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Email Marketing · head to head

Ortto vs Shortwave

Ortto logo

Ortto

Email Marketing

Australian marketing automation with a customer data platform and analytics included rather than sold separately

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: Ortto contact-based pricing counts everyone stored, including unsubscribed and long-inactive records, so the bill rises with list decay unless someone owns a pruning routine.; Shortwave per-seat pricing increases team costs compared to flat-rate email solutions
  • They diverge on capability: Ortto covers Customer data platform, Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ortto and Shortwave actually diverge.

Attributes where Ortto and Shortwave differ
AttributeOrttoShortwave
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, REST 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 Ortto

  • Customer data platform
  • Journeys
  • Talk
  • Dashboards and reports
  • Playbooks
  • Capture

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.

Ortto

  • A SaaS company that wants trial and onboarding lifecycle plus product analytics without buying two toolsnot Shortwave
  • A small team replacing a stack of email tool, chat widget and dashboard product with one subscriptionnot Shortwave
  • Reporting on revenue by campaign and cohort without exporting events to a warehouse firstnot Shortwave
  • Teams already on Autopilot that need a supported migration path rather than a replatform to a US vendornot Shortwave

Shortwave

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

Where each one falls short

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

Ortto

  • Contact-based pricing counts everyone stored, including unsubscribed and long-inactive records, so the bill rises with list decay unless someone owns a pruning routine.
  • Each bundled component is shallower than the specialist it replaces, and the email template editor in particular is behind the ecommerce-focused competitors.
  • Deliverability guidance and reputation tooling are thinner than at dedicated email providers, which matters most in the first months of a sending domain.
  • The partner and agency ecosystem outside Australia and New Zealand is small, so hiring contractors with real Ortto experience is harder than for the larger platforms.
  • Support hours follow Australian business time, so European and American teams often wait a working day for a substantive answer on complex issues.

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

Ortto

On request
  • Ortto$undefined/month
    • Priced by number of contacts held, with separate email and SMS send allowances
    • Talk live chat and additional seats charged separately
    • Monthly and annual terms available

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 Ortto if

  • You need customer data platform.
  • You work on Web, REST API.
  • You also want journeys.
Ortto 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 Ortto or Shortwave better?
Neither clearly leads. Ortto 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, Ortto or Shortwave?
Shortwave has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Ortto and Free for Shortwave.
Does Ortto or Shortwave run on more platforms?
Ortto runs on Web, REST 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. Ortto starts at On request.
What is Ortto best used for?
Ortto is most often used for a saas company that wants trial and onboarding lifecycle plus product analytics without buying two tools, a small team replacing a stack of email tool, chat widget and dashboard product with one subscription, reporting on revenue by campaign and cohort without exporting events to a warehouse first, teams already on autopilot that need a supported migration path rather than a replatform to a us vendor. Of those, a saas company that wants trial and onboarding lifecycle plus product analytics without buying two tools and a small team replacing a stack of email tool, chat widget and dashboard product with one subscription are not what Shortwave is typically brought in for.
What can Ortto do that Shortwave cannot?
Ortto covers Customer data platform, Journeys, Talk, Dashboards and reports. Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering, Intelligent Autocomplete, Voice-Style Composition, Meeting Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ortto: Is Ortto the same product as Autopilot?

It is the successor from the same company, rebranded in 2022 and substantially rebuilt. Older Autopilot tutorials no longer match the interface.

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
Ortto: Do inactive contacts cost money?

Yes. Pricing counts contacts stored, so unsubscribed and dormant records consume allowance until they are deleted.

Shortwave: What platforms does Shortwave support?

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

Source
Ortto: Can it replace a BI tool?

For campaign, funnel and cohort reporting on its own event data, usually yes. For joins against finance or support data it cannot.

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
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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