Hiver vs SupportBee
We give Hiver a 2.2 GPA and SupportBee a 2.4, out of 4.0. Hiver grades higher on features. SupportBee grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hiver
Shared inbox and AI help desk that runs inside Gmail or standalone
SupportBee
Email ticketing and shared inbox with a knowledge base and portal
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAHiverFair | 2.4GPASupportBeeFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DGrowth is $25 a user a month billed annually, $35 monthly, which is the start of this category's dearest tenth and three times its $8 middle, from 2 seats up. SLAs, CSAT, the customer portal and the API all wait for Pro at $55, and voice on Omni is another $30 a seat. | BStartup is $17 a seat a month billed annually ($20 monthly), right on the edge of the cheaper quarter of help desks. That already covers the shared inbox, a knowledge base, the API and satisfaction ratings. The customer portal and business hours need Enterprise at $21, still under the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Two weeks is long enough to run your real support email through it and decide. |
| Features | BShared inboxes where every conversation has an owner, tags, private notes and a history, with ticketing, rule-based automations, analytics, AI agents that pause for approval on sensitive actions and a copilot that drafts and summarises. Omni puts chat, Slack, voice and WhatsApp in the same queue. | CEmail ticketing done properly: assignment to teams then people, private comments, shared drafts, labels, a knowledge base on your own domain, a customer portal, reports and an audit trail. The gap its listing names: no live chat, chatbot or messaging-app inboxes. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The Gmail extension means no new inbox to learn and 24/7 support comes with Growth, but a team still has shared inboxes, tags, automations and routing to set up, and the AI agents need connecting to your systems. | CNo App Store rating on record. Customers just see email, which keeps their side simple, but you'll route your support address into it and set up teams, labels and snippets first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, a Chrome extension for Gmail, and iPhone and Android apps, with no desktop app. It connects to Slack, Salesforce, Shopify, Jira, Linear, Asana and Notion, and API access starts on Pro. Hiver in Gmail needs a Gmail or Google Workspace account. | BWeb only, with Slack, Linear, Notion, Pipedrive, Asana, Trello, GitHub Issues and QuickBooks, plus webhooks and a public API on both plans. No desktop or phone app on record. |
| Best for | a help desk your team runs from Gmail | email support that still looks like email |
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: Hiver and SupportBee. How we grade
Where they differ
- Hiver starts at $25 per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly). SupportBee starts at $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly).
- Only Hiver lists iOS and Android apps.
- Only Hiver lists a browser extension.
- Hiver also covers workflow automation and AI agents.
- SupportBee also covers help desk and help center.
At a glance
| Hiver | SupportBee | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly) | $17 per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of the Elite plan, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Hiver Inc. | SupportBee Inc. |
| Price read from | hiverhq.com | supportbee.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
SupportBee
- Small teams outgrowing a shared Gmail or Outlook login for support
- Teams that want ticketing to look like plain email to customers
- Support run mainly over email rather than chat or social channels
Worth knowing
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.
SupportBee
- Email is the channel it is built for; the site lists no live chat, chatbot or messaging-app inboxes.
- The customer portal and business hours need the Enterprise plan; Startup includes 1 knowledge base and 1 team.
- The site lists no native desktop or mobile apps; the team works in a browser and through email notifications.
- There is no free plan after the 14-day trial.
Key features
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.
SupportBee
- Team inbox
- Emails become tickets that can be assigned to a team and then a person, with private comments, shared draft replies, labels and Gmail-style keyboard shortcuts.
- Knowledge base
- A public or private help site with categories, inline images, file uploads, search, your own branding and domain, and an embeddable widget called Hive.
- Customer portal
- Customers open, track and reply to their requests through a private link with no password. Included on the Enterprise plan.
- Teams for departments
- Separate inbox views for groups such as Sales or Billing, which can be made private to their members and admins.
- Reports and audit trail
- Performance reports by agent, team and label, customer satisfaction ratings, and a log of every action taken on a ticket.
- Integrations and API
- Links to project tools such as Linear, Asana and GitHub Issues, CRMs such as Pipedrive, Slack notifications, webhooks and a public API on both plans.
Plans
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.
SupportBee
Startup$17
per seat / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Shared inbox, snippets, 1 knowledge base and 1 team, filters, basic integrations, API access, unlimited email inboxes, satisfaction ratings and audit trails.
Enterprise$21
per seat / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Everything in Startup plus enterprise integrations, business hours, the customer portal, audit log and data history, and portal access for customer groups.
Ways to pay less
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.
SupportBee
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
SupportBee's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Startup is $17 a seat a month billed annually against $20 monthly, and Enterprise $21 against $25.
