Shortwave costs $30, $45 or $120 per person a month. What each plan includes, which Claude models power its AI, and a private alternative for $49 once.
Shortwave is an AI-first email app for Gmail, built around large cloud models. It's powerful, and it's priced like it. Here's what each plan costs and includes in 2026.
Shortwave's plans
| Plan | Price per person | AI search history | AI filters |
|---|
| Business | $30 a month | 5 years | 3 |
| Premier | $45 a month | Unlimited | 10 |
| Max | $120 a month | Unlimited | 50 |
All plans have a 14-day free trial. Prices checked September 2026.
What powers the AI
Shortwave uses Anthropic's Claude models in the cloud, at different intelligence levels: from Claude Haiku 4.5 for quick tasks, through Claude Sonnet 4.6, to Claude Opus 4.6 with adaptive thinking for the hardest. Higher plans get more context and more capacity.
That's genuinely strong AI, for search across years of mail and long, open-ended tasks. The trade-off is that your email is sent to cloud models to use it.
What it costs over time
| Plan | 1 year | 3 years |
|---|
| Business | $360 | $1,080 |
| Premier | $540 | $1,620 |
| Max | $1,440 | $4,320 |
When Shortwave is worth it
- You want the most capable AI assistant in your inbox, for research across your whole archive.
- Your company pays, and uses its team features.
- You're comfortable with your email being processed in the cloud.
A private alternative for everyday AI
Most people use email AI for the same few jobs: sorting what matters, summarising, and drafting replies. Those don't need the biggest cloud model.
Dusk does them on your Mac, with Apple's on-device model, for $49 once. Every email is sorted into Important, Needs reply, Waiting, Newsletters or Screened with a one-line summary; long threads get a digest; Tab suggests replies in your style. Nothing leaves your Mac. It works with Gmail, Google Workspace and iCloud. See Dusk vs Shortwave.
Questions
- How much does Shortwave cost?
- Business is $30, Premier $45 and Max $120 per person a month, each with a 14-day free trial.
- What AI does Shortwave use?
- Anthropic's Claude models in the cloud, from Claude Haiku 4.5 to Claude Opus 4.6 depending on the task and plan.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Shortwave?
- Dusk is $49 once for Mac, with sorting, summaries and replies powered by on-device AI.
Fast, private email for $49 once
Pre-orders are open at the launch price. One payment covers the Mac app and the AI, and the iPhone app when it arrives.
Pre-order Dusk