Side-by-side comparison · Productivity & Notes
Abridge vs Raycast vs Shortwave
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Hospital and health-system leaders choosing an AI scribe for their doctors and nurses.
Pick it if: Anyone on a Mac or Windows PC who wants to do more from the keyboard and less with the mouse.
Pick it if: Busy Gmail and Google Workspace users who want AI to search, sort and draft their email.
Overview
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Turns doctor–patient conversations into notes inside the hospital EHR. | A launcher that puts AI, clipboard history and shortcuts one keystroke away. | AI email app for Gmail that searches, sorts, drafts and acts on your inbox for you. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | See website | $10/mo | $18/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop app | – | Yes | Yes |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | – |
| API access | – | Yes | – |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | – |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | – | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | Yes | – |
| Makes images | No | Yes | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | Yes | – |
| Runs agents or automations | – | Yes | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 5/ 17 | 14/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | EnterpriseOur pick Custom Health systems rolling it out across many clinicians. | FreeOur pick Free Everyone. The launcher, clipboard history and all extensions. | Free Free Trying it on your Gmail inbox. |
Pro $10/mo, or $8/mo billed yearly People who want AI one keystroke away. | ProOur pick $18/mo Individuals who use the AI daily. | ||
Plus $20/mo, or $16/mo billed yearly Daily AI users who want the top models. | Business $30/seat/mo Teams who share threads and need more AI. | ||
Max $50/mo, or $40/mo billed yearly Heavy AI users who want it all inside Raycast. | Premier $45/seat/mo Heavy users with complex email workflows. | ||
Teams Pro $15/user/mo, or $12/user/mo billed yearly Teams sharing snippets, links and commands. | Max $120/seat/mo People who live in email all day. | ||
Enterprise Custom IT-managed rollouts. | |||
| Which plan to pick | There is only one way to buy it: a contract between your organisation and Abridge. If you are a single clinician or small practice, look at Heidi instead. | Use Free until you catch yourself wishing the AI was there. Then Pro. Plus and Max only make sense if Raycast becomes your main way of talking to AI, and most people already pay for Claude or ChatGPT separately. | Start on Free for a week to see if you like the app. Pro is enough for most individuals; pick Business only if you share threads with a team. Every paid plan has a 14-day free trial. |
Key features
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Abridge | Raycast | Shortwave |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Abridge, Raycast or Shortwave?
They tie on our overall rating (Abridge 4.2/5, Raycast 4.1/5 and Shortwave 4.2/5). Abridge is best for large health systems on Epic and cutting after-hours note writing. Raycast is best for launching apps and files and clipboard history. Shortwave is best for finding old emails by describing them and clearing a cluttered Gmail inbox quickly.
Which is cheaper, Abridge, Raycast or Shortwave?
Abridge: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. Raycast: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/mo. Shortwave: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $18/mo.
Which is easier to use, Abridge, Raycast or Shortwave?
Abridge rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Hospital and health-system leaders choosing an AI scribe for their doctors and nurses.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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