Compare Mailbutler vs Shortwave

Both tools in AI Email

Mailbutler

AI-powered email plugin for Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail that adds tracking, scheduling, AI writing, tasks, and contact management inside your existing inbox.

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Shortwave

AI EmailPaid

AI-native Gmail client built by former Google Inbox engineers, with thread bundles, natural-language search, AI summaries, and team shared inboxes.

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Pricing

Pricing Comparison

Mailbutler

Starter$Free

30 actions/month, basic features with Mailbutler watermark

Professional$4.95/mo

Tracking, scheduling, templates, smart send

Smart$14.95/mo

Full AI assistant, task extraction, contact management

Business$32.95/mo

Team features, shared notes, team assignments, analytics

Shortwave

Business$24/mo

Billed annually ($30 monthly), full AI features, team inboxes, 5-year AI search history

Premier$36/mo

Billed annually, advanced AI intelligence, unlimited search history, 10 AI filters

Max$120/mo

Billed annually, highest AI usage, custom enterprise features

Features

Feature Comparison

Mailbutler

Email Open TrackingLink Click TrackingSmart Send LaterAI Email WriterAI Thread SummarizerAI Task ExtractorTone ImprovementEmail TemplatesMail MergeEmail SchedulingCloud SendSnooze and RemindersContact EnrichmentTeam NotesEmail AssignmentCustom SignaturesUndo SendProfessional Profiles

Shortwave

AI Natural-language SearchThread BundlesPriority InboxAI Thread SummariesAI Reply DraftingShared Team InboxesTeam CommentsTeam Read StatusesKeyboard ShortcutsEmail PinningEmail SnoozingScheduled SendMarkdown SupportPresence IndicatorsTasklet IntegrationAI Email FiltersFull History SearchCustom Bundling Rules

Fit

Best For & Not For

Mailbutler

✅ Best For

✅Freelancers and consultants who bill by the hour and need to know the moment a proposal or invoice email is opened

✅Apple Mail users who want email tracking and AI writing without switching to Gmail or a new client

✅Small sales teams where each rep needs to track opens, schedule emails, and manage follow-ups inside their own inbox

✅Client-facing professionals like mortgage brokers, recruiters, and agencies where knowing if mail was read resolves disputes and drives timely follow-up

❌ Not For

❌Teams needing a full shared inbox or helpdesk, since Mailbutler is a personal productivity layer, not a collaboration platform

❌High-volume cold emailers needing inbox rotation and deliverability tools, which belong to dedicated outreach platforms

❌Mobile-first users, because the iOS tracking feature is limited compared to the desktop experience

❌Budget-sensitive users on free Gmail who want unlimited features, since meaningful tracking requires the Professional plan at a minimum

Shortwave

✅ Best For

✅Gmail-first professionals drowning in threads who want AI search that answers questions instead of returning links

✅Small teams managing a shared support@ or hello@ inbox who do not want to pay for a full helpdesk platform

✅Google Workspace companies that want a modern, Inbox-by-Gmail experience with AI baked in from day one

✅Founders and operators who process high email volume and need AI summaries to read long threads in seconds

❌ Not For

❌Outlook and Microsoft 365 users, since Shortwave is Gmail-only with no cross-platform support

❌Teams that need autonomous AI handling of email rather than a faster client to process it themselves

❌Individuals wanting a free long-term plan, since the free tier was removed and every plan now starts with a 14-day trial

❌Solo users on tight budgets where the Business plan at $24 per month per seat is hard to justify for just inbox speed

Availability

Platform & Accessibility

Mailbutler

web-baseddesktopchrome-extension

Shortwave

web-basedmobiledesktop

Use & Audience

Tasks & Who It's For

Mailbutler

Tasks

ai-email

Who it's for

freelancer solopreneur small-business

Shortwave

Tasks

ai-email

Who it's for

small-business solopreneur marketer

Integrations

Mailbutler

Communication

GmailOutlookApple Mail

Automation

Zapier

CRM

HubSpotPipedrive

Shortwave

Communication

Gmail

Other

Google CalendarGoogle Workspace

Automation

TaskletZapier

Use Cases

Real-world Use Cases

Mailbutler

Siddharth, a mortgage broker, sends a loan approval email with Mailbutler tracking and calls the client 4 minutes after they open it, closing the refinancing conversation that same afternoon.

A freelance designer schedules her project proposal to send on Tuesday at 10 AM using Smart Send Later, and the client replies within an hour instead of the usual two-day wait.

A recruiter extracts 15 candidate follow-up tasks from a chain of screening emails in one click, then works through them in order without losing track of anyone in the process.

Shortwave

Kavya, a startup COO, types 'what did the investor ask about our runway in the last two months?' into AI Search and gets a summary of three threads in seconds instead of scrolling for 10 minutes.

A 5-person SaaS team sets up a shared hello@ inbox in Shortwave, assigns threads with one click, and resolves customer inquiries 40 percent faster without buying a helpdesk tool.

Rajan, a consultant with 200 emails a day, uses thread summaries to scan 15 long client conversations in under 5 minutes each morning, cutting his inbox session from 2 hours to 45 minutes.

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