Vithos vs Shortwave

AI inbox versus keyboard-first Mac speed. Different products.

Shortwave sells an AI-first Gmail experience: assistant, AI search, filters, team seats. If that is what you want, it is coherent — and priced like Superhuman territory from Business up.

Vithos is not an AI email app. It is a keyboard-first Gmail client for Mac: local index, full offline, unified inbox, Pro at $14.99/mo, and a public API + MCP server so your tools — not ours — work the inbox. Same Gmail. Opposite product bet.

Side by side

Vithos
Shortwave
Price
Pro $14.99/mo or $149.99/yr, 7-day trial
Business from $30/seat/mo; Premier $45; Max $120
Keyboard-first
Every action has a key and a palette entry
Fast UI; AI assistant is the center
Search
Instant local index, answers as you type
Strong AI-assisted search (cloud)
Offline
Fully usable, sync catches up
Built around online AI features
Platform
Native Mac (Apple Silicon, macOS 14+)
Web / cross-device Gmail client
Public API + MCP server
From day one, scoped keys
No public MCP for your agents
AI in the inbox
Quiet enrichment only; no chatbot — bring your own agent over MCP
AI assistant is the product

Why people switch

Not an AI email app

Shortwave’s bet is the assistant. Vithos’s bet is the keyboard and the local index. Enrichment stays quiet; drafts and agents are yours via MCP if you want them.

Half the Superhuman-class price

Shortwave Business starts at $30/seat/mo. Vithos Pro is $14.99/mo — same Gmail, no AI seat tax.

Works when the network does not

Read, write, archive, and search with no network at all. Shortwave’s AI path assumes you are online.

If you want an AI inbox, Shortwave is built for that. If you want a keyboard-first Gmail client for Mac that stays local and scriptable, that is Vithos.

Smarter, simpler email.

Your fastest path through Gmail, designed around the keyboard and built to work locally.

macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon · Gmail · 7-day trial