Drift no longer exists as a standalone product. Salesloft acquired Drift in February 2024 and has been absorbing it into their sales engagement platform ever since. The Drift brand is fading, the standalone roadmap is gone, and new customers now buy Salesloft packages rather than Drift directly. If you are a current Drift user or were considering it, now is the time to look at alternatives.
Even before the acquisition, Drift priced out most SMBs at $2,500/month with mandatory annual contracts. Post-acquisition, the product has moved even further upmarket. This guide covers 10 alternatives from free to $14/month with AI. Each tool was evaluated on pricing, AI features, channel support, and setup speed.
| Software | Starting Price | AI Chatbot | Channels | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boei | $14/mo (with AI) | Included | Included | 50+ | Best overall value |
| Intercom | $74/seat | $0.99/res | Higher plans | 6 | Enterprise support |
| Tidio | Free/$29/mo | $0.50/conv | $59/mo extra | ~10 | E-commerce |
| Crisp | Free/$25/mo | $95/mo plan | $95/mo plan | ~6 | EU teams |
| LiveChat | $20/agent | $52/mo extra | Via integration | 5 | Agent teams |
| tawk.to | Free | $29/mo add-on | No | 1 | Zero budget |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Free/$45/mo | Included | Higher plans | 8+ | HubSpot users |
| Freshchat | $15/agent | Add-on | Add-on | 8+ | Freshworks users |
| Qualified | $3,500/mo | Included | No | 3 | Enterprise ABM alternative |
| Chatbase | $40/mo | Included | Yes (via integration) | 1 | AI chatbot only |
Best overall: Boei is the most complete Drift replacement at a fraction of the cost. AI chatbot, live chat, WhatsApp, and 50+ channels starting at $8/month. Add AI for just $6/month more. That is $14/month with AI versus Drift's $2,500/month. 178 times cheaper.
Best free: tawk.to for teams with zero budget who only need basic human chat. Genuinely free forever with unlimited agents. It lacks AI and multi-channel support though.
Best if you need ABM: Qualified is the closest enterprise alternative to Drift. It has Salesforce-native ABM and account targeting. But at $3,500/month, it is built for the same enterprise budget as Drift itself.
Best for enterprise support: Intercom offers the most mature platform for large support teams. It has product tours, in-app messaging, and Fin AI. Expect $74/seat plus $0.99 per AI resolution.
Drift built an excellent product for enterprise B2B sales. But five specific issues push most businesses toward alternatives.
1. $2,500/month minimum pricing. Drift's cheapest plan starts at $2,500/month. For a 5-person team doing $500K in annual revenue, that is 6% of total revenue going to one chat tool. Even at $2M in revenue, it is still 1.5%. Boei delivers core conversational marketing features starting at $8/month, or $14/month with AI. That is 178 times cheaper. Over one year, switching saves roughly $29,832.
2. Annual contracts required. You cannot pay month-to-month with Drift. Every plan requires a 12-month commitment. That means a minimum $30,000 upfront obligation. For many small businesses, that is an entire marketing budget locked into one vendor. If the product does not fit, you are still on the hook. Most SMBs need flexibility to scale up or down. Alternatives like Boei, Tidio, and Crisp all offer monthly billing with no lock-in.
3. No self-serve signup. You cannot try Drift without talking to a sales rep. There is no free trial, no sandbox, no way to test the product on your own. The sales process typically takes 2-4 weeks. Every alternative on this list offers a free plan or self-serve trial. Boei takes 5 minutes to set up. You can have a working AI chatbot before a Drift rep even returns your call.
4. Narrow focus on sales only. Drift was designed for B2B sales qualification and meeting booking. If you need customer support, WhatsApp, or general website engagement, Drift is the wrong tool. Most SMBs need one tool for both sales and support. A visitor who asks about a product today may need order help tomorrow. Separate tools create a broken experience. Boei, Intercom, and Freshchat handle the full lifecycle in one place.
5. Drift is no longer an independent product. Salesloft acquired Drift in February 2024 and has been folding it into their sales engagement platform. The Drift brand is being phased out. The standalone product roadmap is gone. New customers can no longer buy Drift directly — they buy Salesloft packages that include Drift features. Former Drift customers report slower support, fewer updates, and uncertainty about feature continuity. For businesses picking long-term tools, betting on a product being absorbed into another platform is a real risk.
What it does: Drift starts at $2,500/month and requires a sales team to operate. Boei puts the same core capabilities — AI chat, live chat, and lead capture — in the hands of any business for $14/month. No enterprise sales call, no onboarding team, no minimum contract. The AI learns from your website automatically and answers visitor questions within minutes. You also get WhatsApp, forms, phone callbacks, and 50+ other channels that Drift never offered.
The workflow is simple. A visitor lands on your website, sees the Boei widget, and chooses how they want to communicate. They might ask the AI a product question, start a live chat, send a WhatsApp message, or fill out a contact form. Your team manages every conversation from one shared inbox. Leads are captured automatically and can be forwarded to your CRM via webhooks, direct integrations (HubSpot, Mailchimp), or email.
