Shortwave is an AI email client built on Gmail and Google Workspace, adding an AI Assistant that drafts, summarizes, organizes and searches your inbox alongside a built-in view of Google Calendar. It offers a permanent free tier next to four paid per-seat plans that scale in AI intelligence and usage, so what decides whether it suits you is whether your mail already lives in Gmail or Google Workspace.
What is Shortwave?
Shortwave is made by Shortwave Communications, Inc., headquartered in the United States. It runs on the web and has native apps for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android.
What Shortwave does for your day
Shortwave connects only to Gmail and Google Workspace accounts; Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts are not supported. Inside the inbox, its AI Assistant identifies important emails and todos and sweeps aside the rest (AI inbox organisation, splits, bundles and auto-applied labels are on Business and up), and it can search across your entire team's emails and attachments to answer questions about what you already have.
The Assistant also writes and enhances emails, learning your voice and style from what you have already sent. For meetings, you can view and manage your Google Calendar without leaving the app, creating a calendar invite from scratch. Shortwave also keeps a Todos list inside the inbox for tracking tasks alongside your email. All of this data is processed and stored in Google Cloud's data centers rather than on your own device.
Working with other people
Team collaboration, including thread sharing, team comments, assignees, shared labels and channels, is available from the Business plan and up. Shortwave connects to Slack, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, Zapier and Salesforce through its support for MCP servers.
Shortwave pricing: what each plan gives
The Free plan costs nothing and includes Basic intelligence (Claude Haiku 4.5) with a limited AI usage quota, 90 days of standard and AI search history, and a maximum of 15 threads per AI search; outgoing mail carries a "Sent with Shortwave" signature.
Pro costs $18 per seat a month and steps up to Standard intelligence (Claude Sonnet 4.6), with full standard search history, 3 years of AI search history and a maximum of 50 threads per AI search. Business costs $30 per seat a month and adds team collaboration. Premier costs $45 per seat a month and Max costs $120 per seat a month; these higher plans bring more AI usage and the Advanced (Claude Sonnet 4.6 with adaptive thinking) and Expert (Claude Opus 4.6 with adaptive thinking) intelligence levels.
A 14 day free trial is offered on the paid plans.
Privacy and security
All Shortwave data is stored in Google Cloud's data centers rather than on your own device. Shortwave is CASA Tier 2 compliant, with an annual third-party audit. It has no single sign-on.
Support runs through an in-app support form and email.
Who Shortwave suits
Shortwave suits people who already run their email through Gmail or Google Workspace and want an AI Assistant that drafts, triages and searches the inbox alongside a built-in view of Google Calendar, with a free plan to start on before committing to a paid seat.
It suits less well anyone whose mailbox is on Microsoft 365 or Exchange, since Shortwave only connects to Gmail and Google Workspace accounts, and any team that requires single sign-on, which Shortwave does not offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Shortwave cost?
There is a permanent free Individual plan with Basic intelligence and a limited usage quota. Paid plans start at Pro for $18 per seat a month and rise through Business, Premier and Max to $120 per seat a month, each with a 14 day free trial.
Which email and calendar accounts does Shortwave work with?
Shortwave connects only to Gmail and Google Workspace accounts and manages Google Calendar from inside the inbox. It does not support Microsoft 365 or Exchange accounts.
Does Shortwave have a task list?
Yes. Shortwave includes a Todos list inside the inbox for tracking tasks alongside your email.
Where is my data stored with Shortwave?
All Shortwave data is stored in Google Cloud's data centers rather than on your own device, and Shortwave does not offer single sign-on.
