Front vs Hiver
We give Front and Hiver the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Front
Shared inbox and customer operations platform with AI and ticketing
Hiver
Shared inbox and AI help desk that runs inside Gmail or standalone
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFrontVery good | 3.0GPAHiverVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $25 a seat a month billed annually, well above the $9 that's typical for email tools here, and it stops at 10 seats, one channel type and 10 rules. Every channel in one inbox means Professional at $65. Copilot is another $20 a seat until Enterprise at $105. | CGrowth is $25 a user a month billed annually, or $35 monthly, well above the $9 that's typical for email tools here, and every plan starts at 2 seats. It does include the AI Agents and AI Copilot. But SLAs, CSAT surveys, the customer portal and API access start on Pro at $55. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. The trial is 14 days with all the Professional plan features and no credit card. After that it's a paid plan or nothing. | CNo free plan. The trial is 7 days of the Elite plan with no credit card, and the account is suspended when it ends unless you choose a paid plan. |
| Features | AShared inboxes with assignment, ticketing, multi-step rules, analytics, a no-code knowledge base and live chat. Professional pulls email, SMS, Front Chat and WhatsApp into one place, and Autopilot resolves conversations from $0.05 each. For a support team that's the whole job, with depth. | AShared inboxes where every conversation has an owner, tags, private notes and a history, plus ticketing and rule-based automations. AI agents triage and resolve requests and pause for approval on sensitive actions, and the Copilot drafts replies and sums up threads. Omni adds chat, Slack and voice. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. It's a team tool with a lot of moving parts, and Front itself requires a paid onboarding package on contracts over $25k. | BNo rating on record, so a B is our ceiling. Hiver in Gmail is a Chrome extension on top of the Gmail account your team already has, so there isn't a new inbox to learn. Growth includes 24/7 support. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It connects to HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Asana, Aircall and WhatsApp, and to AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude. There's a public API as well. | AWeb, a Chrome extension for Gmail, and iPhone and Android apps. It connects to Slack, Salesforce, Shopify, Jira, Linear, Asana and Notion, and Pro adds API access. Hiver Omni works with Gmail, Outlook and other providers. Hiver in Gmail needs a Gmail or Google Workspace account. |
| Best for | support teams running shared inboxes at volume | a help desk your team runs from Gmail |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Front and Hiver. How we grade
Where they differ
- Front starts at $25 per seat / month, billed annually. Hiver starts at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly).
- Only Front lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Only Hiver lists a browser extension.
- Hiver also covers AI agents and reports.
At a glance
| Front | Hiver | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per seat / month, billed annually | $25 per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with all Professional plan features, no credit card required | 7-day free trial of the Elite plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | FrontApp, Inc. | Hiver Inc. |
| Price read from | front.com | hiverhq.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Hiver
- Support teams that want to keep working inside Gmail
- Teams handling email, chat, Slack and voice from one queue
- Companies that want AI agents to resolve routine requests
Worth knowing
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.
Hiver
- There is no free plan. An account is suspended when the 7-day trial ends unless a paid plan is chosen.
- All plans start at 2 seats, and seats are added in steps: 2, then 5, then increments of 5.
- SLAs, CSAT surveys, the customer portal and API access start on Pro; SSO, HIPAA-compliant handling and custom roles are Elite only.
- Hiver in Gmail needs a Gmail or Google Workspace account. On Hiver Omni, voice is an add-on at $30 per voice seat a month.
Key features
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.
Hiver
- Shared inbox and ticketing
- Team addresses such as support@ become shared inboxes where every conversation has a clear owner, tags, private notes and a full history, and any request can be logged as a ticket.
- Inside Gmail or standalone
- Hiver in Gmail is a Chrome extension that works on top of a Gmail or Google Workspace account. Hiver Omni works with Gmail, Outlook and other providers and adds chat, Slack and voice.
- AI Agents
- AI agents triage and resolve requests, look up orders or update records in connected systems, and pause for approval on actions marked sensitive. They are listed on all plans.
- AI Copilot
- Drafts replies, summarizes long email threads, finds answers in connected knowledge sources and suggests next steps to the person handling a conversation.
- Automations and routing
- Rules trigger actions when set conditions are met and can assign conversations automatically. Skill-based routing and custom objects are part of the Elite plan.
- Analytics, SLAs and CSAT
- Growth includes pre-built analytics. Pro adds SLA targets, customer satisfaction surveys, and custom reports and dashboards.
Plans
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.
Hiver
Growth$25
per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Shared inbox and ticketing, AI Agents, AI Copilot, rule-based automations, pre-built analytics, basic integrations such as Slack and 24/7 support.
Pro$55
per user / month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Adds a customer portal, SLAs, CSAT surveys, custom reports and dashboards, premium integrations such as Asana and Shopify, and API access.
Elite$85
per user / month, billed annually ($95 billed monthly)
Adds AI QA, AI Insights, skill-based routing, custom objects, personal-to-shared inbox rules, SSO, HIPAA-compliant handling and custom roles.
Ways to pay less
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.
Hiver
- Annual discount
$10 less per user a month with annual billing
On both pricing pages annual billing is $10 per user a month cheaper than monthly on every plan: Growth $25 against $35, Pro $55 against $65 and Elite $85 against $95.
- Nonprofit
Discounted pricing for qualified nonprofits
The pricing FAQ says Hiver offers discounted pricing for qualified nonprofit organizations, arranged by scheduling a demo. The size of the discount is not published.
