Head to head · Productivity · updated Oct 23, 2026
Microsoft Copilot vs Shortwave
Microsoft Copilot scores 22 to Shortwave's 22 on public evidence for email writing & inbox management, and they rank #2 and #3 there. Both are free to start. Numbers below are the same public signals the ranking uses, recomputed nightly — nothing here is sponsored.
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft's assistant, free on the web and Windows, and embedded in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
+ Works inside the Office apps you already use, drafting Outlook replies, summarizing Teams meetings and turning Word docs into PowerPoint decks.
− Results inside Excel and PowerPoint are often shallow compared with the standalone chat, which makes the $30 business seat hard to justify.
Shortwave
An AI-first Gmail client whose assistant searches, summarizes, drafts and organizes your email in natural language.
+ Ask questions across your entire mailbox and have the assistant draft replies grounded in past threads.
− Gmail-only, and the bundled-threads inbox model takes getting used to.
Side by side
public evidence| Microsoft Copilot | Shortwave | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence score / 100 | 22 | 22 |
| GitHub stars | closed source | closed source |
| Hacker News stories, 30d | 2 | 2 |
| Release-feed mentions, 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Last activity | – | – |
| Pricing | Free tier · Copilot Pro $20/mo; Microsoft 365 Copilot $30/user/mo | Free tier |
| Platforms | web, windows, mac, ios, android | web, mac, ios, android |
| Maker | Microsoft | Shortwave |
Which one?
Pick Microsoft Copilot if
- you need it on windows
Best for Microsoft 365 organizations.
Pick Shortwave if
Ask questions across your entire mailbox and have the assistant draft replies grounded in past threads.
Best for chatting with your Gmail inbox.