Sortmail vs Shortwave

AI sorting inside the Gmail or Outlook you already use — and your message bodies are never stored.

No new app, no mail copied into someone else’s cloud. Sortmail files every message into real labels in your own mailbox, keeps only a fingerprint of each one, and works on Outlook as well as Gmail.

Sort my inbox free See the comparison

Connect a mailbox and Sortmail sorts your last 30 days (up to 1,000 messages) for free, showing where each one would go and why. Nothing in your mailbox changes until you choose a plan, and you can cancel in one click.

Your inbox: 18 messages instead of 247.

INCOMING

247

new messages

sortmailfiling

In your inbox18

Receipts31

Newsletters64

System134

Arrived247
In your inbox18
Receipts31
Newsletters64
System134

Illustrative example · one day of mail

Why switch

Why switch to Sortmail.

Bodies never stored

Sortmail keeps a fingerprint — sender, a keyed hash of the subject, the category and why. Never the message.

Outlook too

Outlook.com and Microsoft 365 work as well as Gmail. Shortwave is Gmail and Workspace only.

No new app

Real labels in your own mailbox, in every app you already use, on every device.

Side by side

Sortmail vs Shortwave.

Every claim about Shortwave links to their own page.

Sortmail and Shortwave, feature by feature
What matters	Sortmail	Shortwave
Message bodies never stored	YesNever stored; a fingerprint is kept instead.	NoCollects the contents of emails you draft or receive in the service; imports your last 90 days on sign-up.[1][2][3]
Shows why each email was sorted	YesEach message shows what decided it and how sure it was.	PartlyOn request, by reapplying filters to sample emails you select.[4]
Sorting lives in your own mailbox	YesOrdinary Sortmail/ labels (categories on Outlook) that stay if you leave.	PartlyAI filters can apply labels; splits are views inside Shortwave, not labels.[5][6]
Keeps your current mail app	YesWorks behind the mail apps you already use.	NoShortwave is an email client; actions in it are reflected in Gmail.[7]
Works with Outlook and Microsoft 365	YesOutlook.com and Microsoft 365.	NoGmail and Google Workspace only.[8]
Automatic AI sorting on one flat plan	YesOne plan with every feature; new mail sorting unlimited.	PartlyAI-powered filters listed from Business (3) up to Max (50), per seat.[9]

Yes YesPartly Partly, or with a catchNo No

The proof

What you get, and what it looks like.

Bodies never stored

Classified in memory, then forgotten.

Sortmail keeps a fingerprint of each message — the sender, a keyed hash of the subject, the category and why it was chosen. The database has no column for a message body. Rules and header signals decide first; only when they cannot does a masked extract of at most 400 characters go to a model, and that can be switched off per mailbox. Your mail trains nothing.

With Shortwave: Shortwave’s privacy policy says it collects the contents of emails you draft or receive in the service, and it imports your last 90 days of mail when you sign up.[1][2]

Kept

Sender address
A keyed hash of the subject
The category
Why it was chosen

Never stored

The message body
The subject as text
Anything to train a model on

Illustrative example

You can see why

Every filed message carries its reason.

Open any message and Sortmail shows what decided it — one of your rules, your own correction, sender signals or the model — and, where it weighed evidence, how sure it was. When something lands in the wrong place, you know whether to fix a rule or just move it.

Your order has shippedHarbor Goods · [email protected]

Why this is hereReceipts

Decided bySender signals

Confidence94%

Sender[email protected]

Where it wentSortmail/Receipts, out of the inbox

Illustrative example

Keep your mail app

Nothing new to learn. Your inbox just gets quieter.

Sortmail is not an email client. It files mail in the background, and you keep reading and replying in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail or whatever you use now, on every device. The labels appear everywhere your mail does.

With Shortwave: Shortwave is an email client you move into; what you do there is reflected back to Gmail.[7]

You keep

Your mail app, on every device
Your shortcuts and habits
Your provider’s search

Sortmail adds

Labels on arriving mail
An inbox of what needs you
A reason on every message

Illustrative example

The mail you already have

Works on free Gmail and on Outlook.

A free Gmail account works, and so do Google Workspace, Outlook.com and Microsoft 365. Nothing extra to buy from your mail provider. Five categories are ready on day one; rename them or add your own, up to 8.

With Shortwave: Shortwave works with Gmail and Google Workspace only.[8]

Connect any of theseNothing extra to buy

Free GmailGoogle WorkspaceOutlook.comMicrosoft 365

Illustrative example

Corrections stick

Move a message once. It becomes a rule.

Put a message in the right category and Sortmail saves a rule for that sender in the same step. The rule outranks the model from then on, and it is listed on the Overrides screen where you can remove it. On Gmail, moving a message between Sortmail labels in any Gmail app counts as the same correction.

