Hobb vs Shortwave
More inbox features — or less to worry about?
Shortwave automates your whole inbox. Hobb is built the opposite way — it surfaces less, ranked by who matters, so you can trust the list.
Start with GmailFree preview of your inbox, sorted · No card required · Hobb drafts, you send.
Why it's here
Email
Reply to Sarah
S
Sarah Chen
Investor
High
WhyShe asked a direct question, twice.
SourceFrom Gmail · 2 days ago
Open in GmailThe real difference
Shortwave gives you more — more features, more surface. Hobb gives you less on purpose: only what's genuinely yours to do, ranked by who matters, linked to its source, with promises and waiting-on tracked. One false to-do costs more than ten missed ones.
Hobb vs Shortwave, line by line
| Hobb | Shortwave | |
|---|---|---|
| Turns your inbox into a trustworthy to-do list | ✓ | ~ |
| Ranks by who actually matters | ✓ | ~ |
| Tracks promises you made & replies you're waiting on | ✓ | – |
| Every task links back to the source email | ✓ | – |
| Surfaces less, so you can trust it | ✓ | – |
| Drafts replies — but never sends on its own | ✓ | ~ |
We'd rather you trust this page
Where Shortwave is genuinely better
Shortwave is a capable full email client with deep AI if you want to live entirely inside one app.
Every other comparison page is a sales pitch. We'll tell you when a competitor wins — because a to-do list you can trust has to start with a comparison you can trust.
Reviewers name Shortwave's per-seat price ($24–$100/mo) as the #1 complaint.
What Shortwave doesn't do
It surfaces less, so you can trust the list
300 emails in. Only the few that are genuinely yours to act on come out — ranked by who matters, the rest filtered away.
Hobb is filtering
Newsletter: 7 trends for Q3kept
Missed call from Sarah (client)kept
Promo text: 20% off today onlykept
LinkedIn: 14 new notificationskept
WhatsApp: is the unit still available?kept
RE: RE: RE: lunch?kept
Send the proposal you promisedkept
Robocall: your car warrantykept
Waiting on the signed contractkept
Letting AI read your inbox is a big deal. We treat it that way.
Hobb can't send or delete your mail.
Your email is never used to train AI.
Scoped access, encrypted, PII scrubbed.
Disconnect anytime — one click.