FrontHubSpot Service HubFront vs HubSpot Service Hub

Front vs HubSpot Service Hub: team inbox or CRM-based help desk

A team inbox against a CRM-based help desk: HubSpot Service Hub is $250 a month cheaper for five people. What decides between Front and HubSpot Service Hub, 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

No credit card. Live in minutes.

The short answer

Pick Front if email is the channel and you want shared drafts, comments and sequences on every thread. Pick HubSpot Service Hub if your sales and marketing already live in HubSpot and support should share the CRM. For five people, HubSpot Service Hub is $250 a month cheaper than Front ($325 a month on Front against $75 on HubSpot Service Hub), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, $30 under HubSpot Service Hub. Front and HubSpot Service Hub both include website chat and email in the price; only Front has Instagram. Neither Front nor HubSpot Service Hub includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. A team of two to ten choosing between Front and HubSpot Service Hub for chat and tickets at one price has a third option below.

At a glanceFrontFrontHubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub
Built aroundShared email · comments and drafts on every threadThe CRM record · help desk on top of HubSpot
Entry plan$25/seat/mo · Starter: one channel type$15/seat/mo · Starter, yearly
Chat in the price$65/seat/mo · Professional: omnichannel$0 · Free tools: chat with HubSpot branding
AI agentFrom $0.05 per conversation · Autopilot$9 per 1,000 credits · 50 credits per resolution
Copilot for agents$20/seat/moBreeze · in the plans
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 2 users, branded chat

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. HubSpot Service Hub raises a ticket where Front keeps a conversation.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    As a ticket on the CRM contact, with every marketing and sales touch beside it. Front has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  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 $75 on HubSpot Service Hub.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Starter is $15 a seat; Professional is $90 with a $1,500 onboarding fee, and that is where routing and SLAs start. $75 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. HubSpot Service Hub meters AI ($9 per 1,000 credits) above the seats as well.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Customer Agent costs 50 credits per resolved conversation, and credits are $9 per 1,000, so about $0.45 a resolution. Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FrontFront

    Email on Starter; chat, SMS, WhatsApp and voice on Professional and up. Instagram is here and not on HubSpot Service Hub.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    Chat, email and Messenger on the lower plans; WhatsApp and calling on Professional; no Telegram. Front adds Instagram, which HubSpot Service Hub lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FrontFront

    Sequences, calendar, account views and analytics for logistics, finance and account teams. HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk instead.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    The rest of HubSpot: marketing, sales, CMS and the shared CRM. 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. HubSpot Service Hub is an afternoon on Starter.

    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

    An afternoon on Starter; Professional comes with a paid onboarding. Front is a day.

Sources: Front pricing · HubSpot Service Hub 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 HubSpot help desk workspace: the ticket with the CRM contact and its timeline
HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub. The HubSpot help desk workspace: the ticket with the CRM contact and its timeline

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 Autopilot conversations on Front, resolved conversations on HubSpot Service Hub

3000+
FrontFront

$340/mo

Omnichannel, up to fifty seats.

5 × $65 seats
$325
300 Autopilot conversations × $0.05
$15
Copilot, 5 × $20
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. From $0.05 per conversation handled by Autopilot, as printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub

$206/mo

Shared inbox, chat, 500 credits.

5 × $15 seats
$75
290 resolved conversations × $0.45
$131

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. 50 credits per resolution at $9 per 1,000 credits; Starter's 500 credits cover about ten. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: Front pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); HubSpot Service Hub pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

Front, HubSpot Service Hub 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.

FeatureFrontFrontHubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service HubSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; channels tiered; AI add-ons per seat.
Per seat; onboarding fees; AI by credits
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
2 users, HubSpot branding
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Chat channel; Starter allows one channel type.
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
The core of the product.
All plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up, via add-on.
Professional and up
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.
Slack and Teams notifications
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Autopilot.
Customer Agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat.
50 credits per resolution, $9 per 1,000
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Routes to teammates.
Creates a ticket
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with tags and status.
On the CRM record
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules engine; visual on higher plans.
Professional and up
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Professional and up.
Reports; advanced on Professional
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Mac and Windows apps.
Browser and mobile
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 Instagram in the price, which HubSpot Service Hub does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which HubSpot Service Hub does not ship.

Pick HubSpot Service Hub if

  • Your sales and marketing already live in HubSpot and support should share the CRM.
  • You want an AI agent priced per resolution at under a dollar.
  • Five people cost $250 a month less than on Front ($75 against $325), before AI.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional.

The third option: Sellio

  • Two to ten of you answer chat, messaging and email. Compare Sellio's workspace plans with $325 a month on Front against $75 on HubSpot Service Hub for five people, including each product's limits.
  • The AI invoice should be known in advance: Front meters AI (from $0.05 per conversation) above the seats and HubSpot Service Hub meters AI ($9 per 1,000 credits) above the seats, where Sellio's credit is included and capped by you.
  • You need Telegram and WhatsApp in the base price, which neither Front nor HubSpot Service Hub 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. HubSpot Service Hub on Starter: $30, $75 and $150 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $280 less than Front and $30 less than HubSpot Service Hub for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $555 under Front and $55 under HubSpot Service Hub.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk built around the CRM record. Only HubSpot Service Hub has a free plan (2 users, branded chat); Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional. Front and HubSpot Service Hub both include website chat and email in the price; only Front has Instagram. Neither Front nor HubSpot Service Hub includes WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Front (from $0.05 per conversation) and HubSpot Service Hub ($9 per 1,000 credits) both meter AI above the seats. HubSpot Service Hub has tickets and Front does not, and only Front ships desktop apps. Front is a day; HubSpot Service Hub is an afternoon on Starter.

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). HubSpot Service Hub: HubSpot Credits at $9 per 1,000; Customer Agent uses 50 credits per resolved conversation. Beside Front's from $0.05 per conversation and HubSpot Service Hub's $9 per 1,000 credits, 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
    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub$0.45$212
    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
    HubSpot Service HubHubSpot Service Hub · Free tools, 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 HubSpot Service Hub: the questions people ask

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; HubSpot Service Hub is a CRM-based help desk built around the CRM record. HubSpot Service Hub has tickets and Front does not, and only Front ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Front $25/seat/mo (Starter: one channel type); HubSpot Service Hub $15/seat/mo (Starter, yearly).
  • Chat in the price: Front $65/seat/mo (Professional: omnichannel); HubSpot Service Hub $0 (Free tools: chat with HubSpot branding).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither Front nor HubSpot Service Hub has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Front and HubSpot Service Hub rows is on the shared inbox page.

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

No credit card required