Drift Alternatives You Should Know in 2024

Do you want to create excellent online experiences? Then, you’ll need a tool for that. Drift is one of the customer service platforms available on the market, but is it the best fit for your business?

There’re many options to choose from, so it’s crucial to check them all thoroughly before your final decision.

Check out these Drift alternatives to see if there are any better ones.

What is Drift?

Drift is customer service software that allows businesses to connect with prospective customers and current ones. Want to know how it works?

Check its features, pros, cons, pricing, and rating.

Drift top features:

• custom chatbots
• live chat
• reports and statistics

Drift strengths:

• auto-responders
• increased potential for conversational sales
• Zapier integration
• A/B testing
• Startup Program but with limited capacities
• mobile app

Drift shortcomings:

• AI-powered chatbots available only in the Enterprise plan
• not all the prices are displayed
• relatively small number of integrations
• not affordable for small businesses
• lack of a free plan

What users say about Drift:

• “pricing isn’t worth the value”
• “does not integrate with the system I currently use”
• “not been able to get the Target Account Management feature”
• “reporting being inaccurate”

Drift pricing

There are three packages in the Drift plan:

• Premium at $2,500/month
• Advanced
• Enterprise

However, you need to contact sales to know the price of higher plans. When it’s impossible to estimate the costs, it’s hard even to consider if the Drift software is financially feasible for one or not.

Our rating

7/10

With Drift support, you deal with users in real time. It is also possible to use a chatbot to automate some of the customer service tasks thanks to the Drift bot.

However, if you’re looking for lead management tools and more advanced functionality, maybe you should consider other pieces of software. Plus, Drift pricing might be a deal-breaker for some businesses.

Why should you look for alternatives to Drift?

It is a helpful tool that might provide businesses with the necessary features. But for some companies, the Drift price is an excluding factor.

More importantly, you can have more extensive software capacity for the same price or even lower.

Let’s check what software for customer service offers more than Drift.

Best alternatives to Drift

#1 Smartsupp

If you are looking for an excellent tool for customer service, look no further than Smartsupp. It provides both live chat and chatbot solutions, so you can still keep in touch with users around the clock. It’s perfect for customer care, and e-commerce.

Smartsupp top features

Let’s take a look at what benefits Smartsupp provides.

Video recording for tracking customers

The feature allows companies to track website visitors. First, choose what website guests you want to check out and then play their session. Then, with video recordings, it’s possible to see how visitors behave and eventually detect any problems.

Besides, you can skip the part about users’ inactivity, so you see straight away how visitors navigate your website.

Live chat and chatbot support

Having both live chat and chatbot solutions on hand is a great advantage. If you cannot afford to hire agents or don’t want them to work after office hours, a chatbot comes to the rescue. There are many tasks that chatbots easily automate, for example, product recommendations or answers to simple questions.

A live chat, on the other hand, lets you stay connected with customers in real-time and help them immediately.

Intuitive dashboard

Sales and marketing teams see all the relevant data in the dashboard, like visitors’ details. They are easily accessible, so you don’t have to worry about getting lost.

Features like filters are super helpful when you are searching for relevant visitors.

Mobile app

With a mobile app, potential customers can reach agents anytime and anywhere. It’s a useful feature because operators don’t have to be always nearby their desks. Additionally, Apps for mobile devices make jumping on a chat with customers a piece of cake.

Easy access to statistics

Reports and statistics are a must nowadays. You can’t make any crucial decisions without proof that something actually works or converts or doesn’t. Luckily, Smartsupp provides visitors with thorough statistics on your agents’ performance. For example:

• rating,
• conversations you replied to,
• response time or
• agents’ statistics (online time, average response)

and more.

File-sharing

It’s one of the critical benefits of Smartsupp. Both your agents and visitors are able to send files to each other and save a lot of time. For instance, sending a screenshot instead of describing the issue would spare your customers a lot of hassle and effort.

Smartsupp Strengths:

• user-friendliness for both marketing teams and visitors
• great integrations (Google Analytics, Facebook Messenger, Shopify)
• free plan available
• ideal for all company sizes
• integration of AI conversational chatbots
• enhanced conversational marketing
• improved customer relationship management
• customizable live chat widgets
• easy set-up

Smartsupp shortcomings

In the Standard plan, you can have only 3 agents, and you can’t upgrade the number. However, in PRO plans, you can extend the seat capacity up to 10.

