Shortwave
FreemiumAI email assistant that automates your inbox with Claude models
By Tanmay Verma, Founder · Last verified 03 Jul 2026
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Added 5d ago
77/100Safe BetIn short
Shortwave — AI email assistant that automates your inbox with Claude models. Best for Busy professionals managing high-volume email who want AI to triage and draft, Sales and customer success teams needing automated follow-ups and context, Small to medium teams collaborating on shared inboxes with real-time comments. Free to start; paid plans from $30/mo.
Is Shortwave actually worth it?
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Editorial Verdict
Best for
Busy professionals managing high-volume email who want AI to triage and draftSales and customer success teams needing automated follow-ups and contextSmall to medium teams collaborating on shared inboxes with real-time commentsPower users willing to pay for deep AI automation and custom workflows
Not ideal for
Users who prefer a simple, free email client without AI dependencyOrganizations requiring on-premise or self-hosted email solutionsUsers who want traditional folder-based organization over AI-driven bundlingNon-English speakers (AI models primarily optimized for English)Budget-conscious individuals (paid plans start at $30/seat/mo)
Shortwave delivers the deepest AI integration we've seen in an email client—Claude models handle everything from sorting to drafting. But the steep per-seat pricing and heavy reliance on AI (no classic folder workflow) make it a niche fit for power users and teams, not the average inbox owner.
Compare with: Shortwave vs Jace, Shortwave vs Superhuman, Shortwave vs Saner
Last verified: July 2026
What's new in Shortwave
Checked 5 days agoAcross the latest 4 updates: 4 feature updates.
FeatureChangelog·Feb 27Newest
Upgraded to Claude Sonnet & Opus 4.6
Shortwave upgraded AI models to Claude 4.6 family across all tiers; Standard uses Sonnet 4.6, Expert uses Opus 4.6.
FeatureChangelog·Jan 6
Fully automate your email with Tasklet
Shortwave integrates with Tasklet for automated email actions; drafts appear in Shortwave, supports 3,000+ apps.
FeatureChangelog·Sep 9
Enhanced AI performance & collaboration
AI Assistant context improved; search with field selection; bold subjects for unread team comments; desktop window memory.
FeatureChangelog·Jun 3
Integrate the AI with all your apps
Shortwave AI connects to Notion, Hubspot, Github, Asana, Linear, Zapier, and MCP tools; upgraded to Claude Sonnet 4.
What independent users actually report about Shortwave
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
65 mentions across 3 sources (Hacker News, App Store, Lemmy).
15% positive85% critical
Recurring strengths
- +AI writing and scheduling features are best-in-class according to users.
- +One-click inbox organization saves hours of manual triage.
- +Real-time team collaboration with shared threads and comments.
- +Custom AI filters with plain English commands are powerful.
- +Smart autocomplete learns your writing style and history.
Recurring frustrations
- −Backend crashes and sync issues are frequent and unresolved.
- −iPad app is buggy, lacks keyboard shortcuts, and uses single pane.
- −Missing basic email formatting: bold, italic, lists, hyperlinks.
- −Free tier limits search to last 90 days of email.
- −Only works with Gmail; no support for other providers.
Patterns worth knowing
AI features are life-changing for heavy email users
Seen on App Store
Backend reliability and sync issues plague the experience
Seen on App Store
Gmail-only support is a major limitation
Seen on App Store
Learning curve
beginnerProductive in ~5 minutes
Hidden costs people mention
- • Paid plans have AI usage caps that may be reduced without notice.
Viability Score
77/100
Safe BetHow likely is Shortwave to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
momentum
55
funding runway
80
website health
90
wrapper dependency
100
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- AI email triage: identify important emails, archive low priority in one click
- Custom AI filters with plain-English scripts (label, star, archive, delete)
- AI writing that learns your style and voice from sent emails
- Intelligent autocomplete with real links, facts, and phrases from history
- AI-powered search over email history and attachments
- Schedule management: check availability, create events, write scheduling emails
- Email bundles to group promotions, newsletters, updates
- Splits to divide inbox into custom tabs
- Real-time team collaboration: shared threads, private comments, assign next steps
- Delivery schedules to receive emails at set times
- Read statuses and link tracking
- Snippets and saved prompts for team sharing
- AI memory to customize assistant behavior
- Integration with Tasklet for 24/7 workflow automation (3,000+ apps via MCP)
- AI-powered snooze with smart timing suggestions
About Shortwave
FreemiumIntermediateNo APIWeb · Mobile · Desktop
Shortwave is an AI-first email client designed for professionals and teams drowning in email. It leverages Claude AI models (Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6, Haiku 4.5) to automate triage, writing, search, and scheduling directly in your inbox. The platform offers customizable tabs, promotional bundles, and AI-powered filters that you write in plain English—label, star, archive, or delete automatically. Team collaboration features include shared threads, private comments, assignable todos, and a searchable archive. Integrations with Slack, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, and thousands more via Tasklet make it a central hub. Pricing runs from a free tier with basic AI to Business ($30/seat/mo), Premier ($45/seat/mo), and Max ($120/seat/mo), differentiated by AI usage quotas, context size, and filter limits. Unlike Gmail or Outlook, Shortwave is built from the ground up around AI, not as an add-on.
Behind the Verdict
Shortwave is the closest thing to a true AI-native email client today. If you're drowning in a thousand daily emails and want AI to intelligently triage, summarize, and even draft replies, its Claude-powered pipeline is genuinely impressive. We've seen it reliably bundle newsletters, flag important messages, and let you search years of history with natural language. The team collaboration features—shared threads, comments, assignable todos—are well-executed, especially for sales or support teams. That said, this tool isn't for everyone. The free tier is very limited (5-year search, basic AI, no advanced models), and paid tiers start at €30/seat/month—steep for individual users. There's no traditional folder hierarchy; you must embrace AI-driven bundling and splits. Non-English speakers should look elsewhere; the AI is optimized for English. Compared to alternatives like Superhuman (fast but less AI) or Missive (team inbox with limited AI), Shortwave puts AI at the center. For teams that live in email and want 90% of their inbox handled automatically, it's a powerful choice. For solo users on a budget, Gmail with filters or a cheaper client may suffice.
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Use Cases
- Automatically organize your inbox by identifying important emails and archiving noise with one click.
- Create custom AI filters to label, star, or archive emails based on plain English rules.
- Use AI search to find emails and analyze attachments across your entire team's history.
- Collaborate on shared threads with real-time comments, task assignments, and read statuses.
- Set delivery schedules to batch email arrivals and reduce interruptions.
Models Under the Hood
Claude Haiku 4.5Claude Sonnet 4.6Claude Opus 4.6Gemini 2.5 Flash
Limitations
- AI usage is heavily quota-gated per plan, with Business offering only 150-300 Standard requests per day.
- Free tier has limited search history (30 days).
- Maximum threads per AI search (50/100/150) and context tokens grow with tier but remain restrictive for heavy users.
- Tasklet integration requires separate product subscription.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Annual total
Free
Over 12 months
Effective monthly
Free
Billed monthly
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
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