Top 11 alternatives to Front for streamlining your team's communication
Centralise customer messages, share an inbox, collaborate effectively... That's the promise of Front, the benchmark tool for managing team conversations. But let's be honest: however well-designed it may be, Front isn't for everyone.
With its rapidly rising prices , limited functionality in some areas, and an interface that can be too rigid, it's easy to get tempted to explore elsewhere. The good news is that there are more flexible, more affordable and sometimes even more powerful tools for managing your workflows, your customer service, your agents and your channels like chat or WhatsApp.
👉 In this guide, we share the 11 best alternatives to Front in 2025. Whether you're looking to better personalise your experience, save time, boost your automation, or simply tailor the platform to your business, you've come to the right place.
What is Front?
Front is a collaborative messaging platform designed to centralise all communication channels (email, chat, WhatsApp, social networks, etc.) in a shared inbox. Its aim is to enable teams (customer service, support, sales, etc.) to work together on customer conversations, without stepping on each other's toes.
In practical terms, Front combines the familiar structure of an email with tools designed for teams: internal comments, message assignment, response templates, automation, and seamless integration with the main CRMs, ticketing tools or chat platforms.
🎯 Front is primarily aimed at customer-facing teams (support, account management, after-sales service, etc.) who manage a large volume of messages and want to :
- offer a fast, consistent response,
- maintain clear traceability of exchanges
- collaborate without multiplying email transfers or "fwds".
But despite its advantages, Front is not suitable for all organisations. Let's see why some team leaders are turning to an alternative.
Front
Why consider an alternative to Front?
A rapidly escalating cost
Front's pricing plans start at a reasonable price... but quickly become expensive as soon as you add users, integrations, or want to take advantage of advanced automation. For SMEs and start-ups, every euro counts.
Functionality can be rigid
While Front does a good job of covering basic needs, some users find :
- the interface is too rigid
- the templates are too limited
- or the level of automation is too low, at no extra cost.
As a result, you find yourself adapting your workflow to the tool, instead of the other way round.
Limited integration in some cases
Despite a good catalogue of connectors, some integrations are only available from higher levels. Other tools offer a more open approach or a more flexible API, ideal for adapting to the company's existing ecosystem.
Evolving needs
When you grow from 5 to 20 agents, or add a channel like WhatsApp or a chatbot, you need a solution that can grow with your team. Several alternatives to Front stand out for their modularity and their ability to personalise the experience.
Comparative table of the 11 best alternatives to Front
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 Zoho Desk | Front |  Crisp |  Gmelius |  Help Scout |  Hiver |  Service Hub |  Kayako |  Missive |  Trengo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For all companies | For all companies | For companies with 2 to 250 employees | For all companies | For all companies | For companies with more than 1 employees | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies | For all companies |
| See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software | See software |
| Learn more about Zoho Desk | Learn more about Front | Learn more about Crisp | Learn more about Gmelius | Learn more about Help Scout | Learn more about Hiver | Learn more about Service Hub | Learn more about Kayako | Learn more about Missive | Learn more about Trengo |
Our top 11 alternatives to Front
Crisp
Crisp is a French centralised customer messaging platform that offers a fluid and cost-effective alternative to Front. It enables teams to bring together all their communication channels (email, chat, social networks, WhatsApp) in a shared inbox, while automating exchanges and optimising teamwork.
⚒️ Here are the main features that make Crisp particularly well-suited to customer-focused teams:
- multi-channel collaborative inbox (email, chat, social networks, WhatsApp) ;
- customisable live chat with on-board knowledge base;
- no-code chatbot to automate responses and qualify requests;
- automation rules to simplify workflows;
- real-time visitor tracking and co-browsing;
- unlimited history and internal notes system for teams;
- native integrations with Slack, Zapier, HubSpot, Notion...
Crisp
Drag
Drag transforms Gmail into a complete collaboration tool for teams, adding task management, customer tracking and workflow features. For those who want to keep Gmail but make it as powerful as a tool like Front, Drag is a simple and visual alternative.
⚒️ Here's what Drag can do to make teamwork more fluid, without leaving Gmail:
- shared inbox to manage team emails directly in Gmail;
- Kanban views to organise messages as tasks (drag & drop);
- assign conversations, internal comments and mentions;
- simple automations for sorting, assigning and tagging messages;
- agent activity monitoring and performance analysis;
- native integration with Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Calendar, etc.);
- email templates and predefined responses to save time.
