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Email Marketing · head to head

Attentive vs Shortwave

Attentive logo

Attentive

Email Marketing

Enterprise SMS and email marketing for retail brands, sold on quarterly minimum spend commitments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shortwave logo

Shortwave

Email Marketing

AI-powered email assistant for intelligent inbox management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Shortwave has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Attentive minimum spend commitments are use it or lose it: if quarterly usage falls short, the shortfall is invoiced anyway, which makes Attentive expensive for any brand whose sending is seasonal rather than even.; Shortwave per-seat pricing increases team costs compared to flat-rate email solutions
  • They diverge on capability: Attentive covers SMS-first journeys, Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Attentive and Shortwave actually diverge.

Attributes where Attentive and Shortwave differ
AttributeAttentiveShortwave
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, macOS, Windows

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Email Marketing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Attentive

  • SMS-first journeys
  • Two-tap sign-up units
  • TCPA compliance tooling
  • Email channel
  • Revenue attribution
  • Concierge
  • Identity resolution
  • Negotiated order form rates

Only in Shortwave

  • AI Email Filtering
  • Intelligent Autocomplete
  • Voice-Style Composition
  • Meeting Scheduling
  • Email-to-Todo Conversion
  • AI-Powered Search
  • Team Collaboration
  • Email Summaries

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Attentive

  • A direct-to-consumer brand where SMS is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a sessionnot Shortwave
  • A retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing TCPA-compliant consent records to go with themnot Shortwave
  • A consumer brand running SMS and email from one audience so subscribers are not messaged twice for the same promotionnot Shortwave
  • A high-volume merchant with predictable year-round send patterns that can commit to a quarterly minimum and negotiate rates down against itnot Shortwave

Shortwave

  • Reducing inbox overload through AI-powered organizationnot Attentive
  • Drafting professional emails using natural languagenot Attentive
  • Scheduling meetings without back-and-forth coordinationnot Attentive
  • Searching email archives using conversational queriesnot Attentive
  • Converting emails to tasks for team task trackingnot Attentive

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Attentive

  • Minimum spend commitments are use it or lose it: if quarterly usage falls short, the shortfall is invoiced anyway, which makes Attentive expensive for any brand whose sending is seasonal rather than even.
  • No rates are published anywhere, so a buyer cannot benchmark a quote before entering a sales process, and the effective per message cost is only visible once an order form is drafted.
  • Contracts commonly run six to twelve months, so a brand that finds performance disappointing after two months still owes the balance of the term.
  • Total cost combines a platform fee, per message SMS and MMS charges and carrier pass-through fees, and MMS at two to five cents per message means image-heavy campaigns cost several times what the SMS rate suggests.
  • It is priced and built for established consumer brands, and the entry commitment puts it out of reach of small merchants that Postscript and similar tools serve on usage-based plans with no floor.

Shortwave

  • Per-seat pricing increases team costs compared to flat-rate email solutions
  • AI features may require higher tier plans, limiting value for smaller teams
  • Dependency on third-party integrations for full feature depth
  • Learning curve for effective use of AI-powered features
  • Limited customization for AI filter behavior compared to manual rules

Pricing, plan by plan

Attentive

On request
  • Attentive$undefined/year
    • No public rate card; rates are set in an individual order form
    • Platform fee plus per message SMS and MMS charges
    • Contracts commonly six to twelve months

Shortwave

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Email search and organization
    • Basic inbox tools
    • Limited AI features
  • Business$30/month
    • Full standard search history
    • 5 years AI search history
    • Max 50 threads per AI search
  • Premier$45/month
    • Everything in Business
    • 2x more AI usage
    • Unlimited AI search history
  • Max$120/month
    • Everything in Premier
    • 6x more AI usage
    • Max 150 threads per AI search

Which should you pick?

Choose Attentive if

  • You need sms-first journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want two-tap sign-up units.
Attentive review

Choose Shortwave if

  • You need ai email filtering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want intelligent autocomplete.
Shortwave review

Questions people ask

Is Attentive or Shortwave better?
Neither clearly leads. Attentive starts at On request and Shortwave at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Attentive or Shortwave?
Shortwave has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Attentive and Free for Shortwave.
Does Attentive or Shortwave run on more platforms?
Attentive runs on Web, iOS, Android. Shortwave runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Shortwave for free?
Yes. Shortwave has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Attentive starts at On request.
What is Attentive best used for?
Attentive is most often used for a direct-to-consumer brand where sms is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a session, a retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing tcpa-compliant consent records to go with them, a consumer brand running sms and email from one audience so subscribers are not messaged twice for the same promotion, a high-volume merchant with predictable year-round send patterns that can commit to a quarterly minimum and negotiate rates down against it. Of those, a direct-to-consumer brand where sms is the primary revenue channel and needs cart abandonment triggered within minutes of a session and a retailer capturing in-store phone numbers at the till and needing tcpa-compliant consent records to go with them are not what Shortwave is typically brought in for.
What can Attentive do that Shortwave cannot?
Attentive covers SMS-first journeys, Two-tap sign-up units, TCPA compliance tooling, Email channel. Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering, Intelligent Autocomplete, Voice-Style Composition, Meeting Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Attentive: How much does Attentive cost?

It does not publish rates. Costs are a platform fee plus per message charges set in your order form, with minimum spend commitments commonly around 2,000 to 3,000 USD per quarter.

Shortwave: Is there a free trial for Shortwave?

Yes, Shortwave offers a 14-day free trial for all paid plans with no credit card required.

Source
Attentive: What happens if I do not use my minimum?

You are invoiced for the shortfall at the end of the quarter. Unused commitment is not carried forward.

Shortwave: What platforms does Shortwave support?

Shortwave is available on iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows for full cross-platform email management.

Source
Attentive: How long is the contract?

Typically six to twelve months, billed monthly or quarterly.

Shortwave: How much AI usage do I get per plan?

Business plan includes 3 AI-powered filters and standard AI usage. Premier (2x more AI) and Max (6x more AI) plans provide increasing levels of AI feature access.

Source
Attentive: Does it do email as well as SMS?

Yes, with shared audiences and journeys, though the product was designed SMS-first and that remains its strength.

Shortwave: What integrations does Shortwave support?

Shortwave integrates with Slack, Calendar, Notion, Asana, HubSpot, and 3,000+ apps via Tasklet.

Source
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