Front vs Missive: A Comprehensive Comparison

The importance of a customer service platform cannot be understated. It helps you efficiently manage customer interactions, streamline support operations, and gauge how satisfied your customers are with the assistance they receive. 

But, choosing a customer service platform is tricky. That’s because there are many options available.

In this article, we are going to compare two of the most popular customer support platforms in the market – Front and Missive. Both platforms offer a host of unique features and functionalities suited to different support requirements.

Let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

• What is Missive?
• What is Front?
• Front vs Missive: Which One Should You Choose?
• Why Hiver Might Be A Better Alternative
• What to Keep in Mind When Choosing A Customer Support Platform

What is Missive?

Missive is a collaborative communication tool designed for businesses to streamline communication and manage emails and chats from a single platform . 

It allows teams to work together on emails, assign tasks, collaborate on drafts, and integrate with other productivity tools like calendars and task management apps. Missive aims to improve teamwork and productivity by centralizing email and chat communication within a single application.

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What is Front?

Front is a customer operations platform that is designed for teams to manage their email, chat, and other communication channels in a shared workspace. 

The platform offers robust help desk features that enables support teams to streamline customer communication. Some of these features include automated workflows, internal collaboration functionalities, analytics, and a knowledge base. 

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Front vs Missive: Which One Should You Choose?

Let’s look at a quick comparison of Front and Missive to understand each of their capabilities and how to factor it in while choosing a customer service platform for your business.

1. Pricing: Front is More Expensive than Missive

Front and Missive offer different pricing models. Let’s take a closer look at what both pricing models entail and how it varies depending on the specific needs of your business.

Front

Front offers a four tiered pricing plan that starts at $19 for smaller businesses. Aside from this, the platform also offers three different pricing plans for businesses with more advanced support requirements.

• Starter: Priced at $19, this plan offers basic support features such as shared inboxes, team collaboration functionalities, knowledge base, and live chat for website. You will also get access to limited integrations, making it suitable for smaller teams with limited budgets.
• Growth: This plan is priced at $59 per seat per month and includes automated workflows and analytics. It also includes the knowledge base feature where you can publish up to 500 articles, live chat, and chatbots. However, members of this pricing tier can avail vendor support only via email and there is no onboarding assistance of any sort.
• Scale: The Scale plan is priced at $99 per seat per month and includes most of the advanced functionalities that the platform has to offer. The plan allows you to include up to 5000 published articles in your knowledge base. Aside from this, you can avail vendor support via email and live chat. You also get a tailored onboarding experience as well as a dedicated account team.
• Premier: At $229 per seat per month, the Premier plan is best suited for enterprises. Members can avail vendor support through email, live chat, and video. They also get access to pre-release and beta features.

Front also offers a free 7 day trial for users who want to get the feel of the platform.

Missive

Missive has a four tiered pricing plan which is fairly affordable for most businesses. They have a free plan that can be used by up to 3 users and includes 2 shared accounts. The plan does not include integrations or any other features such as automations or analytics.

• Starter: Priced at $14 per user per month, the Starter plan is suited for teams that just want shared inboxes to manage incoming emails.
• Productive: The Productive plan is priced at $18 per user per month and includes critical support features such as shared accounts, integrations, and automations. You also get access to basic analytics and an overview report. This provides a bird’s eye view of how your organization is performing with respect to key metrics such as first response time, reply time, and handle time.
• Business: At $26 per user per month, Missive’s Business plan gives users access to all of the platform’s features including advanced analytics, The plan does not have a cap on the number of users.

Key Takeaway

On comparing the pricing plans of both Front and Missive, it is evident that the latter has a more affordable pricing plan. Missive offers a free plan and its highest pricing tier is priced at $26 per seat per month,

However, while Front is more expensive than Missive, it may be better suited for larger teams with more advanced support needs. This is because Missive offers very limited features that are focused on enabling team collaboration. It can be used by small and medium businesses as well as remote teams that require a collaborative email platform 

Front, on the other hand offers the features of a help desk and is apt for handling customer communications at scale. It can be used by businesses or teams that have complex email management needs.

2. Ease of Use: Missive is Easier to Use than Front

When choosing a new tool for your business, it is important to evaluate how easy it will be for your teams to get started with using a solution. The harder it is for your team to use a platform, the more difficult it is to unlock the true value of your investment. Let’s compare Front and Missive on their ease of use.

Front

Front has a relatively complicated interface that can be difficult to get used to. Users have reported that there is a steep learning curve if you want to familiarize yourself with the platform. Front users have also reported that it is often difficult to find an email and you can miss out on important replies.

Aside from this, users have also reported that Front’s mobile app is not user friendly and has certain limitations. For instance, emails are not regularly updated in the mobile app. The app also lacks a calendar view which is inconvenient when you’re away from your desktop and want to make changes to your schedule.