Glassix
Glassix is an omnichannel platform designed to centralise and automate customer conversations, with a real focus on user experience and artificial intelligence. With a strong focus on customer support, it's a robust tool for teams who want a fluid, responsive all-in-one solution.
⚒️ Here are the features that make Glassix a serious alternative to Front for managing your channels and agents more effectively:
- unified inbox for all channels (email, SMS, chat, WhatsApp, Messenger...) ;
- AI conversational agent (integrated chatbot) with natural language processing;
- automated workflows for allocating, classifying and processing requests;
- centralised conversation history and team information sharing;
- AI-suggested answers to speed up resolution;
- API and CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, etc.);
- native multilingual support.
Gmelius
Gmelius is a tool that transforms Gmail into an ultra-complete collaborative platform for customer-focused teams. Ideal for SMEs, Gmelius combines shared messaging, automation, task management and customer care, without leaving your inbox.
⚒️ Here's how Gmelius helps teams collaborate effectively and save time:
- shared inbox in Gmail with delegation and allocation of emails ;
- internal comments, mentions and team chat;
- Integrated Kanban for tracking conversations like projects;
- task automation: assignment, email sequences, reminders, etc;
- bi-directional synchronisation with the main CRM systems;
- email tracking (opens, clicks) and shared templates;
- Slack, Trello, Zoom, Zapier integrations, etc.
Gmelius
Help Scout
Help Scout is a customer service solution designed for teams who want to offer personalised support on a large scale, without complicating their tool. Its customer experience-focused approach makes it a popular alternative to Front for SMEs and start-ups.
⚒️ Here's how Help Scout enables teams to better manage requests while maintaining a human relationship with their customers:
- simple, intuitive shared inbox;
- unified customer profiles with conversation history
- integrated knowledge base for self-service assistance;
- automated workflows (routing, tagging, prioritisation) ;
- detailed reporting on team performance;
- proactive messages on site or in chat;
- native integrations with over 90 tools (CRM, e-commerce, Slack, etc.).
Help Scout
Winter
Hiver is a tool designed specifically to transform Gmail into a collaborative customer service solution. Simple, quick to deploy and highly integrated with Google Workspace, Hiver is perfect for teams who want to improve responsiveness without changing their environment.
⚒️ Here's how Hiver makes conversation management and collaboration in Gmail more fluid:
- shared inboxes (support@, info@...) directly in Gmail ;
- email assignment, internal comments and personalised tags;
- SLA tracking and delay alerts so nothing gets left behind;
- simple automations: assignments, replies, closes, etc;
- performance analysis by channel, agent or status;
- shared templates and signatures for greater consistency;
- native integration with Google Workspace, Zapier, Asana, etc.
Hiver
HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot Service Hub is the "customer service" component of the renowned HubSpot CRM. It is an ultra-complete solution for teams who want to centralise customer management, automation, chat and product knowledge in a unified interface.
⚒️ Here are the key assets that make HubSpot Service Hub a top-of-the-range alternative to Front :
- shared inbox linked to HubSpot's full CRM ;
- support tickets with multi-channel tracking;
- self-service customer portal and knowledge base;
- advanced automation of support workflows;
- live chat, chatbots and targeted messages;
- advanced reporting and customisable dashboards;
- integrations with the entire HubSpot ecosystem + Slack, Jira, etc.
Service Hub
Kayako
Kayako is an omnichannel customer support solution that stands out for its ability to create a unified view of the customer, regardless of the channels used. It is a relevant alternative to Front for teams who want a contextual and fluid approach to customer conversations.
⚒️Voici what Kayako can do to simplify support and improve team coordination:
- shared inbox with multi-channel monitoring (email, chat, social networks) ;
- complete conversational timeline for each customer;
- integrated live chat, with synchronised history
- automated workflows: responses, assignment, prioritisation, etc;
- knowledge base for self-service;
- team performance and customer satisfaction analytics (CSAT);
- integrations with Slack, Salesforce, Zapier and others.
Kayako
Missive
Missive combines collaborative messaging and project management in a modern, ultra-fast interface. It's a tool designed for teams who want to centralise their exchanges (email, SMS, chat, social networks) and collaborate without friction.
⚒️ Here are the key features that make Missive a flexible alternative to Front, ideal for dynamic environments:
- collaborative inbox with chat integrated into every conversation ;
- assignment of emails, internal comments and associated tasks;
- multi-channel management: email, SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp, etc. ;
- templates, signatures, snooze and deferred delivery;
- customised labels and filters to organise work;
- automatic rules for sorting and distributing messages;
- Slack, Zapier, Asana, etc. integrations.
