Shortwave vs Canary Mail

by Gralio Feb 24, 2025

Shortwave and Canary Mail are both AI-powered email clients, but they cater to different needs. Shortwave excels in team collaboration and task management, while Canary Mail focuses on individual productivity and a secure, private email experience. Choose Shortwave if you need a collaborative email platform for your team, and Canary Mail if you prioritize individual productivity and privacy.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 114 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 hour, 8 minutes of reading.

Shortwave

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Canary Mail

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About

Shortwave is an AI-powered email client for teams designed to streamline communication and improve productivity. It offers features like real-time inbox collaboration, AI-assisted email writing and search, automated email organization, and team-wide task management. Shortwave aims to provide a more efficient and intelligent alternative to traditional email clients by leveraging AI to reduce clutter, automate tasks, and provide valuable insights from email data.

Canary Mail is an AI-powered email app designed to simplify your email experience. It offers features like AI email writing assistance, email summarization, and smart prioritization to help you manage your inbox efficiently. Canary Mail also includes security features such as PGP encryption and SecureSend for sending confidential information. With a focus on privacy, Canary Mail offers a clean and user-friendly interface without ads or data mining.

Summary

Main difference

Shortwave is a collaborative email client designed for teams, offering features like shared inboxes and task management. Canary Mail focuses on individual productivity with AI-powered features like email summarization and smart prioritization.

Relative strengths of Shortwave (compared to Canary Mail)

Offers real-time inbox collaboration and team-wide task management, enhancing team productivity.
Provides AI-assisted email writing and search, streamlining communication workflows.
Integrates seamlessly with Gmail, leveraging existing email infrastructure.

Relative weaknesses of Shortwave (compared to Canary Mail)

Can be expensive, especially for larger teams.
Limited third-party integrations compared to Canary Mail.
Mobile app experience is not as polished as Canary Mail.

What companies are using Shortwave and Canary Mail?

No data

Oxford

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Who should use Shortwave VS. Canary Mail

Shortwave is an AI-powered email client designed for teams to streamline communication. Features include shared inboxes, AI-assisted writing, and automated organization. Users praise its ease of use and effective prioritization but note the high price and limited integrations. Perfect for collaborative teams needing efficient email management.

Canary Mail is a secure, AI-powered email client ideal for individuals and small teams seeking enhanced productivity and privacy. Users praise its clean interface, smart sorting, and robust security features like PGP encryption. However, some users have reported performance issues and limited integrations.

Best for small to mid-sized teams seeking enhanced email collaboration.
Ideal for teams in software/IT, marketing, and professional services relying on email.

Best for individuals or small teams.
Suitable for various industries seeking secure communication.

Shortwave and Canary Mail features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

AI Email Writer

Supported

Shortwave offers AI-powered email writing through its AI Assistant and Ghostwriter technology.

Supported

Canary Mail uses AI to generate email content and offer writing suggestions.
Shared Inboxes

Supported

Shared inboxes are supported via shared threads and labels.

Supported

Canary Mail offers shared inboxes for team collaboration.
Business Tool Integrations

Partially supported

Shortwave integrates seamlessly with CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce, but other integrations are not extensively documented.

Partially supported

Canary Mail integrates with Todoist for task management, suggesting broader integration capabilities.
Shared inbox

Not supported

Shared inboxes are not supported, but shared threads and comments are available.

Partially supported

Canary Mail offers a unified inbox that can indirectly support shared team inboxes.
Multi-Mailbox Management

Not supported

Multiple mailboxes are not supported.

Supported

Canary Mail supports multiple email accounts.
Send, receive and manage emails.

Supported

Shortwave supports sending, receiving, and managing emails, especially with Gmail.

Supported

Canary Mail allows sending, receiving, and managing emails with AI assistance and robust security.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

No data

No data
Customer Service

No data

No data
Ease of Use

No data

No data
Reliability and Performance

No data

No data
Ease of Implementation

No data

No data
Scalability

No data

No data

Shortwave and Canary Mail Pricing

No data

See full Pricing page

Canary Mail offers a free plan and two paid plans - Growth and Pro+. The free plan is suitable for personal use, while the paid plans cater to individuals and teams. All plans include unlimited email accounts and storage. A 7-day free trial of the Pro+ plan is available without requiring credit card information.

Plans

See full Pricing page

Shortwave and Canary Mail review insights

Users love

Excellent customer support.
User-friendly interface, praised for its simplicity.
Effective email organization and prioritization features.
Useful "Pinning" feature for quick access to important emails.

Secure sending and tracking features.
Smart sorting and prioritization of emails.
Consolidated inbox management.
Clean and user-friendly interface.
Email snoozing and delayed sending.
Robust email and folder/label management.
Read receipts and email templates.
Cross-platform compatibility (Mac, iOS, iPadOS).
AI-powered email summarization.
Email writing assistance.
One-click unsubscribe.
Full access to labels and folders.
Tracker blocking.
Encryption features, especially PGP.
Auto-sort and delete of clutter.
Unified inbox.
Multiple signatures.

