FrontSmartsuppFront vs Smartsupp

Front vs Smartsupp: team inbox or live chat and chatbot

A team inbox against a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce: Smartsupp is $242 a month cheaper for five people. Where Front and Smartsupp 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 Smartsupp if you are a small European store and want chat, Messenger and WhatsApp in one package. For five people, Smartsupp is $242 a month cheaper than Front ($325 a month on Front against $83 on Smartsupp), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $38 below Smartsupp. Front and Smartsupp both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram; only Smartsupp has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor Smartsupp includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Front against Smartsupp, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceFrontFrontSmartsuppSmartsupp
Built aroundShared email · comments and drafts on every threadChat with visitor recordings · packages, not seats
Entry plan$25/seat/mo · Starter: one channel type$17/mo · Solo: 1 agent, yearly
Chat in the price$65/seat/mo · Professional: omnichannel$0 · Free: 1 agent, 25 conversations
AI agentFrom $0.05 per conversation · Autopilot$16 per 100 conversations · Mira AI, yearly
Copilot for agents$20/seat/moIncluded · AI reply assistant on paid plans
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 1 agent, 25 conversations a month

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. Smartsupp has no ticket queue either.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    As a chat in the widget, with a recording of the visitor's session you can replay. 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 $83 on Smartsupp.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Packages, not seats: Solo is one agent at $17, Plus three at $25, Expert five or more at $83. $83 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. Smartsupp meters AI ($16 per 100 conversations) above the seats as well.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Mira, the AI agent, is $16 per 100 conversations a month on yearly billing, bought in packs. 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. email and Instagram are here and not on Smartsupp.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Website chat, Messenger and WhatsApp on every plan, email on paid plans; no Instagram or Telegram. 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. Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce instead.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Visitor recordings, automated messages and a Shoptet and Shopify presence in Europe. 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. Smartsupp is minutes.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Minutes: paste the widget or install the ecommerce app. Front is a day.

Sources: Front pricing · Smartsupp 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 Smartsupp dashboard: the chat with the visitor's session recording beside it
SmartsuppSmartsupp. The Smartsupp dashboard: the chat with the visitor's session recording beside it

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

Front, Smartsupp 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.

FeatureFrontFrontSmartsuppSmartsuppSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per seat; channels tiered; AI add-ons per seat.
Packages with agents included
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
14-day trial.
1 agent, 25 conversations
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.
Paid plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Professional and up, via add-on.
All plans
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Professional and up.
Not offered
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.
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Autopilot.
Mira
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
From $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20 per seat.
$16 per 100 conversations
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Routes to teammates.
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations with tags and status.
Chats only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules engine; visual on higher plans.
Automated messages; workflows on Plus
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Analytics on Professional and up.
Chat statistics
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 email and Instagram in the price, which Smartsupp does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Smartsupp does not ship.

Pick Smartsupp if

  • You are a small European store and want chat, Messenger and WhatsApp in one package.
  • Session recordings beside the chat help you sell.
  • Five people cost $242 a month less than on Front ($83 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 $83 on Smartsupp 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, Smartsupp meters AI ($16 per 100 conversations) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and tickets raised from a chat, which neither Front nor Smartsupp 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. Smartsupp: $83 a month for five ($83 for the package with five agents); 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 $38 less than Smartsupp 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; Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce built around chat with visitor recordings. Only Smartsupp has a free plan (1 agent, 25 conversations a month); Front offers a 14-day trial of Professional. Front and Smartsupp both include website chat in the price; only Front has email and Instagram; only Smartsupp has WhatsApp. Neither Front nor Smartsupp includes Telegram outright. Front (from $0.05 per conversation) and Smartsupp ($16 per 100 conversations) both meter AI above the seats. Neither Front nor Smartsupp has a ticket queue, and only Front ships desktop apps. Front is a day; Smartsupp is minutes.

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). Smartsupp: Mira AI $16 per 100 conversations a month on yearly billing; AI reply assistant included on paid plans. Beside Front's from $0.05 per conversation and Smartsupp's $16 per 100 conversations, 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
    SmartsuppSmartsuppSee 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
    SmartsuppSmartsupp · 14-day trial of the paid plans
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Front vs Smartsupp: the questions people ask

Front is a team inbox built around shared email; Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce built around chat with visitor recordings. Neither Front nor Smartsupp has a ticket queue, and only Front ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Front $25/seat/mo (Starter: one channel type); Smartsupp $17/mo (Solo: 1 agent, yearly).
  • Chat in the price: Front $65/seat/mo (Professional: omnichannel); Smartsupp $0 (Free: 1 agent, 25 conversations).
  • Sellio: Telegram, which neither Front nor Smartsupp has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Front and Smartsupp 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

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