Top Front Alternatives for Your Customer Support Team in 2026

Want to increase customer satisfaction and retention? Give your customer support teams the tools they need to make your customer base happy. There are plenty of big names, such as Zendesk or Intercom, but if you need a different flavor with similar features, you can try Front.

Many Front users are happy with this tool, but just as many have issues with expensive pricing, glitchy mobile app, poor search function, and similar. If you're in the same boat, we have great news.

Today, we're giving you an overview of the best Front alternatives to help you improve the customer experience. 👇

TL;DR The best Front alternatives in 2025

1. ✨ Featurebase - Best for modern SaaS teams looking for an AI-powered support platform that combines email, chat, knowledge base, feedback, and more.
2. Zendesk - Best for large customer service teams that need a scalable, multi-channel support suite with advanced ticketing and help center capabilities.
3. Helpscout - Best for small to midsize teams that want a user-friendly, email-first help desk with built-in documentation and live chat.
4. Kayako - Best for support teams that handle complex, multi-touch customer conversations across channels like email, chat, and social media.
5. Hiver - Best for Gmail-based teams that want to manage customer support directly inside their inbox with shared inboxes and automation.
6. Freshdesk - Best for businesses that need a flexible support solution with omnichannel ticketing, automation, and a built-in help center.
7. Crisp - Best for startups and SMBs that want to manage chat, shared inbox, bots, and help content in a modern live chat platform.
8. Missive - Best for teams that collaborate heavily via email and chat and want shared inboxes with real-time team discussion features.
9. Tidio - Best for small businesses and ecommerce stores looking to combine live chat, bots, and messaging into one affordable support widget.

Why look for alternatives to Front?

If you're considering Front for your next customer service software, you should be aware of some of the things that may be problematic down the road.

The mobile experience is not on par with the desktop one

If managing customer support on the go is important, you'll have to know that Front suffers from the same problem as many of its enterprise-level tools. The mobile app will have problems, such as missing notifications. On top of that, you could get lost in the sea of messages if you're in a busy period.

• "In some scenarios, Front app in mobile phone can't function that much of the web access. Some notifications are too many to sort of if you're receiving large volume of messages such as SMS or chat coming from replies from the automation sent by the integrated software, sometime it overwhelms. There are also times that the Front app crashes and is not recommended to use on phone while you're in a weak signal of internet connection or mobile data." (source)

The customer support is not the greatest

Ironically, a customer service software doesn't have the fastest and most efficient customer support. You'll have to wait a bit to get a response, which can be troublesome if you're in a pinch yourself.

To resolve your problem, you're going to need an ID, and the Front team is not that great at tracking what is happening. All of this combined means that it could take a little bit to resolve issues.

• "Customer service can be slow to review errors, and they require a message ID to resolve the issue when not all issues are specifically email related. When actioning an item, if an error message occurs or gives the wrong message, Front will not be able to assist as they cannot "track" the origin of the message. When changing subject lines, you need to change 2 of them, as the email subject line does not always transfer to the Front Subject line once changed." (source)

The search function could use some improvement

When your support agents are trying to find a specific email relating to a customer's problem, they'll have to deal with the search option that is less than stellar. This is the basic functionality in every customer service platform, so we can't let Front slide on this one.

• "It is sometimes very hard to find certain emails, the search function is not very sharp, and more often than not, I have to sift through tens of emails before finding the right one. Would be great to have filters for the search function such as only shortlisting emails by their sender or have certain words in their title. This would be especially helpful for any searches that go back months ago." (source)

The knowledge base user interface needs some polishing

If you want to enable self-service for your customers, the knowledge base tool in Front is a superb choice. However, if you've used knowledge software before, you'll have a hard time navigating Front at first.

