Superhuman or Shortwave: which should you pick?
Pick Superhuman if your team runs on Outlook, or if you want the most refined speed-first client and the Business plan's Auto Drafts are worth $33 a member. Pick Shortwave if you are on Gmail or Google Workspace, want to start free and want an AI assistant that can search your mail and send calendar invites. Pick neither if you do not want a new client at all.
We make Momo AI, so read our placement of it with that in mind. Prices are from each vendor's own pricing page on 16 October 2026 and change often.
What each one actually is
Both are email clients, not overlays. Superhuman syncs to Gmail or Outlook and sells per member on annual billing; Auto Drafts and Ask AI sit on its Business plan. Shortwave is available on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, and its docs say it requires a Gmail or Google Workspace account to sign in. Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported; Outlook.com mail can only be forwarded in, not sent from.
Shortwave's pricing page lists AI autocomplete on Business, plus instant AI replies, personalised AI writing, automatic follow-up reminders and calendar integration that checks availability and sends invites from its AI assistant. The page does not say which of those sit on which plan, so the table marks them as listed rather than confirmed per plan.
Price
Superhuman: Starter $25 and Business $33 per member per month, billed annually. Monthly figures are behind a toggle and not shown in the page text. No free tier is listed.
Shortwave: Business $30, Premier $45 and Max $120 per seat per month. Its billing guide says new subscriptions are billed monthly, so there is no annual discount to quote. There is a free plan, which the billing guide says includes most productivity features and the Shortwave AI assistant, and a 14-day trial on paid plans.
Both bill in US dollars, so Indian buyers pay card conversion charges and GST on top.
Where both stop
Both ask you to move into a new client. Shortwave lists follow-up reminders and can send calendar invites; Superhuman's plans page does not mention either. Neither runs the scheduling thread itself, offering free slots in an email and booking the one picked. [Momo AI](/) is the third option: keep Gmail exactly as it is, add an assistant that drafts in your voice, tracks who has not replied, books meetings over email and briefs you each morning, and asks before every send. Limits: Gmail only, no Outlook, no native client. More on the Superhuman alternative and Shortwave email alternative pages.