Smartsupp pricing

Four pricing plans are available:

• Free at $0
• Standard at $19,5/month/three agents
• PRO at $48/month/three agents (but seats are upgradable)
• Ultimate (you need to contact sales to know the price)

Thanks to the Smartsupp plans, all the companies are able to take advantage of advanced features, providing an excellent digital experience.

Regardless of a company’s size, whether they are large enterprises, small businesses, or startups, they can all deliver exceptional customer service.

What users say about Smartsupp:

• “didn’t experience any problems”
• “application makes it very easy for us to contact our clients”
• “I have a free plan, but I will buy a paid version after testing”
• “chat integration is fast and flawless”
• “free trial could be longer”

Our rating

10/10!

Smartsupp is great software for customer service. It is affordable, integrates with many platforms (CRM tools, e-commerce, and more), and delivers many useful functions. If you want to give your customers the care they deserve, you should pick Smartsupp as a Drift alternative.

#2 Freshdesk

Freshdesk (or Freshchat) is one of the Drift competitors. Basically, it delivers customer support management software that allows for the organization of customer support tickets, feedback, and inquiries via live chat and chatbot software.

Freshdesk top features:

• ticketing system
• AI-powered bot (only for Enterprise)
• knowledgebase
• both a chatbot and a live chat

Freshdesk strengths:

• 21-day free trial
• additional bot sessions to buy (only for paid plans)
• easy setup
• free plan

Freshdesk shortcomings:

• barely any integrations within a free plan
• complicated dashboard
• chat font cannot be customized

Freshdesk pricing

There are four pricing options:

• Growth at $18/agent/month
• Pro at $47/agent/month
• Enterprise at $83/agent/month

Also, a free plan is available, but with very basic features.

What users say about Freshdesk:

• “analytics don’t always work well”
• “quality of customer service is inconsistent”
• “isn’t easy to set up custom reports”
• “could be better”

Our rating

6/10

Freshdesk has certain limitations, and some features are only accessible to users with the highest subscription packages. But when looking for a Drift alternative, you might want to check Freshdesk out.

#3 Intercom

If you are looking for Drift alternatives, Intercom might be a tool you should consider. It is a customer support platform that supports businesses taking care of prospective and current customers.

Intercom top features:

• cloud-based live chat
• customizable bots
• relatively easy to use

Intercom strengths:

• wide range of live chat features
• add-ons (but their price is high)
• conversation management tools

Intercom shortcomings:

• not that intuitive compared to other Drift alternatives
• bots are not available in the lowest plan
• no free trial
• pricing is not provided
• users complain about customer support
• packages are divided into Support, Engage, and Convert, and each has different functionalities depending on the purpose

Intercom pricing

You can’t see the pricing options, unfortunately. To get them, you need to contact a sales team.

What users say about Intercom:

• “lagging occurs pretty much once a week”
• “not particularly intuitive”
• “too many features are blocked”

Our rating

5,5/10

The significant downsides are the absence of clearly defined pricing and package options. Three plans are offered, each with varying capabilities based on your specific needs. While packages focus on conversion, support, or engagement, there’s no comprehensive package that includes all features.

#4 Olark

Some regard Olark as one of the best Drift alternatives. It is a live chat software solution for interacting with visitors.

Olark top features:

• reporting
• file sharing
• live chat

Olark strengths:

• affordable price
• chat conversation histories
• 14-day free trial

Olark shortcomings:

• only two pricing plans are available: the basic one and for enterprise companies
• it lacks a chatbot solution in the basic plan
• no mobile app
• free plan is not offered

Olark pricing

There’re two plans. The basic one costs $29/month/seat. The second one, the Olark Pro plan, does not specify the price.

What users say about Olark:

• “it was disappointing that there isn’t a mobile app”
• “I wished I could put the chat on one page on our website”
• “customization is not very intuitive”
• “need to add some more functionality”

Our rating

6,5/10

Olark is an easy-to-use software but compared to Drift and other alternatives, it offers less. There are no suitable packages for mid-sized companies. Also, automation could be better in the basic plan.

