AlternativesUpdated October 31, 2026

Missive and Front alternatives: shared inboxes for small teams

For a small team leaving Missive or Front, the closest alternatives are Help Scout if you want a free start for customer support, Hiver if you want to stay inside Gmail, Spark Pro if you want a regular mail app with shared inboxes, Zammad if your data should sit in Germany, and FreeScout if you are happy to run free software on your own server.[8][10][13][14][17] Missive and Front are also each other's obvious alternative, and both now let AI agents such as Claude or ChatGPT in through an MCP server.[2][6] Command Mail is not a shared inbox; it only fits when one person approves what an agent drafts.[26]

Command Mail is our product. Everything we say about Missive, Front, Help Scout, Hiver, Spark, Zammad and FreeScout comes from their pricing, help and developer pages, checked 2026-10-31. We have not tested these products ourselves.[1][5][8][10][12][14][17]

Updated: Fact-checked: About 12 min readAs Markdown

Contents
  1. What Missive and Front do well
  2. Reasons to look elsewhere
  3. The alternatives side by side
  4. Help Scout: the free way into a support inbox
  5. Hiver: a shared inbox inside Gmail
  6. Spark: a mail app with shared inboxes
  7. Zammad: open source help desk hosted in Germany
  8. FreeScout: free on your own server
  9. No new tool: Microsoft 365 and Google
  10. Command Mail: a mailbox for the person who approves
  11. When Missive or Front is the better choice
  12. When Command Mail fits
  13. Who Command Mail is not for
  14. Switching from Missive or Front
  15. Which alternative for whom
  16. Frequently asked questions
  17. Sources

01What Missive and Front do well

Missive is an email app built around teamwork. Its Starter plan already includes team inboxes, internal threads next to each email, collaborative drafting, assignment and internal read statuses, plus SMS, WhatsApp and social channels in the same view. Starter costs $14 per user per month billed yearly for up to five users. Productive, for up to 50 users, costs $24 and adds rules, integrations and API and MCP access. New teams get 30 days of Productive with no credit card.[1]

Missive's MCP server is the newer part. You find Missive in the Claude and ChatGPT directories, approve the permissions you want, and the assistant works with the same conversations you can see.[2] Drafting and sending are separate permissions, so you can let an assistant write drafts without letting it deliver anything.[3] An owner or admin has to switch MCP on for the whole organization first, and cannot limit which apps or permissions members choose.[4]

Front leans toward customer service. Starter costs $25 per seat per month billed yearly for up to ten seats and covers a shared inbox, ticketing, assignments, internal comments and shared drafts, but only one channel type. Professional at $65 adds several channels, and Enterprise at $105 includes Copilot, which costs $20 per seat per month on the smaller plans. The free trial runs 14 days with Professional features.[5]

Front's MCP server has three scopes, read, write and send, and the pricing page shows it on every plan.[5][6] Front also lets you register your own agent as a named teammate. It receives assigned conversations, every action shows under its own name, and Front unassigns it after a period of inactivity you choose.[7]

02Reasons to look elsewhere

Price per seat and plan limits can be reasons to switch. Both tools bill per person, and useful features sit on higher plans: Missive's API and MCP access start on Productive, Front's Starter connects one channel type and Copilot is an add-on.[1][5]

Where you work and where data lives can be another. If your team wants to stay in Gmail, or your data should sit in Germany or on your own server, there are tools built for each of those cases.[10][14][17]

03The alternatives side by side

The table summarizes pricing and help pages checked 2026-10-31. Prices are per person per month billed yearly unless noted.[1][5][8][10][12][14][17]

MissiveFrontHelp ScoutHiverSparkZammadFreeScoutCommand Mail
Price (checked 2026-10-31)$14, $24, $36[1]$25, $65, $105; Copilot on Starter and Professional +$20[5]Free $0; $25, $45, $75 (Pro from ten users)[8]$25, $55, $85; from two seats[10]Pro €22 a month or €229 a year[12]€7, €16, €25 plus VAT; free when self-hosted[14][29]free, runs on your server[17]Free; Pro per account €19 (founder price) or €29 a month, €190 or €290 a year; Team €39 per person per month[25][26]
Try it30 days[1]14 days[5]free plan[8]7 days[10]14 days of Pro for teams[13]30 days[14]free to use[17]free plan[25]
Shared inbox with assignmentyes[1]yes[5]yes[8]yes[10]yes, with Pro[13]yes, as tickets[15]yes[17]not found in app code; each address belongs to one account
Built-in AIdrafts, rules, summaries; credits or your own key[1]Compose, Translate, Summarize; Copilot included in Enterprise, otherwise +$20; Autopilot extra[5]AI Drafts from Plus[8]Copilot, AI Agents[10]Spark +AI[12]optional from Professional: summary, agents, writing assistant; €0.03 per call[14][15]free AI module[18]no built-in writing help
Access for your own agentMCP from Productive[2]MCP, agents as teammates[6][7]MCP from Standard; new connections read-only[9]API from Pro[10]Spark CLI, local; actions with Pro[30]not checkednot checkedMCP, CLI[25]
Where it runscloud[1]cloud[5]cloud[8]Gmail extension or own app[10][11]app[12]German data centers or your server[14]your server[17]cloud, operator in the US[28]

