13 Front Alternatives for your Customer Support Team

Front set out to fix team communication with a shared inbox and internal chat, aiming to simplify support and collaboration. But for many teams, it hasn’t lived up to the promise.

Many users start searching for Front alternatives because basic features require expensive upgrades, and the interface can be frustrating to navigate. These challenges make it harder to manage customer support efficiently without breaking the budget.

That’s why we did the research, gathered insights from actual users, and reviewed the best Front alternatives in the market, including:

• Each platform’s features, pros, cons, and pricing
• How it outperforms Front in daily use
• The criteria we used to evaluate every tool

Table of Contents

• Why Teams Are Looking For Front App Alternatives
  • How I Evaluated These Front App Competitors
• The Top 13 Front Alternatives and Competitors (That Users Recommend)
  • 1. Hiver: Best for teams that need an AI helpdesk without the learning curve 
  • 2. Zendesk: Best for large teams that need a ticketing system
  • 3. Missive: Best for email-first teams wanting better coordination
  • 4. Help Scout: Best for teams prioritising email management and self-service 
  • 5. Freshdesk: Best for teams needing a feature-packed helpdesk on a budget
  • 6. Gorgias: Best for e-commerce customer service
  • 7. Gmelius: Best for teams wanting project features and AI assistants for Gmail
  • 8. DragApp: Best for Gmail-native teams that want Kanban-style email organization
  • 9. Kayako: Best for teams needing contextual AI to handle ticket volume
  • 10. Crisp: Best for AI-powered live chat and customer engagement
  • 11. Trengo: Best for omnichannel messaging with native WhatsApp support
  • 12. Tidio: Best for e-commerce businesses needing customer engagement automation
  • 13. Google Collaborative Inbox: Best for basic team email sharing
• Hiver: The Front Alternative That Actually Works
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Start using Hiver today

Why Teams Are Looking For Front App Alternatives

Based on user testimonials and reviews from teams moving away from Front, I saw a few pain points come up repeatedly:

Escalating costs for basic features: Essential features like live analytics dashboards require jumping to $65-105/month plans. What should be standard functionality becomes an expensive upgrade.

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Interface learning curve: Even tech-savvy customer service team members struggle with Front’s navigation.  As this user puts it, the interface feels unnecessarily complex for what should be something as straightforward as email management.

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Integration limitations: While Front supports integrations, I found that some common ones like voice, CRM (customer relationship management), and automation require developer intervention or costly tier upgrades—which is exactly what teams are trying to avoid.

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Missing features: Multiple users frequently cite gaps in spam handling, search, document linking, and calendar functions—small but critical capabilities that impact daily workflow.

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How I Evaluated These Front App Competitors

Based on detailed platform research and real user feedback, I focused on solving Front’s core problems:

• Transparent, scalable pricing: Essential features included in the basic plan; not hidden away in higher tiers. 
• Intuitive interfaces: Tools that feel natural from day one, not after weeks of training.
• Reliable performance: Platforms that work consistently when teams need them most.
• Built-in automation: Smart workflows that actually save time instead of adding more complexity. 
• Comprehensive reporting: Analytics and real-time dashboards that provide actionable insights. 

The Top 13 Front Alternatives and Competitors (That Users Recommend)

Here’s a quick comparison of the top Front alternatives and their features:

Platform	Best For	Pricing
Hiver	Teams that need an AI helpdesk without the learning curve	Free plan and 14-day trial; paid plans from $19/agent/month
Zendesk	Large teams needing a full ticketing system	14-day free trial; paid plans from $19/agent/month
Missive	Email-first teams wanting better coordination	30-day free trial; paid plans from $14/user/month
Help Scout	Teams prioritizing email management and self-service	Free trial; paid plans from $25/month for 100 contacts & unlimited users
Freshdesk	Teams needing a feature-packed helpdesk on a budget	Free plan & trial; paid plans from $15/agent/month
Gorgias	E-commerce customer service	Free plan; paid plans from $10/month
Gmelius	Project features and AI assistants in Gmail	7-day free trial; paid plans from $24/user/month
DragApp	Gmail-native teams wanting Kanban-style email organization	7-day free trial; paid plans from $12/user/month
Kayako	Teams needing contextual AI to handle ticket volume	Paid plans from $79/month + $1 per AI-resolved ticket
Crisp	Teams wanting AI-powered automation and feature-packed live chat	Paid plans from $45/month per workspace
Trengo	Omnichannel messaging with WhatsApp-first approach	Paid plans from $347/month for 10 users
Tidio	E-commerce businesses needing AI-powered chatbots	Paid plans from $24/month
Google Collaborative Inbox	Basic team email sharing in Gmail	Free with Google Workspace subscription

1. Hiver: Best for teams that need an AI helpdesk without the learning curve

Hiver’s UI for customer service

Hiver is an AI-powered customer service platform that brings together email, live chat, WhatsApp, and phone support in one intuitive, easy-to-use interface.

