claude Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.6 and Opus 4.6 (15 October 2026)shortwave.com ↗
Individual tab lists Free (basic intelligence, 90 days of standard search history, 15 threads per AI search, Shortwave signature) and Pro at $18 per month; FAQ confirms a Free plan and monthly billing only (15 October 2026)shortwave.com ↗
Terms of service are with Shortwave Communications, Inc. (15 October 2026)shortwave.com ↗
Download page offers iOS, Android, macOS and Windows apps (15 October 2026)shortwave.com ↗

Fact check

Is Shortwave legit?

We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.

Domain registered: Mar 26, 1999 (27 years ago)Registry record (RDAP), registrar Squarespace Domains II LLC, looked up Sep 6, 2026
TLS certificate: Issued by Let's Encrypt, valid until Dec 12, 2026Seen in our own connection to the site on Oct 15, 2026
Last checked: Oct 15, 2026The site answered
Operated by: Shortwave Communications, Inc., United StatesOur research, card verified Oct 15, 2026

How we collect these records

Editorial verdict

Pros & cons of Shortwave

high confidence

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

Best for

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

Not for

Outlook-first organisations
Light email users who never search old mail

Watch out: The free plan stamps a 'Sent with Shortwave' signature on outgoing mail, and the Business entry seat caps AI search history at five years and 50 threads per query.

#10inEmail Management· of 11 tools, ranked by rating and popularity

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Shortwave head-to-head

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