Pilot vs Shortwave: 2026 comparison
AI-powered bookkeeping and CFO services for startups — autonomous monthly close with human reviewers.
AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.
Pilot vs Shortwave — specs
| Spec | Pilot | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| Agent Rank | 58 / 100 (B) | 72 / 100 (A) |
| Autonomy | Semi-autonomous | Assistant |
| Pricing | Subscription · from $499 | Freemium · from $9 |
| Open source | No | No |
| Capabilities | Tool use, Memory, RAG | RAG, Memory, Tool use |
| Integrations | 4 apps | 3 apps |
| Verified | Verified | Verified |
| Released | Jan 2025 | Feb 2025 |
Agent Rank breakdown
- Autonomy fit
- 8
- Capabilities
- 6
- Integrations
- 2
- Pricing value
- 4
- Polish & maturity
- 5
- 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
- +AI-driven bookkeeping with human reviewers — best-of-both reliability
- +Tax + R&D credit + CFO services bundled at higher tiers
- +Used by 2,000+ venture-backed startups
- −$499/mo entry is high for pre-seed founders
- −Mostly US-focused — limited international support
- −Less control if you want hands-on involvement in bookkeeping
- +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
- +Monthly bookkeeping
- +P&L + balance sheet
- +Accrual basis
- +Custom reporting
- +Industry-specific
- +A/R + A/P management
- +Dedicated controller
- +CFO services
- +Audit support
- +Basic AI summary
- +90-day search
- +Unlimited search
- +AI assistant
- +Scheduled send
- +Shared inboxes
- +Send delegation
- +Admin controls
Which one should you pick?
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Frequently asked
Should I pick Pilot or Shortwave in 2026?+
Pick Pilot if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint. Most working teams running both can use Pilot for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.
What's the price difference between Pilot and Shortwave?+
Pilot starts at Subscription · from $499; 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, Pilot or Shortwave?+
Pilot 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.