Quick Answer
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Shortwave pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $100 per user/month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: Yes
  • Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
  • Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training

Shortwave offers 5 pricing tiers: Free, Business, Premier, Max, Enterprise. Standard paid plans include Free at $0/user/month, Business at $30/user/month, Premier at $45/user/month. The Business plan is business professionals and teams needing everyday ai productivity for email management with full search history.

Compared to other ai productivity software, Shortwave is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

Last verified: January 2026 | Sources: 4 pricing pages and reviews

Shortwave is an AI-powered email client built by former Firebase and Google engineers that transforms how professionals manage their inbox. Backed by Union Square Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, Shortwave uses artificial intelligence to summarize threads, write personalized replies, search email history intelligently, and organize your inbox with smart bundles and automated workflows.

Shortwave offers a free tier with basic AI features and paid plans starting at $24/user/month (Business, billed annually) scaling up to $100/user/month (Max) for expert-level AI intelligence. This guide breaks down every Shortwave plan, compares the tiered AI intelligence levels, reveals hidden costs like daily AI usage limits and the mandatory free-tier email signature, and helps you decide between Shortwave and competitors like Superhuman for your email productivity needs.

All Shortwave Plans & Pricing

Plan Monthly Annual Best For
Free searchHistory: 90 daysaccounts: 1 email account Free Free 0 Users wanting to try AI-powered email management with basic inbox organization before committing to a paid plan
Business searchHistory: 5 yearsaccounts: Not specified $30 /user/month $24 /user/monthSave 20% Business professionals and teams needing everyday AI productivity for email management with full search history
Premier searchHistory: UnlimiteddailyAiRequests: 2x Business tier $45 /user/month $36 /user/monthSave 20% Power users and professionals needing advanced AI intelligence, unlimited search history, and priority support
Max searchHistory: UnlimiteddailyAiRequests: 6x Business tier Contact Contact Heavy email users and executives needing the most powerful AI models and maximum daily AI usage
Enterprise minSeats: 50+ (contact sales) Contact Contact Large organizations with 50+ employees requiring advanced integration, compliance, security, or dedicated support
View all features by plan

Free

  • Core email productivity features
  • Smart Bundles for email categorization
  • Basic AI summaries
  • Drag-and-drop bundle creation
  • Travel and social media auto-bundling
  • Basic AI assistant access
  • Predictive autocomplete
  • Snooze and reminders
  • Calendar integration

Business

  • Everything in Free plan
  • Standard AI intelligence level
  • AI-powered search (5-year history)
  • Attachment analysis with AI
  • AI memory and saved prompts
  • Instant AI replies
  • Personalized AI writing (Write in your Voice)
  • Email splits, bundles, and delivery schedules
  • AI-powered snooze
  • Todos and read statuses
  • Link tracking
  • Snippets for quick responses
  • Automatic follow-up reminders
  • Thread sharing and team comments
  • Assignees and shared labels
  • Up to 50 threads per AI search
  • 3 AI-powered filters
  • ~150-300 daily AI requests
  • No 'Sent with Shortwave' signature
  • 14-day free trial included

Premier

  • Everything in Business plan
  • Advanced AI intelligence level
  • 2x more daily AI usage than Business
  • Unlimited AI search history
  • Up to 100 threads per AI search
  • 10 AI-powered filters
  • 2x context tokens for better AI responses
  • Activity feeds for email tracking
  • Link tracking with recipient opens
  • Priority support
  • Live 1:1 training sessions

Max

  • Everything in Premier plan
  • Expert-level AI intelligence
  • 6x more daily AI usage than Business
  • Up to 150 threads per AI search
  • 50 AI-powered filters
  • 3x context tokens for deepest AI analysis
  • Maximum AI capabilities
  • Priority support
  • Live 1:1 training sessions

Enterprise

  • Everything in Max plan
  • Advanced integration capabilities
  • Compliance and security features
  • Dedicated support
  • Custom deployment options
  • Volume licensing
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Hidden Costs to Budget For

