Quartz vs Shortwave (2026)
A side-by-side comparison of Quartz and Shortwave on pricing, features, and fit, so you can decide which is right for you.
Quick answer
Quartz and Shortwave are both strong choices, but they fit different needs. Choose Quartz if you mainly need managing a high-volume inbox without losing focus on priority messages — its edge is strong privacy guarantee because all ai processing happens on your mac. Choose Shortwave if you need managing high-volume gmail inboxes more efficiently — its edge is significantly reduces time spent reading and triaging email. Quartz starts at Paid plans estimated starting around $10 per month; Shortwave starts at $9/month per user for advanced AI and team features.
Features compared
- Local on-device AI processing for full email privacy
- AI-powered inbox triage and smart message prioritization
- Automated email drafting and reply suggestions
- Thread summarization to quickly catch up on long conversations
- AI-generated email summaries to quickly understand long threads
- Smart inbox bundling that groups related emails automatically
- AI-assisted reply drafting powered by natural language generation
- Shared team inboxes with real-time collaboration and assignments
Pros & cons
- Strong privacy guarantee because all AI processing happens on your Mac
- Clean, focus-oriented interface that reduces inbox overwhelm
- No reliance on cloud servers means faster responses and offline capability
- Currently limited to Mac users, excluding Windows and Linux audiences
- As a newer tool, it may lack the deep integrations found in established email clients
- Significantly reduces time spent reading and triaging email
- Seamless Gmail integration means no migration of existing data
- Clean, intuitive interface with strong keyboard shortcut support
- Only works with Gmail accounts, limiting use for non-Google users
- Some advanced features require a paid subscription to unlock
The verdict
Choose Quartz if
you mainly need to managing a high-volume inbox without losing focus on priority messages. Its edge: strong privacy guarantee because all ai processing happens on your mac.
Choose Shortwave if
you mainly need to managing high-volume gmail inboxes more efficiently. Its edge: significantly reduces time spent reading and triaging email.
Frequently asked questions
Is Quartz better than Shortwave?
Neither is universally better. Quartz is stronger for managing a high-volume inbox without losing focus on priority messages, with an edge in strong privacy guarantee because all ai processing happens on your mac. Shortwave is stronger for managing high-volume gmail inboxes more efficiently, with an edge in significantly reduces time spent reading and triaging email. Pick based on your main task.
Which is cheaper, Quartz or Shortwave?
Quartz starts at Paid plans estimated starting around $10 per month and Shortwave starts at $9/month per user for advanced AI and team features. Free tier: Quartz — Basic local AI email features available at no cost; Shortwave — Free plan available for individual users with core AI features.
What is Quartz best for?
Quartz is best for managing a high-volume inbox without losing focus on priority messages, drafting professional email replies quickly using ai suggestions, keeping sensitive business communications private by processing everything locally.
What is Shortwave best for?
Shortwave is best for managing high-volume gmail inboxes more efficiently, collaborating with small teams on shared email queues, quickly catching up on long email threads using ai summaries.
Do Quartz and Shortwave have free plans?
Quartz: Basic local AI email features available at no cost. Shortwave: Free plan available for individual users with core AI features. Check each tool's pricing page for current limits, as plans change.