• "The UI of Knowledge Base was not quite as intuitive and took a bit of collaboration to be able to understand how we can make the most out of it as a team. Front is not 'cheap', so we sometimes have to make the tough call about who is integral enough to earn a Front account. If they're not daily users, they probably won't be included." (source)

The best Front alternatives and competitors in 2025

Front does many things well, but it will also force you to make many compromises in your customer service team. Here are some of the best alternatives to Front with more advanced features, affordable pricing, and better reporting features, among other things. 👇

1. Featurebase ✨

Featurebase is an AI-powered support platform built for modern SaaS teams. It comes with AI chatbots, human inbox, knowledge base, feedback collection, email support, and much more. It's loved by thousands of support teams from companies like Lovable, Polymarket, and Beehiiv. 💫

Top features:

• Unified inbox – manage your live chat & email conversations in one place with your whole team
• AI agent & automations – fully automate your support with 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
• Knowledge base – a branded knowledge base with instant AI answers
• Email support – Seamlessly provide support to your customers via email sync
• Mobile app – respond to customers, receive notifications, and unblock users on the go
• Native ticketing – Centralize & keep track of all customer requests in one place
• Multi-language & custom domain support – serve content in 40+ languages with your domain and branding
• Integrations – Slack, Linear, Jira, Discord, Hubspot, and many more
• Plus, feedback collection, product roadmaps, release notes, and customer surveys – all in one place

How it’s better than Front: it lets you replace all your customer-facing tools by bringing your support, help center, product updates, and feedback collection to 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 per user per month. The onboarding is super fast, so there's no downside to trying it. 👇

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

2. Zendesk

Zendesk Support and Guide combine ticketing, live chat, messaging, and a robust help center designed for scaling support operations in large teams. It fits organizations that need granular control over support processes and customer-facing documentation.

Top features:

• Omnichannel ticketing: email, chat, messaging, and voice in one queue
• Help center (Guide): publish public and private articles with multi-brand support
• AI agents & bots: suggest articles and draft replies automatically
• Custom roles & permissions: control visibility and editing access per user
• Explore advanced analytics: track performance, article impact, and knowledge usage
• Deep integration with the rest of the Zendesk tools: Zendesk Sell (customer relationship management software) and others

Pricing: Zendek's pricing starts at $19 per agent per month for the Support Team; Guide brokering may require Suite Starter or above

How it’s better than Front: it offers full ticketing, chat, AI knowledge, and analytics for large teams in a scalable stack that Front doesn’t fully match. It supports multi channel communication and enables teams to manage customer data efficiently and track key metrics easily.

3. Help Scout

Help Scout offers shared inboxes, chat, phone tools, and a knowledge base tailored to growing support teams needing a personal, email-centric approach. Its simple interface and contact-based pricing make it ideal for teams focused on human customer interactions.

Top features:

• Shared inboxes: group support conversations with assignment and tagging
• Live chat (Beacon): in-app chat widget with outbound messaging
• Knowledge base: branded help center with articles and keyword search
• Private notes: add internal communication notes to conversations for context
• Workflows & automation: auto-assign, reopen, or close conversations based on rules

Pricing: starts at $50 per user per month, billed annually

How it’s better than Front: it provides a streamlined support suite with shared inbox, docs, chat, and phone support at a lower price point than Front’s multi-channel interface.

4. Kayako

Kayako brings email, live chat, social messaging, and help center into a central inbox, tailored for support teams that handle diverse customer interactions and need visibility across channels.

Top features:

• Unified inbox: view and manage support conversations across chat, email, and social
• Live chat and in-app messaging: offer real-time support from your website or app
• Private notes and collision detection: collaborate internally without client visibility
• Automation rules: auto-assign, tag, or close tickets based on triggers
• Help center and FAQs: publish public support content alongside live support

Pricing: not available publicly, you have to talk to sales to get a quote

How it’s better than Front: Kayako combines live chat, social messaging, and a knowledge base in the same inbox, offering more support channels than Front’s core chat and email focus.

5. Hiver

Hiver enhances Gmail by turning it into a team inbox with shared labels, internal notes, and automation features, all without leaving your inbox, which is ideal for teams deeply embedded in Google Workspace. If you don't want to purchase a separate tool for customer support, Hiver can work in a pinch.

