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Circleback vs Shortwave

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Shortwave logo

Shortwave

AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts

Freemium
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

Circleback and Shortwave are both AI Assistants tools. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Circleback is available on Web and CLI and offers an API.

Best overall

Circleback

  • Sales Teams
  • Product Managers
  • Founders
  • Customer Success Teams

Choose Circleback if

  • You want a tool built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording.
  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.

Choose Shortwave if

  • You want a tool built for heavy Gmail users who want AI search, drafting and inbox triage inside the email client itself.
  • AI search covers up to five years of email on Business and unlimited history on Premier and Max.
  • Native apps on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, with a 4.7 average rating on the App Store.
Best for beginners
Circleback
Best for business
Circleback

Features

19 features compared.

  • AI Meeting Notes
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Action Items
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Bot-Free Recording
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Automations
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Ask Circleback
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Custom AI Insights
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Transcription
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Calendar Auto-Join
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Developer Access
    Circleback
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Assistant
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Search
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Write in Your Voice
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Filters
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Bundles and Split Inboxes
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Scheduling
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Team Collaboration
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Tracking and Reminders
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • App Connections and MCP
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Privacy Controls
    Circleback
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Circleback
    Freemium
    Shortwave
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Circleback
    Yes
    Shortwave
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Circleback
    $0
    Shortwave
    $0
  • Plans
    Circleback
    4 plans
    Shortwave
    5 plans

Circleback plans

  • Free

    $0

    Core notes and action items for individuals

    • AI meeting notes and action items
    • Ask Circleback
    • bot-free desktop app
    • mobile apps
    • limited automations
    • 30-day meeting history
    • 2 teams

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $18/user/mo

    Full automations and unlimited history

    • Automations with all integrations
    • custom AI insights
    • unlimited meeting history
    • 1 year of recording storage
    • 5 teams

  • Business

    $29/user/mo

    Team administration and retention controls

    • Everything in Pro
    • admin and member roles
    • unlimited free viewers
    • custom data retention
    • usage dashboard
    • 2 years of recording storage
    • unlimited teams

  • Enterprise

    $35/user/mo

    Security, provisioning and support for large organizations

    • Everything in Business
    • SSO (SAML or OIDC)
    • SCIM provisioning
    • invoice or PO billing
    • priority support
    • HIPAA compliance
    • unlimited recording storage

Shortwave plans

  • Free

    $0

    Individual tier with basic AI and limited daily AI quota

    • Basic intelligence
    • limited daily AI quota
    • 90 days of search history
    • Sent with Shortwave signature

  • Pro

    $18/user/mo

    Individual plan for personal users

    • AI assistant
    • paid AI features for individuals

  • Business

    Most popular

    $30/user/mo

    Everyday AI productivity for teams

    • Standard intelligence
    • 5 years AI search history
    • max 50 threads per AI search
    • 3 AI filters
    • AI integrations and web browsing

  • Premier

    $45/user/mo

    Everything in Business with more AI capacity

    • Advanced intelligence
    • 2x AI usage
    • 100 threads per AI search
    • 10 AI filters
    • unlimited AI search history

  • Max

    $120/user/mo

    Highest AI capacity per seat

    • Expert intelligence
    • 6x AI usage
    • 150 threads per AI search
    • 50 AI filters
    • unlimited AI search history

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Circleback
8.2overall
Shortwave
8.1overall

Circleback leads in 2 categories and Shortwave in 2, with 1 tied.

  • Ease of Use

    Circleback leads by 0.1
    Circleback
    8.6
    Shortwave
    8.5

  • Feature Depth

    Shortwave leads by 0.1
    Circleback
    8.3
    Shortwave
    8.4

  • Value for Money

    Circleback leads by 0.9
    Circleback
    8.2
    Shortwave
    7.3

  • Performance & Speed

    Shortwave leads by 0.3
    Circleback
    8.0
    Shortwave
    8.3

  • Documentation & Support

    Tied
    Circleback
    7.8
    Shortwave
    7.8

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Circleback

Pros

  • Bot-free desktop recording avoids a visible notetaker in client calls.
  • Free plan includes API, MCP and CLI access and mobile apps.
  • Broad integration list covering Slack, Notion, Linear, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier.
  • Unlimited free viewers on Business, so non-participants do not need a seat.
  • Releases page shows frequent updates, with entries in October 2026.

Cons

  • Free plan keeps only 30 days of meeting and recording history and 2 teams.
  • Most integrations, including Notion, HubSpot and Salesforce, require Pro at $18 per user per month.
  • SSO, SCIM and HIPAA compliance are limited to the Enterprise plan.
  • The desktop app covers macOS and Windows only; no Linux app was found.

Shortwave

Pros

  • AI search covers up to five years of email on Business and unlimited history on Premier and Max.
  • Native apps on iOS, Android, Mac and Windows, with a 4.7 average rating on the App Store.
  • Team features such as shared threads, comments and assignments sit inside the inbox.
  • AI connects to outside tools including Notion, HubSpot, GitHub and MCP servers.
  • Per-plan model tiers let users pay for stronger models only when needed.

Cons

  • Paid plans are priced per seat from $30 (Business) to $120 (Max), higher than many email clients.
  • Built around Gmail; support for other providers is limited or unclear.
  • AI usage is capped by plan, with Business allowing roughly 150-300 Standard requests per day.
  • The free tier is not clearly documented on the official pricing page.

Platforms

  • Web
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported
  • Windows
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • macOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • iOS
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • Android
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • API
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    Circleback
    Not supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported
  • CLI
    Circleback
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported

Integrations

Circleback

22 integrations
  • Google Calendar
  • Gmail
  • Outlook
  • Slack
  • Notion
  • Linear
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • Attio
  • Asana
  • PostHog
  • Ashby
  • Intercom
  • Plain
  • Zoho
  • Monday
  • Zapier
  • Make
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Microsoft Teams
  • WebEx

Shortwave

10 integrations
  • Gmail
  • Google Calendar
  • Slack
  • Notion
  • HubSpot
  • Asana
  • GitHub
  • Linear
  • Zapier
  • Tasklet

Company

  • Company
    Circleback
    Circleback
    Shortwave
    Shortwave Communications, Inc.
  • Founded
    Circleback
    2023
    Shortwave
    2020
  • Headquarters
    Circleback
    San Francisco, CA
    Shortwave
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    Circleback
    Claimed
    Shortwave
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Circleback better than Shortwave?

It depends on your workflow. Circleback is built for Teams that want automatic meeting notes and CRM or task-tracker updates via bot-free recording. Shortwave is built for heavy Gmail users who want AI search, drafting and inbox triage inside the email client itself.

What are the key feature differences between Circleback and Shortwave?

Circleback: AI meeting notes, action items and automations that work with or without a bot. Shortwave: AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts.

Does Circleback or Shortwave have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Circleback is freemium and Shortwave is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Circleback or Shortwave?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.