Glean vs Shortwave: 2026 comparison
Enterprise AI worker — unified search, work assistant, and custom agents grounded in your company knowledge.
AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.
Glean vs Shortwave — specs
| Spec | Glean | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 80 / 100 (A) | 72 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Assistant | Assistant |
| Pricing | Subscription · Free tier | Freemium · from $9 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | RAG, Memory, Tool use | RAG, Memory, Tool use |
| Integrations | 6 apps | 3 apps |
| Verified | Verified | Verified |
| Released | Feb 2025 | Feb 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
- Autonomy fit
- 7
- Capabilities
- 6
- Integrations
- 10
- Pricing value
- 9
- Polish & maturity
- 6
- 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
- +Single best enterprise knowledge agent in 2026 — instant grounding in your company data
- +Custom Agents (Glean Agents) let teams build internal workflows without code
- +Strong permission-aware retrieval — agents see only what users are allowed to
- −Enterprise-only — typically $50K+ ACV minimum
- −Initial connector setup takes weeks for full coverage
- −Pricier than ChatGPT Enterprise on a per-seat basis
- +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
- +Unified search across 100+ apps
- +Work assistant + custom agents
- +SSO + enterprise data isolation
- +Basic AI summary
- +90-day search
- +Unlimited search
- +AI assistant
- +Scheduled send
- +Shared inboxes
- +Send delegation
- +Admin controls
Which one should you pick?
Pick Glean if cost is the main constraint or if your stack spans many tools and integration depth is the constraint.
Try Glean →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 Glean or Shortwave in 2026?+
Pick Glean if cost is the main constraint or if your stack spans many tools and integration depth is the constraint. Pick Shortwave if its specific capabilities (RAG, Memory) match what you need. Most working teams running both can use Glean for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Glean and Shortwave?+
Glean starts at Subscription · Free tier; Shortwave starts at Freemium · from $9. Glean 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, Glean or Shortwave?+
Both Glean and Shortwave are Assistant agents — neither has a meaningful autonomy advantage over the other. The decision should hinge on capabilities and pricing instead.