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Head-to-head comparison

Fireflies.ai vs Shortwave

Compare Fireflies.ai and Shortwave side by side across pricing, features, ratings, pros, cons, best-fit use cases, and alternatives.

Fireflies.ai logo
Fireflies.ai
productivity

Fireflies.ai is an AI meeting assistant that automatically transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes conversations across Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing platforms.

Pricing
Free plan
Rating
Votes
0
Shortwave logo
Shortwave
productivity

AI email client for Gmail that helps you reach inbox zero faster with AI search, summaries, and drafting.

Pricing
Free plan
Rating
Votes
0

Feature comparison

Feature
Fireflies.ai
Shortwave
Category
productivity
productivity
Pricing
Free plan
Free plan
Free plan
API access
Mobile app
Browser extension
Team collaboration
Custom training
Self-hosted option
Offline mode
Multi-language support

Fireflies.ai pros and cons

Broad meeting coverage: bots join Zoom
Google Meet
Microsoft Teams, and other platforms, and you can also upload existing audio and video files for transcription.
Strong multilingual support with transcription in 100+ languages plus automatic language detection, which is a meaningful edge for international and distributed teams.
Note: The AI credit system complicates the 'unlimited' marketing—AskFred and advanced analytics draw down credits, so power users may hit limits or need a pricier tier sooner than expected.
Note: Storage is capped by tier, and the free plan's limited storage means older recordings and transcripts can become inaccessible without upgrading.
Note: Deploying a recording bot into every meeting raises privacy and consent considerations that some organizations and external participants may resist.

Shortwave pros and cons

Powerful, genuinely useful AI search and summaries
Fast, keyboard-driven interface that feels like a modern successor to Google Inbox
Strong inbox organization with bundles, splits, and AI filters
Native desktop, iOS, and Android apps
Note: Gmail and Google Workspace only, with no Outlook, IMAP, or Exchange support
Note: Paid tiers are expensive compared with most email clients
Note: Daily AI usage quotas can be hit by heavy users on lower tiers

Which one should you choose?

Best overall signal
Fireflies.ai

Selected using Toolglade popularity signals such as views and votes.

Best value signal
Fireflies.ai

Selected using free-plan availability and engagement signals.

Best for

Fireflies.ai

  • Sales and customer success teams that review calls at scale
  • Distributed and multilingual teams needing 100+ language transcription
  • Individuals wanting hands-free automated meeting notes
  • Growing businesses that want conversation intelligence and CRM sync
  • Teams standardizing meeting documentation across the organization

Shortwave

  • Gmail power users
  • busy professionals
  • sales and support teams
  • inbox-zero seekers
  • Gmail and Google Workspace power users

FAQ

Is Fireflies.ai better than Shortwave?

It depends on your use case. Compare category fit, pricing, feature availability, and ratings before choosing.

Which tool has a free plan?

Fireflies.ai and Shortwave offer a free plan based on current Toolglade data.