Two premium AI email clients, both aimed at people who live in their inbox, and one fact decides the choice for many teams before any feature comparison starts: Superhuman connects to Outlook and Shortwave does not.
We build this+that, which also puts AI where the messages are, so we have an interest here. Prices and coverage were checked against both companies’ own pages on August 16, 2026. The comparison with us is one section near the end.
Key takeaways #
Outlook is the deciding fact. Superhuman Mail is built for teams on Gmail or Outlook. Shortwave connects natively to Gmail and Google Workspace only. You can reach Outlook through it, but only by connecting that account to Gmail first.Shortwave is cheaper at the bottom and more expensive at the top. Its Pro plan for individuals is**$18** per seat. Its Business tiers run**$30**,$45 and**$120**.** Superhuman is $25 to $33per member per month billed annually,$30 to $40** monthly.Only Shortwave has a free tier. Superhuman doesn’t, and Mail isn’t sold on its own.They meter different things. Superhuman’s tiers gate features. Shortwave’s gate AI usage, search history and how many threads a single AI search can read.
What each one is #
Superhuman is the fastest email client most people have used, and speed is the whole design.
Keyboard-first, sub-100ms interactions, and a training session when you start. In 2026 it’s no
longer only a client: Mail is one product in a line, and the pricing page now lives at
/mail/pricing
.
Shortwave was built for Gmail by engineers who worked on Google Inbox, and the lineage shows. Bundling, AI search and thread summaries are the strongest implementations of those ideas available. Where Superhuman optimizes how fast you move through mail, Shortwave optimizes how much the software understands it.
Outlook, and what it rules out #
Superhuman Mail is, in its own words, “built for teams that use Gmail or Outlook.”
Shortwave’s own answer is narrower: it “connects natively to Gmail & Google Workspace accounts,” and you can bring accounts from “Outlook, Fastmail, Yahoo and many other providers by first connecting them to your Gmail account.”
That works, but it puts a Gmail account in the middle, routes your mail through it, and gives a Microsoft 365 IT team something to decline. If your company runs on Microsoft 365, this is where the comparison ends.
The pricing comparison is not one number #
Shortwave splits into two products with separate tiers.
| Plan | Price per seat / month |
|---|---|
| Shortwave Free | $0 |
| Shortwave Pro (individual) | $18 |
| Shortwave Business | $30 |
| Shortwave Premier | $45 |
| Shortwave Max | $120 |
| Superhuman Starter | $25 annually, $30 monthly |
| Superhuman Business | $33 annually, $40 monthly |
| Superhuman Enterprise | Contact sales |
Prices checked August 16, 2026.
Superhuman’s annual discount is 17%, and Business takes a further 15% off for teams of five or more. Shortwave runs a 14-day free trial.
The comparison flips depending where you look. An individual pays $18 for Shortwave Pro against $25 for Superhuman Starter. A team wanting Shortwave’s better models pays $45 or $120 per seat, where Superhuman’s ceiling before Enterprise is $33.
What the tiers actually gate #
This is the difference that matters more than the headline price, and it’s easy to miss.
Superhuman gates features. Business adds its most advanced AI, auto drafts, Ask AI, custom auto labels, CRM integrations, and a Superhuman Mail MCP server. You know what you are buying and the bill doesn’t move.
Shortwave gates capacity. The tiers differ by AI usage quota, how far back AI search reaches (90 days, 3 years, 5 years, unlimited), how many threads one AI search can read (15, 50, 100), and how many AI-powered filters you get (3, 10). Premier is described as “2x more AI usage” than Business and Max as “6x more.”
So the question for Shortwave isn’t which features you want, it’s how heavily you’ll use them. That’s harder to answer before you start, and it’s the reason a team can land on Business and find itself wanting Premier.
Where each one is stronger #
Superhuman, for speed and for Outlook. Nothing in this category moves faster, the keyboard model is the most complete, and it’s the only one of the two a Microsoft 365 company can adopt without rerouting mail. The MCP server on Business also means the inbox is reachable from Claude or another client.
Shortwave, for understanding. AI search across years of mail, bundling that actually works, and summaries that save reading rather than typing. The free tier lets a team try the thing before paying, which Superhuman doesn’t offer.
Which one should you pick #
On Microsoft 365, Superhuman. There’s no second consideration.
On Gmail, wanting speed, Superhuman. If your complaint is that processing mail takes too long, this is what it was built for.
On Gmail, wanting comprehension, Shortwave. If your complaint is that you can’t find things or can’t face a long thread, its AI search and summaries are the stronger implementation.
Watching cost as an individual, Shortwave. $18 against $25, and a free tier to test first.
Where we fit #
Both products make one mailbox better, and both are good at it. The limit they share is the mailbox. Superhuman covers Gmail and Outlook, Shortwave covers Gmail, and neither reads the chat where half the requests now arrive.
this+that reads Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and WhatsApp Business as one stream, turns the requests inside them into tracked
[tasks](https://www.thisandthat.chat/dobox/?utm_source=blog%2Fsuperhuman-vs-shortwave) without anyone assigning them, and runs
[workflows](https://www.thisandthat.chat/workflows/?utm_source=blog%2Fsuperhuman-vs-shortwave) grounded in operating knowledge held in the
company’s [brain](https://www.thisandthat.chat/brain/?utm_source=blog%2Fsuperhuman-vs-shortwave).
That’s a different job. If what you want is a faster or smarter inbox, buy one of these two. If the problem is that things agreed in a thread never become work, a better inbox doesn’t fix it.
Frequently asked questions #
Does Shortwave work with Outlook? Not natively. Shortwave connects to Gmail and Google Workspace, and other providers including Outlook can be reached only by connecting them to a Gmail account first.
Is Shortwave cheaper than Superhuman? For an individual, yes: $18 per seat against $25. For a team wanting Shortwave’s better models, no. Premier is $45 and Max is $120, against a $33 ceiling for Superhuman Business.
Does either have a free tier? Shortwave does. Superhuman doesn’t, and Superhuman Mail isn’t sold separately from the wider product line.
What is the difference between Shortwave’s Business, Premier and Max? Capacity rather than features: AI usage quota, how far back AI search reaches, how many threads one search can read, and how many AI filters you get.
Can you connect Superhuman to Claude or another AI client? Yes, on the Business plan, which includes a Superhuman Mail MCP server.
Which one handles Slack or Microsoft Teams? Neither. Both are email clients.