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Motion 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

Motion and Shortwave are both AI Assistants tools. Only Shortwave has a free plan or trial. Only Motion is available on Web and offers an API.

Best overall

Shortwave

  • Gmail users
  • Founders
  • Sales and Customer-Facing Teams
  • Executives

Choose Motion if

  • You want a tool built for automatically scheduling tasks around meetings, managing client projects and team capacity in one tool.
  • Automatic scheduling rebuilds the daily plan around meetings and deadlines as they change.
  • Tasks, projects, calendar, docs and meeting notes live in one app, replacing several separate tools.

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 value
Shortwave
Best for beginners
Motion
Best for business
Shortwave

Features

19 features compared.

  • AI Auto-Scheduling Calendar
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Chat
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Project Manager
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Meeting Notetaker
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Docs, Wiki and Notes
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Dashboards and Reports
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Team Capacity Planning
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Booking Links and Calendar Sync
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Workflows and Integrations
    Motion
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Assistant
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Search
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Write in Your Voice
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Filters
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Bundles and Split Inboxes
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Scheduling
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Team Collaboration
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Tracking and Reminders
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • App Connections and MCP
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Privacy Controls
    Motion
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    Motion
    Free trial
    Shortwave
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Motion
    No
    Shortwave
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Motion
    $19
    Shortwave
    $0
  • Plans
    Motion
    2 plans
    Shortwave
    5 plans

Motion plans

  • Pro AI

    Most popular

    $19/seat/mo

    For professionals and small teams

    • AI Chat
    • AI projects and tasks
    • AI calendar and meetings
    • AI docs and notes
    • AI task planner
    • unlimited storage
    • 7,500 AI credits per seat per month

  • Business AI

    $29/seat/mo

    For power users and businesses with complex needs

    • Everything in Pro AI
    • team capacity planning
    • advanced dashboards and reports
    • timeline and Gantt charts
    • time tracking
    • permissions and access control
    • central billing
    • priority support
    • 15,000 AI credits per seat per month

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.

Motion
7.9overall
Shortwave
8.1overall

Motion leads in 1 category and Shortwave in 3, with 1 tied.

  • Ease of Use

    Shortwave leads by 0.5
    Motion
    8.0
    Shortwave
    8.5

  • Feature Depth

    Motion leads by 0.2
    Motion
    8.6
    Shortwave
    8.4

  • Value for Money

    Shortwave leads by 0.1
    Motion
    7.2
    Shortwave
    7.3

  • Performance & Speed

    Shortwave leads by 0.3
    Motion
    8.0
    Shortwave
    8.3

  • Documentation & Support

    Tied
    Motion
    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

Motion

Pros

  • Automatic scheduling rebuilds the daily plan around meetings and deadlines as they change.
  • Tasks, projects, calendar, docs and meeting notes live in one app, replacing several separate tools.
  • Syncs with Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars.
  • Public API plus integrations with Slack, Zoom, HubSpot, Salesforce and Zapier.
  • Team features such as capacity planning, Gantt charts and time tracking are available on Business AI.

Cons

  • No permanent free plan; both plans cost $19 or more per seat per month.
  • The trial length is not stated on the pricing page.
  • The developer describes the iOS app as a companion to the web and desktop apps rather than a standalone product, and App Store ratings are about 4.1 stars.
  • Team capacity planning, Gantt charts, time tracking and permissions require the higher-priced Business AI plan.

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

Integrations

Motion

12 integrations
  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • iCloud Calendar
  • Gmail
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Slack
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce
  • Zapier
  • Siri

Shortwave

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

Company

  • Company
    Motion
    Motion
    Shortwave
    Shortwave Communications, Inc.
  • Founded
    Motion
    2019
    Shortwave
    2020
  • Headquarters
    Motion
    San Francisco, CA
    Shortwave
    San Francisco, CA
  • Monthly users
    Motion
    1M+
    Shortwave
    Not listed
  • Listing
    Motion
    Claimed
    Shortwave
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Motion better than Shortwave?

It depends on your workflow. Motion is built for automatically scheduling tasks around meetings, managing client projects and team capacity in one tool. 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 Motion and Shortwave?

Motion: AI work platform that plans your day, manages projects and automates tasks. Shortwave: AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts.

Does Motion or Shortwave have a free plan?

Shortwave has a free plan or trial; Motion is paid only.

Which is cheaper, Motion or Shortwave?

Motion starts at $19 and Shortwave starts at $0. See the pricing table above for what each tier includes.