04Help Scout: the free way into a support inbox

Help Scout offers a free way into a hosted support inbox. The free plan covers five users, one inbox, one knowledge base site and 100 contacts a month. Standard costs $25 per user per month billed yearly for up to 25 users, Plus $45 for up to 50 users, and Pro $75 with a minimum of ten users.[8]

It is built for customer support: knowledge base, live chat, round-robin routing from Plus and reporting. AI Drafts, which write replies from past conversations and help content, are unlimited from Plus.[8] From Standard you can connect your own assistant through Help Scout's MCP server. New connections are read-only, so the assistant can search and summarize but cannot create, send, edit or delete anything.[9]

05Hiver: a shared inbox inside Gmail

Hiver is the pick for teams that want to keep working in Gmail. Hiver in Gmail is a Chrome extension on top of an existing Gmail or Google Workspace account; teams not on Gmail use the standalone Hiver Omni at the same prices.[10][11]

Growth costs $25 per user per month billed yearly or $35 monthly, Pro $55 and Elite $85. The seven-day trial runs on Elite without a credit card. Every plan starts at two seats, then goes to five and up in steps of five; Growth covers at most ten users and two shared inboxes.[10] Growth includes shared inboxes with clear ownership, an AI Copilot for draft replies and AI agents that, according to the pricing page, pause for approval on actions you mark as sensitive. API access for your own tools starts on Pro.[10]

06Spark: a mail app with shared inboxes

Spark is a regular mail app that adds shared inboxes for addresses like info@ or support@. Team members assign emails, set deadlines and comment, and the help center says this needs Spark Pro, at €22 per person a month or €229 a year when we checked.[12][13]

Teams can try Pro for 14 days without payment details, and nothing is charged automatically when the trial ends.[13] Shared inboxes work with Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Microsoft 365 and IMAP accounts, but Outlook, Microsoft 365 and IMAP shared inboxes can only be managed in the desktop apps.[13] For your own agent there is the Spark CLI, which according to the help center only works with Spark Desktop installed and running on a Mac or Windows PC. On Free the agent can read, search and create plain-text drafts via mailto links; on Pro it can also sort, send, assign conversations in shared inboxes and add team comments.[30]

07Zammad: open source help desk hosted in Germany

Zammad is an open source help desk you can rent as a hosted service or run yourself. The hosted version runs on servers in German data centers, and the self-hosted software is free under the AGPL-3.0 license.[14][16]

Starter costs €7 per agent per month billed yearly for up to five agents with email, web form and SMS; Professional costs €16 for up to 35 agents, and Plus €25 with no agent limit, all plus VAT. AI features are optional from Professional and cost €0.03 per call.[14][29] They include an AI ticket summary, AI agents that run on triggers, scheduler jobs or macros, and a writing assistant.[15]

Zammad is organized around tickets, with service level agreements and a knowledge base from Professional. A team that only wants to answer mail together gets more structure than it may need. The trial runs 30 days on Professional.[14]

08FreeScout: free on your own server

FreeScout is a free, open source help desk and shared mailbox written in PHP with Laravel and licensed under AGPL-3.0. Its home page says it runs even on shared hosting, with unlimited agents and mailboxes.[17][20]

Internal notes, following conversations and a warning when two agents open the same conversation are built in, and Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts connect over OAuth.[17] Many extras are modules sold as a license per installation[19]; the AI module is free. It drafts replies, summarizes and polishes wording with providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or a local Ollama model.[18] Hosting, updates and backups are on you.

09No new tool: Microsoft 365 and Google

Teams already on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace can share an inbox without another product. A Microsoft 365 shared mailbox holds up to 50 GB without its own license, although everyone who opens it needs a licensed Exchange Online mailbox.[21] Copilot Chat in Outlook can summarize and draft in shared mailboxes, while sending on the mailbox's behalf, deleting and applying rules are listed as coming soon.[22]

On Google, a Google Group can work as a collaborative inbox where permitted members take and assign conversations.[23] Gmail delegation allows up to 1,000 delegates on work accounts, but Gemini in Gmail is not available to delegates.[24] For how these options combine with an AI agent, see Shared inbox with an AI agent.

