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Shortwave shortwave.com

Can AI replace Shortwave?

The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Shortwave, group Gmail conversations, add bundles and todos, and index mail locally. The hard boundary is deep gmail semantics, cloud search, ai, team features, and mobile sync, plus mail infrastructure, integrations, and client polish.

Verdict: Half-bot · AI gets you partway; the hard part stays hardBuild time: multi-day
Half-bot

01What it costs

$18/moPro, monthly per user
$216per year at that price

Checked Aug 12, 2026 · source: shortwave.com.

PlanMonthlyBilled yearlyWhat you get
FreeFreeFree90 days of standard and AI search history; max 15 threads per AI search; 0 AI filters; limited AI quota; mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' signature.
Pro$18—3 years of AI search history; max 50 threads per AI search; 0 AI filters; standard AI quota.
Business$30—5 years of AI search history; max 50 threads per AI search; 3 AI filters; roughly 150-300 Standard-intelligence AI requests/day.
Premier$45—Unlimited AI search history; max 100 threads per AI search; 10 AI filters; 2x Business AI usage and 2x context.
Max$120—Unlimited AI search history; max 150 threads per AI search; 50 AI filters; 6x Business AI usage and 3x context.

Hidden costs: Every teammate must use the same paid tier and is billed per seat. AI capacity, search depth and filter count require tier upgrades rather than overage purchases. One paid seat covers all of that person's signed-in accounts; Tasklet 24/7 automation is a separate subscription.

02Could AI build it for you?

The core job: Connect an existing Gmail mailbox, group conversations into bundles with todos, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service.

What a working version needs:

  • existing IMAP and SMTP mailbox
  • OAuth client credentials where required
  • desktop keychain access
  • local disk space

Editorial comparison targets the Personal plan and a personal desktop mail client DIY substitute. Recheck price before merge.

03What you'd give up

  • deep Gmail semantics, cloud search, AI, team features, and mobile sync
  • mail hosting and deliverability
  • push on every platform
  • advanced team collaboration
  • provider-specific AI and search

People still pay for Shortwave because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.

04Free and cheaper alternatives

BlueMail Personalfree

Clusters group related mail and the Later Board turns messages into tasks; Gmail-specific bundles are less clever.

bluemail.me →
Spark Freefree

Smart Inbox, Set Aside and Done reproduce the focused workflow; conversation bundling is simpler.

sparkmailapp.com →

05The build prompt

Paste this into an AI coding tool (such as Claude, ChatGPT, Lovable or Replit) to build your own version.

prompt.txt
Build a personal replacement for Shortwave in an empty repository.
Use Tauri 2, React, TypeScript, SQLite, IMAP, SMTP, and OAuth where available; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: connect an existing Gmail mailbox, group conversations into bundles with todos, index messages locally, provide a fast focused inbox, and send through the account's normal SMTP service.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Support one IMAP and SMTP account with credentials stored only in the OS keychain.
Index headers and message bodies locally with resumable sync and a visible status page.
Implement standards-based threading, folders, labels, archive, snooze, drafts, and search.
Render HTML email in a locked-down sandbox and block remote images by default.
Send multipart messages with attachments and preserve a local copy of every draft.
Add export, local cache reset, account reconnect, diagnostics, and safe logging.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out running a public mail server.
Deliberately leave out shared team inboxes and sales workflows.
Deliberately leave out mobile push services and provider-scale spam filtering.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.

06Open-source starting points

  • mailcow: Popular open-source mail-server suite that demonstrates the operational complexity of hosted mail.
Sponsor slot · openFeatured alternative to Shortwave. A labeled card for one relevant tool.
Book this spot →

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App prices, verdicts, alternatives and build prompts are adapted from Can I Vibecode It? (MIT License, © 2026 Rob Hallam). Each price shows the date it was checked and its source. Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.