You move “Weekly product digest” to NewslettersSystemNewsletters

Rule saved: sender is [email protected] → NewslettersListed on Overrides. Remove it any time.

Next week’s digest files itselfWhy this is here: One of your rules

Illustrative example

One flat price

Every feature, one plan, no credits.

There is one plan with everything in it: no tier to upgrade to, no AI add-on, no per-message charge. Sorting new mail is unlimited under the fair-use policy, so a busy month costs the same as a quiet one. A second mailbox is a fixed add-on at half the plan price.

With Shortwave: Shortwave bills monthly, per seat, with the number of AI filters set by plan.[10][9]

Plans to choose betweenOne

Features behind a higher tierNone

AI add-on or creditsNone

A heavy month vs a light monthSame price

Illustrative example

Pricing

Every feature. One price.

Sortmail’s prices come straight from our billing code.

Billed	Founding	List
Monthly	$8.99 / month	$12.99 / month
Yearly	$79 / year$6.58 a month	$99 / year$8.25 a month
Every 2 years	$139 / 2 years$5.79 a month	$169 / 2 years$7.04 a month

Founding price for the first 500 subscribers, kept for as long as the subscription runs. Each extra mailbox is $4.49 a month at the founding price ($6.49 at list), or half the plan price on yearly and 2-year plans.

Business[11]per seat, 3 AI-powered filters$30 / month

Like for like — automatic AI sorting for one person, billed monthly: Shortwave is $30 a month. Sortmail is $8.99 a month at the founding price ($21.01 less) and $12.99 at list ($17.01 less). Business is Shortwave’s lowest plan listing AI-powered filters, and it bills monthly. Sortmail also offers yearly and 2-year plans that cut the monthly cost further.

On the 2-year plan, Sortmail works out at $5.79 a month at the founding price — about 19¢ a day for an inbox that only holds what needs you.

Zero risk

Try it on your own mail. Pay only if it earns it.

See it sorted before you pay

Connect a mailbox and Sortmail sorts your last 30 days — up to 1,000 messages — and shows where each one would go and why. Nothing in your mailbox changes until you choose a plan.

Leave in one click

Cancel from Billing — no call, no form. You’re emailed 21 days before every yearly or 2-year renewal and 3 days before a monthly one. Your labels stay if you go.

Founding price, locked in

$5.79 a month on the 2-year plan, $6.58 on yearly, $8.99 monthly. Limited to the first 500 subscribers, and kept for as long as you subscribe.

Sort my inbox free

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Does Sortmail store my emails?

No. It stores a fingerprint of each message — the sender, a keyed hash of the subject, the category and why it was chosen. Message bodies are never written to its database.

Do I need a new email app?

No. Sortmail files mail in the background into ordinary labels, so Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail or any app you use shows them.

Does Sortmail work with Outlook?

Yes: Outlook.com and Microsoft 365, as well as free Gmail and Google Workspace. On Outlook, categories take the place of labels and filed mail moves to Archive.

How fast is it?

Your last 30 days are sorted as soon as you connect, and new mail is filed as it arrives.

How much does Sortmail cost?

One plan with every feature: $8.99 a month, $79 a year or $139 for 2 years at the founding price, kept for as long as you subscribe. Once the 500 founding seats are gone, new subscribers pay $12.99, $99 or $169.

Is an AI reading all my mail?

No. Your rules decide first, then header signals such as mailing-list headers. Only when neither settles it does a masked extract — sender, subject and at most 400 characters — go to a model, and you can switch that off per mailbox. The model provider is contractually barred from keeping or training on it.

Sources, checked 27 September 2026

The privacy policy says Shortwave collects the contents of emails and messages you draft or receive in the service. shortwave.com
Shortwave imports your last 90 days of email history when you first sign up; importing all of it needs an upgrade. shortwave.com
All Shortwave data is stored, encrypted, in Google Cloud. shortwave.com
Selecting sample emails and choosing “Reapply filters” shows what actions the AI takes and why. shortwave.com
AI filters can apply custom labels, archive, mark importance or star messages. shortwave.com
Splits are inbox views powered by search queries; a split is not a label. shortwave.com
Actions you take in Shortwave are reflected in Gmail, as they would be from any email client. shortwave.com
Shortwave works only with Gmail and Google Workspace; Microsoft 365 and Exchange are not supported. shortwave.com
AI-powered filters: 3 on Business, 10 on Premier, 50 on Max. shortwave.com
New subscriptions are billed monthly. shortwave.com
Business — $30 a month, per seat, 3 AI-powered filters. shortwave.com

Competitor details are taken from each company’s own public pages on the date above and can change after it. Sortmail’s own details are read from the code that enforces them. Shortwave is a trademark of its owner; Sortmail is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at [email protected] and we will correct it.