DraftKite and Shortwave both use AI to take work off your inbox — drafting replies, organizing mail, and summarizing threads — and both keep a person in the loop, so nothing sends on its own. The honest differences are language coverage, which inboxes they connect to, where data is hosted, and price. Shortwave is an AI-native email app built primarily around Gmail and Google Workspace (per shortwave.com, July 2026); DraftKite is a Danish-built assistant that layers onto both Gmail and Outlook/Microsoft 365. Here's a fair, side-by-side look.
At a glance
| DraftKite | Shortwave | |
|---|---|---|
| Nordic & Danish language | Built for Danish & Nordic tone from day one | Optimized for English; can translate/draft in 50+ languages (per Shortwave docs, Jul 2026) |
| Works with | Gmail & Outlook/Microsoft 365 | Gmail & Google Workspace native; Microsoft 365/Exchange not supported, Outlook.com forwarding-only (per Shortwave docs, Jul 2026) |
| Hosting & GDPR | EU (Frankfurt), built around GDPR | Google Cloud, region not publicly specified; GDPR/SOC 2 handled on request (per Shortwave, Jul 2026) |
| Who approves what's sent | A person approves every draft — never auto-sends | Also human-approve: AI drafts, a person reviews and sends (per Shortwave docs, Jul 2026) |
| Starting price | From $19/inbox/mo; 7-day free trial, no card | From $30/seat/mo (USD); 14-day trial (per shortwave.com/pricing, Jul 2026) |
Language: Nordic-first vs. English-optimized
DraftKite is built in Denmark, and Danish and the other Nordic languages are a first-class part of the product from day one — it picks up your tone across Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and German the same way it does English. Shortwave can translate emails to and from 50+ languages and lets you set a preferred language for its assistant, but Shortwave states its AI is optimized for English and that the most reliable experience — search, filters, instructions — is in English, with a primarily English UI (per Shortwave's docs, July 2026; check their site). If most of your mail is Danish or Nordic, that difference in focus is the one that shows up every day.
Which inboxes each one connects to
DraftKite connects natively to both Gmail and Outlook/Microsoft 365. Shortwave signs in with Gmail or Google Workspace; per its current documentation (July 2026), Microsoft 365 and Exchange are "not supported at this time," and Outlook.com/Hotmail work through forwarding only — you can't send from that address. Other providers such as Yahoo or Fastmail are supported via forwarding plus an app password. So if you're on Microsoft 365, Shortwave's native path doesn't cover you today. Verify the current state on shortwave.com, since their provider support has been announced differently before.
Where your data is hosted
DraftKite hosts data in the EU (Frankfurt) and is built around GDPR — connected mailboxes, classifications, and drafts stay on EU infrastructure. Shortwave stores data in Google Cloud but does not publicly specify the region, and it handles GDPR and SOC 2 Type II compliance on request rather than as published defaults; it states email content is never used to train third-party LLMs, with Google Cloud, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Pinecone as subprocessors (per Shortwave's security page, July 2026). If EU data residency is a hard requirement, confirm it directly with any vendor before connecting a real business inbox — don't assume from where a company is headquartered.
Price, and how it's counted
DraftKite starts at $19 per inbox per month (Starter), with Pro at $49 and Team at $179, plus a 7-day free trial with no card. Shortwave's published pricing (shortwave.com/pricing, July 2026) is per seat in USD: Business $30/seat/mo, Premier $45/seat/mo, and Max $120/seat/mo, with a 14-day trial. Compare the tier you'd actually use rather than the headline — the plans bundle different AI models and usage limits. Shortwave's non-USD pricing isn't confirmed on its page, so treat the dollar figures as the reference point and check current numbers before you decide.
Competitor details here reflect Shortwave's public pages as of July 2026 and can change — verify current pricing, provider support, and hosting details on their site (shortwave.com) before deciding. DraftKite's own prices match our /pricing page.