Shortwave vs Spike
Shortwave
shortwave.com
Spike
spikenow.comSide by side
| Figure | Shortwave | Spike |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $30/mo | $4/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 12 |
| Spec score · Email clients | 8.8 (#17) | 9.0 (#10) |
| Spec score · AI Email Assistants | 8.2 (#16) | 8.3 (#12) |
| Spec score · AI Personal Assistants | 8.3 (#21) | 8.4 (#19) |
| Spec score · Email Productivity Apps | 8.3 (#14) | 8.4 (#11) |
| App coverage | all | all |
| Calendar tools | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | The AI can connect with apps including Slack, Calendar, Notion, Asana, and HubSpot; the pricing page also describes built-in integrations or MCP. | Spike supports Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive for cloud attachments, and its calendar feature names Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar. |
| Platforms | The download page offers iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps and links to other desktop platforms; Shortwave also offers a web app. | Spike lists iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and web browser as supported devices. |
| Product | Shortwave is an AI email app that helps users organize, schedule, write, and search email using prompts. | Spike describes itself as an AI-powered inbox that brings email, calls, notes, tasks, and to-dos into one hub and turns email threads into chat-like conversations. |
| Security | Shortwave says it has CASA Tier 2 compliance and undergoes an annual third-party security audit. | Spike says message data is encrypted with AES-256 using a per-message private key and that it has periodic external security audits. |
| Scheduled sending | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | 30 | 4 |
| Support | The pricing page describes plan support as direct help from a real person on the Shortwave team. | The pricing page lists standard support for Starter, priority support for Team and Pro, and VIP support for Business and Ultimate. |
| Team collaboration | Teams can share live email threads, comment privately, assign next steps, and use shared labels. | Teamspace includes channels, shared inboxes, groups, collaborative docs and tasks, and audio and video meetings. |
| Unified inbox | No | Yes |
Plans
Spike
- StarterFree
- Team$4 a month
- Business$8 a month
- FreeFree
- Pro$6 a month
- Ultimate$12 a month
- Email App FreeFree
- Teamspace StarterFree
- Teamspace Team$4 a month
- Email App Pro$6 a month
In their own words
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.
Spike
Spike combines email, calls, notes, tasks, and to-dos in a single hub, and presents email threads as chat-like conversations. It has a unified inbox, scheduled sending, and calendar tools, and runs on Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. Spike AI can draft messages and replies, summarize conversations, and provide an assistant; free tiers list 10 queries for several AI features. Teamspace adds channels, shared inboxes, groups, collaborative documents and tasks, and audio and video meetings. Spike works with existing accounts such as Gmail, Office 365 or Outlook, Exchange, iCloud, Yahoo, and other IMAP accounts. Cloud attachments can use Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, and calendars can connect with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar. Spike says it encrypts messages with AES-256 using a per-message private key, and undergoes periodic external security audits. The Email App Free plan includes one address, 60 days of search history, 1 GB storage, and 30 MB file uploads. Email App Pro is $6 a month billed annually; Ultimate is $12 a month billed annually.