Front vs Spark Mail

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

Spark Mail

• People juggling several email accounts across desktop and phone
• Individuals who want a free client with a unified inbox and send later
• Small teams that want to comment on emails and draft replies together

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.

Spark Mail

• The vendor lists apps for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android only; there is no web or Linux version.
• Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI and third-party integrations require Plus or higher.
• Shared inboxes, read statuses and the HubSpot integration are limited to Pro and Enterprise.
• The free plan's AI is a limited preview: 5 meeting notes in total and 1 month of email history for the AI Assistant.

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.

Spark Mail

Smart Inbox and unified inbox

Brings every connected account into one inbox and separates priority mail from newsletters and notifications. Included in the free plan.

Gatekeeper and Priority

Gatekeeper lets you accept or block new senders before they land in the inbox, and Priority highlights chosen senders. Both are part of Plus and above.

Spark +AI and AI Assistant

+AI drafts, proofreads, summarizes and translates email. The AI Assistant answers questions about your mail, reaching back 1 month on Free, 1 year on Plus and without limit on Pro.

Snooze, Send Later and reminders

Snooze a message, set it aside, schedule a send or get a follow-up reminder. These scheduling tools are in the free plan.

Team collaboration

Share a thread with teammates, discuss it in private comments and write drafts together in real time. Shared inboxes for addresses such as support@ need Pro.

Calendar and AI meeting notes

A built-in calendar can add Zoom, GoTo or Microsoft Teams call links. AI meeting notes are capped at 5 in total on Free and 40 a month on Plus, and unlimited on Pro.

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.

Spark Mail

• Free$0

  Unlimited accounts, Smart Inbox, unified inbox, snooze, send later, reminders, calendar and 5 lifetime AI meeting notes.

• Plus$8.25

  per user / month, billed annually ($99); $10 billed monthly

  Adds Gatekeeper, Priority, Spark +AI, the AI Assistant with 1 year of history, 40 AI meeting notes a month, integrations and team collaboration.

• Pro$16.58

  per user / month, billed annually ($199); $20 billed monthly

  Everything in Plus, plus shared inboxes, read statuses, unlimited AI meeting notes, HubSpot integration and Spark CLI triage access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Everything in Pro, plus security and controls, a dedicated success manager and 1:1 productivity coaching.

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.

Spark Mail

• Annual discount

  Save 17% with annual billing

  The pricing page shows Plus at $99 a year instead of $120 and Pro at $199 a year instead of $240 when billed annually, a 17% saving over paying monthly.