FinderAtlas
Sign in

Notion AI vs Shortwave

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

Notion AI logo

Notion AI

AI agent and writing assistant built into the Notion workspace for docs and databases

Freemium
Visit websiteView details
Shortwave logo

Shortwave

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

Freemium
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

Notion AI and Shortwave are both AI Assistants tools. Notion AI scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.5 vs 8.1 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Notion AI is available on Web.

Best overall

Notion AI

  • Teams already using Notion
  • Project managers
  • Product and engineering teams
  • Knowledge workers

Choose Notion AI if

  • You want a tool built for searching and answering questions across a Notion workspace.
  • Works directly on the pages and databases where teams already keep their content.
  • Q&A answers include citations to workspace sources.

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
Notion AI
Best for business
Notion AI

Features

19 features compared.

  • Notion Agent
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Custom Agents
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Q&A with citations
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Inline writing help
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Meeting Notes (beta)
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Enterprise Search (beta)
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Research mode
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Database autofill and formulas
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • Admin controls
    Notion AI
    Available
    Shortwave
    Not available
  • AI Assistant
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Search
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Write in Your Voice
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Filters
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Bundles and Split Inboxes
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • AI Scheduling
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Team Collaboration
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Tracking and Reminders
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • App Connections and MCP
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available
  • Privacy Controls
    Notion AI
    Not available
    Shortwave
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Notion AI plans

  • Free

    $0

    For individuals organizing personal projects

    • Trial of Notion AI
    • Limited trials of Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes
    • Databases
    • Notion Calendar

  • Plus

    $10/user/mo

    For small teams and professionals

    • Everything in Free
    • Trial of Notion AI
    • Unlimited file uploads
    • Unlimited guests
    • Basic connections

  • Business

    Most popular

    $20/user/mo

    Marked as recommended; for growing businesses

    • Everything in Plus
    • Notion Agent
    • AI Meeting Notes
    • Enterprise Search (beta)
    • SAML SSO
    • 90-day page history

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Contact sales

    • Everything in Business
    • Zero data retention at LLM providers
    • SCIM provisioning
    • Audit log
    • Custom data retention

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.

Notion AI
8.5overall
Shortwave
8.1overall

  • Workspace Q&A & Search

    Notion AI
    8.6
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Document Summarization

    Notion AI
    8.4
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Database Automation

    Notion AI
    8.5
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Inline Writing Assistance

    Notion AI
    8.3
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Data Privacy & Security

    Notion AI
    8.5
    Shortwave
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Notion AI
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    8.5

  • Feature Depth

    Notion AI
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    8.4

  • Value for Money

    Notion AI
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    7.3

  • Performance & Speed

    Notion AI
    Not rated
    Shortwave
    8.3

  • Documentation & Support

    Notion AI
    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

Notion AI

Pros

  • Works directly on the pages and databases where teams already keep their content
  • Q&A answers include citations to workspace sources
  • Enterprise Search reaches connected apps such as Slack, Google Drive and GitHub
  • Meeting transcription works without a meeting bot
  • Notion states customer data is not used for model training unless the customer opts in

Cons

  • Full AI features (Agent, Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search) require the $20 per member Business plan
  • Custom Agents and Workers use credits billed at $10 per 1,000 monthly credits
  • Meeting Notes and Enterprise Search are labelled beta
  • Only useful if content lives in Notion; it does not generate images

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

Integrations

Notion AI

3 integrations
  • Slack
  • Google Drive
  • GitHub

Shortwave

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

Company

  • Company
    Notion AI
    Notion Labs, Inc.
    Shortwave
    Shortwave Communications, Inc.
  • Founded
    Notion AI
    Not listed
    Shortwave
    2020
  • Headquarters
    Notion AI
    San Francisco, CA
    Shortwave
    San Francisco, CA
  • Listing
    Notion AI
    Claimed
    Shortwave
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Notion AI better than Shortwave?

It depends on your workflow. Notion AI is built for searching and answering questions across a Notion workspace. 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 Notion AI and Shortwave?

Notion AI: AI agent and writing assistant built into the Notion workspace for docs and databases. Shortwave: AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts.

Does Notion AI or Shortwave have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Notion AI or Shortwave?

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