Mailspring vs Shortwave
Mailspring
getmailspring.com
Shortwave
shortwave.comSide by side
| Figure | Mailspring | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $30/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Spec score · Email clients | 9.0 (#9) | 8.8 (#17) |
| App coverage | desktop | all |
| Calendar tools | No | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Mailspring syncs directly with mail providers using IMAP and with calendars and contacts using CalDAV and CardDAV. | The AI can connect with apps including Slack, Calendar, Notion, Asana, and HubSpot; the pricing page also describes built-in integrations or MCP. |
| Platforms | Downloads are offered for Windows, macOS, and Linux, including Windows ARM64, Apple Silicon, and Linux ARM packages. | The download page offers iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps and links to other desktop platforms; Shortwave also offers a web app. |
| Product | Mailspring is a native desktop email client for people who take email seriously. | Shortwave is an AI email app that helps users organize, schedule, write, and search email using prompts. |
| Security | Email credentials are stored in the system keychain, and Mailspring says it does not transmit, store, or process email in the cloud. | Shortwave says it has CASA Tier 2 compliance and undergoes an annual third-party security audit. |
| Scheduled sending | Yes | Yes |
| Support | For security vulnerability reports, the maker gives [email protected] and says users can expect a response within a few hours. | The pricing page describes plan support as direct help from a real person on the Shortwave team. |
| Unified inbox | Yes | No |
Plans
Mailspring
- BasicPrice not published
- Mailspring Pro$8 a month
- FreeFree
- Mailspring Pro$8 a month
In their own words
Mailspring
Mailspring is a desktop email client for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with support for multiple accounts in one inbox. It connects to Gmail, iCloud, Office 365, Fastmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo!, and IMAP/SMTP providers, and indexes email for advanced Gmail-style searches across connected accounts. The client works offline and supports scheduled sending. Its free features include undo send, spell and grammar checking, custom themes, dark mode, and localization. Pro adds read receipts, link tracking, send later, follow-up reminders, templates, contact profiles, snoozing, and mailbox insights. Mailspring connects to mail providers through IMAP and to calendars and contacts through CalDAV and CardDAV, though calendar tools are not included in the app. It can translate drafts into Spanish, Russian, simplified Chinese, French, and German, and offer to translate incoming messages. Mailspring says credentials are kept in the system keychain and email is not processed in the cloud. The free plan is available; Pro costs $8 a month, billed monthly.
Shortwave
Shortwave is an AI email app for organizing, writing, scheduling, and searching messages with prompts. Email tools include inbox splits, bundles, delivery schedules, todos, summaries, AI filters, and AI-assisted search. Teams can share live threads, comment privately, assign next steps, and use shared labels. Connections include Slack, Calendar, Notion, Asana, and HubSpot; the pricing page also describes built-in integrations or MCP. Shortwave runs on Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows, and includes calendar tools and scheduled sending. It offers a free plan and a 14-day trial; paid plans start at $30/user/mo. Business is $30 a month per seat and includes five years of AI search history, up to 50 threads per search, and three AI-powered filters. Premier and Max cost $45.00 USD and $120 a month per seat, respectively, with unlimited history and higher search-thread and filter limits. Shortwave says data is encrypted at rest and in transit, and customer data is not used to train third-party LLMs. It lists CASA Tier 2 compliance and annual third-party security audits.