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Comparison

Superhuman vs Shortwave: which is right for a small business?

Superhuman suits teams on Gmail or Outlook who want a fast email app with AI built in: Mail Starter is $25 a member billed yearly, and Business, with Auto Drafts, $33. Shortwave suits Gmail users who want an AI assistant that searches and writes across their mail: free to start, then Pro at $18 a seat a month.

Updated . Every fact is linked to Superhuman's or Shortwave's own site, with the date we checked it

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How do Superhuman and Shortwave compare, side by side?

Superhuman: Email app (Superhuman Mail) with an AI assistant for Gmail and Outlook, now sold with Grammarly, Docs and Go AI as 'Superhuman Suite'. Shortwave: AI email app for Gmail: an AI assistant that organizes, writes, searches and schedules, with inbox splits, bundles and team collaboration.

What mattersSuperhumanShortwave
Free planNo free Mail plan; the Superhuman Suite page lists a Free plan ($0) for AI chat and Grammarly writing assistance and Docs, not Mail.1Yes (Individual tab): basic intelligence, limited AI quota, 90 days of standard and AI search history, 15 threads per AI search, 'Sent with Shortwave' signature.2
Entry plan$25 per member per month, billed annually (Annual toggle shows 17% off monthly); $30 billed monthly3$18 per seat per month, billed monthly; pricing FAQ confirms monthly USD billing4
Team plan$33 per member per month, billed annually (marked 'Most popular'); $40 billed monthly5$30 per seat per month, billed monthly; pricing FAQ confirms monthly USD billing6
Top planEverything in Business, plus advanced security and controls, SSO, SCIM; Customer Success Manager, team analytics, priority support, admin console; Unlimited seats, BYOK7Expert intelligence (Claude Opus 4.6 with adaptive thinking); 6x AI usage; 150 threads per AI search; 50 AI filters; 3x context tokens8
Email accountsGmail and Outlook inboxes and calendars; HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive; Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams9Requires a Gmail or Google Workspace sign-in; Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail and Zoho work by forwarding to Gmail.10
Organising the inboxSplit Inbox: separate emails from your team, VIPs or tools such as Google Docs, Notion, Asana11Splits (inbox tabs), bundles for newsletters and promotions, delivery schedules, block and unsubscribe, auto-apply labels.12
AI writingSuperhuman AI in Mail: Instant Reply, Auto Labels, Auto Archive, Auto Reminders, Auto Summarize, Instant Event13Instant AI replies, personalized AI writing from your sent mail, predictive autocomplete, instant summaries, AI-powered snooze.14
AI limitsPricing for AI is bundled into the plan; Suite page lists usage credits as a 'limited trial' on paid plans15No way to buy extra AI quota or top off mid-day; quota resets every 24 hours.16
Team featuresTeam features: shared conversations, team comments, shared drafts, team snippets, team read statuses, team scheduling (Starter and above)17Team features: shared threads, team comments, assignees, shared labels, channels, team read statuses.18
Beyond emailEverything in Pro, plus Superhuman Mail, personalized AI that sounds like you; View and update HubSpot, Salesforce and Pipedrive from the inbox; Unlimited Docs automations and version history19Starter $25/month for 10,000 credits; Pro $100/month for 40,000 credits; Custom shown at $250/month for 100,000 credits. Organization billing, unlimited team members with no per-seat fee. One-time top-ups cost $5 per 1,600 credits, minimum $25 purchase, valid for one year. Monthly credits do not roll over.20
MCPSuperhuman Mail MCP connects Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity to your Gmail and Outlook inboxes and calendars: search, summarize, draft and send replies, manage meetings, across all connected accounts; included from the Business plan21MCP support (beta): remote and local MCP servers (local only in the desktop app), tool calls only, up to 40 tools at once, on Business, Premier or Max; examples: Notion, Asana, HubSpot, Zapier, Salesforce.22

Prices are in US dollars a month, before tax, as each company lists them.

Which should you choose, Superhuman or Shortwave?

Choose Superhuman if

  • Your team uses Outlook as well as Gmail, and wants one email app for both.
  • You want outside AI tools to reach your inbox and calendar through the Mail MCP (Business).
  • You want to save on a yearly plan, from $25 a member.
  • You'd like Grammarly and Docs in the same subscription with Superhuman Suite.

Choose Shortwave if

  • You're on Gmail or Google Workspace and want to start on a free plan.
  • You search your email history with AI a lot, and want years of it searchable.
  • You want to choose how strong the AI model is, up to Claude Opus on Max.
  • You have several email accounts and want one price per person that covers all of them.

How do Superhuman and Shortwave differ in approach?

Both replace the app you read email in, but Superhuman is built for speed across Gmail and Outlook, and Shortwave is built around an AI assistant for Gmail. Superhuman Mail gives you Split Inbox, Snippets, Remind Me, Snooze, Send Later, Undo Send and read statuses, with AI for writing, instant replies, auto labels, auto archive and summaries.

Shortwave organises Gmail into splits and bundles, turns emails into todos, and puts an AI assistant at the centre that organises, writes, searches and schedules, with AI filters that act on new mail from a plain-language prompt. You pick how strong its model is by plan, from Claude Haiku on Free to Claude Opus on Max.

