Inboxer vs Shortwave
Both put AI at the centre of email. Inboxer optimises for control and meetings; Shortwave optimises for a chat-like interface to your inbox.
| Inboxer | Shortwave | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19/workspace/month, 1 user included | from $30/seat/mo (up to $120) |
| Free trial | 7 days | 14 days |
| Works with | Gmail, Outlook | Gmail / Google Workspace only |
| Approval-first |
Competitor prices and feature availability as of August 2026 and may change - check their site for the latest.
Competitor facts last manually verified August 2026 against each vendor's official site.
The honest version
Shortwave is an AI-native Gmail client: AI filters can label, archive, delete, or highlight incoming mail, an AI organises your inbox, conversational search answers questions about your mail, attachments are analysed automatically, and it writes replies in your style. Recent releases have pushed well past inbox triage - built-in calendar and scheduling, a todo list, and integrations with HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Asana, and Linear (plus further automations via Tasklet). It remains Gmail and Google Workspace-only - per its own docs, Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts are not supported.
Inboxer keeps your existing Gmail or Outlook UI and adds an AI layer on top: triage runs in the background classifying every incoming message, drafts attach themselves to threads that need replies, and a task queue extracts itself from emails, with every commitment linked back to its source.
Shortwave is an AI-native Gmail client with powerful search, calendar, todos, filters, and integrations. Inboxer keeps Gmail or Outlook as the system of record and adds automatic source-linked commitment tracking and one approval queue across multiple inboxes. Native Outlook support remains a clear Inboxer advantage - Shortwave stays centred on Gmail and Google Workspace.
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Inboxer | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| AI triage (auto-categorisation) | 8 categories, most routine noise auto-archived | AI filters: label, archive, delete, or highlight |
| Conversational inbox search | /ask + Cmd+K | core feature |
| Voice-matched AI drafts | learned from sent history | |
| Calendar & scheduling | in development | built-in calendar and scheduling |
| Todo list | tasks extracted from email, not a general to-do list | |
| Pre-meeting briefs | from Gmail invitation emails, 30 min before | via summaries |
| Meeting transcript & summary | optional meeting bot (Recall.ai) | |
| Task extraction from email | ||
| Third-party integrations (HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Asana, Linear) | plus further automations via Tasklet | |
| Keeps existing Gmail/Outlook UI | AI layer on top | new client |
| Approval-gated AI actions | nothing sends without you | |
| Works with Outlook | not supported; Gmail / Google Workspace only | |
| Starting price | $19/workspace/month (1 user included), 7-day free trial | from $30/seat/mo (up to $120 for the top AI tier), 14-day trial |
Which one is right for you?
Pick Inboxer if…
- You don't want to migrate inbox clients - you just want AI to run alongside Gmail or Outlook.
- You're primarily on Outlook and want a tool that treats it as a first-class citizen, not a second add-on.
- You manage more than one inbox and want commitments from all of them in one source-linked queue.
- You want commitments tracked automatically without maintaining a separate to-do list.
Pick Shortwave if…
- You're happy to switch email clients and want calendar, todos, and third-party integrations (HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Asana, Linear) built directly into your inbox.
- Your primary email pain point is search and recall, not cross-inbox commitment tracking.
- You're on Gmail or Google Workspace - the only platforms Shortwave supports.
- Higher per-seat pricing ($30-$120/seat/mo) is acceptable for the broader feature set.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Shortwave work with Outlook?
- No. Its own docs state Shortwave only works with Gmail and Google Workspace; Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts are not supported. Inboxer's email features (triage, drafts, task extraction) treat Gmail and Outlook as equals; meeting detection is Gmail-first today, with native Outlook invitations in development.
- Does Shortwave have calendar and todos built in?
- Yes. Recent Shortwave releases added calendar and scheduling, a todo list, AI filters, and integrations with HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Asana, and Linear. Inboxer doesn't replace your calendar or add a separate to-do list - it extracts commitments from email into one source-linked queue (meeting detection from Gmail invitation emails; on Outlook, invitations relayed as .ics attachments are detected, with native invitations in development).
- Which is cheaper, Inboxer or Shortwave?
- Inboxer starts at $19/workspace/month (1 user included). Shortwave starts at $30 per seat per month (up to $120 for the top AI tier), so Inboxer is generally the lower entry price.
- Is Inboxer conversational like Shortwave?
- Different model. Shortwave centres on a chat assistant you talk to; Inboxer centres on automatic triage plus voice-matched drafts attached to each thread.
- Is Inboxer approval-gated?
- Yes, nothing sends without your click. It is a core design principle rather than a setting you toggle.
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