7 Best Missive Alternatives in 2026: Pricing, Pros & Cons
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Why trust this Missive alternatives guide?
This guide is written by the Master Inbox team and reviewed by our founder, Abdul Mukati. Every rival price and feature comes from the vendor's own pages, read on 28 October 2026, and each source is listed at the bottom. Master Inbox is one of the seven options, and it is listed first because this is our site, so weigh that as you read. For the other six we state only what the vendor publishes. Missive is a well-regarded team inbox. If you want the full numbers on it, read our Missive pricing guide, the Missive alternative page or the Master Inbox vs Missive comparison.
Why teams look for Missive alternatives
Missive does its job well: a collaborative inbox where teams work on email, SMS and social conversations with assignments, internal comments, shared drafts and tasks. People move on for a few specific reasons, and none of them is a flaw in the product.
The bill follows headcount
Every Missive plan is priced per user. Starter covers up to 5 users, Productive up to 50, and Business is unlimited. That suits a team where the same people work conversations all day. When many people touch a reply only now and then, a model that does not count users can fit better. See the Missive pricing breakdown for the arithmetic.
The replies come from outbound tools
Missive describes a general team inbox rather than a cold outbound tool, and its integrations directory did not list LinkedIn when we checked on 28 October 2026. Teams whose replies arrive from sequencers and LinkedIn tools often want a unified inbox built around that flow, such as the one in the outbound teams setup.
The work is a different kind of support
Some teams need ticketing and SLAs, some live in Gmail, and some sell on Shopify. Other tools in this list are built around exactly those jobs. The right swap depends on what your team does all day.
Missive alternatives compared at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing model (checked 28 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Master Inbox | Replies from cold outbound: email and LinkedIn in one AI-labeled inbox | Mailboxes and client workspaces, unlimited users. From $499 a month, free 7-day POC |
| 2. Front | Support and customer operations teams | Per seat per month, billed annually: $25, $65, $105 |
| 3. Hiver | Support teams working in Gmail, Outlook or other email providers | Per user per month: $25, $55, $85 on annual billing, $35, $65, $95 on monthly billing |
| 4. Help Scout | Small support teams that want a free starting plan | Per user per month: Free, $25, $45, $75 |
| 5. Gmelius | Teams that want to stay inside Gmail and Google Workspace | Per user per month: $19, $25, $40 on yearly billing, $21, $33, $50 on monthly billing, Enterprise by quote |
| 6. Zendesk | Customer service at scale with ticketing | Per agent per month: $19, $55, $115 paid yearly, $25, $69, $149 monthly, plus AI resolutions |
| 7. Gorgias | Ecommerce brands, especially Shopify merchants | Per ticket plans: $10, $50, $300, $750 per month, plus AI Agent per interaction |
| Missive (for reference) | Teams sharing email, SMS and social conversations | Per user per month: $14, $24, $36 on yearly billing, $18, $30, $45 on monthly billing |
1. Master Inbox
Master Inbox is the reply management platform for outbound teams and agencies: one inbox for every sequencer, LinkedIn tool and inbound form, with AI labeling and reply agents. It is built for the replies cold outbound produces.
Key features
- Unibox: one AI-labeled inbox for Smartlead, Instantly, EmailBison, Reply.io, Lemlist, HeyReach, Expandi, Aimfox and more. It reads the mailboxes themselves, so it also threads forwards, CC replies and new-address replies.
- AI labeling: every email and LinkedIn reply labeled by intent as it lands, with thirteen default labels or your own taxonomy, on your own OpenAI, Anthropic or OpenRouter key.
- Workflows inside the inbox: Slack cards with an approve button, HubSpot sync, stopping the sequence on a booked meeting, and webhooks.
- Client workspaces: one workspace per client with its own mailboxes, labels, members and limits, plus client logins scoped to their own inbox.
- Reply Agents that answer replies, follow up and book meetings on your real calendar, from human-in-the-loop to autonomous.
- A REST API with 150+ endpoints and webhooks for every event, included on every plan.
