Front3CXFront vs 3CX

Front vs 3CX: entry plans at $25 and $0

A team inbox against a business phone system with live chat: 3CX is $325 a month cheaper for five people. Where Front and 3CX split, and a third option for small teams.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Front if email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread. Pick 3CX if phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents. For five people, 3CX is $325 a month cheaper than Front ($325 a month on Front against $0 on 3CX), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only 3CX's figure comes under. Front and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor 3CX includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Front against 3CX, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceFrontFront3CX3CX
Built aroundShared email · comments and drafts on every threadPhone calls · a PBX with a chat widget
Entry plan$25/seat/mo · Starter: one channel type$0 · SMB Free: up to 10 users
Chat in the price$65/seat/mo · Professional: omnichannel$0 · live chat on the free tier
AI agentFrom $0.05 per conversation · AutopilotNone for chat · call transcription launching
Copilot for agents$20/seat/moNone
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FrontFront

    As a thread in a shared inbox that teammates comment on and draft together; it is email first. 3CX has no ticket queue either.

    3CX3CX

    As a call, or as a chat that rings the same agent queue; there is no ticket behind it. Front has no ticket queue either.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FrontFront

    $25 buys one channel type and up to ten seats. Omnichannel and fifty seats start at Professional, $65. $325 for five people, against $0 on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    The licence is per system per year, sized by simultaneous calls, not per agent; the free tier covers ten users. $0 for five people, against $325 on Front.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FrontFront

    Autopilot, the AI agent, from $0.05 a conversation; Copilot is $20 per seat and Smart QA $20 per seat. 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat) instead.

    3CX3CX

    No AI agent for chat. Call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FrontFront

    Email on Starter; chat, SMS, WhatsApp and voice on Professional and up. email and Instagram are here and not on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    Voice, live chat, WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS through the phone system; no email queue. WhatsApp is here and not on Front.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FrontFront

    Sequences, calendar, account views and analytics for logistics, finance and account teams. 3CX is a business phone system with live chat instead.

    3CX3CX

    The phone system itself: extensions, call queues, IVR, recordings and video meetings. Front is a team inbox instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FrontFront

    A day: connect the mailboxes, set rules and assignments, then add the chat widget. 3CX is a day for the phone system.

    3CX3CX

    A day for the phone system; minutes for the chat widget once the PBX is up. Front is a day.

Sources: Front pricing · 3CX pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
FrontFront. The Front inbox: the thread with internal comments beside it and the assignment bar on top
The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel
3CX3CX. The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel

Pricing references: Front pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); 3CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Front, 3CX and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureFrontFront3CX3CXSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; channels tiered; AI add-ons per seat.
Per system per year, by simultaneous calls
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
Up to 10 users, hosted by 3CX
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Chat channel; Starter allows one channel type.
Widget rings the agent queue
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
No email queue
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up, via add-on.
Through the phone system
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Professional and up.
Messenger only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not a channel.
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams integrations.
Internal 3CX chat only
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Autopilot.
None for chat
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat.
No AI agent to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Routes to teammates.
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with tags and status.
Calls and chats, no ticket queue
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules engine; visual on higher plans.
Call flows, not support automations
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Professional and up.
Call reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Mac and Windows apps.
Windows and macOS apps
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Front if

  • Email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread.
  • You run logistics, finance or account management where a thread is a piece of work.
  • You need email and Instagram in the price, which 3CX does not include outright.
  • You want an AI agent at all; 3CX has none for chat.

Pick 3CX if

  • Phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents.
  • You want a free tier for a small team that already needs a PBX.
  • Five people cost $325 a month less than on Front ($0 against $325), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Front does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $325 a month on Front against $0 on 3CX for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats, 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat), and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Front nor 3CX includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Front on Professional: $130, $325 and $650 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. 3CX: $0 a month for five (five users on the free tier); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $280 less than Front and more than 3CX's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $555 under Front.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Only 3CX has a free plan (up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted); Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional. Front and 3CX both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram; only 3CX has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor 3CX includes Telegram outright. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats; 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat). Neither Front nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps. Front is a day; 3CX is a day for the phone system.

What each price leaves out

Front: Autopilot AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat per month and Smart QA $20 per seat (included on Enterprise). 3CX: No AI agent for chat; call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Beside Front's from $0.05 per conversation and 3CX's none for chat, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    FrontFront$0.05$24
    3CX3CXSee vendorNot quoted
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    FrontFront · 14-day trial of Professional
    3CX3CX · Free tier, no trial clock
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Front vs 3CX: the questions people ask

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Neither Front nor 3CX has a ticket queue, and both ship desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Front $25/seat/mo (Starter: one channel type); 3CX $0 (SMB Free: up to 10 users).
  • Chat in the price: Front $65/seat/mo (Professional: omnichannel); 3CX $0 (live chat on the free tier).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Front nor 3CX has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Front and 3CX on the same rows.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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