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Sardine vs Shortwavewhich AI ops agent should you pick in 2026?

Agentic financial-crime ops — consolidates 11 fraud/KYC vendors, auto-reviews 40% of applications.

⚙️OpsAutonomousSubscription
Tool useMemoryRAGMulti-agent

AI email client — natural-language search, summary, scheduled send, and AI-drafted replies grounded in your inbox.

🙋‍♂️PersonalAssistantFreemium · from $9
RAGMemoryTool use

Sardine vs Shortwave — specs

SpecSardineShortwave
Agent Rank67 / 100 (B)73 / 100 (A)
AutonomyAutonomousAssistant
PricingSubscriptionFreemium · from $9
Open sourceNoNo
CapabilitiesTool use, Memory, RAG, Multi-agentRAG, Memory, Tool use
Integrations4 apps3 apps
VerifiedVerified
ReleasedJan 2025Feb 2025

Categories: SardineOps · ShortwavePersonal

Agent Rank breakdown

Sardine
Agent Rank
67/ 100
BB-tier
Autonomie
9
Fähigkeiten
8
Integrationen
6
Preise
4
Reife
7
Verifizierbarkeit
6

Automatisch berechnet aus Autonomie, Fähigkeiten, Integrationen, Preisen, Reife und redaktioneller Verifizierung. Bei jedem Deploy aktualisiert. Wie wird das berechnet?

Shortwave
Agent Rank
73/ 100
AA-tier
Autonomie
7
Fähigkeiten
6
Integrationen
6
Preise
8
Reife
7
Verifizierbarkeit
10

Automatisch berechnet aus Autonomie, Fähigkeiten, Integrationen, Preisen, Reife und redaktioneller Verifizierung. Bei jedem Deploy aktualisiert. Wie wird das berechnet?

Pros & cons

Sardine
Pros
  • +$145M total (a16z) — top of the agentic financial-crime category
  • +Consolidates 11 fraud/KYC/AML vendors into one platform
  • +Auto-reviews 40% of monthly applications — major cost reduction
Cons
  • Enterprise focus — not priced for SMB fintechs
  • Regulatory complexity requires legal review per deployment
  • Best ROI requires existing high-volume transaction flow
Shortwave
Pros
  • +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
Cons
  • Gmail-only — no Outlook support
  • AI assistant is helpful but not yet revolutionary
  • Smaller user base means fewer integrations than Gmail/Outlook ecosystems

Pricing

Sardine
Growth
Individuell
Mid-market fintechs
  • +Fraud + AML core agents
  • +4 integrations
  • +Standard SLA
Empfohlen
Enterprise
Individuell
Large banks + fintechs
  • +Full agent suite
  • +Unlimited integrations
  • +Custom rules engine
Sovereign
Individuell
Regulated
  • +EU/US data residency
  • +On-prem option
  • +Dedicated CS
Shortwave
Free
Kostenlos
Personal
  • +Basic AI summary
  • +90-day search
Empfohlen
Plus
$9/Mo.
Individuals
  • +Unlimited search
  • +AI assistant
  • +Scheduled send
Business
$14/Sitz/Mo.
Teams
  • +Shared inboxes
  • +Send delegation
  • +Admin controls

Which one should you pick?

Sardine

Pick Sardine if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place.

Try Sardine →
Shortwave

Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy.

Try Shortwave →

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Frequently asked

Should I pick Sardine or Shortwave in 2026?+

Pick Sardine if you want the highest autonomy and the verification loop is in place. Pick Shortwave if cost is the main constraint or if you want a vendor we've verified for accessibility and pricing accuracy. Most working teams running both can use Sardine for primary work and Shortwave for the workflows where its specific strengths matter.

What's the price difference between Sardine and Shortwave?+

Sardine starts at Subscription; 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, Sardine or Shortwave?+

Sardine is the more autonomous of the two (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.

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Adjacent agents in the same category with overlapping capabilities — worth a side-by-side glance before you commit.

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  • "Multiplayer AI" — shared, governed company-wide agents across your stack.

    ⚙️OpsSemi-autonomAbonnement · ab 29 $
    Tool-NutzungMemoryRAGMulti-Agent
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Want the real monthly cost at your volume? Run the TCO calculator →
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Sardine vs Shortwave (2026): which AI ops agent wins? · AI Agent Rank