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DeepSeek 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
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Verdict

DeepSeek and Shortwave are both AI Assistants tools. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 8.1 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Web and offers an API.

Best overall

DeepSeek

  • Software developers
  • Researchers and analysts
  • Students
  • AI engineers

Choose DeepSeek if

  • You want a tool built for Low-cost API integration.
  • Web chat and mobile apps are free.
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers.

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
DeepSeek
Best for business
Shortwave

Features

19 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Assistant
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Search
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Write in Your Voice
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Filters
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Bundles and Split Inboxes
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Scheduling
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Team Collaboration
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Tracking and Reminders
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • App Connections and MCP
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Privacy Controls
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    DeepSeek
    Freemium
    Shortwave
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    DeepSeek
    Yes
    Shortwave
    Yes
  • Starting price
    DeepSeek
    $0
    Shortwave
    $0
  • Plans
    DeepSeek
    3 plans
    Shortwave
    5 plans

DeepSeek plans

  • Chat and App

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to DeepSeek models on web, iOS and Android

    • Web chat
    • iOS and Android apps
    • Thinking mode
    • Web search
    • File upload

  • API: deepseek-flash

    $0.15/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.15 cache-miss input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Vision
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

  • API: deepseek-v4-pro

    $0.66/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.66 cache-miss input and $1.98 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

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.

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Shortwave
8.1overall

DeepSeek leads in 0 categories and Shortwave in 1.

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Shortwave leads by 0.5
    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Shortwave
    8.5

  • Feature Depth

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    8.4

  • Value for Money

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    7.3

  • Performance & Speed

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    8.3

  • Documentation & Support

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    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

DeepSeek

Pros

  • Web chat and mobile apps are free
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers
  • Open weights for V4 and earlier models on Hugging Face
  • 1M-token context and 384K max output on both API models
  • API works with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs and several coding agents

Cons

  • Peak-hour API rates are double the off-peak rates on weekday mornings UTC
  • deepseek-v4-pro does not support vision input
  • No image generation
  • Data is processed by a company based in China, which some organizations cannot accept

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
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported
  • Windows
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • macOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • iOS
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • Android
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Supported
  • API
    DeepSeek
    Supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported
  • Browser Extension
    DeepSeek
    Not supported
    Shortwave
    Not supported

Integrations

DeepSeek

6 integrations
  • OpenAI SDK
  • Anthropic SDK
  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • OpenCode
  • Hugging Face

Shortwave

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

Company

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

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Shortwave?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. 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 DeepSeek and Shortwave?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Shortwave: AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts.

Does DeepSeek or Shortwave have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Shortwave?

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