It bypasses Front’s complex interface and learning curve, allowing teams to manage shared inboxes, customer conversations, and internal collaboration without a learning curve.

What sets Hiver apart:

• Multi-Channel Support: Handle email, live chat, social media, WhatsApp, and phone support from one unified interface.
• Smart Automation: You can set up rule-based workflows for automatic assignment, routing, and responses that actually work reliably.
• AI Agents and Insights: Get AI Agents for sentiment analysis, tagging, pulling customer data from tickets, and uncover in-depth insights with AI Insights
• AI Copilot: Quickly draft replies, summarize conversations, and auto-close tickets with thank-you detection. AI CoPilot also pulls info from your knowledge base and apps to help agents respond faster and more accurately.
• Real-Time Collaboration: Internal notes, @mentions, and collision detection ensure smooth teamwork without the confusion of duplicate responses or missed communications.

Pros

• Zero learning curve, getting teams up and running in minutes, not months.
• Hiver keeps pricing simple with clear per-agent plans that include key features, unlike Front’s confusing tiers.

Cons

• Fewer native integrations compared to Front.
• Minor lags when users search for emails that have been previously closed.

‘Pricing

Hiver offers a free trial and a free plan, with paid plans starting from $19/agent/month.

2. Zendesk: Best for large teams that need a ticketing system

For enterprise teams that have outgrown Front’s limitations, Zendesk is a solid upgrade. Zendesk is a front alternative truly shines when support operations become complex and require enterprise-grade reliability that Front simply can’t deliver.

Compared to Front’s shared inbox approach, Zendesk operates as a true ticketing system with advanced workflow automation, SLA management, and AI-powered routing capabilities designed to handle complex, high-volume operations. 

What makes Zendesk a good Front Alternative:

• Ticketing System: Multi-level escalations and SLA tracking that Front simply can’t match.
• AI-Powered Automation: Answer Bot for automated responses and intelligent ticket routing based on customer intent, which is more advanced than Front’s chat features.
• Integration ecosystem: 1,000+ pre-built integrations vs. Front’s limited integration library.
• Reporting and Analytics: Get pre-built analytics, real-time dashboards, and performance metrics in the basic plan itself, compared to Front’s basic analytics.

Zendesk Cons:

• Steeper learning curve compared to Front’s email-like interface.
• Can be more expensive for smaller teams that don’t need enterprise features.
• Add-ons or certain features can quickly add up to the pricing.

Zendesk Pricing:

Zendesk offers a 14-day free trial, with paid plans starting from $19/month per agent.

3. Missive: Best for email-first teams wanting better coordination

If your team works out of email and doesn’t want to move away from that interface, Missive is a great choice. It enhances existing email workflows instead of forcing you onto a completely new platform like Front.

Essentially, this Front alternative feels natural to anyone who’s used Gmail or Outlook while adding collaborative features that genuinely improve response speed. Apart from the clear win of a familiar interface, teams also choose Missive because it comes in at roughly one-third the price of Front.

What makes Missive a good Frontapp alternative:

• Email Synchronization: Get two-way sync with your existing email accounts, with no sync delays.
• Collaborative Email Drafts: Real-time collaborative editing for faster, improved email responses. 
• Multiple Assignment Options: Unlike Front’s limitation of assigning conversations to a single-person, with Missive you can assign conversations to entire teams or multiple people.
• Email-to-Task Management: Convert emails into tasks and organize them on Kanban boards without leaving your email interface.
• Smart Email Rules: Use automated workflows for routing, tagging, and organizing emails based on customizable criteria.

Missive Cons:

• The automation is a bit less robust compared to dedicated helpdesk platforms.
• Limited multi-channel support beyond email.
• Better suited for smaller support teams rather than enterprise-scale operations.
• Fewer integration options compared to Front’s broader ecosystem.

Missive Pricing:

Has a free trial of 30 days, with paid plans starting from $14/user/month.

4. Help Scout: Best for teams prioritising email management and self-service

Like Front, Hep Scout is also appreciated by users for its shared inbox feature. But where it outranks Front is in its self service options, such as the Beacon help widget, and Help Docs which offer extensive customisation and drafting features. 

Help Scout delivers what Front promises but with significantly less friction. You can start talking to customers, publish a help center article, and offer live chat without days or weeks of setup and training. Help Scout’s AI features also give it an advantage over Front’s basic automation.

