10 Best Drift Alternatives for Sales & Support Teams (2026)

Drift is so far ahead of everyone else in the chatbot game that they actually coined a term that is used across the industry today: conversational marketing. Even in 2025, Drift reigns supreme, with advanced features, AI workflows, tons of integrations, and a seemingly smooth user experience.

But if you look under the surface, you'll start seeing that for many of these items, Drift is resting on its laurels. And while they were fine with their core feature set, many other Drift alternatives popped up, offering a better tool for less money.

Today, we explore these alternatives and help you find the best one for your product and use case. 👇

TL;DR: the best Drift alternatives you can purchase today

1. ✨ Featurebase – Best modern support, GTM, and feedback platform for growing SaaS
2. Olark – Best for small to midsize teams that need a simple live chat without extras
3. Tidio – Best for small businesses and e-commerce stores that want affordable chat
4. Zendesk – Best for larger teams that need structured, multi-channel ticketing
5. Intercom – Best for SaaS that want in-app chat, onboarding, and engagement tools
6. Crisp – Best for small businesses that need multichannel messaging at a low cost
7. Tawk.to – Best for startups and freelancers that want a completely free live chat
8. Freshdesk – Best for businesses that want integrated live chat with a full help desk
9. LiveChat – Best for e-commerce and service businesses that want a live chat tool
10. Birdeye – Best for local businesses wanting to combine live chat with review management

Why look for Drift alternatives in the first place?

In the customer engagement tool market, Drift (now part of Salesloft) is like Novak Djokovic in the world of tennis. Sure, there are others who may have done it better, but Drift is the one everyone talks about.

Having said that, Drift is far from perfect, and just like any tool, it has a few downsides you should be aware of before committing.

1. The initial setup can be pretty tedious

Drift is really powerful, but if you've never used it, you'll need some time to get everything set up. The most common complaint about Drift is that it's not very intuitive, especially for novice users.

• "Initial setup is not easy. I think Drift could improve a lot on that part. It was frustrating to find the option to change the default time your meetings were booked for, and the settings overall. There aren't so many chat in my market so i don't use the product too often unfortunately." (G2 review)

2. Consistent glitches in the app

Drift does many things, but not all of them well. Users mention frequent issues with the conversational marketing platform, ranging from issues with notifications:

• "What I don't like about drift is getting notifications that are not linked to my territory. I wish prospects were required to input their business email so that other common domains were not routed. This would make sifting through drift prospects easier." (G2 review)
• "We are not able to view number of conversational landing page downloads or who clicked the download button which would be valuable for our team. Additionally, AI topics cannot be added to reusable blocks which would be helpful to more quickly duplicate the sometimes complicated AI conversation flow!" (G2 review)
• "The Chrome extension doesn't work at all times, so sometimes it makes it hard when you know that a video would be the best tool for a specific email. I would love for this to be enhanced in future updates because the product itself is very good." (G2 review)

And plenty of other bigger and smaller problems.

3. The pricing is a bit much for most users

One of the core reasons why businesses look for Drift alternatives is the total cost of the platform. You'll see many comments stating that it's "just too expensive for a chatbot".

• "Nothing much to complain about; however, it seems a bit expensive compared to other tools in the market." (G2 review)
• "Wish it wasn't so expensive to add one person to chat. I think we'd see a bigger ROI if we were able to add more people to chat at a lower rate. We have several solutions and people specific to those solutions however it would be too expensive to pay for an account for all of them so we have people chatting that are not the experts." (G2 review)
• "The pricing is very expensive for a chatbot. It would be helpful to repeat or clone specific parts of a bot, as templates etc. Would also be helpful to download the chats." (G2 review)

Top Drift alternatives for customer support teams in 2025

If you need a chatbot and ticketing system that is easier to use and more affordable than Drift, and also doesn't crash out with every use... These are the best alternatives to Drift to consider instead. 👇

1. Featurebase ✨

Featurebase is a modern Drift alternative that combines AI-powered support, product feedback, documentation, surveys, and changelogs into a single platform for SaaS. It's loved by thousands of support & GTM teams from companies like Lovable, Raycast, and n8n. 💫

Top features:

• Unified inbox – manage your live chat & email conversations in one AI-enchanced inbox with your whole team
• Omnichannel support – seamlessly provide support to your customers via email or Slack sync, in addition to live chat
• AI agent & automations – fully automate your support with Fibi AI and endless custom workflows, like extending trials, offering discounts, qualifying leads, etc.
• Messenger widget – provide AI and human support from anywhere with a customizable in-app widget
• AI-powered Help Center – a knowledge base with instant AI answers that can be multilingual and private
• Feedback portal & Roadmaps – centralize & keep track of all customer requests in one place, and show a public roadmap
• Product updates – publish and schedule release notes, push in-app notifications, and automatically email users
• Embedded surveys – run multi-step NPS, CSAT, or custom surveys targeted by user behavior or events
• Integrations – Slack, Linear, Jira, Discord, HubSpot, and many more

How it’s better than Drift: Unlike Drift, which is primarily for sales and conversation marketing, Featurebase enables you to replace all your customer-facing tools by bringing your support, GTM, help center, product updates, and feedback collection together in one place, providing powerful ecosystem advantages in modern support.

