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Email Marketing · head to head

Moosend vs Shortwave

Moosend logo

Moosend

Email Marketing

Low-cost email marketing from 9 US dollars a month, owned by Sitecore since 2021

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: Moosend there is no free forever plan, only a 30-day trial, so a very small list that would sit inside Mailchimp or MailerLite free tiers has to start paying immediately.; Shortwave per-seat pricing increases team costs compared to flat-rate email solutions
  • They diverge on capability: Moosend covers All features at every tier, Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Moosend and Shortwave actually diverge.

Attributes where Moosend and Shortwave differ
AttributeMoosendShortwave
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer month by contact countUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIiOS, 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 Moosend

  • All features at every tier
  • Automation workflows
  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Segmentation
  • SMTP relay
  • Credit model
  • Ecommerce tracking

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.

Moosend

  • A small ecommerce store that wants abandoned cart automation without paying for a tier upgrade to unlock itnot Shortwave
  • A charity or seasonal business that sends heavily twice a year and would waste a monthly subscription, using the credit packs insteadnot Shortwave
  • An agency managing several small client lists that needs automation on every account without per-account tier jumpsnot Shortwave
  • A business moving off Mailchimp purely on cost that still needs landing pages and a working automation buildernot Shortwave

Shortwave

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

Where each one falls short

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

Moosend

  • There is no free forever plan, only a 30-day trial, so a very small list that would sit inside Mailchimp or MailerLite free tiers has to start paying immediately.
  • Sitecore acquired Moosend in 2021 and Moosend is a low-price product inside an enterprise digital experience vendor, so it competes for investment against products with far higher deal values.
  • The prices for higher contact tiers are not shown as a table; you must select your contact count to reveal a figure, which makes comparing the cost curve against competitors tedious.
  • The integration catalogue is small compared with Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign, and deep ecommerce features such as predictive segmentation and advanced product recommendations are shallow by comparison.
  • Deliverability on shared infrastructure at the entry tier is adequate rather than good, and dedicated IP access sits in the quoted Enterprise tier, which matters if you send high volume to cold-ish lists.

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

Moosend

On request
  • Pro$9/month
    • 500 contacts at this price, scaling with list size
    • Unlimited emails
    • Automation workflows
  • Moosend+$undefined/month
    • Pro features plus selected enterprise add-ons
    • Configured per customer
    • Pricing quoted, not published
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Dedicated account management and SLA
    • Custom reporting and priority support
    • Dedicated IP options
  • Email credits$350/month
    • 350,000 credits for 350 US dollars, scaling to 1,000,000 for 1,000
    • No monthly subscription required
    • Suited to businesses that send in bursts rather than continuously

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 Moosend if

  • You need all features at every tier.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want automation workflows.
Moosend 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 Moosend or Shortwave better?
Neither clearly leads. Moosend 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, Moosend or Shortwave?
Shortwave has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Moosend and Free for Shortwave.
Does Moosend or Shortwave run on more platforms?
Moosend runs on Web, API. 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. Moosend starts at On request.
What is Moosend best used for?
Moosend is most often used for a small ecommerce store that wants abandoned cart automation without paying for a tier upgrade to unlock it, a charity or seasonal business that sends heavily twice a year and would waste a monthly subscription, using the credit packs instead, an agency managing several small client lists that needs automation on every account without per-account tier jumps, a business moving off mailchimp purely on cost that still needs landing pages and a working automation builder. Of those, a small ecommerce store that wants abandoned cart automation without paying for a tier upgrade to unlock it and a charity or seasonal business that sends heavily twice a year and would waste a monthly subscription, using the credit packs instead are not what Shortwave is typically brought in for.
What can Moosend do that Shortwave cannot?
Moosend covers All features at every tier, Automation workflows, Drag-and-drop email builder, Landing pages and forms. Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering, Intelligent Autocomplete, Voice-Style Composition, Meeting Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Moosend: Does Moosend have a free plan?

No. It has a 30-day trial with unlimited sends to 1,000 contacts, then you must move to a paid plan or buy credits.

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
Moosend: Are features restricted on the cheapest plan?

No, and this is the main reason to choose it. Every Pro feature is available at every contact tier; only list size changes the price.

Shortwave: What platforms does Shortwave support?

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

Source
Moosend: Who owns Moosend?

Sitecore, which acquired it in 2021. The product remains sold under the Moosend name at its own pricing.

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
Moosend: What are email credits for?

Irregular senders. 350 US dollars buys 350,000 credits with no monthly subscription, which is cheaper than a year of subscription for a business that sends in bursts.

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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