Shortwave review

Shortwave is the most AI-forward of the dedicated email clients here. Its agent can organize the inbox, check your calendar and send invites, write replies that follow your style, and answer questions by searching your mail. AI filters let you describe rules in plain English, such as archiving or labeling certain messages, with 3 filters on Business and 50 on Max. Paid tiers differ mainly in AI muscle: Business uses Standard intelligence and searches 5 years of history, Premier adds unlimited AI search history and double usage, and Max uses Shortwave's most capable model level. Teams get shared threads, private comments, assignments and shared labels. The docs say the free plan includes most productivity features and the AI executive assistant, and one paid seat covers all of a person's accounts. The limits to note are the daily AI quota and a jump in price at Max.

Who it is for

Teams that want deep AI search over years of email and custom AI filters written in plain English.

Price

Free plan; Business $30 per seat per month; Premier $45; Max $120.

Everyday AI productivity $30 per seat / month
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 6, 2026.

Key features

• AI assistant that learns your writing style from sent mail
• AI filters that label, archive or star mail from a plain-English prompt
• AI search across up to 5 years of history on Business
• Predictive autocomplete and instant summaries on every email
• Shared threads, private comments and assignments for teams

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Free plan includes the Shortwave AI executive assistant
• Strength: One flat rate per person covers all of your email accounts
• Strength: Choice of Claude model levels from Standard to Expert
• Weakness: Daily AI quota of roughly 150 to 300 Standard requests on Business
• Weakness: Unlimited AI search history needs the $45 Premier plan
• Weakness: Supported email providers are not stated on the pricing page

Key facts

• Business: $30 per seat per month
• Premier: $45 per seat per month, 2x AI usage
• Max: $120 per seat per month, 6x AI usage
• Free trial: 14 days

Where it ranks

Shortwave is No. 3 in our Best AI Email Assistants verdict.