Pricing: Featurebase offers a generous Free plan, which includes unlimited support conversations. The paid plans start at $29/user/month + $0.29 for every AI resolution. All paid plans include unlimited free AI responses, so there's no downside to trying it. 👇

✨ Automate your support with the fastest AI-enhanced Inbox today →

2. Olark

Olark is a live chat platform built for customer-facing teams that want a reliable, simple, and scalable way to engage with website visitors.

It’s a good option for small to medium businesses that want real-time support features without the complexity of full-service help desk software such as Drift or Intercom. It focuses primarily on chat, automation, and basic CRM integrations.

Top features:

• Live chat widget: Easy-to-install chat window for any website with real-time visitor engagement.
• Chat transcripts and searchable history: Stores all conversations for later review and customer insights.
• Pre-chat forms and offline messages: Capture visitor and potential customer data even when agents are offline.
• Automation rules: Trigger automated messages based on customer behavior, time on site, or custom conditions.
• CRM and help desk integrations: Connects with Salesforce, HubSpot, Help Scout, and more.

Pricing: Olark's pricing starts at $29/month per seat.

How it’s better than Drift: Olark is a better choice for teams that don’t need enterprise-level complexity or a heavy focus on marketing automation. Its pricing is simpler and more predictable compared to Drift, which often requires custom quotes and higher budgets. Olark also keeps the experience centered around live chat, making it easier for small teams to set up and use without managing a full conversational marketing platform.

3. Tidio

Tidio is a customer communication tool that combines live chat, chatbots, and multichannel messaging in one platform. It’s a decent choice for small businesses and ecommerce stores that want to provide quick support, capture leads, and automate conversations without the need for heavy setup. Its interface is simple enough for beginners, yet flexible enough to cover sales and support use cases.

Top features:

• Live chat and multichannel inbox: Manage conversations from chat, email, and social media in one place.
• AI and rule-based chatbots: Automate common questions, lead qualification, and order tracking for easier account based marketing.
• Visitor tracking: See who’s on your site in real time and engage with them proactively.
• Ecommerce integrations: Works with Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, and BigCommerce.
• Mobile app: Stay connected and respond to customers on the go.

Pricing: Tidio's pricing comes with a free plan, and paid plans start at $29/month.

How it’s better than Drift: Tidio offers a much lower entry point for small teams and online stores compared to Drift, which is tailored more toward enterprise-level sales and marketing automation.

4. Zendesk

Zendesk is a well-established customer service platform that provides live chat alongside ticketing, knowledge base, and omnichannel support. It’s often used by growing businesses and enterprises that need structured workflows and advanced reporting. While broader than pure live chat tools, it allows teams to manage customer communication across multiple communication channels in one place.

Top features:

• Omnichannel support: Connects chat, email, phone, and social channels into one workspace.
• Integrated ticketing: Turns live chat conversations into trackable support tickets.
• Advanced reporting: Provides advanced analytics on agent performance, response times, and satisfaction.
• Knowledge base integration: Link live chat with a self-service help center.
• Automation and macros: Reduce repetitive tasks with prebuilt workflows.

Pricing: Zendek's pricing starts at $19/agent per month for the basic plan.

How it’s better than Drift: Zendesk is better for teams that need more than chat and conversational marketing. It offers a full support suite, making it easier to manage complex customer requests at scale, while Drift is more focused on lead generation and sales automation.

5. Intercom

Intercom is a customer communications platform that blends live chat, chatbots, in-app messaging, and product tours. It’s popular with SaaS companies and startups that want to provide proactive support and drive user engagement inside their products. The platform balances support, engagement, and customer success tools in one ecosystem.

Top features:

• Live chat and in-app messaging: Communicate directly with users inside your product.
• Chatbots and AI assistant: Automate support and lead capture with custom flows.
• Product tours: Guide new users through onboarding and feature adoption.
• Customer data platform: Store behavioral data and personalize outreach.
• App integrations: Connect with Stripe, Salesforce, HubSpot, and hundreds of others.

Pricing: Intercom pricing starts at around $39/seat per month, with additional charges for bots and add-ons.

How it’s better than Drift: Intercom is stronger for product-focused companies that want in-app engagement features in addition to chat. While Drift leans toward sales and marketing conversations, Intercom provides more tools for onboarding and retaining users directly within a SaaS product.

6. Crisp

Crisp is an all-in-one messaging platform that combines live chat, chatbots, email, and social messaging. It’s aimed at small businesses that want multichannel support without having to invest in large, enterprise-level software solutions. Crisp also includes extras like a shared inbox, knowledge base, and video calls.