Pricing
Master Inbox is not priced per seat. Plans scale with connected mailboxes and client workspaces, and every plan includes unlimited users. Every plan starts with a free 7-day POC, and onboarding is done with you. Full details are on the pricing page.
| Plan | Price | Built for |
|---|---|---|
| Reply Agent | From $499 per month | Reply agents that answer, follow up and book meetings |
| Agency | $599 per month | Agencies, with up to 3,000 mailboxes and 15 client workspaces |
| Team | $799 per month | Sales teams, with up to 2,000 mailboxes |
| Scale | $1,297 per month | Larger agencies, with up to 40 clients and 15,000 mailboxes |
Pros
- Unlimited users on every plan, so adding an SDR, an account executive or a client manager does not change the bill.
- Email and LinkedIn replies sit in one thread per prospect, labeled by intent the moment they arrive.
- EU-hosted in Finland and Germany, GDPR-ready with DPAs on file.
Best for
Outbound sales teams and lead generation agencies that send from many mailboxes and LinkedIn accounts and want every reply in one queue. See the agency setup and the LinkedIn inbox.
Works alongside
Master Inbox works alongside the sequencer, CRM and support desk you already use. Keep Smartlead or Instantly for sending, keep HubSpot or another CRM as your record of customers, and keep Missive or any support desk for the company inbox. Hot replies go to Slack, and the CRM stays in sync.
2. Front
Front describes itself as an AI customer operations platform: shared inboxes, ticketing, a knowledge base and AI agents across email, chat, SMS and WhatsApp. Our Front pricing guide and Front alternatives post go deeper.
Key features
- Shared inboxes with @mentions, escalations and handoffs across a team.
- Copilot (an assistant for agents), Autopilot (AI agents), Smart QA and Smart CSAT.
- 160+ out-of-the-box integrations stated by the vendor, including Salesforce, HubSpot and Slack, plus an API and an MCP server.
Pricing
Per Front's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026: Starter is $25, Professional is $65 and Enterprise is $105, each per seat per month billed annually. Copilot is $20 per seat per month on Starter and Professional and included in Enterprise. Autopilot starts from $0.05 per conversation. A free 7-day POC of Professional features needs no credit card.
Pros
- A mature shared inbox with collaboration built in.
- A broad AI toolset for support work, from agent assist to autonomous agents.
- Security attestations listed by the vendor: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and HIPAA.
- Salesforce and HubSpot integrations on Starter and above.
Cons
- Starter is capped at 10 seats and Professional at 50 seats; the Enterprise cap is not stated.
- Prices are shown per seat and billed annually; monthly prices are not shown on the page.
- Sequences, Front's mail-merge feature, starts on Professional and each sequence reaches up to 200 recipients.
- LinkedIn was not listed in Front's integrations directory on 28 October 2026.
Best for
Customer support, operations and customer success teams that share one company inbox and want ticketing, macros and AI agents. See the Front vs Master Inbox page.
3. Hiver
Hiver is an omnichannel customer service platform with shared inboxes, ticketing, automations and AI. It comes in two forms: Hiver Omni, a standalone platform, and Hiver in Gmail, a Chrome extension that works on top of Gmail or Google Workspace. See the Hiver pricing guide for more.
Key features
- Shared inbox and ticketing with assignment, routing, tags, notes, shared drafts and collision detection.
- Email, live chat, Slack, WhatsApp and social in one queue on Hiver Omni, with voice as a paid add-on.
- AI Agents, AI Copilot, AI tagging and sentiment analysis, and Hiver MCP, announced on 30 September 2026.
Pricing
Per Hiver's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026, prices are per user per month. Growth is $25 on annual billing or $35 on monthly billing. Pro is $55 annual or $65 monthly. Elite is $85 annual or $95 monthly. The Voice add-on is $30 per voice seat per month and includes 1,000 minutes, with extra usage at $0.03 per minute. A 7-day trial gives access to the Elite plan with no credit card.
Pros
- Works with Gmail, Outlook and other email providers on Hiver Omni, or inside Gmail through the extension.
- AI features included from the entry plan.
- Native integrations named on its integrations page include Salesforce, HubSpot, NetSuite, Shopify, Asana and Jira.
Cons
- All plans start at 2 seats, then 5, then increments of 5.
- Voice is an extra per-seat charge.
- API access, SLAs and CSAT surveys are listed from the Pro plan.
- LinkedIn was not listed on Hiver's integrations page on 28 October 2026.
Best for
Support, customer success and service teams that handle inbound requests from a shared mailbox such as support@. See the Hiver vs Master Inbox page.
