Drag vs Front

Drag

• Gmail and Google Workspace teams sharing support@ or sales@ addresses
• Teams that like to see email as cards moving across a kanban board
• Growing teams, since no plan has a seat minimum or user cap

Front

• Support and operations teams working shared addresses at volume
• Companies that want email, chat, SMS and WhatsApp in one team inbox
• Teams that need ticketing, rules and reporting on top of email

Drag

• It is built on Gmail and Google Workspace: shared inboxes are Gmail addresses or Google Groups, and sign-in runs through Google.
• There is no free plan; the 7-day trial is followed by a paid plan.
• AI is metered in credits. Starter includes none, Plus 1,000 per seat a month and Pro 2,000, and extra credits are sold from $10.
• WhatsApp, Varley Agents, the API and MCP server, SLA rules and round-robin assignment need Pro at $24 per user / month, billed yearly.

Front

• There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is the only way to use Front without paying.
• Starter is capped at 10 seats and one channel type, and Professional at 50 seats.
• Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT cost extra per seat on Starter and Professional.
• Enterprise is sold on annual billing only, and contracts over $25k must include a paid onboarding package.

Drag

Shared inbox boards

A shared address becomes a board with kanban, list and preview views, where each email is a card with an owner, a status, tags and a due date. The emails themselves stay in Gmail.

Assignments, notes and shared drafts

Teammates assign emails, chat with @mentions on a thread, write shared drafts and reply as collaborators. Collision detection is included on every plan.

Varley AI

Copilot answers questions about the inbox and proposes actions to approve, Assists draft, summarize and classify mail, and on Pro, Agents resolve conversations or hand them to a person.

Automations

Rules route, tag and assign incoming mail. Starter allows 10 rules and the higher plans are unlimited; round-robin assignment, business hours and SLA rules are on Pro.

Help center, live chat and WhatsApp

A public help center and live chat, which is in early access, are on every plan. Pro adds WhatsApp conversations that sit beside email on the same boards.

API and MCP server

Pro includes a REST API and an MCP server with 47 tools, so assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot or Cursor can work in the inbox.

Front

Shared inboxes

Team inboxes where incoming messages can be assigned and handled together, so everyone can see who is working on which conversation.

Omnichannel inbox

Professional and Enterprise combine email, SMS, Front Chat, WhatsApp and other channels in one place. Starter is limited to a single channel type.

Ticketing and automation rules

Ticketing for complex requests plus multi-step rules: up to 10 rules on Starter, 20 on Professional and unlimited on Enterprise.

Front AI

Autopilot resolves conversations from $0.05 each. Copilot ($20 per seat a month), Smart QA ($20) and Smart CSAT ($10) are add-ons that Enterprise includes.

Analytics

Reporting on team workload and support quality: basic analytics on Starter and advanced analytics from Professional.

Knowledge base and live chat

A no-code knowledge base and Front Chat let customers help themselves. Multi-language knowledge bases need Enterprise.

Drag

• Starter$12

  per user / month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly)

  Shared inboxes in Gmail, boards, assignments, templates, notes, a help center and live chat. 10 automation rules, 3-month reporting, no AI credits included.

• Plus$18

  per user / month, billed yearly ($22 billed monthly)

  Adds Varley's Copilot, Intelligence and six AI assists with 1,000 AI credits per seat a month, unlimited automation rules, email sequences and custom views.

• Pro$24

  per user / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)

  Adds the WhatsApp channel, Varley Agents, API and MCP access, SLA rules, round-robin assignment, custom fields and roles, and 2,000 AI credits per seat.

Front

• Starter$25

  per seat / month, billed annually

  Up to 10 seats. One channel type (email, Front Chat or SMS), shared inbox, ticketing, up to 10 automation rules and basic analytics.

• Professional$65

  per seat / month, billed annually

  Up to 50 seats. Adds omnichannel support, macros, up to 20 rules, advanced analytics, up to 5 workspaces, SSO and SCIM.

• Enterprise$105

  per seat / month, annual billing only

  Unlimited seats, rules and macros, smart rules, custom roles, and Copilot, Smart QA and Smart CSAT included.

Drag

• Annual discount

  Save up to 25% with yearly billing

  The pricing page shows Starter at $12 a user a month billed yearly against $16 monthly, Plus at $18 against $22, and Pro at $24 against $30.

• Nonprofit

  Program for non-profits and NGOs

  The pricing FAQ says Drag runs a dedicated program for non-profits and NGOs, arranged by contacting its team. The size of the discount is not published.

• Education

  Program for educational institutions

  The same program covers educational institutions, again on request by email and without a published discount.

Front

• Annual discount

  Save 24% with annual billing

  Front's pricing page states a 24% saving for annual billing. The prices it lists for Starter ($25) and Professional ($65) are the annually billed rates per seat a month.