10Command Mail: a mailbox for the person who approves

Command Mail collects one person's addresses in one place where that person's own AI agent works. You forward addresses to a private inbound address, and Claude, ChatGPT, Codex or Claude Code connect through the hosted MCP server or the CLI.[25][27]

For teams, the limit matters most. In the account model of our app code at commit 2761576, each stored address belongs to exactly one account. We found no shared handling of one address across several accounts, no assignment, no internal comments and no indicator of who is replying. Our home page lists "shared mailboxes" for the Team plan at €39 per person per month, set up with the team on request; each person still has their own account.[26]

What Command Mail offers one person with an agent is set per connection. mail:read reads and sorts, mail:draft saves drafts and never sends, and mail:send-approved sends exactly the revision a person approved. Sending without approval needs mail:send, only works from mailboxes on the auto level, and has a daily limit and a cap of 20 recipients per message.[25] According to the docs, only a person in the browser can approve.[27]

That differs from Missive when an agent sends over MCP. Missive runs write actions from a connected app immediately and says the app's own approval prompt is the only checkpoint; if you want a human check, you grant drafting but not sending.[3] Front likewise suggests read and write without send for drafting agents.[6]

The other limits: forwarding is not syncing, so nothing you change in Command Mail reaches your original provider.[27] Read access covers every mailbox in an account, Free does not send, and Pro costs €19 a month for the first 100 paying Pro accounts, for as long as the subscription runs, and €29 after that.[25] The operator is FYN Labs LLC in the United States, and attachments are stored in Cloudflare's EU region. For risk scoring, the privacy policy says sender, recipients, subject, up to 4,000 characters of text and attachment names of incoming mail go to the processor TypeSafe (Jev); our app code also sends the sender's display name and the names and instructions of any automatic labels you set up.[28] Opening the agent panel of an incoming email can send further excerpts to TypeSafe, and the similar-emails check can send excerpts of the original and other messages, described in AI email assistant privacy.

11When Missive or Front is the better choice

Missive is the better choice when several people work the same emails and talk about them as they go. Internal threads, collaborative drafting and assignment come with Starter, and on Productive you connect Claude or ChatGPT through the MCP server without paying for Missive's own AI.[1][2]

Front wins when the inbox is turning into a customer service operation with many channels, reporting and its own AI agents. From Professional, email, SMS and social channels share one workspace, with native WhatsApp as an add-on, and your own agent can be assigned conversations as a teammate with permissions an admin sets per workspace.[5][7]

Against Command Mail, both have the decisive advantage of being built for teams: assignment, internal comments and a shared view of one address, none of which we found in Command Mail's app code.[1][5]

12When Command Mail fits

Command Mail fits a small team where one person owns an address and their own agent prepares the replies. For example, a three-person office forwards support@ to the owner's account, her agent drafts, and she approves every reply before it goes out.[25][27]

It also fits when that person has other addresses besides the team one and wants their agent to sort everything in one place. Pro covers up to ten mailboxes. In our app code, new mailboxes start on the suggest level unless your account default is read, and on suggest the agent's direct sorting actions become suggestions.[25]

13Who Command Mail is not for

Command Mail does not fit a team where several people work the same address; Missive, Front, Help Scout, Hiver, Spark with Pro, Zammad and FreeScout are built for that.[1][5][8][10][13][14][17] Without your own agent you get no built-in writing help in Command Mail, according to our app code, and if your data has to stay in Germany or on your own server, look at Zammad or FreeScout.[14][17]

14Switching from Missive or Front

  1. Run the new tool in parallel first: Missive 30 days, Front 14 days, Hiver seven days, Zammad 30 days, Spark Pro 14 days, Help Scout on its free plan.[1][5][10][14][13][8]
  2. Connect the same team address, or a forwarded copy, during the trial and handle real email for a week. Assignment, internal notes and approvals only show their value in daily use.
  3. Leave time to move canned responses, rules and tags. Missive links its own guide for teams coming from Front.[1]
  4. Cancel last. After a Missive plan ends, your content stays available in read-only mode.[1]
  5. If you move to Command Mail because one person approves: create a mailbox, forward the team address to its private inbound address, connect your agent with mail:read and mail:draft, and spend a week on suggest reviewing what it drafts.[25][27]

15Which alternative for whom

  • Free start, support focus: Help Scout Free.[8]
  • Stay in Gmail: Hiver in Gmail.[10]
  • A mail app with shared inboxes at a low price: Spark Pro.[12][13]
  • Hosting in Germany, or self-hosting with tickets: Zammad.[14]
  • Free on your own server: FreeScout.[17]
  • Team email with your own agent over MCP: stay with Missive or move to Front.[2][6]
  • One person approves, their agent drafts: Command Mail.[25]

Last checked: 2026-10-31. Statements about Command Mail also rely on our app code at commit 2761576. We have not tested the other products ourselves.

