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Shortwave vs Udio

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

Shortwave is listed under AI Assistants and Udio under Audio & Speech AI. Shortwave scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.1 vs 6.9 out of 10), led by value for money. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Shortwave is available on Windows, macOS and Android. Only Udio is available on Web.

Best overall

Shortwave

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

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.

Choose Udio if

  • You want a tool built for generating song drafts with vocals.
  • Generates songs with vocals from a prompt and lyrics.
  • Extend, remix and inpainting tools for editing tracks.
Best for beginners
Udio
Best for business
Udio

Features

18 features compared.

  • AI Assistant
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • AI Search
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Write in Your Voice
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • AI Filters
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Bundles and Split Inboxes
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • AI Scheduling
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Team Collaboration
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Tracking and Reminders
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • App Connections and MCP
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Privacy Controls
    Shortwave
    Available
    Udio
    Not available
  • Text-to-song generation
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Extend and Remix
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Audio inpainting
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Audio-guided generation
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Voices
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Sessions
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • Library and sharing
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available
  • iOS app
    Shortwave
    Not available
    Udio
    Available

Pricing

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

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

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

Udio plans

  • Free

    $0

    10 daily credits plus a 100-credit monthly limit

    • 10 daily credits
    • 100 monthly credits
    • Three 2-minute songs per day

  • Standard

    Most popular

    $10/month

    Up to 2,400 credits per month

    • 2,400 monthly credit limit
    • Unlimited 2-minute song creations within credits
    • Up to 6 songs at once
    • Voice Control
    • Audio-guided generation

  • Pro

    $30/month

    Up to 6,000 credits per month

    • 6,000 monthly credit limit
    • Up to 10 songs at once
    • Everything in Standard
    • Priority generation queue

Our ratings

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

Shortwave
8.1overall
Udio
6.9overall

Shortwave leads in 1 category and Udio in 0.

  • Ease of Use

    Shortwave
    8.5
    Udio
    Not rated

  • Feature Depth

    Shortwave
    8.4
    Udio
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Shortwave leads by 0.8
    Shortwave
    7.3
    Udio
    6.5

  • Performance & Speed

    Shortwave
    8.3
    Udio
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Shortwave
    7.8
    Udio
    Not rated

  • Audio Quality

    Shortwave
    Not rated
    Udio
    8.5

  • Vocal Realism

    Shortwave
    Not rated
    Udio
    8.5

  • Editing Control

    Shortwave
    Not rated
    Udio
    8.0

  • Export & Ownership

    Shortwave
    Not rated
    Udio
    3.0

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

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.

Udio

Pros

  • Generates songs with vocals from a prompt and lyrics
  • Extend, remix and inpainting tools for editing tracks
  • Free plan with daily and monthly credits
  • Official iOS app alongside the web app
  • Paid credit limits were doubled or raised after the UMG deal

Cons

  • Downloads of audio, video and stems are disabled on all plans
  • Free plan is capped at three 2-minute songs per day
  • No public API and no Android app
  • Licensed platform and new models are announced but have no published launch date

Platforms

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

Integrations

Shortwave

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

Udio

No integrations listed.

Company

  • Company
    Shortwave
    Shortwave Communications, Inc.
    Udio
    Udio (Uncharted Labs)
  • Founded
    Shortwave
    2020
    Udio
    2023
  • Headquarters
    Shortwave
    San Francisco, CA
    Udio
    New York, NY
  • Listing
    Shortwave
    Claimed
    Udio
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Shortwave better than Udio?

It depends on your workflow. Shortwave is built for heavy Gmail users who want AI search, drafting and inbox triage inside the email client itself. Udio is built for generating song drafts with vocals.

What are the key feature differences between Shortwave and Udio?

Shortwave: AI email client for Gmail that searches, organizes, drafts and schedules from plain-language prompts. Udio: Generate songs with vocals from text prompts and lyrics, with in-browser editing.

Does Shortwave or Udio have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Shortwave or Udio?

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