It took a minute to wrap my head around how Front worked. Compared to what I was previously using, it was very different. The learning curve was a bit more steep than I would have liked.
– Front user on G2

Missive

Missive has a very easy-to-use interface and is highly customizable. It is super easy to assign incoming emails to team members. With Missive, it is also easy to find emails due to its intuitive labeling system. Users have reported that Missive can be easily installed and requires almost no time to get used to.

Missive’s mobile app is also reported to be highly functional and user friendly. The app also has a native calendar which easily syncs to your Google Calendar or iCal.

Missive’s interface is clean, modern, and incredibly easy to navigate.
– Missive user on G2

Key Takeaways

Missive has a clear advantage over Front when it comes to ease of use for both the desktop and mobile app versions.

So, if you prefer a familiar email client experience with a focus on team collaboration features, then Missive may be the right choice for you.

Front has a complex interface and has several features and functionalities that can be overwhelming for new users. However, even though it requires a bit more initial configuration than Missive, Front will be better suited for you if you require advanced email management and team collaboration functionalities. 

3. Integrations: Missive has Fewer Integrations than Front

Integrating with third-party apps streamlines processes by reducing the need for manual data entry and task switching. Agents can access all relevant customer information and tools within a single platform, which boosts productivity and reduces response times. Here’s a quick overview of how both Missive and Front integrate with other applications.

Front

Front integrates with 110 applications under various categories. There are about 10 categories including bots and workflow automation, telephony, project management, billing and invoicing, and CRM.

These integrations expand the capabilities of Front, making it highly versatile. Apart from this, the diverse selection of integrations allows users to tailor customer service and communication workflows to match their unique requirements. This level of customization ensures that the Front app can adapt to various industries and use cases.

Here are some of Front’s integrations under different categories.

• Bots and workflow automation: Amgine, Aide, Bugpilot, Chatdesk, etc.
• Voice and telephony: Aircall, CallHippo, CloudTalk, Cordless, DIalpad, etc.
• Project management and issue tracking: Asana, ClickUp, GitHub, etc.
• Productivity: Dropbox, Google Drive, HelpDocs, etc.
• CRM and Ecommerce: HubSpot, Gainsight, Calixa, Outreach, Pipedrive, etc.
• Analytics and Reporting: Census, Fivetran, Klaus, Skyvia, etc.
• Billing and Invoicing: ChargeDesk
• Data Sync and Enrichment: Help Desk Migration, Clearbit, Merge, etc.
• Data Privacy: DataGrail
• Surveys and Feedback: AskNicely, Delighted, Doorbell.io, etc.
• Knowledge and Content: Cardina, Forumbee, HelpCenter.io, Scribe, etc.
• Logistics and Maritime: Levity, S2Q Systems

Missive

The platform integrates with key applications such as

• Asana for project management
• Chargedesk to manage payments and transactions
• Open AI to quickly compose messages with the help of AI
• Salesforce to manage all your CRM activities
• Zapier to automate your work

Aside from this, Missive integrates with 20 other applications for automation, data consolidation, customizations, and more.

Key Takeaways

Front clearly has an edge over Missive because of its extensive range of integrations.

Businesses can seamlessly manage several different tasks such as billing, invoicing, customer surveys, project management, and reporting right from Front. This is especially useful for large teams and enterprises that use a variety of tools to manage their business workflows.

Missive on the other hand integrates with a limited number of applications. It is better suited for teams that don’t typically use as many third-party applications for their daily workflows. However, teams will still be able to make use of applications such as CRMs, project management tools, telephony solutions, and productivity software.

4. Analytics and Reporting: Front has More Comprehensive Reporting Capabilities than Missive

Both Front and Missive offer robust analytics and reporting functionalities. However, there are a few considerable differences in both platforms as highlighted below.

Front

Front allows you track the performance of your employees as well as get insights into your customers’ experience.

The platform allows you to continuously track your team’s SLAs and ensure that response time goals are always met. You get a clear picture of your team’s workload and their productivity by tracking metrics such as first reply time, reaction time, number of archived conversations, and SLA breaches.

You can also measure CSAT scores and review feedback to help you improve your customer service process.

Front also allows you to build customized dashboards for different teams with the insights they need. These dashboards can be tailored to support, operations, or sales teams.

Missive

Missive offers analytics features that allow you to keep track of team productivity, metrics such as first response time and handling time, and other aspects such as volume of messages received and number of replies.

Missive also offers four different types of reports.

• Overview report: This report gives insights into an organization’s performance on a broader level
• Users report: You can track the performance of your team members. This includes insights on messages sent and received, first reply time, etc.
• Teams report: This gives you insights into your team’s overall performance and their workload.
• Accounts report: This report lists down key metrics associated with the different channels your company uses to engage with customers .This includes email, WhatsApp, SMS, Facebook Messenger, etc.
• Labels report: In this report, you can get a clear view of the progress or status of emails that have been assigned different labels. For instance, you can track key metrics associated with any and all emails labeled ‘Urgent’.

