Shortwave vs Spark Mail

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.

What Spark Mail is

Spark is an email client with smart inbox grouping and features for discussing emails inside a team. Discussing an email privately with colleagues before replying is the feature teams actually adopt it for. The smart inbox grouping helps volume, but the client is heavier than minimal alternatives. The desktop and mobile clients share the same rules.

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.

What Spark Mail is built to do

Smart inbox

Groups newsletters, notifications and personal mail separately.

Team discussions

Comments on an email thread privately with colleagues.

Shared drafts

Composes a reply together before it is sent.

Choose Shortwave if

• Heavy Gmail users drowning in threads.

Choose Spark Mail if

• Teams that share responsibility for an inbox but do not want a helpdesk.

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

Spark Mail: pros & cons

• Team discussion attached to emails
• Smart inbox reduces clutter
• Free tier is usable
• Emails pass through their servers for some features
• Interface changes have upset long-time users
• Team features need a paid plan