Comparison
Front vs. Missive vs. Help Scout vs. Jelly
Four shared inboxes, compared for a small team that is choosing between them.
Which should a small team pick? They are built for different jobs. Front if you support customers across many channels and want workflows. Help Scout if you want a help desk. Missive if you want chat alongside email. Jelly if you want a simple shared inbox for email, and one flat price for the whole team instead of one price for each person.
What six people pay
| Tool | How it charges | A month | Against Jelly, a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jelly | One price for the whole team | $29 | – |
| Front | $25 a person, up to 10 people; $65 a person after | $150 | $1,452 more |
| Missive | $14 a person | $84 | $660 more |
| Help Scout | $25 a person | $150 | $1,452 more |
Each tool’s lowest per-person plan, as the pricing calculator has it; move its slider to your own team’s size. The other companies change their prices, so check theirs before you decide.
Jelly costs less than Front and Help Scout from 2 people, and less than Missive from 3 people.
Below that size, paying per person can cost less than a flat price.
Side by side
| Tool | How it charges | Best for | Think twice if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Per person | Teams supporting customers across email, SMS, social and other channels, with workflows and analytics. | You only need email, or your budget is tight. |
| Help Scout | Per person | Teams that want a help desk for customer support. | You want a shared inbox that feels like email, not a ticketing system. |
| Missive | Per person | Teams that want chat and email in one place. | You want one thing done simply: Missive does a lot, and has a learning curve. |
| Jelly | One price for the whole team | Small teams that share an inbox like support@ or hello@ and want to see who has what. | You need chat, SMS or social channels, or a help desk’s ticketing: Jelly is email only. |
Who should pick which
Pick Front if…
You support customers across several channels, need advanced workflows and analytics, and have a team that can use them. See Jelly vs. Front.
Pick Help Scout if…
You think of what you do as customer support, and want a help desk built for it.
Pick Missive if…
Your team talks to each other and to customers in more than one place and wants chat beside email. See Jelly vs. Missive.
Pick Jelly if…
You are a small team sharing email, you want it to feel like email, and you would rather not pay more each time someone joins. It leaves out channels and ticketing on purpose. It is one flat price for the whole team, with a free 14-day trial and no card needed to start.
Questions
Which is the cheapest shared inbox for a team of six?
Of these four, Jelly: it is one price for the team, and the others charge for each person. The table above has the sums.
Do I need a help desk or a shared inbox?
If customers write to you by email and your team just needs to share the work, a shared inbox is enough. If you need tickets, many channels or a knowledge base, you want a help desk, and that is not what Jelly is.
Can a shared inbox replace Front for a small team?
If the team only uses Front for email, yes. If it relies on Front’s other channels or workflows, no. Jelly vs. Front goes through it.