If you want to try Command Mail for yourself and your agent, start free at commandmail.app and then connect your agent.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Missive and Front cost?

On their pricing pages checked 2026-10-31, Missive costs $14 per user per month billed yearly on Starter for up to five users, $24 on Productive and $36 on Business. Front costs $25 per seat per month billed yearly on Starter for up to ten seats, $65 on Professional and $105 on Enterprise; Copilot adds $20 per seat per month on Starter and Professional.

Is there a free alternative to Missive or Front?

Help Scout has a free plan for five users, one inbox and 100 contacts a month. FreeScout is free and open source, but you run it on your own server. Teams on Google Workspace can turn a Google Group into a shared inbox where members take and assign conversations.

What is an open source alternative to Missive?

Zammad and FreeScout are both licensed under AGPL-3.0 and can be self-hosted. Zammad also sells a hosted version that runs in German data centers; FreeScout is extended with modules, including a free AI module.

Can I connect Claude or ChatGPT to Missive or Front?

Yes. Missive runs an MCP server on the Productive and Business plans, and an admin has to switch it on first. Front lists its MCP server on all three plans. Help Scout's MCP connector is read-only for new connections.

Can Command Mail replace a shared inbox?

No. In Command Mail's app code at commit 2761576, each stored address belongs to exactly one account, and we found no assignment or internal commenting there. Command Mail fits when an agent drafts replies and one person approves them.

Sources

  1. Missive: Pricing (plans, user limits, trial, collaboration, AI, FAQ) missiveapp.com, accessed
  2. Missive docs: MCP server (URL, requirements, directories) missiveapp.com, accessed
  3. Missive docs: Permissions and scopes (drafting and sending separate, write actions immediate) missiveapp.com, accessed
  4. Missive docs: Admin controls (MCP off by default, one switch per organization) missiveapp.com, accessed
  5. Front: Pricing (plans, seat limits, channels, AI add-ons, MCP server, trial) front.com, accessed
  6. Front developer docs: MCP Server (endpoint, OAuth without dynamic registration, scopes) dev.frontapp.com, accessed
  7. Front developer docs: AI agents (your own agent as a teammate) dev.frontapp.com, accessed
  8. Help Scout: Pricing (Free, Standard, Plus, Pro, user limits, AI Drafts) helpscout.com, accessed
  9. Help Scout docs: Connect your AI Agent to Help Scout via MCP docs.helpscout.com, accessed
  10. Hiver: Plans and pricing for Hiver in Gmail (plans, trial, Chrome extension) hiverhq.com, accessed
  11. Hiver: Plans and pricing for Hiver Omni hiverhq.com, accessed
  12. Spark: Pricing (shown in euros when retrieved) sparkmailapp.com, accessed
  13. Spark help: Shared Inboxes (Spark Pro only, supported accounts) sparkmailapp.com, accessed
  14. Zammad: Pricing (hosted in German data centers, self-hosted, AI fees) zammad.com, accessed
  15. Zammad: Features (AI ticket summary, AI agents, AI writing assistant) zammad.com, accessed
  16. GitHub: zammad/zammad (license AGPL-3.0) github.com, accessed
  17. FreeScout: home page (free help desk and shared mailbox, features) freescout.net, accessed
  18. FreeScout: AI Integration Module (free, supported AI providers) freescout.net, accessed
  19. FreeScout: Modules (lifetime licenses per installation) freescout.net, accessed
  20. GitHub: freescout-help-desk/freescout (license AGPL-3.0) github.com, accessed
  21. Microsoft Learn: About shared mailboxes in Microsoft 365 learn.microsoft.com, accessed
  22. Microsoft Support: Shared and delegated mailboxes with Copilot Chat in Outlook support.microsoft.com, accessed
  23. Google Groups Help: Take & assign conversations support.google.com, accessed
  24. Gmail Help: Delegate & collaborate on email support.google.com, accessed
  25. Command Mail: plans, agent permissions and autonomy levels commandmail.app, accessed
  26. Command Mail: home page with the Team plan commandmail.app, accessed
  27. Command Mail: documentation (forwarding, approval, permissions) commandmail.app, accessed
  28. Command Mail: privacy policy commandmail.app, accessed
  29. Zammad: Preise (German pricing page, same amounts) zammad.com, accessed
  30. Spark help: Getting started with Spark CLI (needs Spark Desktop, permissions by plan) sparkmailapp.com, accessed
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