Missive
Trengo
Trengo is an omnichannel customer messaging platform designed to streamline communication between businesses and their customers across all channels. It focuses on simplicity, team collaboration and a strong ability to personalise workflows.
⚒️ Here's how Trengo helps teams deliver consistent, effective support across all touchpoints:
- unified inbox: email, chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram... ;
- internal collaboration on conversations: comments, assignments, notes, etc;
- integrated chatbot to automate the qualification of requests;
- intelligent routing and message distribution rules ;
- public or private knowledge base;
- detailed statistics: response time, workload per agent, satisfaction, etc;
- integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and over 1,000 via Zapier.
Trengo
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is robust, modular customer service software designed for organisations looking to structure their request management, automate workflows and deliver a consistent multi-channel experience. As part of the Zoho ecosystem, it is designed for teams that need a configurable and scalable tool.
⚒️ Here are the features that make Zoho Desk a solid alternative to Front, especially for growing support teams:
- shared inbox with multi-channel tickets (email, chat, social networks, phone) ;
- advanced automation: routing, escalation, SLA alerts, etc;
- AI assistant (Zia) to suggest answers and detect feelings ;
- customer portal, knowledge base and self-service FAQs;
- detailed reports on productivity, satisfaction and processing times;
- customisable workflows, fields, views and roles;
- native integration with Zoho CRM, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, etc.
Zoho Desk
How do you choose the right alternative to Front?
Summary table of the best alternatives to Front
| Tool | Key strengths | Entry price (indicative) | Ideal for... |
| Crisp | Chat, chatbot, WhatsApp, knowledge base | Free plan | Startups, support-oriented SMEs |
| Drag | Kanban Gmail, tasks, automation | From €10.25/month | Teams who want to stay on Gmail |
| Glassix | Integrated AI, multi-channel, automation | From €41.86/month | High-volume customer services |
| Gmelius | Gmail + project management + collaboration | From €24/month | SMEs that use Google Workspace |
| Help Scout | Simplicity, knowledge base, human relations | Free plan | Personalised customer support |
| Winter | Gmail, SLA, analytics, fluid assignment | Free plan | B2B support teams |
| Hub Service | Full CRM, chat, tickets, customer portal | From €90/month | Teams already on HubSpot |
| Kayako | Unified, omnichannel customer view | From €67.49/month | Structured IT support or after-sales service |
| Collaborative conversation, tasks, multi-channel | From €11.96/month | Start-ups and agile teams | |
| Trengo | Multi-agent, chatbot, WhatsApp, intuitive UI | From €299/month | Speed-oriented teams |
| Zoho Desk | AI, automation, customer portal, integrated CRM | From €7/month | Companies already using Zoho |
Criteria for selecting an alternative to Front
To make sure you don't make a mistake, here are the key criteria to consider before making your choice:
- Objectives and use cases: do you need a tool that focuses on customer support, internal collaboration, or both? Do you want to manage several channels (chat, email, WhatsApp, networks, etc.) or just one?
- Budget and cost at scale: Front becomes expensive as you scale up. Some tools offer a fixed price per team, others per agent: beware of hidden costs.
- Automation and intelligence: are you saving time with automated workflows? Look for tools with chatbots, intelligent rules and automatic routing.
- Integration and ecosystem: does the tool integrate with your CRM, task management or internal communication tools (Slack, Teams, Trello, Notion, etc.)?
- Collaboration and teamwork: features such as comments, assignments, shared templates and Kanban views are crucial to a smooth workflow.
- Scalability: does the tool allow you to customise the experience? Is it scalable if your team or your volume of requests grows in 6 months' time?
Your customer service better than a default tool
Choosing an alternative to Front isn't just a question of replacing a tool. It's about rethinking the way your team communicates, collaborates and responds to customers. And today, there's no shortage of options for aligning your service platform with your business needs, your channels, your budget, and above all your customer experience.
Whether you need a more flexible, simpler or more affordable tool, there's bound to be a solution for you. Take the time to test, compare and, above all, involve your team in the choice. Because it's they, your agents, who will bring the tool to life on a daily basis.
💡 And if you're still not sure? Start by testing Crisp, Help Scout or Missive: three different approaches, but all formidably effective in regaining control of your inbox.
Article translated from French