Cresta vs Shortwave: 2026 comparison
Conversational AI agent assist for contact centers — coaches reps and automates after-call work in real time.
AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.
Cresta vs Shortwave — specs
| Spec | Cresta | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 78 / 100 (A) | 72 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Semi-autonomous | Assistant |
| Pricing | Subscription · Free tier | Freemium · from $9 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | Voice, Tool use, Memory, RAG | RAG, Memory, Tool use |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 3 apps |
| Verified | Verified | Verified |
| Released | Mar 2025 | Feb 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
- Autonomy fit
- 8
- Capabilities
- 8
- Integrations
- 8
- Pricing value
- 9
- Polish & maturity
- 4
- Verifiability
- 10
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
- Autonomy fit
- 7
- Capabilities
- 6
- Integrations
- 6
- Pricing value
- 8
- Polish & maturity
- 6
- Verifiability
- 10
Auto-computed from autonomy, capabilities, integrations, pricing, maturity and editorial verification. Updated every deploy. How is this computed?
Pros & cons
- +Best-in-class real-time coaching — recommendations during the call
- +Auto-summarizes calls + drafts after-call work, saving reps 5+ min per call
- +Strong deployments at Fortune 500 contact centers
- −Enterprise-only — minimum seat counts in the hundreds
- −Implementation requires conversation-data training (4–8 weeks)
- −Augments humans rather than replacing them — different positioning than fully autonomous tier
- +Best AI-native email client in 2026 — search, summarize, draft all natural-language
- +Built specifically for Gmail; faster + smarter than Gmail itself
- +Cheap relative to Superhuman with better AI features
- −Gmail-only — no Outlook support
- −AI assistant is helpful but not yet revolutionary
- −Smaller user base means fewer integrations than Gmail/Outlook ecosystems
Pricing
- +Real-time agent assist
- +Conversation intelligence
- +After-call work automation
- +Basic AI summary
- +90-day search
- +Unlimited search
- +AI assistant
- +Scheduled send
- +Shared inboxes
- +Send delegation
- +Admin controls
Which one should you pick?
Pick Cresta if cost is the main constraint or if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place.
Try Cresta →Pick Shortwave if its specific capabilities (RAG, Memory) match what you need.
Try Shortwave →Affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked
Should I pick Cresta or Shortwave in 2026?+
Pick Cresta if cost is the main constraint or if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Pick Shortwave if its specific capabilities (RAG, Memory) match what you need. Most working teams running both can use Cresta for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Cresta and Shortwave?+
Cresta starts at Subscription · Free tier; Shortwave starts at Freemium · from $9. Cresta is the cheaper entry option. For team deployments the TCO can differ — use the AI Agent Rank TCO calculator for your specific volume.
Which is more autonomous, Cresta or Shortwave?+
Cresta is the more autonomous of the two (Semi-autonomous vs Assistant). Higher autonomy ships throughput faster but requires verification loops in place — see our autonomous-vs-copilot framing for when each tier wins.