Top features:

• Shared labels: let teams manage incoming emails collectively with Gmail tags
• Email assignment: assign and track conversations directly in Gmail, helping you track team performance and improve accountability
• Internal notes and collision alerts: leave team comments and avoid duplicate effort
• SLA and response time tracking: monitor and enforce support standards
• Automation rules: auto-assign, snooze, tag, or close emails with simple triggers

Pricing: starts at $19 per user per month, billed annually

How it’s better than Front: Hiver gives Gmail teams a support-grade setup with team inboxes, collaboration, and SLA tracking, all within the familiar Gmail interface. It may be missing some of the more advanced features found in Front, but it makes up for it with the setup and pricing.

6. Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers ticketing, email, live chat, social messaging, and a knowledge base in one platform, suited for small to mid-sized teams needing a unified support toolkit.

Top features:

• Shared inbox and ticketing: consolidate emails, chats, and social messages into a single support queue, making for improved team collaboration
• Integrated knowledge base: publish help articles and FAQs with support for multiple languages
• Fraud AI automation: use Freddy AI for suggested replies, grouping, and ticket routing
• Workflow automations: set rules for tagging, escalating, or responding to tickets
• SLA management and reporting: track service levels and measure team performance

Pricing: Freshdesk's pricing starts at $15 per agent per month for the Growth plan (billed annually)

How it’s better than Front: Freshdesk adds full ticketing and SLA management alongside chat and email, giving support teams a more structured, compliant environment than Front’s lighter inbox.

7. Crisp

Crisp unites live chat, email, social messaging, and chatbots into a single shared inbox per workspace. It’s a solid choice for small businesses needing an affordable, chat-centric support setup.

Top features:

• Multichannel inbox: supports chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, and more
• Chatbots and automation: includes bots, smart routing, and canned responses
• Shared inbox: team visibility and internal comments on messages, helping you improve team collaboration across multiple channels
• Contact timeline: see a customer’s full conversation history in one view
• MagicBrowse screen sharing: browse customer sites live to help resolve issues

Pricing: Crisp's pricing starts at free plan; paid plans start at €45/month per workspace with four users.

How it's better than Front: Crisp combines chat and email in a single inbox with built-in bot and screen sharing features that Front doesn’t offer out of the box.

8. Missive

Missive is a customer service platform that merges email, SMS, social media, and chat into shared inboxes with internal comments and assignment tools, making it great for teams that handle a range of customer communications in one place.

Top features:

• Shared inboxes: group emails, SMS, and social messages in dedicated team spaces
• Internal chat per message: leave comments and discuss threads privately
• Task conversion: turn messages into assignable tasks with due dates
• Rules and automations: auto-assign, tag, and move conversations with logical rules
• Third party integrations and API: connect with productivity tools like Asana, Trello, and Zapier

Pricing: starts at $14/user/month for the Starter plan, billed annually

How it's better than Front: Missive brings together email, chat, and tasks in a shared inbox with internal notes, which Front separate, making discussions faster and more focused.

9. Tidio

Tidio provides live chat with AI chatbot automation, a shared inbox, email support, and social integrations, all in an intuitive, easy-to-set-up interface ideal for small businesses and online stores.

Top features:

• Live chat widget: customizable chat box ready to embed on your site
• AI chatbot (Lyro): handles up to 70% of inquiries with intelligent suggestions
• Shared inbox: centralizes messages from chat, email, Messenger, and Instagram
• Live visitors list: view and engage users on your site in real time
• Prebuilt chatbot templates: drag-and-drop flows for sales, support, and lead capture

Pricing: Tidio's pricing starts at a free plan; paid plans from $29/month for the Starter tier

How it's better than Front: Tidio offers direct chat automation and visitor engagement tools that Front doesn’t include, all in a more budget-friendly package for small teams. The AI powered features and automation tools are a plus too.

Conclusion

Can you use Front to provide a seamless customer experience? Yes, but you'll have to make quite a few compromises. For managing customer support in a team, Front is capable, but many of the best features are locked in the most expensive plans. On top of that, there are performance glitches with even the most basic functionalities.

Featurebase is a modern Front alternative for a powerful AI-powered knowledge base & support inbox. It comes with native ticketing, custom automation, workflows, and much more. It's loved by thousands of companies like Lovable, Polymarket, and Raycast.

What's best is that it comes with a Free plan, and the onboarding is super simple, so there's no downside to trying it out! 👇

✨ Switch from Front and get the fastest AI-powered inbox & knowledge base →