What makes Help Scout a Front competitor:

• Faster Setup: It’s easier to set up HelpDocs, chat widget, and the shared inbox features compared to Front’s complicated setup.
• AI Features: Use OpenAI’s GPT-4 to generate replies, create summaries, and refine responses based on past conversations.
• Beacon: Add a live chat widget to your website or app, with AI-powered answers that boost response rates, support multiple languages, and suggest relevant help content. 
• Customer Profiles: Get customer details and history in an auto-populated and editable sidebar.
• Help Docs: Publish unlimited articles (unlike Front) and fully customize your knowledge base for SEO. 

Help Scout Cons:

• Higher per-agent cost than some alternatives.
• Less customization flexibility for highly complex workflows.
• Fewer advanced automation options than enterprise-focused platforms.

Help Scout Pricing:

Help Scout offers a free trial with paid plans starting at $25/month for 100 contacts and unlimited users.

5. Freshdesk: Best for teams needing a feature-packed helpdesk on a budget

Freshdesk is a cost-effective, yet feature-rich customer service software with AI and automation that surpasses Front’s capabilities. 

It’s a Front alternative for teams that want practical automation without developer assistance. It also has features such as Freddy AI, a conversational AI agent to resolve common customer queries,  parent-child ticketing to break down tasks, and comprehensive analytics—capabilities Front often reserves for higher tiers or paid add-ons.

What makes Freshdesk a Frontapp competitor:

• Freddy AI Agent: Use Freddy AI to handle personalized support and customer conversations in 25+ languages and resolve routine queries.
• Intelligent Ticket Routing: Assign and route tickets based on agent skills, workload, and availability.
• Proactive Campaign Management: Offers bulk messaging and proactive customer outreach via channels such as SMS, which Front lacks.
• Advanced Workflow Automation: No-code, multi-step automation workflows that can handle complex business rules.
• Comprehensive Reporting: Track team performance with real-time analytics and customizable reports that provide detailed insights.

Freshdesk Cons:

• Can be an overkill for support teams that only need basic shared inbox functionality.
• Steeper learning curve compared to Front.

Freshdesk Pricing:

Freshdesk offers a free trial and a free plan, with paid plans starting at $15/agent/month.

6. Gorgias: Best for e-commerce customer service

Gorgias is a customer service platform purpose-built for e-commerce businesses, especially ones that need deep integration with Shopify. 

Unlike Front’s shared inbox approach, Gorgias has order management, refund processing, inventory tracking capabilities, and AI shopping assistants built directly into the support interface. It’s the clear choice for online retailers who are tired of switching between multiple platforms to handle ecommerce customer service.

What makes Gorgias a Front Alternative:

• E-commerce Integrations: Gorgias has native Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce integrations that allow agents to process refunds, track shipments, and check inventory.
• Revenue Impact Tracking: The platform shows how support interactions directly impact business metrics and revenue.
• Conversational AI: AI that not only suggests responses and tracks order details, but also processes returns, modifications, and other e-commerce actions.
• Order Context Display: Get complete customer context across multiple channels, such as order history, purchase patterns, in a single view.
• Macro Templates for E-commerce: Use pre-built response templates designed for common e-commerce scenarios and improve response times.

Gorgias Cons:

• Not really beneficial for support teams needing simple shared inbox capabilities.
• Fewer general collaboration features compared to Front.
• Pricing scales with ticket volume, which can get expensive for high-volume stores.

Gorgias Pricing:

Gorgias offers a free plan, with paid plans starting at $10/month.

7. Gmelius: Best for teams wanting project features and AI assistants for Gmail

Gmelius for collaboration and project management features

Gmelius is also a no-brainer for teams that work out of Gmail and want added features like project management, better workflows, collaboration, and AI assistants. 

Unlike Front’s separate platform approach, Gmelius works entirely within Gmail, making it an ideal Front alternative for teams embedded in Google Workspace who don’t want to learn a new system. 

What makes Gmelius a FrontApp Alternative:

• Email-to-Kanban Boards: You get the option to convert email threads into visual project management boards within Gmail.
• Gmail-Native Collaboration: Share, assign, and collaborate on emails directly within the Gmail interface you already know.
• AI Assistants: Get Reply Assistants to generate drafts, Sorting Assistant to attach tags, Dispatching assistant to triage emails and workflow suggestions which work in sync.
• Email Campaigns: Get advanced features such as creating and scheduling multi-stage email campaigns, with templates. 
• Team Performance Analytics: Track metrics such as email response times, customer satisfaction scores, workload distribution, and team productivity metrics.

