TL;DR
Unboxd is an intelligent email client that reads your emails, extracts action items with deadlines, summarizes and categorizes everything, filters out the noise, and lets you draft AI-powered replies, all from one app that works with Gmail, Outlook, and IMAP. Shortwave is an AI-native email client (built by ex-Google Inbox engineers) that replaces your inbox with smart summaries, AI search, email bundling, and workflow automation. If you want a 90% reduction in inbox time and a simple, elegant, noiseless experience that feels effortless, choose Unboxd. If you want the most advanced, feature heavy, collaboration focused email client with AI features, choose Shortwave.
Shortwave is one of the most technically ambitious email tools on the market. Built by former Google Inbox engineers, it combines an AI-native email client with a workflow automation platform called Tasklet. Unboxd takes a fundamentally different approach: instead of making you faster at reading email, it reduces your inbox time by 90% with AI that reads, extracts action items, and drafts replies for you.
This is a closer comparison than most because both tools use advanced AI to understand email content. The difference is in what they do with that understanding.
Quick comparison at a glance
| Feature | Unboxd | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Core approach | AI reads emails for you | AI-native email client |
| Product type | AI secretary + app | Email client (replaces Gmail UI) |
| Daily briefing | Yes, with action items | No consolidated briefing |
| Action item extraction | Yes, with deadlines across all emails | Per-thread only (in summaries) |
| AI email summaries | Yes (in briefing) | Yes (Smart Summaries per thread) |
| AI search | Yes, across all accounts | Yes, natural language |
| AI reply drafting | Yes | Yes |
| Intelligent categorization | Yes, 3 buckets (Action Items, Highlights, FYIs) with subcategories | Bundling (travel, social, custom) |
| Intelligent subcategorization | Yes (built-in: bookings, finances, project updates, decisions, announcements) | No |
| Custom subcategories | Yes, create your own, AI auto-populates | Custom bundles |
| Half-line AI titles | Yes, per email | Yes (Instant Summaries) |
| Paragraph summaries | Yes, per email | Yes (AI Assistant) |
| Noise filtering | Yes (newsletters, promos auto-separated as FYIs) | Partial (via bundling) |
| AI learns from user | Yes, teach lessons, improves over time | No |
| Workflow automation | No | Yes (Tasklet: Slack, Notion, Asana, HubSpot) |
| Email providers | Gmail, Outlook, IMAP | Gmail, Outlook, Fastmail, Yahoo, others |
| Mobile app | iOS, Web | iOS, Android |
| Free tier | Free trial, no credit card | Free (personal Gmail, limited features) |
| Starting price | $7.50/mo (yearly) | $7/mo (Personal, yearly) |
| Encryption | AES-256-GCM, per-user keys | AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit |
| Privacy controls | Keyword + address blocking | No user-facing content blocking |
How each tool works
How Unboxd works
Unboxd connects to your email account and uses advanced AI to read and understand every message. It categorizes each email into one of three buckets: Action Items (tasks with deadlines), Highlights (important updates), and FYIs (newsletters, delivery updates, payment invoices, marketing). Each bucket has intelligent subcategories, and you can create your own custom subcategories that the AI automatically populates.
Every email gets a short AI-generated title and a rich paragraph summary, so you rarely need to open individual messages. In a glance, you see everything that matters: action items first, then highlights, then FYIs. Unboxd also includes AI search across all connected accounts and AI-drafted replies. The built-in AI secretary learns from lessons you teach it, improving over time. It works with Gmail, Outlook, and any IMAP provider.
How Shortwave works
Shortwave is a full email client that replaces the Gmail or Outlook web interface. Built by former Google Inbox engineers, it runs on a RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture with a mix of open-source models on their own hardware plus OpenAI and Anthropic. Key features include:
- Smart Summaries: Automatic one-sentence summaries above every email thread, updated in real time as new messages arrive
- AI Search: Natural language search across your entire email history (e.g., "What did Sarah say about the Q3 budget?")
- Email Bundling: Auto-categorizes emails into bundles (travel, social, newsletters) with custom bundle support
- AI Reply Drafting: Contextual reply suggestions based on the conversation
- Tasklet: A workflow automation platform (launched October 2025) that connects email to Slack, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, and other services via triggers and natural language rules
- Data Extraction: Pulls structured data from emails (receipts, event dates, etc.)
- Team Features: Shared inboxes and thread comments for collaboration
Shortwave is arguably the most AI-integrated email client available. It doesn't just add AI features to email; it rebuilds the email experience around AI from the ground up.
Key differences
Daily briefing vs. per-thread summaries
This is the core difference. Unboxd compiles action items from all your emails into a single daily briefing. You read one summary and know everything you need to do, with deadlines. You never need to open your inbox.
Shortwave provides Smart Summaries on each individual thread. They are excellent: updated in real time, concise, and context-aware. But you still navigate your inbox thread by thread to see them. There is no consolidated view that says "here are all your action items across all emails today."
If you receive 100 emails, Unboxd gives you one briefing. Shortwave gives you 100 smart summaries that you scroll through in your inbox.
