HEY Email vs Shortwave
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — HEY Email is from $8/user/mo, Shortwave is free tier available.
- How to start: HEY Email is from $8/user/mo, Shortwave is free tier available.
- Where they differ: only Shortwave has public api and sso (saml); both offer mobile app.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What HEY Email is
HEY is a revolutionary email service from the creators of Basecamp that aims to fix everything wrong with modern email. It replaces the traditional inbox with the 'Imbox'—a place for things that actually matter. With its unique 'Screening' feature, YOU decide who is allowed to email you. HEY blocks all spy trackers, protects your privacy, and offers innovative features like 'The Feed' for newsletters and 'The Paper Trail' for receipts. It's a premium, opinionated take on email for people who want to reclaim their focus and sanity.
What Shortwave is
Shortwave rebuilds the Gmail experience around bundles, AI summaries and fast keyboard navigation. It is Gmail underneath, so migration risk is low and labels keep working, while the surface is rebuilt for speed and summarisation. That also means it is Gmail-only, which rules it out for anyone on another provider.
Side by side
| HEY Email | Shortwave | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Communication | Productivity |
| How to start | $8/user/moverified | Free tiernot a monthly price |
| Public API | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | No |
| SSO (SAML) | No | Yes |
| Visit | HEY Email ↗ | Shortwave ↗ |
What HEY Email is built to do
- The Screener
- Thumbs up or down on every new sender before they ever enter your inbox.
- The Feed
- Read your newsletters like a social media feed instead of individual emails.
- The Paper Trail
- Keep all your receipts and confirmations in one quiet place out of the way.
- Spy Tracker Blocking
- Stops companies from knowing when or where you opened their emails.
What Shortwave is built to do
- Bundled inbox
- Groups related mail into bundles delivered on a schedule.
- AI summaries and search
- Summarises long threads and answers questions over the mailbox.
- Gmail-native
- Works on top of an existing Gmail account without migration.
Choose HEY Email if
- Privacy Seekers and Busy Professionals who hate email.
Choose Shortwave if
- Heavy Gmail users drowning in threads.
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
HEY Email: pros & cons
- Total Privacy: Automatically blocks all tracking pixels used by marketers.
- Screening: No more spam or unwanted emails ever—you approve every new sender.
- Aesthetic UI: A completely fresh, modern take on what an email app looks like.
- Productivity: Features like 'Reply Later' and 'Set Aside' keep your inbox clean.
- Subscription Only: There is no free version of HEY; it is a premium service.
- No Folders: It uses a specific organization system that might be jarring at first.
- Locked Domain: Requires using an @hey.com address (unless you use the more expensive custom domain plan).
Shortwave: pros & cons
- AI summaries of long threads
- Fast keyboard-driven interface
- Works on top of existing Gmail
- Gmail only
- Subscription on top of your mail account
- AI features require sending content to a model
Our verdict on HEY Email
The most innovative and peaceful way to handle email in the 21st century.
Our verdict on Shortwave
A real improvement over the Gmail web client. Non-Gmail users are out of luck.