4. Help Scout
Help Scout is a customer communication platform with a shared inbox, a knowledge base called Docs, live chat called Beacon, and AI features. It was founded in 2011 and states that its products power over 12,000 customer-facing teams.
Key features
- A shared inbox with auto-assignment, internal notes, mentions, saved replies, workflows and customer profiles.
- An AI Inbox assistant on Standard and unlimited AI Drafts on Plus.
- 100+ listed integrations, including HubSpot and Salesforce.
Pricing
Per Help Scout's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026: Free is $0 for up to 5 users, 1 Inbox and 100 contacts a month. The page does not say whether the listed prices are monthly or annual rates; it notes a 16% annual discount. Standard is $25, Plus is $45 and Pro is $75, each per user per month. The Envoy AI add-on is $0.75 per resolution. Additional Inboxes cost $10 a month on annual billing, or $12 otherwise. Standard and Plus have a 15-day trial with no card.
Pros
- A free plan, which few tools here offer.
- Unlimited contacts on paid plans.
Cons
- User caps apply: 5 users on Free, up to 25 on Standard and up to 50 on Plus. Pro has unlimited users with a minimum of 10.
- The Free plan includes 100 contacts a month and 1 Inbox.
- The Slack integration sends notifications one way; Slack cannot be used to create or manage Help Scout conversations.
Best for
Small businesses, startups and non-profits running customer support who want published per-user pricing and a free place to start.
5. Gmelius
Gmelius adds shared inboxes, shared Gmail labels, shared drafts, automation rules, analytics and AI assistants to Gmail and Google Workspace. It states that a user is a Google or Google Workspace email account.
Key features
- Unlimited shared inboxes and shared labels on every paid plan, working inside Gmail.
- Shared drafts, notes with @mentions, assignments, collision detection, kanban views and custom views.
- Meli, its AI assistant, which drafts replies, sorts email and schedules meetings, plus a Gmelius MCP server. AI Agents were announced on 29 September 2026.
Pricing
Per Gmelius's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026, prices are per user per month. Meli is $19 on yearly billing or $21 monthly. Growth is $25 yearly or $33 monthly. Pro is $40 yearly or $50 monthly. Enterprise is a custom quote. A 7-day trial includes a free 30-minute onboarding call.
Pros
- Stays inside Gmail, so teams keep their existing workflow.
- Native HubSpot and Salesforce integrations on Pro.
Cons
- It works on Google and Google Workspace accounts only.
- Usage caps apply per plan: Meli allows up to 5 users and 5,000 conversations a month, and Growth allows up to 50 users and 10,000 conversations a month.
- CRM integrations and webhooks are listed on Pro.
- Enterprise is quote-only with a minimum of 50 users.
Best for
Teams that work in Gmail or Google Workspace and want shared inboxes, workflows and AI help without leaving Gmail.
6. Zendesk
Zendesk is a service-first CRM company whose products include ticketing, omnichannel messaging, a help center, AI agents and an agent Copilot. It was founded in 2007 and cites 80,000+ companies as customers.
Key features
- Ticketing across email, messaging, live chat and voice in the Suite plans.
- AI agents priced per automated resolution, Copilot for agents and Quality Assurance monitoring.
Pricing
Per Zendesk's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026, prices are per agent per month. Support Team is $19 paid yearly or $25 monthly. Suite Team is $55 yearly or $69 monthly. Suite Professional is $115 yearly or $149 monthly. Suite Enterprise with Copilot is not listed; contact sales. Automated resolutions are $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. The Copilot add-on is $50 per agent per month, paid yearly, for Professional and higher. A 14-day trial includes Suite Professional features.
Pros
- One platform for ticketing, messaging, voice and a help center.
- AI agents charged only when they resolve a request without escalation to a human.
- Routing, triggers and automations, with skills-based routing on Professional.
- Up to 3,000 support email addresses per account, across multiple brands.
Cons
- Enterprise pricing is not published.
- Copilot is a separate $50 add-on, and automated resolutions are billed on top of the seat price.
- Incoming email becomes tickets that are routed to agents, which is a ticket model rather than a shared mailbox.
- With multiple brands, the same support address cannot be shared across brands, and LinkedIn was not found on the pages we read.
Best for
Businesses that run customer service at scale and want ticketing, AI agents and a broad developer surface in one platform.
