Superhuman Mail vs Shortwave
Superhuman Mail or Shortwave? Here is how they compare on price, free plan, platforms and the jobs each does best, from each vendor's own pages.
| Compared on | Visit | Visit |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | AI email app for teams that use Gmail or Outlook | AI email client for Gmail and Google Workspace accounts |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | $25/member/mo billed annually (Starter)Superhuman Mail pricing | $18/seat/mo (Pro)Shortwave pricing |
| What it covers | Mail is also included in the Superhuman suite Business plan ($40 monthly, or $33 per member/month billed annually), which bundles Mail, Grammarly, Docs and Go. | Listed as $18 per seat/month on the Individual tab; the pricing page shows no annual billing option. |
| Free trial | None stated | 14-day free trial of paid plans |
| Platforms | macOS, Chrome extension | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android |
| Integrations (vendor's figure) | Not stated | Not stated |
| Open source | No | No |
| Made by | Superhuman (formerly Grammarly) | Shortwave Communications, Inc. |
Choose Superhuman Mail if…
- The job is working through a heavy Gmail or Outlook inbox faster.
- The job is drafting routine replies with AI.
Choose Shortwave if…
- You want a free plan: Superhuman Mail does not have one.
- Price matters: its cheapest paid plan is $18/seat/mo against $25/member/mo.
- You want a mobile app (iOS and Android).
- The job is finding old emails and attachments by asking questions in plain English.
- The job is sorting a busy Gmail inbox automatically with AI filters.
What Superhuman Mail does
- Superhuman AI for triaging and writing email
- Auto Drafts and custom AI auto labels (Business)
- Ask AI (Business)
- Calendar and scheduling from the inbox
- HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive integrations (Business)
- Superhuman Mail MCP for connecting AI tools (Business)
Watch out for
- No free plan for Mail; the Superhuman suite's Free and Pro plans do not include Mail
- Built for Gmail and Outlook users; other email providers are not mentioned on the product page
- Auto Drafts, Ask AI and CRM integrations require the Business plan
What Shortwave does
- AI assistant that searches email history and answers questions
- AI filters that sort incoming email (3 to 50 on Business plans)
- AI autocomplete, instant summaries and attachment analysis
- Splits, bundles and delivery schedules for organising the inbox
- Team features: thread sharing, comments, assignees and shared labels
- Read statuses, link tracking, snippets and follow-up reminders
Watch out for
- Sign-in requires Gmail or Google Workspace; Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported, and other providers work only through forwarding
- Free plan limits search history to 90 days and adds a 'Sent with Shortwave' signature
- Each plan has a daily AI usage quota; higher tiers give more usage
Questions
Is Superhuman Mail or Shortwave cheaper?
On published entry prices, Shortwave is cheaper: $25/member/mo billed annually (Starter) for Superhuman Mail against $18/seat/mo (Pro) for Shortwave. What each plan includes differs, so compare the limits too.
Do Superhuman Mail and Shortwave have free plans?
Shortwave does; Superhuman Mail does not.