How much do Superhuman and Shortwave cost?

Shortwave starts cheaper and bills monthly. Superhuman Mail Starter is $25 a member a month billed yearly or $30 monthly, and Mail Business $33 yearly or $40 monthly, both for up to 25 seats, with Enterprise quoted. Superhuman Suite, which adds Grammarly and Docs, is $12 a member billed yearly on Pro and $33 on Business, which includes Mail.

Shortwave's paid plans are billed monthly, with no yearly price shown: Pro $18 a seat, Business $30, Premier $45 and Max $120. One flat rate covers all of a person's email accounts. Shortwave's free plan gives basic AI with a limited quota and 90 days of search history.

How does the AI compare?

Superhuman bundles its AI into the price; Shortwave gives each plan a daily AI quota. Superhuman's Business plan adds Auto Drafts, Ask AI, custom AI labels and voice-and-tone matching, and its Suite page lists usage credits on paid plans as a limited trial. Shortwave's Business plan allows roughly 150 to 300 Standard AI requests a day, Premier twice that and Max six times, and the quota resets every 24 hours with no way to buy more. AI search history runs from 3 years on Pro to unlimited on Premier.

Which suits a small team better?

Both have real team features; Superhuman covers Outlook too, and Shortwave gives more AI choice. Superhuman includes shared conversations, team comments, shared drafts, team snippets and team scheduling from Starter. Shortwave Business adds shared threads, team comments, assignees, shared labels and channels, plus auto-BCC to log email in HubSpot or Salesforce. A team that mixes Gmail and Outlook needs Superhuman; a Gmail-only team can choose on AI.

Where does Mojobase fit?

Mojobase is a third option for small teams that want email to sit with the rest of the business, built for 1 to 25 people, and it works well for teams up to 100. It hosts email on your own domain, or connects the Gmail and Outlook mailboxes you have, sorts new mail and drafts replies from your calendar, customers, documents and Handbook, and gives agents one MCP server for all of it. It isn't a dedicated email client tuned for speed, so people who mainly want faster email are better served by Superhuman or Shortwave. It costs $39 a month for the first person and $25 for each after, with every app and the AI included.

Questions people ask

Is Superhuman or Shortwave cheaper?

Shortwave's entry plan is cheaper: Pro is $18 a seat a month, billed monthly, against $25 a member billed yearly for Superhuman Mail Starter. For teams, Shortwave Business is $30 a month and Superhuman Mail Business $33 billed yearly. Shortwave also has a free plan, with a 'Sent with Shortwave' signature; Superhuman's free plan doesn't include Mail.

Does Shortwave work with Outlook?

Shortwave requires a Gmail or Google Workspace sign-in; Yahoo, iCloud, Fastmail and Zoho mail work by forwarding to Gmail. Superhuman Mail is built for both Gmail and Outlook accounts, inboxes and calendars.

How much AI do I get in Shortwave?

Shortwave sets a daily AI quota that resets every 24 hours, and you can't buy more mid-day. Business allows roughly 150 to 300 Standard requests a day, Premier twice that and Max six times; Basic-level requests don't count. Superhuman bundles its AI into the plan price.

Which AI models do they use?

Shortwave names its four intelligence levels: Basic runs Claude Haiku 4.5, Standard Claude Sonnet 4.6, Advanced Sonnet 4.6 with adaptive thinking, and Expert, on Max, Claude Opus 4.6. Superhuman bundles its AI into each plan's price.

Can AI agents use my email through Superhuman or Shortwave?

Superhuman Mail MCP, from the Business plan, connects Claude, ChatGPT and Perplexity to your Gmail and Outlook inboxes and calendars to search, summarise, draft and send. Shortwave works the other way: it's an MCP client, in beta, that lets its own AI call tools such as Notion, Asana or HubSpot.

Sources

  1. Superhuman: Free plan. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  2. Shortwave: Free plan. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  3. Superhuman: Mail Starter. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  4. Shortwave: Pro (Individual). shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  5. Superhuman: Mail Business. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  6. Shortwave: Business. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  7. Superhuman: Mail Enterprise includes. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  8. Shortwave: Max includes. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  9. Superhuman: Integrations. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  10. Shortwave: Feature. shortwave.com/docs/how-tos/microsoft-outlook-exchange-other-sign-in-support/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  11. Superhuman: Feature. superhuman.com/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  12. Shortwave: Feature. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  13. Superhuman: AI. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  14. Shortwave: AI. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  15. Superhuman: AI. superhuman.com/plans, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  16. Shortwave: Add-on. shortwave.com/docs/how-tos/ai-quota/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  17. Superhuman: Feature. superhuman.com/plans/mail, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  18. Shortwave: Feature. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  19. Superhuman: Suite Business includes. superhuman.com/plans, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  20. Shortwave: Tasklet, a sister product, does workflow automation and is priced separately. tasklet.ai/pricing, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  21. Superhuman: Agents and MCP. superhuman.com/mail/features/email-mcp, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  22. Shortwave: Agents and MCP. shortwave.com/docs/how-tos/using-mcp/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  23. Superhuman: Suite Pro. superhuman.com/plans, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  24. Shortwave: Premier. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  25. Shortwave: Max. shortwave.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.

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