---
title: Front
slug: front
product: Front
excerpt: 'An independent expert review of Front: Starter is capped at 10 seats and
  one channel, so an 11th hire takes a team from $250 to $715 a month.'
created_at: '2026-09-26T00:00:00Z'
updated_at: '2026-09-26T00:00:00Z'
---

**[Front](https://findstack.com/go/front)'s Starter plan is capped at 10 seats, so hiring an eleventh person moves you to Professional and takes the bill from $250 a month to $715.** That is not an upgrade you choose on features — it is a ceiling you hit on headcount, and it costs $465 a month for one hire. Anyone planning to grow past ten support or sales people should price Front from $65 a seat, not $25.

- **What it is**: A shared inbox and customer communication platform — email, SMS, social, and WhatsApp in one queue — sold as a [help desk](https://findstack.com/software/help-desk) alternative.
- **Best for**: Teams who want conversations to feel like email rather than tickets, at moderate scale.
- **Pricing**: Starter $25, Professional $65, Enterprise $105 per seat monthly on annual billing. Verified July 2026.
- **The honest catch**: Starter supports a single channel type, so email-plus-chat already requires Professional.

## What Is Front?

Front is a shared inbox that behaves like email rather than like a ticketing system. Customer messages land in a familiar threaded interface where a team can assign, comment internally, and reply — which suits businesses whose customer relationships are ongoing conversations rather than discrete tickets. Front cites more than 9,300 companies including Navan, Branch, Culture Amp, Uber Freight, and ClickUp.

![Front's pricing page with Billed Annually selected, showing Starter at $25 per seat for up to 10 seats, Professional at $65 for up to 50 seats, and Enterprise at $105 marked most popular.](https://assets.findstack.com/hv8lbum62j8b2dbtqbue69d9qpai)

Two things about the plan structure are worth noticing before the features. The tiers carry **seat ceilings** — up to 10 on Starter, up to 50 on Professional — rather than seat minimums. And Enterprise, not the middle tier, is flagged "most popular", which usually indicates that whatever sits only on the top plan is the thing people are actually buying.

Here, that is the AI bundle: Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are add-ons on Starter and Professional, and included on Enterprise.

## How Front Works

- **Priced per seat**, with a seat ceiling on each of the lower tiers.
- **Starter is single-channel.** Omnichannel requires Professional.
- **Automation rules ladder** — 10, then 20, then unlimited.
- **Workspaces ladder** — 1, up to 5, then unlimited.
- **AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT** are add-ons below Enterprise.
- **AI Autopilot is an add-on on every tier**, Enterprise included.

## Front Pricing

Captured from Front's pricing page in July 2026 in US dollars with annual billing, which is the page default.

| Plan | Per seat | Seat cap | Channels | Rules | Workspaces |
|------|----------|----------|----------|-------|------------|
| **Starter** | $25 | Up to 10 | Single channel type | Up to 10 | 1 |
| **Professional** | $65 | Up to 50 | Omnichannel | Macros + up to 20 | Up to 5 |
| **Enterprise** | $105 | — | Omnichannel | Unlimited | Unlimited |

![Bar chart of Front's monthly cost by team size: $125 for 5 seats on Starter, $250 for 10, $715 for 11 seats on Professional, $1,300 for 20 on Professional and $2,100 for 20 on Enterprise.](https://assets.findstack.com/kghfkm3pellj2rfmy2v6e4309gia)

What actually decides your cost:

- **The seat cap is the real pricing mechanism.** Ten seats on Starter is $250 a month. Eleven seats means Professional at $65 each — **$715**. That is a 186% increase triggered by one hire, with no intermediate option. If your team is at eight or nine people and growing, model Professional now.
- **Starter handles one channel type.** The comparison table is explicit: "single channel type", with messaging and live chat available only "if single channel type". So a team wanting email *and* chat is on Professional regardless of headcount. For a product whose pitch is unifying customer communication, that is the most consequential gate on the page.
- **The AI tools are add-ons until Enterprise.** Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT all read "ADD-ON" on Starter and Professional and are included at $105. Given Enterprise is marked most popular, the AI bundle appears to be what pulls buyers up — so price the add-ons on Professional before assuming $65 is your number.
- **AI Autopilot is an add-on everywhere.** Including on Enterprise. It is the one AI feature no plan includes.
- **Workspaces matter for multi-team use.** One on Starter, up to five on Professional, unlimited on Enterprise. An agency or a company with separate support and sales queues will hit that before the rule limits.
- **Automation is tightly capped low down.** Ten rules on Starter and twenty on Professional; only Enterprise is unlimited.

## Who Should Use Front

- **Teams with ongoing customer relationships.** The clearest case — Front's email-like model suits account management and B2B service far better than ticketing.
- **Small teams on one channel.** Under ten people doing email-only support get a genuinely good product at $25.
- **Companies needing omnichannel with internal collaboration.** Comments and assignment inside the thread are Front's real strength.
- **Organisations wanting AI QA and CSAT.** Bundled at Enterprise rather than assembled from separate tools.

