Head-to-head
Shortwave vs Superhuman
Superhuman uniquely has 13 features · Shortwave uniquely has 1 feature.
The verdict
Shortwave or Superhuman?
Section 01
Pricing, plan by plan
Every plan each vendor publishes, monthly and yearly where both are offered.
Shortwave
Pro
$18/mo
Standard intelligence, standard AI usage quota, 3 years AI search history, max 50 threads per AI search
Business
$30/mo
Standard intelligence, more AI usage, 5 years AI search history, max 50 threads, 3 AI-powered filters
Premier
$45/mo
Advanced intelligence, 2x more AI usage, unlimited AI search history, max 100 threads, 10 AI-powered filters
Max
$120/mo
Expert intelligence, 6x more AI usage, max 150 threads per AI search, 50 AI-powered filters, 3x context tokens
Superhuman
Free
$0/mo · $0/yr
AI chat, Grammarly writing tools, Docs with limited pages, Go AI assistant (beta)
Pro
$15/mo · $144/yr
Unlimited paragraph rewrites/translations, AI detection, custom doc domains, 30-day version history
Business
$40/mo · $396/yr
Includes Superhuman Mail, HubSpot/Salesforce/Pipedrive integrations, unlimited automations and version history
Enterprise
Custom
Advanced security, SAML SSO, BYOK encryption, custom roles, DLP, dedicated support
Section 02
Pros and cons
From each tool's full review, written from the same checked facts.
Shortwave
Pros
- Built by ex-Google engineers, resulting in a polished and technically credible product.
- AI filters written in plain English allow natural language rules like 'label anything from my landlord as urgent,' which is meaningfully different from Gmail's rule-based system.
- The Shortwave Agent handles organization, writing, scheduling, and search through plain-English prompts without requiring manual configuration.
- AI learns your writing voice and style from existing emails, enabling more personalized drafting assistance.
- Team collaboration features include shared threads, private comments, assignees, and shared labels — reducing email black-box problems.
- Connects to Tasklet for 24/7 workflow automation across a claimed 3,000+ apps, extending its utility beyond the inbox.
- Designed as an AI-native client from the ground up, not a plugin or add-on bolted onto an existing interface.
Cons
- Only works with Gmail and Google accounts, making it inaccessible to users on Outlook or other email providers.
- The 3,000+ app integration claim via Tasklet lacks strong independent verification and should be treated with skepticism.
- Tasklet is a newer, less proven product with limited third-party reviews available to validate its performance.
- The AI learning your writing style from sent emails raises legitimate privacy concerns for users wary of data collection.
- The tool is still relatively young, meaning review data is scarce and long-term reliability is unproven.
- Replaces the Gmail interface entirely, which may be disruptive for users deeply embedded in Google's native email experience.
Superhuman
Pros
- The keyboard-shortcut-first email experience has been consistently praised for years, helping users get through their inbox significantly faster.
- AI-powered writing assistance, backed by Grammarly's technology, is well-regarded for generating replies, adjusting tone, and matching user voice.
- Auto Drafts, Auto Archive, Auto Labels, and Auto Reminders provide meaningful email automation that reduces manual workload.
- The Go AI agent connects to Gmail, Google Drive, Jira, and hundreds of other tools to surface contextual information across browser tabs.
- Snippets and Quick Quote features allow users to pull from past emails quickly, speeding up repetitive communication tasks.
- Docs product includes collaborative pages with real-time editing, tables, Kanban boards, and database features for team workflows.
- The suite positions itself as a unified productivity platform, covering mail, documents, and AI assistance in one product.
Cons
- At $30 per month, the pricing is steep and harder to justify now that the product has shifted away from its focused email-client roots.
- The significant expansion into a full productivity suite has generated real skepticism among users who valued the original focused email experience.
- The Docs and broader suite features are newer and unproven compared to the long-standing reputation of the core mail product.
- No hands-on third-party testing data exists yet, making it difficult to independently verify the AI agent Go's real-world effectiveness.
- The product's repositioning creates uncertainty about who it's actually built for, muddying its original high-performing email user focus.
- The expanded feature set introduces tradeoffs that may dilute the speed and simplicity that originally justified the product's cult following.
Side by side
| Company | ||
| Founded | 2021 | 2015 |
| HQ | San Francisco, USA | San Francisco, USA |
| AI model | Multiple — GPT-4, Claude, and top research lab models | Proprietary (integrates with Claude, ChatGPT, and others) |
| User base | Thousands of teams (exact number not publicly stated) | 40M+ (Grammarly user base merged suite; 50,000+ teams) |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows | Grammarly, Docs, Go, Mail |
| Languages | English primarily | 20+ |
| Pricing | ||
| Pricing model | Subscription | Freemium |
| Free plan | No — 14-day free trial only, no permanent free tier | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes — 14 days | No |
| Starting price | $30/mo — Business | $0/mo |
| Enterprise | — | Custom pricing |
| All plans | Pro — $18/mo Business — $30/mo Premier — $45/mo Max — $120/mo | Free — $0/mo Pro — $15/mo Business — $40/mo Enterprise — Custom |
| Positioning | ||
| Best for | Professionals and ambitious teams wanting AI-powered email automation and inbox management | AI-assisted writing, inbox management, and collaborative docs |
| Differentiator | Ex-Google team built a fully AI-native email client that learns your writing voice, automates inbox workflows in plain English, and offers real-time team collaboration directly inside the inbox | AI that adapts to your voice and tone, flies through inbox saving 4 hours/week, and works across favorite apps |
| Competitors | Superhuman, SaneBox, Spark, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, HEY Email | Notion, Grammarly, Front, Shortwave, Spike, Microsoft 365 Copilot |
| Features | ||
| AI Writing Assistance | — | ✓ |
| Collaborative Docs | — | ✓ |
| Data Loss Prevention | — | ✓ |
| Email AI Personalization | — | ✓ |
| Plagiarism Detection | — | ✓ |
| Saml Single Sign on | — | ✓ |
| AI Assistant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Browser Extension | — | ✓ |
| Calendar Integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Document Creation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Meeting Summary | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mobile App | ✓ | ✓ |
| Note Taking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Offline Mode | — | ✓ |
| Presentation Builder | ✕ | ✕ |
| Project Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Research Assistant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Spreadsheet AI | ✕ | ✓ |
| Task Automation | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ||
| API Access | — | ✓ |
| Browser Extension | — | ✓ |
| Google Calendar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Drive | — | ✓ |
| Key Integrations | Slack, Google Calendar, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, CRM (auto-BCC), Tasklet (3,000+ apps) | Gmail, Google Drive, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Jira, GitHub, Figma, Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Grammarly, 800+ tools via connectors |
| Microsoft 365 | ✕ | ✓ |
| Slack Integration | ✓ | — |
Section 03
Shortwave vs Superhuman: common questions
Is Shortwave or Superhuman cheaper?
Shortwave's cheapest paid plan is $30/mo — Business and Superhuman's is $0/mo. Compare what each plan includes below before going on price alone.
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