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Email Marketing · head to head

Shortwave vs Zoho Campaigns

Shortwave logo

Shortwave

Email Marketing

AI-powered email assistant for intelligent inbox management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Campaigns logo

Zoho Campaigns

Email Marketing

Email marketing tool with a genuine free tier, priced by contact count once paid

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Shortwave per-seat pricing increases team costs compared to flat-rate email solutions; Zoho Campaigns template design quality and out-of-the-box deliverability reputation tools are less polished than specialist platforms such as Klaviyo or Campaign Monitor.
  • They diverge on capability: Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering, Zoho Campaigns covers Drag-and-drop email builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Shortwave and Zoho Campaigns actually diverge.

Attributes where Shortwave and Zoho Campaigns differ
AttributeShortwaveZoho Campaigns
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by contact tier once on a paid plan
PlatformsiOS, Android, macOS, WindowsWeb

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Shortwave

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

Only in Zoho Campaigns

  • Drag-and-drop email builder
  • Zoho CRM integration
  • A/B testing
  • Advanced segmentation
  • Send time optimisation
  • WhatsApp and SMS add-ons

What people use each for

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

Shortwave

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

Zoho Campaigns

  • A small business with under 2,000 contacts wanting a genuinely usable free email marketing tool rather than a crippled trialnot Shortwave
  • An existing Zoho CRM or Desk customer wanting email marketing that syncs natively without a third-party connectornot Shortwave
  • A growing list needing to scale from 500 up to 500,000 contacts within one vendor's pricing laddernot Shortwave
  • A team wanting WhatsApp or SMS as an add-on channel alongside email from the same vendornot Shortwave

Where each one falls short

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

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

Zoho Campaigns

  • Template design quality and out-of-the-box deliverability reputation tools are less polished than specialist platforms such as Klaviyo or Campaign Monitor.
  • Advanced segmentation and dynamic content are reserved for the Professional tier, so mid-sized lists needing that capability face a real price step up from Standard.
  • WhatsApp and SMS are separate paid add-ons rather than included channels, so a genuinely multi-channel campaign costs more than the base email price suggests.
  • Its main structural advantage, native Zoho ecosystem integration, does not benefit a buyer using a non-Zoho CRM or helpdesk, who gets no more from Zoho Campaigns than from a specialist alternative.
  • Support responsiveness reflects Zoho's broad, lower-touch model across its whole portfolio rather than dedicated email marketing expertise.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zoho Campaigns

Free
  • Forever FreeFree
    • Up to 2,000 contacts
    • 6,000 emails per month
    • 5 users, basic templates and reporting
  • Standard$undefined/month
    • Starts at 500 contacts, scales to 100,000
    • Unlimited email sends
    • A/B testing and priority support
  • Professional$undefined/month
    • Starts at 500 contacts, scales to 500,000
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Advanced segmentation, dynamic content, custom roles and webhooks

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Zoho Campaigns if

  • You need drag-and-drop email builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want zoho crm integration.
Zoho Campaigns review

Questions people ask

Is Shortwave or Zoho Campaigns better?
Neither clearly leads. Shortwave starts at Free and Zoho Campaigns at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Shortwave or Zoho Campaigns?
Shortwave starts at Free and Zoho Campaigns at Free.
Does Shortwave or Zoho Campaigns run on more platforms?
Shortwave runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Zoho Campaigns runs on Web.
Can I use Shortwave for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Shortwave best used for?
Shortwave is most often used for reducing inbox overload through ai-powered organization, drafting professional emails using natural language, scheduling meetings without back-and-forth coordination, searching email archives using conversational queries. Of those, reducing inbox overload through ai-powered organization and drafting professional emails using natural language are not what Zoho Campaigns is typically brought in for.
What can Shortwave do that Zoho Campaigns cannot?
Shortwave covers AI Email Filtering, Intelligent Autocomplete, Voice-Style Composition, Meeting Scheduling. Zoho Campaigns covers Drag-and-drop email builder, Zoho CRM integration, A/B testing, Advanced segmentation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Zoho Campaigns: Is the free tier good enough for real use, or just a trial?

It is a real, ongoing free tier for up to 2,000 contacts and 6,000 emails a month, not a time-limited trial.

Shortwave: What platforms does Shortwave support?

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

Source
Zoho Campaigns: Does it integrate with non-Zoho CRMs?

Yes via Zapier and other connectors, but the native, no-extra-fee integration advantage is specific to other Zoho products.

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
Zoho Campaigns: Are WhatsApp and SMS included?

No, they are separately purchased add-ons alongside the email plan.

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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