Top features:

• Shared inbox: Manage all customer conversations across channels in one dashboard.
• Live chat with co-browsing: Engage visitors and even guide them through websites in real time.
• Chatbot automation: Create scenarios to qualify leads and handle FAQs.
• Knowledge base: Offer self-service resources alongside chat support.
• Multichannel support: Connects email, social, and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Messenger.

Pricing: Crisp pricing comes with a free plan and paid plans start at $45/month per workspace.

How it’s better than Drift: Crisp offers multichannel messaging at a fraction of Drift’s cost, making it accessible for smaller businesses. Unlike Drift’s sales-heavy positioning, Crisp balances both support and sales features, giving teams an affordable all-in-one hub for customer communication.

You may also want to read our Crisp vs Zendesk comparison.

7. Tawk.to

Tawk.to is a free live chat and messaging tool that helps businesses connect with website visitors in real time. It’s best known for being completely free, making it popular among startups, freelancers, and small businesses. The platform also offers optional paid add-ons such as hiring agents through Tawk’s own network.

Top features:

• Free live chat widget: Easy to install and customize for any website.
• Unlimited agents and chats: No restrictions on usage even with the free plan.
• Chat monitoring: Track visitor behavior and engagement in real time.
• Mobile apps: Chat with customers from iOS or Android devices.
• Add-on services: Hire live support agents from Tawk.to if you want outsourced support.

Pricing: Free to use. Paid add-ons available, such as $1/hour for outsourced agents.

How it’s better than Drift: Tawk.to eliminates pricing as a barrier, offering unlimited chats and agents at no cost. This makes it especially appealing for small teams or startups that need live chat without committing to the high budgets that Drift typically requires.

8. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a customer support platform from Freshworks that offers live chat, ticketing, and knowledge base tools under one roof. It’s widely used by businesses that want to combine chat support with a more structured help desk system. Freshdesk is designed to scale with both small and larger teams.

Top features:

• Omnichannel support: Live chat, email, phone, and social support in one place.
• Ticket management: Convert chats into tickets for follow-ups.
• Knowledge base integration: Allow customers to self-serve common issues.
• Automation: Assign tickets, set SLAs, and reduce repetitive tasks.
• Reporting and analytics: Get insights into team performance and customer satisfaction.

Pricing: Freshdesk's pricing comes with a Free plan. Paid plans start at $15/agent per month.

How it’s better than Drift: Freshdesk is better for teams that need structured support beyond just chat. Unlike Drift, which focuses heavily on sales and marketing, Freshdesk provides a complete help desk system with ticketing and self-service options, making it stronger for long-term customer support.

You may also want to look at our Freshdesk vs Freshservice comparison.

9. LiveChat

LiveChat is a long-standing live chat software built for sales, support, and customer engagement. It’s widely adopted by ecommerce businesses, SaaS companies, and service providers that want a polished chat experience with advanced customization. The platform also includes integrations with popular CRM and ecommerce systems.

Top features:

• Customizable chat widget: Match the widget look and feel to your brand.
• Canned responses: Speed up replies with prewritten answers, helping your sales team close faster based on the stage in the customer journey.
• Chat routing and tagging: Assign conversations to the right team or agent.
• Integrations marketplace: Connects with Shopify, Salesforce, HubSpot, and more.
• Reporting and analytics: Track chat performance and customer satisfaction.

Pricing: Starts at $20/agent per month.

How it’s better than Drift: LiveChat is better for businesses that want a pure live chat solution with strong customization and reliability. While Drift leans heavily toward marketing automation and AI sales tools, LiveChat keeps the focus on direct, efficient customer conversations at a lower price point.

10. Birdeye

Birdeye is a reputation management and customer experience platform that combines reviews, messaging, surveys, and live chat. It’s a good fit for local businesses and service providers that want to improve their online presence while engaging customers directly.

Top features:

• Live chat and web messaging: Connect with visitors through website chat and SMS.
• Reputation management: Collect and manage customer reviews across Google, Facebook, and other sites.
• Customer surveys: Get feedback through automated surveys.
• Unified inbox: Manage conversations from chat, SMS, email, and social in one place.
• Analytics dashboard: Monitor reputation, engagement, and customer satisfaction.

Pricing: Starts at around $50/month per location.

How it’s better than Drift: Birdeye goes beyond live chat by combining messaging with review generation and reputation management. For businesses focused on building credibility and attracting local customers, Birdeye provides more value than Drift’s sales-first approach.

Conclusion

Drift is an excellent automated chat platform with some of the most advanced features in this niche and industry. It's a market leader for a reason, but there is no getting away from its flaws. It's clunky to get started with, has features that glitch out more often than not and its pricing is far from affordable.

Featurebase is a modern Drift alternative with an affordable AI-powered chat, inbox & help center. It comes with omnichannel support, custom workflows, and much more. It's loved by thousands of GTM and support teams from companies like Lovable, Raycast, and n8n.

What's best is that it comes with unlimited AI resolutions on all paid plans, so there's no downside to trying it out! 👇

✨ Switch from Drift and get the fastest AI-powered inbox & live chat →