Users dislike

High price point, a common concern among users.
Limited third-party software integrations.
Lack of a stable Android app version; beta version is underwhelming.
Implementation can be complex at times.

Slow performance and sluggishness, impacting overall system speed.
High memory usage, contributing to system slowdown.
AI email writing assistance can be repetitive and unhelpful.
Pinned or forwarded emails are not marked as read.
Folder organization within account settings is cumbersome.
Image rendering issues on non-retina displays.
Occasional difficulties displaying Gmail emails.
Rudimentary email summarization.
Lack of integrations with productivity tools.
Limited keyboard shortcuts.
Minor UI/UX design improvements needed.
Calendar integration is lacking.
Read receipt detection could be improved.
Limited customization for spam filtering.
Default font setting is not available.
Per-device licensing can be expensive.

Shortwave and Canary Mail Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(64)

G2

4.4/5

(52)
TrustPilot

3.5/5

(1)

Company health

Employee growth

7% decrease in the last year

9% decrease in the last year

Web traffic

40% decrease in the last quarter

22% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

November 2021 - $3M

How effectively does each product's AI reduce email clutter and improve prioritization?

Shortwave uses AI for automated email organization, real-time inbox collaboration, and AI-assisted search, which helps reduce clutter and prioritize important emails and tasks. Canary Mail leverages AI for smart prioritization, automatic email categorization, and email summarization, aiming to reduce clutter and surface important information. However, user reviews mention that its AI email writing assistance can be repetitive and unhelpful, and summarization is rudimentary.

Which product offers better integration with existing email providers like Gmail?

Shortwave explicitly states support for sending, receiving, and managing emails, "especially with Gmail." While Canary Mail supports multiple email accounts and likely works with Gmail, the provided information doesn't specify the level of Gmail integration Shortwave offers. Therefore, Shortwave appears to offer better Gmail integration based on the provided details.

What are the advantages of Shortwave?

Shortwave offers real-time inbox collaboration and team-wide task management features, making it advantageous for teams needing enhanced communication and project management directly within their email client. It also provides AI-assisted email writing and automated email organization, which can boost productivity by reducing time spent on manual tasks.

What are the disadvantages of Shortwave?

Shortwave's disadvantages include a high price point, limited third-party software integrations, a subpar Android app, and occasional difficulties with implementation complexity.

Alternatives to Shortwave and Canary Mail

Spike

Spike is a communication and collaboration platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It consolidates team chat, email, video conferencing, file sharing, and project management into a single, unified workspace. This streamlines communication and eliminates the need to switch between multiple apps. Spike offers a free plan as well as paid plans with advanced features, and users can connect their existing email domain or obtain a new one directly from Spike.

Cakemail

Cakemail is an email marketing platform designed to help businesses of all sizes grow. It allows you to create and send targeted email campaigns, automate your email marketing, and manage your audience. Key features include A/B testing, detailed reporting and analytics, and built-in tools to ensure your emails reach your subscribers' inboxes. Cakemail also offers a range of integrations to connect with your other business tools. It stands out for its user-friendly interface and focus on deliverability.

Huntress Security Awareness Training

Huntress Security Awareness Training is a platform designed to help employees at any company size learn about cybersecurity threats. It offers story-based training videos, simulated phishing attacks, and progress reporting to measure how well your employees retain the information. The goal is to build a "human firewall" that is more resilient against real-world cyberattacks. It integrates with popular identity providers like Google and Okta and offers flexible billing options. Huntress also has an option for fully managed training and phishing simulations run by their security experts.

SendSafely

SendSafely is a cloud-based platform designed for businesses to securely share sensitive files and information. It uses end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and intended recipient can access the data. It's compatible with all major browsers and requires no software installation. SendSafely prioritizes ease of use while offering features like compliance certifications (HIPAA, GDPR), integrations with existing business systems, and administrative controls for managing users. The platform boasts a simple interface, making secure file sharing straightforward for any employee.

Flodesk

Flodesk is an email marketing platform designed for ease of use, allowing businesses to create visually appealing emails and sales pages. It offers customizable templates, automation features, and analytics to track performance. Flodesk aims to provide a comprehensive platform for businesses to grow their audience, nurture leads, and generate sales, all within a single, user-friendly interface.

Forsta

Forsta is a comprehensive software platform that helps businesses gather and understand feedback from customers, employees, and market research. It allows you to create and send surveys, analyze the data, and then present the findings in easy-to-understand reports and visualizations. Forsta aims to provide a complete picture of the human experience, helping you improve customer retention, make informed decisions, and ultimately drive growth. It's used by many large companies across various industries and is recognized as a leader in its field.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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