Key Takeaways

The analytics and reporting feature for both Front and Missive give users very detailed insights into team performance and productivity. However, Front offers more comprehensive reporting dashboards, not to mention you can create your own reports as well.

This makes Front more useful for teams that require detailed account reporting and CSAT insights.

Missive on the other hand is better suited for teams requiring message and task related insights.

5. Vendor Support: Missive has Better Vendor Support than Front

Responsive vendor support helps minimize disruptions any time your teams face an issue with the software. Front and Missive differ in the quality of vendor support they offer as well as the channels through which they provide assistance.

Front

Front offers only email support to members of its Starter and Growth plan. Users do not get any onboarding assistance as well.

Members can get in touch with vendor support through both email and live chat in the mid-tier plan. The highest pricing plan offers vendor support across email. live chat, and video and offers comprehensive onboarding services to users.

Constant issues. Front’s customer support is among the *worst* and least helpful support, or lack thereof I’ve ever had working with a CRM.
–Front user on Capterra

Missive

Missive offers detailed user guides for all of its features on their website. They also have a help center which customers can use to familiarize themselves with the platform.

Missive also has an email through which users can get in touch with the platform’s support team for any queries they may have.

I cannot emphasize enough the quality of customer support that we’ve received. The team behind Missive is not just technically proficient but also extraordinarily friendly and responsive. Questions and issues are addressed almost immediately, often with personalized solutions that show they truly understand the needs of their user base.
–Missive user on G2

Key Takeaway

While Front offers multichannel vendor support, users have reported that the platform’s customer service is not very responsive and is quite unhelpful when dealing with critical issues.

Users have however reported that Missive has excellent vendor support with the team being technically proficient and highly responsive.

It is important to note that while Front offers a broader range of support options, Missive primarily relies on email.

In summary, Missive would be better suited for smaller teams that do not have very comprehensive vendor support requirements while Front would be a good option for enterprises that require specific service level requirements.

Why Hiver Might Be A Better Alternative

While both Front and Missive are great options for customer support, Hiver offers a host of features that could potentially position it as a better alternative to both platforms. Let’s take a quick look at why and how.

1. Ease of Use

Hiver is incredibly easy to use. It works right inside Gmail, an interface your teams are already familiar with. There is no learning curve and your agents can get started with using Hiver from the get go.

2. Value for Money

Hiver has a three tiered pricing structure that starts at $10. Members of this plan get access to basic support features including live chat, knowledge base, internal collaboration functionalities, and shared inboxes.

In fact, a quick comparison will tell you that opting for Front means that you end up paying 34% more than you would if you chose Hiver.The importance of a customer service platform cannot be understated. It helps you efficiently manage customer interactions, streamline support operations, and gauge how satisfied your customers are with the assistance they receive. 

You Might Also Like: Front vs Hiver: A Detailed Pricing Comparison

3. Analytics and Reporting

Hiver has a robust analytics engine that can give you actionable insights to help you make data-driven decisions.

The platform gives you the option to create custom dashboards to measure what matters to you. You can also schedule reports to evaluate your team and business performance.

Aside from this, Hiver also enables you to track CSAT scores at team and individual levels to get a better understanding of how customers feel about your business.

4. Automations

Hiver’s smart automations allow you to automate routine tasks freeing your team to handle more complex tasks.

With automations, you can ensure that every incoming email is assigned to the right team member to enable quicker responses. For instance, all emails with the word ‘Payment’ in the message body or subject line will be automatically assigned to finance specialists.

You can also assign incoming queries based on the skill set of different team members. For instance, all emails containing the word ‘Reimbursement’ will be assigned to payroll specialists within the finance department.

5. Quality of Vendor Support

Hiver’s customer support team is known to be highly responsive and helpful to users. 

More importantly, users can avail 24/7 vendor support irrespective of the pricing plan they belong to. Aside from this, Hiver also provides onboarding assistance across all of its plans. This allows you to get the best out of your platform without having to worry about disruptions if you face an issue with the solution.

Hiver’s customer service is second to none. I’ve never experienced a software company with customer service like this. People willing to get on a Google Meet call with you immediately to troubleshoot side by side with you – it’s amazing.
–Hiver user on G2

What to Keep in Mind When Choosing A Customer Support Platform

When choosing a customer support platform, it’s crucial to consider factors such as scalability, integration capabilities, and user-friendliness. A platform that can grow with your business ensures long-term viability and flexibility. Integration with existing systems like CRM software and communication tools streamlines workflows and enhances efficiency. Additionally, prioritizing a user-friendly interface and robust feature set ensures that your team can quickly adapt to the platform and provide exceptional support to customers without unnecessary complexity.

Furthermore, the platform’s reporting and analytics capabilities play a vital role in understanding customer needs and improving service quality. Comprehensive reporting features provide insights into customer interactions, allowing businesses to identify trends, measure performance metrics, and make data-driven decisions to enhance the overall customer experience. By considering these factors, businesses can select a customer support platform that aligns with their needs, fosters team productivity, and ultimately drives customer satisfaction and loyalty.