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Metis Suite vs Shortwave
Shortwave is a hosted AI email client for Gmail and Google Workspace, with an AI assistant on Claude models Shortwave chooses and plans from free to $120 a month per seat. Metis Suite is open source and self-hostable, works with Microsoft 365, Zoho Mail and IMAP as well as Gmail, and uses whichever model you bring. Shortwave's AI connects to other MCP servers; Metis is itself an MCP server, so your other AI tools can work with your mail, calendars and drives.
Shortwave facts checked on October 21, 2026
| Feature | Metis Suite | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source, AGPL-3.0-or-later Source | Proprietary Source |
| Self-hosting | Yes, with Docker Compose on your own Linux server, or run for you on Metis Cloud Source | No, hosted service with data in Google Cloud Source |
| Mail accounts | Gmail, Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com, Zoho Mail, and IMAP servers the instance owner adds Source | Gmail and Google Workspace; other services only by forwarding into Gmail; no Microsoft 365 or Exchange Source |
| Calendar | Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoho Calendar and CalDAV in one view, with editing and RSVPs Source | Google Calendar only, including shared calendars Source |
| Files and drives | Google Drive, OneDrive, S3, WebDAV, FTP and SFTP in one explorer, with previews Source | No file or drive browser listed; the AI analyzes attachments on paid plans Source |
| AI assistant | One agent across mail, calendars and drives; sending, deleting and every calendar, drive or workflow change waits for your approval Source | Archives, labels, deletes, drafts and handles invites, and confirms before organizing the inbox Source |
| AI model | Bring your own: OpenAI, Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including one you run yourself Source | Vendor-hosted Claude models by plan; no own key or local model documented Source |
| MCP | Built-in MCP server with OAuth for Claude, Cursor, Codex and VS Code; sending and deleting stay off until you enable them Source | MCP client in beta: its AI can call other MCP servers on Business plans and up Source |
| Automation | Visual workflows on new mail, a schedule, a manual run or before a send, with AI Ask and Branch steps Source | AI filters in plain English (3 to 50 by plan) that label, archive, delete or star new mail Source |
| Apps | Web; desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux; an Android app; no iPhone app Source | Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android; no Linux app listed Source |
| Price | Free to self-host; Metis Cloud from $10 a month billed yearly, or $12 monthly, per instance | Free; Pro $18, Business $30, Premier $45 and Max $120 per seat a month, billed monthly Source |
Choose Shortwave if
Your mail is all in Gmail, and you want a free tier and a managed service with the AI models Shortwave picks.
Choose Metis Suite if
You use Outlook, Zoho or IMAP, want to self-host or bring your own model, or want calendars and drives from several providers in one place.
Shortwave is made by Shortwave Communications, Inc.. Every fact about it on this page comes from its own website, documentation or source code, as linked, and was checked on October 21, 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, write to contact@astraqcyberdefence.com and we will correct it. All trademarks belong to their owners.