Can I open-source Shortwave?
KINDA · partial or early alternativesKinda. Stalwart and Listmonk cover the core of Shortwave, but they're early or partial — expect gaps like deep Gmail semantics, cloud search, AI, team features, and mobile sync and mail hosting and deliverability.
People still pay for Shortwave because an email client can be rebuilt; operating a trusted mail service with excellent deliverability cannot. The recurring cost buys IMAP quirks, OAuth, MIME, threading, search, attachments, offline sync, notifications, secure storage, and provider changes, not just the visible interface.
xdeep Gmail semantics, cloud search, AI, team features, and mobile sync
xmail hosting and deliverability
xpush on every platform
xadvanced team collaboration
xprovider-specific AI and search
These projects already replace it, free.
LListmonkHigh-performance single-binary newsletter and mailing list manager with campaigns, templates, and Postgres backendopen source↗SStalwartModern all-in-one mail server in Rust with JMAP, IMAP, and SMTP plus built-in spam filtering.open source↗What each one is, in full: Listmonk · Stalwart
no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Shortwave pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | 90 days of standard and AI search history; max 15 threads per AI search; 0 AI filters; limited AI quota; mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' signature. |
| pro | $18/user | — | 3 years of AI search history; max 50 threads per AI search; 0 AI filters; standard AI quota. |
| business | $30/user | — | 5 years of AI search history; max 50 threads per AI search; 3 AI filters; roughly 150-300 Standard-intelligence AI requests/day. |
| premier | $45/user | — | Unlimited AI search history; max 100 threads per AI search; 10 AI filters; 2x Business AI usage and 2x context. |
| max | $120/user | — | Unlimited AI search history; max 150 threads per AI search; 50 AI filters; 6x Business AI usage and 3x context. |
free tier90 days of standard and AI search history; max 15 threads per AI search; 0 AI filters; limited AI quota; mandatory 'Sent with Shortwave' signature
billingmonthly only for new subscriptions; no annual plan; billed upfront; 14-day free trial and 14-day refund window
hidden costsEvery teammate must use the same paid tier and is billed per seat. AI capacity, search depth and filter count require tier upgrades rather than overage purchases. One paid seat covers all of that person's signed-in accounts; Tasklet 24/7 automation is a separate subscription.
price historyPro: $14 → $18 (2026-06) · Business: $24 → $30 (2026-06) · Premier: $36 → $45 (2026-06) · Max: $100 → $120 (2026-06)
verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗
Can I open-source Shortwave?
Kinda. Listmonk covers the core of Shortwave, but there are real gaps: deep Gmail semantics, cloud search, AI, team features, and mobile sync, mail hosting and deliverability. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Shortwave cost?
Shortwave costs about $18/month (Pro, checked 2026-08-12), which is $216 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Shortwave?
Honestly: deep Gmail semantics, cloud search, AI, team features, and mobile sync; mail hosting and deliverability; push on every platform; advanced team collaboration; provider-specific AI and search. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Shortwave?
Yes: Listmonk (High-performance single-binary newsletter and mailing list manager with campaigns, templates, and Postgres backend) Stalwart (Modern all-in-one mail server in Rust with JMAP, IMAP, and SMTP plus built-in spam filtering.)