vs Shortwave
Shortwave alternative for any email provider
Shortwave has clever AI features, but it only works with Gmail. If you use anything else — or might switch someday — you need a different approach.
The limitation
Gmail only. Really.
Built by former Google Inbox engineers, Shortwave brings AI-powered email management to Gmail. The conversational AI is impressive, but the Gmail-only limitation is a dealbreaker for many.
Email lock-in
Shortwave
Gmail only. Period. No Outlook, no Fastmail, no self-hosted.
Pontius
Any IMAP/SMTP provider. Switch providers anytime without switching tools.
Payment lock-in
Shortwave
$168-432/year depending on plan. Subscription forever.
Pontius
$99 once. After 7 months on their cheapest plan, you're ahead.
AI lock-in
Shortwave
Their AI only. Conversational but not customizable.
Pontius
Choose your AI. Claude for depth, Gemini for speed, local for privacy.
Data lock-in
Shortwave
Cloud-based processing. Your emails flow through their servers.
Pontius
Local-first. Your machine, your data, your control.
Knowledge lock-in
Shortwave
Limited learning. Ghostwriter trains on your style, but that's it.
Pontius
Full knowledge base. Contacts, templates, rules, patterns — cumulative intelligence.
Use Fastmail? Outlook? ProtonMail?
Shortwave doesn't support you. Pontius does.
Gmail
Shortwave: Yes
Pontius: Yes
Outlook
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
Fastmail
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
ProtonMail
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
iCloud
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
Zoho
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
Yahoo
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
Self-hosted
Shortwave: No
Pontius: Yes
Side by side
Feature comparison
| Feature | Shortwave | Pontius |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $14-36/mo | $99 once |
| Email providers | Gmail only | Any IMAP/SMTP |
| AI choice | Their AI only | Any AI |
| Data location | Cloud servers | Local machine |
| Knowledge base | Writing style only | Full: contacts, templates, rules, patterns |
| Outlook support | No | Yes |
| Fastmail support | No | Yes |
| Self-hosted email | No | Yes |
The real difference
Cumulative intelligence vs. writing style
Shortwave's "Ghostwriter" learns your writing style. That's it. Pontius builds a full knowledge base — contacts with context, templates for common scenarios, rules for automation, patterns that trigger actions.
Shortwave learns:
- Your writing style
- ...that's basically it
Pontius learns:
- Contact context & relationships
- Response templates by scenario
- Automation rules
- Behavior patterns
- Communication history
When Shortwave makes sense
Shortwave is genuinely good for a specific use case.
- Gmail-only users who'll never switch providers
- People who prefer conversational AI over command-line
- Users who want inbox bundling and smart labels
- Teams standardized on Google Workspace
When Pontius wins
Pontius is for users who need flexibility Shortwave can't offer.
- Anyone using Outlook, Fastmail, ProtonMail, or self-hosted
- Users who might switch email providers someday
- Privacy-focused users who want local-first
- Power users who want to pick their own AI
- Multi-provider setups (personal Gmail + work Outlook)
In action
Any email provider. One workflow.
Gmail, Outlook, Fastmail — all your accounts in one interface. No provider lock-in.
# Not just Gmail — any email provider
$ pontius list
[Gmail] 37801 [email protected] Dinner Sunday?
[Fastmail] 37802 [email protected] Invoice question
[Work] 37803 [email protected] Q1 planning
# One tool, all your email, no lock-in
$ pontius reply 37802 --from [email protected] "Hi! The invoice..."
# Switch to ProtonMail next month? Pontius doesn't care.
# Your workflow stays the same.Use more than just Gmail?
Pontius works with any email provider. $99 once. Own it forever.
Plus a full knowledge base that actually learns — not just your writing style.