Granola vs Shortwave: 2026 comparison
Meeting-notes agent that captures, summarizes and turns calls into action — the personal CoS for knowledge workers.
AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.
Granola vs Shortwave — specs
| Spec | Granola | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 77 / 100 (A) | 72 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Assistant | Assistant |
| Pricing | Freemium · from $18 | Freemium · from $9 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | Memory, Tool use, Voice | RAG, Memory, Tool use |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 3 apps |
| Verified | Verified | Verified |
| Released | Mar 2025 | Feb 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
- Autonomy fit
- 7
- Capabilities
- 6
- Integrations
- 8
- Pricing value
- 8
- Polish & maturity
- 7
- 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 meeting capture UX — quietly takes notes during your normal Zoom/Meet/Teams call
- +AI summaries actually capture action items, not just transcripts
- +iOS app makes voice-memo style capture effortless
- −Assistant tier — surfaces information but doesn't take actions on it
- −Less useful if your work is text-heavy rather than meeting-heavy
- −Per-seat pricing on Business tier scales linearly
- +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
- +10 notes/mo
- +Standard transcription
- +Basic summaries
- +Unlimited notes
- +Custom templates
- +Folders + tags
- +iOS app
- +Shared folders
- +Admin controls
- +SSO option
- +Basic AI summary
- +90-day search
- +Unlimited search
- +AI assistant
- +Scheduled send
- +Shared inboxes
- +Send delegation
- +Admin controls
Which one should you pick?
Pick Granola if its specific capabilities (Memory, Tool use) match what you need.
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Frequently asked
Should I pick Granola or Shortwave in 2026?+
Pick Granola if its specific capabilities (Memory, Tool use) match what you need. Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint. Most working teams running both can use Granola for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Granola and Shortwave?+
Granola starts at Freemium · from $18; Shortwave starts at Freemium · from $9. Shortwave 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, Granola or Shortwave?+
Both Granola and Shortwave are Assistant agents — neither has a meaningful autonomy advantage over the other. The decision should hinge on capabilities and pricing instead.