Simplifying email vs. enhancing email
Unboxd's philosophy: email is a problem to be delegated. You should not spend time reading or managing it. The AI handles the entire reading and prioritization pipeline, and you only interact with the output.
Shortwave's philosophy: email is unavoidable but should be as smart as possible. AI should be embedded at every step (reading, searching, replying, automating) to make you more effective within your inbox.
Both are valid approaches. The question is whether you want to leave your inbox behind or make your inbox dramatically better.
AI depth comparison
Shortwave has deeper and broader AI capabilities. AI search across your full email history, contextual reply drafting, data extraction, and Tasklet automation are features Unboxd doesn't offer. Shortwave runs a mix of open-source models on their own infrastructure alongside OpenAI and Anthropic, with a RAG architecture and vector search via Pinecone.
Unboxd has a narrower but more focused AI application: reading email and extracting action items with deadlines. It does this one thing exceptionally well. The daily briefing format means you get a curated output rather than needing to interact with AI features scattered across an email client.
Workflow automation
Shortwave's Tasklet (launched October 2025) is a significant differentiator. It lets you create AI-powered automations that connect email to other tools: auto-create Asana tasks from emails, post summaries to Slack channels, update HubSpot records, and more. These run 24/7 and are configured with natural language.
Unboxd does not have workflow automation. Its focus is on the briefing and action item extraction pipeline.
Pricing comparison
| Tier | Unboxd | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free trial, no credit card | Free (personal Gmail only, 90-day search, limited AI) |
| Entry | Plus: $7.50/mo (yearly) 2 accounts, 600 credits/mo |
Personal: $7/mo (yearly) 1 account, 1-year search |
| Mid | Pro: $12.50/mo (yearly) 4 accounts, 1,500 credits/mo |
Pro: $14/seat/mo (yearly) 3 accounts, 3-year search |
| Business | Ultra: $41.67/mo (yearly) 8 accounts, 6,000 credits/mo |
Business: $24/seat/mo (yearly) 10 accounts, team inboxes, unrestricted AI |
Both tools are similarly priced at the entry level ($7-7.50/mo). Shortwave has the advantage of a free tier for personal Gmail users. At higher tiers, pricing depends on whether you need Unboxd's focused briefing capability or Shortwave's broader feature set.
Who should choose Unboxd?
- You want to stop reading email entirely. Unboxd delivers a daily briefing so you never need to open your inbox.
- You need a consolidated action item list. All tasks with deadlines from all emails, in one place.
- You prefer simplicity and elegance. One app, one noiseless glance, no inbox to manage.
- Privacy controls matter. Keyword and address blocking to prevent specific emails from reaching AI.
- You use IMAP email. Any IMAP provider works, not just Gmail and the recently-added others.
Who should choose Shortwave?
- You want the smartest email client available. AI search, smart summaries, bundling, and reply drafting in one interface.
- You need workflow automation. Tasklet connects email to Slack, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, and more.
- You want a free option. Shortwave's free tier covers basic features for personal Gmail.
- You need AI search across email history. Natural language queries across years of email.
- You work in a team. Shared inboxes and thread comments for collaborative email.
- You miss Google Inbox. Built by the same team, with the same design philosophy.
The Verdict
- Choose Unboxd if you want a 90% reduction in inbox time through a simple, elegant, noiseless experience. More focused, and built for people who don't want to manage an inbox at all.
- Choose Shortwave if you want the most AI-advanced email client with automation capabilities. More features, more flexibility, and designed for people who want a better inbox, not no inbox.
- This is one of the closest comparisons in the AI email space. Both use advanced AI to understand email. The difference is the interface: briefing vs. inbox.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Unboxd and Shortwave?
Unboxd is an intelligent email client that reduces your inbox time by 90%. It reads your emails, extracts action items with deadlines, summarizes and categorizes everything, filters out the noise, and lets you draft AI-powered replies, working with Gmail, Outlook, and any IMAP provider. Shortwave is an AI-native email client built by ex-Google Inbox engineers that replaces your inbox with smart summaries, AI search, email bundling, and workflow automation via Tasklet. Unboxd eliminates the need to read email; Shortwave makes reading email smarter.
Does Shortwave extract action items from emails?
Shortwave's Smart Summaries can identify action items within individual email threads. However, it does not compile action items with deadlines across all your emails into a single daily briefing the way Unboxd does. With Shortwave, you still navigate email threads to see each summary individually.
Is Unboxd or Shortwave cheaper?
They are similarly priced. Shortwave offers a free tier for personal Gmail users. Paid plans start at $7/month (Shortwave Personal) vs $7.50/month (Unboxd Plus). Unboxd includes AI action item extraction and daily briefings at every tier. Shortwave gates some AI features behind higher tiers.
Can I use Unboxd and Shortwave together?
Yes. Shortwave is an email client and Unboxd connects via OAuth or IMAP. You could use Shortwave for reading and replying and Unboxd for daily action item briefings. There is more feature overlap than with simpler tools, since both use AI to understand email content.