It fits poorly for teams about to cross ten people, where the cliff is severe; for ecommerce support, where [Gorgias](https://findstack.com/go/gorgias) charges by ticket rather than by seat; and for high-volume ticket deflection, where [Freshdesk](https://findstack.com/go/freshdesk) includes 500 AI sessions on a €17 plan.

## Honest Pros and Cons

### Strengths

- **The best shared-inbox experience** for teams who think in conversations, not tickets.
- **Genuine omnichannel** from Professional — email, SMS, social, and WhatsApp in one queue.
- **Internal comments and assignment** inside the thread, which competitors bolt on.
- **AI QA and CSAT included at Enterprise**, rather than sold separately.
- **Strong customer roster** — 9,300+ companies including well-known names.
- **A free trial** on Starter without a sales call.

### Limitations

- **A 10-seat cap on Starter**, so growth forces a 2.6× per-seat increase.
- **Single channel type on Starter**, which undercuts the core proposition.
- **AI Copilot, QA, and CSAT are add-ons** below Enterprise.
- **AI Autopilot costs extra on every plan**, including the top one.
- **Only 10 automation rules on Starter**, 20 on Professional.
- **Professional and Enterprise require a demo** — no self-serve purchase.

## Front Alternatives and How It Compares

- **[Gorgias](https://findstack.com/go/gorgias)** prices by ticket rather than by seat and is built for ecommerce, which suits teams with many agents.
- **[Freshdesk](https://findstack.com/go/freshdesk)** is a conventional help desk at roughly a quarter of Front's entry price, with AI sessions included.
- **[Zoho Desk](https://findstack.com/go/zoho-desk)** covers similar ground inexpensively, with less polish on the shared-inbox model.
- **[HubSpot Service Hub](https://findstack.com/go/hubspot-service-hub)** suits teams already inside HubSpot's CRM.
- **Help Scout** and **Missive** are the closest philosophical competitors — shared inboxes rather than ticketing systems — and generally cheaper.
- **[LiveChat](https://findstack.com/go/livechat)** covers the chat channel specifically rather than a unified inbox.

For a broader survey, browse our [help desk directory](https://findstack.com/software/help-desk).

## The Verdict

Front is the best product available for teams whose customer communication is genuinely conversational. If your support or account management involves ongoing relationships rather than discrete tickets — B2B service, logistics, professional services — the email-like model is materially better than a ticketing queue, and the ability to comment internally inside a thread is the feature people stay for. The customer roster reflects that: these are not companies short of options.

The pricing needs modelling before you commit, because **the tiers are capped by headcount rather than by capability**. Starter allows up to ten seats. An eleventh hire moves you to Professional at $65 a seat, taking a $250 monthly bill to **$715** — a 186% increase caused by one person joining, with nothing in between. If you are at eight or nine seats and hiring, Professional is your real price and you should plan around it now rather than discovering it in a renewal conversation.

The second gate arrives sooner for many teams. **Starter supports a single channel type**, so the moment you want email and live chat together — or email and SMS, or anything plus WhatsApp — you are on Professional regardless of team size. Since unifying channels is the reason to buy Front rather than a mailbox, that constraint reaches most buyers before the seat cap does. And check the AI line items too: **Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are add-ons on both lower tiers** and included only at $105, which is likely why Enterprise rather than the middle plan carries the "most popular" badge. Price those add-ons on Professional before assuming the gap between $65 and $105 is real.

## FAQ

### How much does Front cost?

Captured in July 2026 in US dollars with annual billing: Starter $25 per seat per month for up to 10 seats, Professional $65 per seat for up to 50 seats, and Enterprise $105 per seat. Front advertises a 24% saving on annual billing. Starter can be started with a free trial; Professional and Enterprise both require a demo request rather than self-serve purchase.

### Does Front have a seat limit?

Yes, and it works as a ceiling rather than a minimum. Starter supports up to 10 seats and Professional up to 50. That means growth forces an upgrade: a team of ten on Starter pays $250 a month, and adding an eleventh person moves them to Professional at $715 — an increase of $465 for one hire, since every seat reprices at $65.

### What does Front's Starter plan include?

Shared inbox and ticketing, AI Topics, up to 10 automation rules, basic analytics, a no-code public knowledge base, and one workspace — for a **single channel type**. Messaging and live chat are available only if that is your single channel. Omnichannel support across email, SMS, social, and WhatsApp requires Professional at $65 per seat.

### Are Front's AI features included?

Only on Enterprise. AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are marked as add-ons on Starter and Professional and are included at $105 per seat. AI Autopilot is an add-on on all three tiers, including Enterprise. Since Enterprise carries the "most popular" label, the bundled AI appears to be the main reason buyers choose it over Professional.

### Front or Gorgias?

They meter on opposite things. Front charges per seat with tiers capped by headcount, which suits smaller teams handling complex conversations. Gorgias charges by ticket volume and never per agent, which suits teams with many agents handling high volumes of simpler requests — and it is purpose-built for ecommerce. Choose Front for relationship-led communication, Gorgias for transactional support at scale.