Verdict · Help Desk

Front

A shared inbox with the manners of email and the structure of a help desk.

Front sits between a team inbox and a full help desk. Conversations look and feel like email, but you get assignment, internal comments, shared drafts and SLAs underneath. That makes it a favorite for teams that handle nuanced, relationship driven support across email, chat and social. It is less of a classic ticketing engine, and its 2026 plans now lean on AI add ons that raise the real price.

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Reviewed by M. HALLORAN·Updated JUNE 2026·How we vet
In one line
Front is for the team that wants support to keep the warmth of a real email, not a ticket number.
What we found

In its favour

+ Email like interface that teams adopt quickly
+ Excellent internal comments, shared drafts and assignment
+ Omnichannel across email, chat, SMS and social
+ Strong automation and analytics on the Professional plan
+ Good fit for relationship driven, account based support

Held against it

Starter is limited to one channel type and ten seats
Most AI features sit on Enterprise or paid add ons
Less of a traditional ticketing engine than rivals
No permanently free plan, only a trial
The scorecard

Collaboration first support that reads like email

Front scores high on ease and collaboration and holds its own on features. It scores lower on value, where channel limits on Starter and paid AI add ons push the real cost up.

Scored against the same five weighted criteria we use across help desk software. See the rubric →

Ease of use 88
Features and depth 84
Value for money 80
Integrations 86
Support and onboarding 82
Buy it if you’re…

a team that handles nuanced, relationship driven conversations and wants collaboration baked into the inbox.

Skip it if you’re…

a team that needs a heavy traditional ticketing engine or the lowest possible per seat price.

What it costs

Per seat / month, billed annually

Pricing as of June 2026 · check the vendor for current pricing. Figures are per seat per month billed annually after Front simplified to three tiers in 2026; monthly billing costs more. Copilot and Smart QA add about twenty dollars a seat each, and the Autopilot AI agent bills roughly eighty nine cents per resolved case on top of seats.

Starter
$25
A shared inbox for small, single channel teams.
+Shared inbox and tickets
+One channel type
+Up to ten seats
+Basic automation
★ Our pick
Professional
$65
Omnichannel and automation for growing teams.
+Everything in Starter
+Several channels at once
+Advanced automation
+Analytics and up to fifty seats
Enterprise
$105
AI, controls and scale for larger teams.
+Everything in Professional
+Most AI features included
+Advanced permissions
+Enterprise reporting