7. Gorgias
Gorgias is a conversational AI platform for ecommerce that combines a helpdesk, an AI Agent and customer data. It is built around deep Shopify integration and cites 17,000+ ecommerce brands.
Key features
- Native Shopify integration to view orders, customers and products inside a ticket.
- In-conversation actions such as canceling orders and applying discounts.
- An omnichannel inbox for email, chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.
- An AI Agent for support and sales, generally available on Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
Pricing
Per Gorgias's pricing page, checked 28 October 2026, plans are priced per month with ticket allowances. Starter is $10 (billed monthly only) with 50 tickets. Basic is $50 billed annually or $60 monthly with 300 tickets. Pro is $300 annually or $360 monthly with 2,000 tickets. Advanced is $750 annually or $900 monthly with 5,000 tickets. Enterprise is a custom quote. Extra tickets cost $0.40 on Starter and Basic and $0.36 on Pro and Advanced. The AI Agent is $0.90 per automated interaction on an annual contract or $1.00 on a monthly contract. A 7-day trial needs no payment information.
Pros
- Entry pricing from $10 a month.
- Shopify data and order actions sit inside the conversation.
Cons
- Plans include a set number of tickets, with a per-ticket charge above the allowance.
- Each automated AI interaction also counts as a helpdesk ticket.
- Slack is a one-way notification setup through an HTTP integration, and Gorgias provides setup help only on Advanced and higher.
- The integrations page we read did not list HubSpot, Salesforce or LinkedIn.
Best for
Ecommerce brands, especially Shopify merchants, that handle order questions and returns by email, chat and social messages.
How to choose a Missive alternative
Start with the job, then the pricing model. The seven tools answer different questions.
- Replies from cold outbound: choose Master Inbox. Volume comes from mailboxes and clients, and the number of people who touch a reply keeps changing, so a plan with unlimited users fits.
- A support desk with macros, SLAs and a knowledge base: look at Front, Help Scout or Zendesk. Compare seat caps and add-ons before you commit.
- A team that lives in Gmail: look at Gmelius, or Hiver in Gmail.
- An ecommerce store: look at Gorgias, which is built around Shopify.
- A small team that wants a free start: Help Scout lists a free plan for up to 5 users.
If both outbound and support apply, run two tools. They connect to different parts of the stack. The guides to the best unified inbox for cold email and the best shared inbox for outbound teams go further, and our comparison hub lists every side-by-side page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Missive alternative?
It depends on the job. For working the replies cold outbound produces, Master Inbox is built for that. For a support desk, Front, Help Scout and Zendesk are the usual choices, and Gmelius and Hiver suit Gmail-based teams.
How much does Missive cost?
As of 28 October 2026, Missive's billing docs list Starter at $14, Productive at $24 and Business at $36 per user per month on yearly billing. Monthly billing is $18, $30 and $45.
Is there a free Missive alternative?
Help Scout lists a Free plan for up to 5 users with 1 Inbox and 100 contacts a month. Master Inbox starts every plan with a free 7-day POC.
Which Missive alternative is not priced per seat?
Master Inbox is priced on connected mailboxes and client workspaces, with unlimited users on every plan. Gorgias prices plans by ticket allowance rather than by seat.
Does Master Inbox connect to LinkedIn?
Yes. It connects LinkedIn tools such as HeyReach, Expandi and Aimfox and shows those conversations next to email in one thread per prospect. Missive's integrations directory did not list LinkedIn as of 28 October 2026.
Can I use Master Inbox together with Missive?
Yes. Master Inbox works alongside the support desk you already use, so you can keep Missive for the company inbox and use Master Inbox for outbound replies.
Which alternative is best for Gmail teams?
Gmelius works inside Gmail and Google Workspace, and Hiver in Gmail is a Chrome extension on top of Gmail. Both are priced per user.
Sources
Prices and features checked on 28 October 2026 from each vendor's own pages:
- Missive billing and plans docs
- Front pricing
- Hiver pricing
- Help Scout pricing
- Gmelius pricing
- Zendesk pricing
- Gorgias pricing
Master Inbox pricing comes from our pricing page. Start your free 7-day POC. Missive, Front, Hiver, Help Scout, Gmelius, Zendesk and Gorgias are trademarks of their respective owners. Master Inbox is an independent product and is not affiliated with Missive, Front, Hiver, Help Scout, Gmelius, Zendesk or Gorgias.