#5 LiveChat

When looking for a customer service software solution other than Drift, Livechat is one of the choices. It allows companies to connect with customers in real-time using a live chat. Chatbot services are also provided.

LiveChat top features:

• omnichannel messaging
• canned responses
• gathering feedback options

LiveChat strengths:

• free 14-day trial
• users segmentation
• ticketing system

LiveChat shortcomings:

• free plan is not available
• users report problems with file sharing
• chatbot is available, but you need to buy a separate plan
• poor statistics and reports in the lowest plan

LiveChat pricing

Pricing for live chat capabilities:

• Starter at $24/month/agent
• Team at $49/month/agent
• Business at $69/month/agent
• Enterprise with individual billing

What users say about LiveChat:

• “hard to set up auto-replies”
• “there are limits to the amount of agents that can be logged in and it affects the reporting”
• “cannot change appearance of chats”

Our rating

7/10

Comparing Drift to LiveChat, they are both decent tools. But it’s worth considering other options when looking for more advanced capabilities.

Many other competitors offer a live chat and chatbot in one package, eliminating the need to buy two separate ones. Buying two LiveChat plans might be a bit pricey.

#6 LiveAgent

Another Drift alternative is LiveAgent. Providing 24/7 support is the primary purpose of this live chat software. By using its features and functionalities, you can communicate with customers.

LiveAgent top features:

• many integrations
• file sharing
• analytics and reports (but only in paid plans)
• canned responses

LiveAgent strengths:

• email management solution
• ticketing system
• phone and video call module

LiveAgent shortcomings:

• weak analytics in a free plan
• some tools like time tracking, reports, brand free widget, Instagram integration require payment
• free package is quite limited
• app loading is slow

LiveAgent pricing

The platform provides users with four pricing options:

• Free at $0
• Ticket at $15/month/agent
• Ticket+Chat at $29/month/agent
• All-inclusive at $49/month/agent

What users say about LiveAgent:

• “may sometime take a while to pull emails from Outlook”
• “can be inconvenient”
• “translation of the app could be better”

Our rating

7/10

Despite its many advantages, LiveAgent’s additional fees make the tool less attractive. Moreover, it does not include a chatbot solution, as many alternatives do.

Drift alternatives wrapped up

There are many Drift alternatives at a more reasonable price, and with many key features. The options are plentiful, making it easy to choose software that will satisfy you and your customers.

Customer service teams might be looking for a reliable and affordable tool, and the pricing is adjusted to all company sizes. So, pick a tool that will provide you with superb functionality throughout your company’s development process.

Still hesitating? Smartsupp is an excellent choice! Don’t wait. Get a free trial to delight your visitors with a top-notch customer service experience.

Before using Drift, review these questions

When in doubt, go through these questions. Maybe you’ll find the answer that helps you decide which tool to use.

Is Drift a tool for sales and marketing teams?

Such teams might find it useful. With capabilities like AI chatbots, large companies can use Drift for this purpose. However, many sales-boosting capabilities are only available to higher package subscribers.

Are conversational sales possible with Drift?

Yes. As Drift provides a live chat and a chatbot, it might be used for conversation-based sales. Nevertheless, you should consider other tools that enhance boosting sales via conversations.

For example, Smartsupp is an excellent tool at an affordable price. Unfortunately, Drift pricing is relatively high.

How can marketing teams benefit from customer service tools?

There are many benefits: better customer insights, improved user engagement, and increased conversions. Almost all tools provide email management options(for example, email follow ups), which are also advantageous.

How to improve conversational marketing with tools like Drift?

Before you choose your software, check if it offers conversational marketing solutions like integrations with other platforms, analytics, automation, and personalization capabilities. Then, select the metrics you need to improve (engagement rate, response time, NPS, conversion rate, or other) and adjust your strategy accordingly.

What are the best Drift alternatives?

One of the best Drift alternatives is Smartsupp. Its many advanced features make customer care and boosting e-commerce sales a breeze. If you haven’t decided yet what software to choose, Smartsupp is worth considering.

A few alternatives to Drift are LiveChat, LiveAgent, Olark, Intercom, Freshdesk.

Does Drift support smartphones and tablets?

Yes. Thanks to the mobile app, Drift is compatible with mobile devices. However, many of its alternatives provide such a solution as well.