Gmelius Cons:

• Limited to Gmail workspaces; not compatible with other email providers.
• Some users cite slow loading speeds within the Gmail app.
• The app performs poorly compared to the desktop version.

Gmelius Pricing:

Gmelius offers a 7-day free trial with paid plans starting at $24/user/month.

8. DragApp: Best for Gmail-native teams that want Kanban-style email organization

DragApp turns Gmail into a collaborative workspace, with an added Trello-like layer for visual task management. Unlike Front, DragApp keeps all emails stored securely on Gmail servers. 

It provides shared inbox functionality and team collaboration features without the complexity of Front’s platform. Small teams get the benefits of shared email management plus an easy-to-use interface and better workload visibility.

What makes DragApp a Front Competitor:

• Task Management: Add a layer of task management into email, turning emails into collaborative to-do lists.
• Kanban Board Visualization: Turn email into task cards and organize them as boards for better task visualization.
• Multiple Assignment Capabilities: Teams get more flexible assignment options than Front’s single-person limitation.
• Shared Contact Management: View contact information and customer history for better personalization, directly from within conversations.
• Email Tracking: Get email tracking capabilities, and schedule email sequences without manual follow-ups.

DragApp Cons:

• Requires Google Workspace, and doesn’t work with other email providers.
• At the time of writing, AI features were still in early access. 
• Not comparable to the functionality of a helpdesk.
• Fewer automation options for support teams than dedicated tools.

DragApp Pricing:

DragApp offers a 7-day free trial with paid plans starting at $12/user/month

9. Kayako: Best for teams needing contextual AI to handle ticket volume

Kayako, a customer service software with AI features

Kayako is a customer service platform with a unique approach – its AI parses your existing customer history, tickets, and knowledge base to automate tasks and eliminate repetitive tickets. 

While Kayako also offers a shared inbox like Front, it stands out better for features such as ticket triage and smart chat. For many teams, this can be a significant advantage over Front’s limited yet expensive AI features.  

Why Kayako is a good Front Alternative:

• Singleview™: Get all customer conversations, interactions, and history in a single view, eliminating the need for agents to switch platforms. 
• AI Ticket Assistant: “Chat” with a ticket to quickly find specific information, eliminating the need to dig through threads.
• Self-Learning AI: AI that learns from your previous tickets, customer history, and knowledge base to improve response accuracy and routing decisions.
• Better Automation: Deflect repetitive tickets like password resets and route complex queries to your team, without any manual tagging.
• Help Center Localization: Kayako supports translating your help center to about 44 languages, making it easier to provide global support.

Kayako Cons:

• Requires support teams to shift to an AI-first mindset, especially those that migrate from legacy tools.
• Users cite the lack of an auto refresh feature as a drawback.
• Might be overkill for smaller support teams that just need shared inbox functionality.

Kayako Pricing:

Kayako does not offer a free trial. With the new rebranding, Kayako One, the AI customer support platform has a single paid plan starting from $79/month, with a $1 charge for all AI-resolved tickets. 

10. Crisp: Best for AI-powered live chat and customer engagement

Crisp is a multi-channel customer messaging platform that excels in AI automation and is more its solid live chat capabilities. Unlike Front’s strong shared inbox focus and limited chat capabilities with Beacon, Crisp offers automated responses, live translation for international support, and even a built-in game (called CrispyBird, which I personally tested) to reduce customer drop-off during wait times.

Crisp also integrates a knowledge base and CRM capabilities to centralize customer interactions.

What makes Crisp a Better Front Alternative:

• Custom AI Model: Trained the model on FAQs, snippets, website content, and inbox data, and use MagicReply to predict, summarize, rephrase, or expand answers. AI CoPilot supports agents with faster, more accurate responses.
• AI Overlay Chat Widget: Launch a customizable widget with MagicBrowse for real-time screen sharing, global support, and gamified options that cut drop-off times.
• Help Center Customization: Crisp provides richer customization than Front’s HelpDocs, offering branding, custom domains, and analytics.
• Better Customer Support: Crisp’s customer support offers real agent access available within a minute through their live chat, compared to Front’s email only support.
• Built-in CRM Features: Crisp’s CRM organizes customer profiles with conversations, and history giving agents full context without switching platforms.

Crisp Cons:

• Initial setup may require more handholding.
• iOS application does not have the same features as the web app.
• Scope to improve reporting, analytics, and SLA tracking features.

Crisp Pricing:

Crisp offers a 14-day free trial and a free plan. Paid plans start at $45/month per workspace (not per user), making it more cost-effective for growing teams than Front’s per-seat pricing model.

