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Missive vs Shortwave
Missive and Shortwave are AI email tools, which sort, search or share email so people spend less time in their inbox. Our editors read both companies' own sites, then read what email-heavy professionals and support teams say about the two tools in public reviews, community boards and chat forums. The table below compares price, limits and features.
| What buyers compare | Missive | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Price per monthSources 3, 4 | Starter $14 per user, Productive $24, Business $36, billed yearly (20% off monthly) | Business $30 per seat, Premier $45, Max $120 |
| Free plan or trialSources 3, 4 | 30-day free trial, no credit card | 14-day free trial |
| How usage is countedSources 3, 4 | Up to 1,000 rules on Productive and Business | Daily AI quota: about 150 to 300 standard AI requests on Business, 2x on Premier, 6x on Max |
| Seats and usersSources 3, 4 | Starter up to 5 users, Productive up to 50, Business unlimited | Priced per seat |
| Integrations and featuresSources 3, 4 | Email, SMS and social accounts. HubSpot, ClickUp, Dialpad and more. API and MCP access from Productive | Gmail client with AI search, summaries, autocomplete and AI filters. Tasklet for automated replies and 3,000+ apps |
| Security and deploymentSources 3, 4 | SOC 2 Type II. Business: SAML SSO and IP restrictions | Not published |
| Best forSources 1, 2 | Support, success, and ops teams that need a shared company inbox with assignees, comments, and light AI automation | Individuals and small teams living in Gmail who want AI summaries, search, and drafting inside a dedicated client |
List prices in US dollars per month before tax, as published on each vendor's site on October 16, 2026, billed monthly unless the cell says otherwise. "Quote" means the vendor sets the price through its sales team. A green check marks a row where the published data shows a clear edge.
Which one fits
Missive is built for teams sharing inboxes, and Shortwave for one person getting through Gmail with AI.
Choose Missive if
- Your team shares inboxes and needs to assign emails, comment internally and see who is replying.
- You handle SMS and social messages along with email in the same place.
- You are a small team. Starter costs $14 per user per month billed yearly.
Choose Shortwave if
- You live in Gmail and want an AI client that searches, summarizes and drafts across your mail.
- You want to choose the model. Shortwave runs Claude models at levels from Basic to Expert.
- You search old mail a lot. Business keeps five years of AI search history and Premier keeps all of it.
What buyers say
“Missive is better for shared team inboxes and rules. Shortwave is better if you’re Gmail-only and want AI search/summaries inside that account.”
piotrkaminski · HN · · source
“Shortwave when RAG over years of Gmail is the win. Missive when “discuss this email as a team” beats personal AI features.”
NelsonMinar · HN · · source
“Missive works for our team because we assign emails and leave internal comments. Shortwave's AI search across years of Gmail is impressive for one person, but it is not built around shared inboxes.”
Founder, small e-commerce company
Representative buyer view
Verdict
Pick Missive (7.9 out of 10, Recommend) if a team shares inboxes and needs assignments and internal comments. Pick Shortwave (6.9 out of 10, Conditional recommend) if you work alone or in a small team in Gmail and want an AI client that searches, summarizes and drafts across years of mail.
Methodology
We read the Missive and Shortwave pricing pages and product sites on October 16, 2026 and recorded every published price, limit and plan feature. A cell reads "Not published" when the vendor does not state that detail on its site, and rows where neither vendor publishes anything were left out.
Scores, best-fit notes and buyer quotes come from the AIR reviews of each product, which weight practitioner reviews at 40%, hands-on product checks at 35%, pricing at 15% and docs at 10%. Paid reviews and pay-for-play sites are excluded. Quotes marked Representative buyer view are written by AIR to reflect buyer feedback and carry no source link.