Shortwave vs Sudowrite

A 2026 side-by-side comparison of Shortwave and Sudowrite — pricing, key features, platforms, API access, and the trade-offs of each, based on data collected from their official sites.

Tagline

Automate your email with agentic AI

The AI writing partner built for fiction writers to draft, describe, rewrite, and finish novels in their own voice.

Pricing

Freemium
Freemium

Rating

0.0 (0)
0.0 (0)

Platforms

WebmacOSWindowsiOSAndroid
Web

API

No
No

Open source

No
No

Description

Shortwave is an AI-powered email client designed to manage, organize, search, and automate your inbox. Utilizing advanced LLMs, it offers conversational AI assistance, custom AI filters, context-aware writing in your voice, scheduling integration, email bundle triage, and secure, private team collaboration.

Sudowrite is an AI writing partner designed specifically for novelists and storytellers. Driven by Muse 1.5, its proprietary fiction-trained AI model, Sudowrite assists with drafting, pacing, visual story mapping, and character continuity. Key features like First Draft, Story Bible, and Describe help writers expand their narratives, overcome blockages, and build rich sensory descriptions while retaining their unique tone.

Key features

  • AI Assistant for conversational email management and delegation
  • AI Search to query your email using plain natural language
  • Custom AI Filters written in plain English to automatically label, star, or archive
  • Inbox Splits to divide your inbox into custom, focused tabs
  • Email Bundles to group promotions, updates, or custom labels as single items
  • Delivery Schedules to control when emails arrive in your inbox
  • Private Team Comments and mentions to discuss emails directly in the app
  • Shared Live Threads and read statuses to coordinate with teammates
  • Voice Learning AI to draft replies that sound like your unique writing style
  • Keyboard Shortcuts to process email workflows entirely without a mouse
  • Tasklet Integration to connect to 3,000+ apps and automate workflows
  • Google Workspace and Advanced Protection Program support
  • Muse 1.5 fiction-trained AI model
  • Story Bible step-by-step drafting pipeline
  • Write autocomplete suggestions
  • Describe tool for sensory details
  • Expand tool to build out scenes
  • Rewrite revision tool
  • Chapter Continuity and Series Folder
  • Unfiltered Muse for adult and smut scenes
  • Canvas visual planning board
  • Chat grounded in Story Bible info

Pros

  • Available across multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows.
  • Employs third-party security reviews and undergoes annual CASA Tier 2 verification audits.
  • Saves time by grouping mailing lists, newsletters, and promotional emails into bundled rows.
  • Adapts and learns the user's specific voice and style based on sent emails.
  • Allows team members to privately comment on live email threads and collaborate without forwarding.
  • Guarantees that customer data is never used to train third-party LLMs.
  • Enables delivery schedules so you can control exactly when non-urgent emails enter your inbox.
  • Provides a clear 14-day full refund policy for paid subscriptions.
  • Offers a free trial to let users test out features before committing to a paid plan.
  • Guarantees that user writing is not used to train their AI models.
  • Claims no rights or ownership over what users write or generate in the tool.
  • Enables writing in almost any language, matching suggestions to the user's language.
  • Allows unfiltered writing (adult/smut) without AI refusal or prompt fading.
  • Keeps characters, world, and plot consistent with the built-in Story Bible.
  • Users retain project access to read and edit existing work even after cancelling a paid subscription.
  • Features like Describe and Expand turn flat, sparse sentences into sensory-rich narrative.

Cons

  • Longer conversations inside the AI assistant process entire chat history, rapidly consuming daily quota limits.
  • Refunds are strictly unavailable once the initial 14-day payment period expires.
  • The Business paid plan limits users to roughly 150-300 standard AI requests per day.
  • Premium tiers can be expensive, with the Max tier scaling up to $120 per user.
  • Compliance options like SOC 2 Type II or GDPR are not self-serve and require manually contacting support.
  • Requires a credit card registration to access the initial free trial.
  • Requires an ongoing paid subscription to access any AI-based features.
  • May fall back on English translation when using features other than Write in foreign languages.
  • No public API or developer integration options are listed on the site.
  • No active native mobile applications are currently offered (though mobile hiring is shown).

Pricing plans

  • BusinessUSD30/month
    • Standard intelligence
    • AI autocomplete, summaries & attachment analysis
    • Read statuses, link tracking, snippets & more
    • Full standard search history
  • PremierUSD45/month
    • Everything in Business, plus Advanced intelligence
    • 2x more usage
    • 100 threads per AI search
    • 2x context tokens
  • MaxUSD120/month
    • Everything in Premier, plus Expert intelligence
    • 6x more usage
    • 150 threads per AI search
    • 3x context tokens
  • Hobby & StudentUSD10/month
    • Perfect for people who write for fun or for school
    • Start Free Trial
    • No credit card, cancel anytime
    • Use the #1 Creative Writing AI
  • ProfessionalUSD22/month
    • Good for longer works, like a novel or screenplay
    • Get Feedback on your work
    • Start Free Trial
    • No credit card, cancel anytime
  • MaxUSD44/month
    • For authors who publish multiple times a year
    • Unused credits rollover for 12 months
    • Start Free Trial
    • No credit card, cancel anytime
  • Enterprise
    • Drop us a line
  • 30-Minute Personal Setup SessionUSD49/one_time
    • Enjoy a private one-on-one session with Sudowrite staff
    • Tailored to your needs to help you get up to speed quickly
    • Complimentary Personal Setup Session offered on Max plan must be used within 30 days of first payment

Which one should you pick?

  • Choose Shortwave if you need AI Assistant for conversational email management and delegation.
  • Choose Sudowrite if you need Muse 1.5 fiction-trained AI model.
  • On budget: Shortwave is freemium, Sudowrite is freemium.