11. Trengo: Best for omnichannel messaging with native WhatsApp support

Trengo is a customer engagement platform that takes a different approach from Front’s email-centric model. While Front excels at shared email management, Trengo was built from the ground up for omnichannel communication, with particular strength in social messaging platforms like WhatsApp Business, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.

Unlike Front’s per-seat pricing that can quickly become expensive, Trengo offers team-based pricing that makes it significantly more affordable for growing businesses. 

What makes Trengo a Good Frontapp Alternative:

• Native WhatsApp Integration: Access WhatsApp Business API directly without third-party workarounds, including broadcast messaging capabilities that Front can’t match.
• No-Code Chatbot Builder: Deploy intelligent chatbots across multiple channels (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram) to handle FAQs and suggest help articles when needed. 
• Real-Time Co-Authoring: Multiple team members can collaborate on responses simultaneously, going beyond Front’s basic internal commenting.
• AI Journeys: Create customer journeys and workflows, let AI add labels based on customer sentiment, action and trigger proactive messages across different channels.
• Built-in Help Center: Create a help center with multilingual support and full branding and customization.

Trengo Cons:

• No option to track chat analytics effectively within Google Analytics.
• Platform doesn’t provide instruction videos for all actions.
• The web application can be slow at times.

Trengo Pricing:

Trengo doesn’t offer a free trial. Paid plans start at $347/month for 10 users.

12. Tidio: Best for e-commerce businesses needing customer engagement automation

Tidio is a customer engagement platform offering extensive automation and chatbot capabilities. Tidio also has an upper hand over Front’s basic chatbot functionality, offering granular controls like visitor mouse movements and form abandonment to trigger engagement flows based on customer actions. 

Tidio can automate complex customer interactions that Front would still require agents to handle. Its Lyro AI chatbot is more versatile, pulling content from FAQ pages or help articles and turning it into instant, accurate answers. It can also resolve queries and perform routine tasks, reducing the need for manual effort.

What makes Tidio a Front Competitor:

• Advanced Chatbot Builder: Create automation flows with granular triggers and personalized engagement sequences – something Front’s basic chatbot functionality simply can’t match.
• Reduced Agent Effort: Tidio’s AI handles routine tasks like order status checks and organizes emails by topic, so agents can easily spot and prioritize what matters.
• Powerful Shopify Integration: Use Tidio’s chatbots to check order status, shipping details, and provide personalized product recommendations directly within chat conversations.
• Lyro AI Agent: Use a converstional chatbot (built using Claude and internal models) to answer customer queries, with seamless handoff to agents when requested.
• E-commerce Focused Features: Built-in email marketing, visitor segmentation, and conversion-optimized chat flows designed specifically for online stores.

Tidio Cons:

• The automation and chatbot flows come with a learning curve
• Works best as a chat-first solution and the drawbacks can be significant for non-ecommerce businesses.
• Users feel the cost is on the higher side, with some essential automation locked behind higher-tier plans.

Tidio Pricing:

Tidio offers a free plan with basic features, with paid plans starting at $24.17/month.

13. Google Collaborative Inbox: Best for basic team email sharing

If you’ve used Google Collaborative Inbox, you’d know how it turns regular Gmail groups into shared team inboxes. It offers basic email collaboration without Front’s complexity and cost. 

While Google Collab Inbox boxes you within the Google Workspace ecosystem, it’s a perfect Front alternative for teams that already use Gmail and those that want the familiar workflows and shared inbox functionality without learning new tools. 

What makes Google Collab Inbox a Front competitor:

• Native Gmail Integration: Works directly within the Gmail interface with no additional software or training required.
• Basic Email Assignment: You can assign conversations to team members and track who’s responsible for responses.
• Conversation Tagging: Organize your emails better with labels and tags to categorize or prioritize conversations. 
• Email Threading: Maintain conversation history and context across team members.
• Google Workspace Sync: Collab Workspace integrates with other Google tools like Calendar, Drive, and Docs.

Google Collab Inbox Cons:

• Team members cannot see responses sent by others as there’s no shared ‘Sent’ folder.
• Limited integrations compared to dedicated solutions like Front.
• Little to no tracking, and in-depth analytics.
• Basic automation compared to dedicated platforms, suited for small teams.

Google Collab Inbox Pricing:

Free with Google Workspace subscription.

Hiver: The Front Alternative That Actually Works

If you’re tired of Front’s expensive upgrades and confusing interface, it’s worth trying Hiver. It delivers the shared inbox and team collaboration features that Front promises, but as a feature-packed AI helpdesk, with a minimal to zero learning curve.

Make the move to a Front alternative that works with you, not against you. Start your free trial today and see why growing teams trust Hiver to deliver exceptional support.

Frequently Asked Questions