Watch for 5 hidden costs
  • AI usage daily limits - Shortwave meters AI usage by daily requests (~150-300 on Business). Power users who rely heavily on AI search, summaries, and writing assistance can hit daily caps, forcing them to upgrade from Business ($24/month) to Premier ($36/month) or Max ($100/month) for more AI headroom
  • Mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' signature on free plan - The free tier appends a mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' branding signature to every outgoing email that cannot be removed. This is unprofessional for business use and effectively forces business users to upgrade to a paid plan
  • 90-day search limit on free plan - Free users can only search the last 90 days of email history with AI. For anyone with important older emails, this severely limits the utility of Shortwave's AI features and pushes users toward the Business plan ($24/month) for 5-year history or Premier ($36/month) for unlimited history
  • Monthly billing premium of ~25-29% - Monthly billing costs significantly more than annual. Business is $30/month vs $24/month annual; Premier is $45/month vs $36/month annual. This adds $72-$108/year per seat for users who prefer monthly flexibility
  • AI intelligence tiers create feature stratification - Shortwave's AI quality differs by plan: Standard intelligence on Business, Advanced on Premier, Expert on Max. Users on lower tiers may find AI responses less accurate or capable, creating pressure to upgrade for better AI output quality rather than just more usage
Tip

Ask your Shortwave sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Frequently Asked Questions

01 How much does Shortwave cost?

Shortwave pricing starts with a Free plan ($0/month with basic features) and scales through Business ($24/user/month annual or $30 monthly), Premier ($36/user/month annual or $45 monthly), and Max ($100/user/month annual). Enterprise pricing is custom for teams of 50+. The Business plan is the most popular starting point for professionals, offering 5-year AI search history and standard AI intelligence. Annual billing saves 20-25% compared to monthly.

02 Is Shortwave free?

Yes, Shortwave offers a Free plan that includes core email productivity features, Smart Bundles for automatic email categorization, basic AI summaries, predictive autocomplete, and calendar integration. However, the free plan has notable limitations: 90-day AI search history, basic (non-personalized) AI, only 1 email account, and a mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' signature on all outgoing emails. New users also get a 14-day free trial of paid features. For business use, the Business plan ($24/month annual) removes these limitations.

03 What is Shortwave?

Shortwave is an AI-powered email client designed to transform how professionals manage their inbox. Built by former Firebase and Google engineers, Shortwave uses AI to summarize email threads, write personalized replies, search email history intelligently, organize inbox with smart bundles, and automate follow-up reminders. It works as a replacement email client for Gmail, offering features like AI-powered search, instant replies, thread sharing, team comments, and link tracking. Shortwave is backed by Union Square Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

04 Shortwave vs Superhuman?

Shortwave and Superhuman are both premium AI email clients. Shortwave Business costs $24/user/month (annual) vs Superhuman Starter at $25/user/month (annual) - nearly identical pricing. Key differences: Shortwave offers a free tier while Superhuman does not. Shortwave emphasizes AI-powered search and writing with tiered intelligence levels. Superhuman focuses on keyboard-first speed, CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot on Business tier), and mandatory onboarding training. Choose Shortwave for AI email intelligence and a free starting point; choose Superhuman for email speed, keyboard shortcuts, and sales team CRM workflows.

05 What is the difference between Shortwave Business and Premier?

Business ($24/month annual) offers standard AI intelligence, 5-year search history, ~150-300 daily AI requests, 50 threads per search, and 3 AI filters. Premier ($36/month annual) upgrades to advanced AI intelligence, unlimited search history, 2x daily AI usage, 100 threads per search, 10 AI filters, 2x context tokens, activity feeds, and priority support with live training. Premier costs 50% more but doubles AI capabilities and removes search history limits. Choose Business for everyday AI productivity; upgrade to Premier if you regularly hit AI usage limits or need unlimited search.

06 Does Shortwave work with Outlook?

Shortwave currently works primarily with Gmail accounts. The platform was built specifically for Gmail and Google Workspace users. If your organization uses Microsoft Outlook or Office 365, Shortwave may not be compatible with your email setup. Check Shortwave's current platform support on their website before subscribing, especially if you use custom domains through Microsoft email services.

07 How does Shortwave billing work?

Shortwave offers both monthly and annual billing. Annual billing saves 20-25% compared to monthly (e.g., Business: $24/month annual vs $30 monthly). All team members must be on the same plan. Billing starts at the beginning of your billing cycle with upfront payment. Adding seats mid-cycle incurs prorated charges for the remaining billing period. Shortwave uses Stripe for secure payment processing. New users receive a 14-day free trial of paid features that converts to the Free plan if not upgraded.

08 What is Shortwave's Max plan?

Shortwave Max ($100/user/month annual) is the highest individual tier offering expert-level AI intelligence, 6x more daily AI usage than Business, 150 threads per AI search, 50 AI-powered filters, 3x context tokens for the deepest AI analysis, unlimited search history, priority support, and live 1:1 training. Max is designed for executives and heavy email users who need the most powerful AI models and maximum daily throughput. It costs 317% more than Business but provides dramatically more AI capacity and the highest quality AI responses.