Key Strengths:
178x cheaper than Drift with comparable core features - The widget starts at $8/month per domain. Add AI for $6/month more. That is $14/month with AI versus Drift's $2,500/month. You get AI chatbot, live chat, lead capture, and conversation routing. You lose Drift's ABM and enterprise Salesforce workflows. But you gain 50+ channels, WhatsApp, and a shared inbox that Drift never offered
Self-serve setup in 5 minutes - No sales calls, no consultants, no weeks of onboarding. Sign up, enter your website URL, customize the widget, and paste one code snippet. The AI chatbot starts working right away by crawling your site content. WordPress and Shopify users can install via plugin in under 2 minutes. Drift takes 4-8 weeks to implement
50+ communication channels in one widget - WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, Telegram, Signal, email, phone, SMS, contact forms, FAQ, and dozens more. Drift only supports web chat and limited integrations. Boei lets visitors reach you on the channel they already use. This matters because WhatsApp has 2 billion active users globally
Key Weaknesses:
No ABM or account-based targeting - Drift excels at identifying target accounts and enriching visitor data with company data. It routes enterprise prospects to specific sales reps. Boei does not offer account-based marketing features. If ABM is your primary use case, Qualified ($3,500/month) is a better fit
No native Salesforce integration - Drift's deep, two-way Salesforce integration is a real strength for enterprise sales teams. Boei connects to Salesforce via webhooks. It lacks the native pipeline sync and opportunity tracking that Drift provides
Less suited for complex enterprise sales workflows - Drift supports multi-step playbooks with branching logic tied to CRM data. For example, it shows different chat experiences based on deal stage. Boei's automation is simpler. It is better suited to straightforward lead capture and support routing
Switching from Drift: The transition is simple. Boei does not require a complex migration. Remove the Drift script from your site, add the Boei snippet, and you are live within minutes. No data migration needed. Set up webhook connections to replicate any CRM workflows you had with Drift.
Best for: SMBs wanting conversational marketing and support without enterprise pricing. Great for businesses that serve customers across multiple messaging platforms.
Pricing: The widget costs $8/month per domain. That includes live chat, contacts, analytics, and 50+ channels. AI chatbot is $6/month for 2,000 AI replies. Live chat agents cost $6/month each. 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Rated 4.7 on G2, 5 on Capterra, and 4.7 on Trustpilot. Used by 10,000+ businesses.
Compare Boei vs Drift in detail ->
What it does: Intercom is the most feature-rich customer communication platform available. It offers live chat, Fin AI chatbot, product tours, in-app messaging, help center, and advanced automation workflows. Used by Atlassian, Amazon, and Microsoft. It is the closest enterprise-grade alternative to Drift for companies that need premium features and can afford premium pricing.
Intercom's workflow centers around its Messenger and Inbox. Visitors interact through a polished chat widget. It supports rich media, carousels, and interactive elements. Conversations go to agents based on topic, language, priority, or custom rules. Fin AI handles frontline inquiries using your help center content. The platform also supports proactive outbound messaging. This includes targeted in-app banners, email campaigns, and push notifications.
Key Strengths:
Most mature platform with 12+ years of development - Intercom's feature depth is unmatched among Drift alternatives. It has routing rules, customizable bots, detailed user profiles, event tracking, and a strong API. Enterprise teams get the flexibility to build complex workflows
Fin AI is genuinely impressive - Intercom's AI chatbot resolves conversations with high accuracy. It pulls from your help center, previous conversations, and custom training data. It handles nuanced questions better than most competitors. It knows when to hand off to a human agent. Fin can also summarize long threads for agents and suggest replies
Enterprise-grade workflows and integrations - Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Jira, and 300+ other integrations work natively. Custom objects, reporting, and dedicated customer success managers on Enterprise plans make Intercom a real platform
Key Weaknesses:
$74/seat plus $0.99 per AI resolution adds up fast - A team of 5 handling 1,000 AI conversations pays $370 in seat fees plus $990 in AI costs. That is $1,360/month. A team of 3 handling 2,000 AI conversations pays $222 plus $1,980. That is over $2,200/month, close to Drift pricing
Still expensive and complex for SMBs - Setup takes days, not minutes. You need to understand workflows, custom attributes, and routing logic. Annual contracts are common on higher plans. For a 5-person company, Intercom is overkill in both complexity and cost
Per-resolution AI pricing creates unpredictable bills - Boei includes 2,000 AI messages for $6/month. Intercom's per-resolution model means your AI costs change with traffic. A seasonal spike can double your Fin bill without warning. Budgeting gets hard when your biggest cost line varies monthly
Switching from Drift: Intercom offers migration help for enterprise customers. This includes help center content import and conversation history migration. Expect 2-4 weeks for full setup. Workflow rebuilding takes the most time. Drift's playbooks need to be recreated as Intercom Series or custom bots.
Best for: Enterprise teams ($5M+ revenue) needing advanced customer communication with budget to match. Strong for SaaS companies that need in-app messaging alongside website chat.
Pricing: Essential $74/seat/month. Fin AI $0.99/resolution. Annual contracts on higher plans. 14-day free trial.
What it does: Tidio specializes in live chat and AI chatbot for online stores. It has deep integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. E-commerce automations include cart abandonment triggers, product recommendation bots, and order status lookups. The Lyro AI chatbot handles common product questions.
The e-commerce workflow is where Tidio shines. When a visitor browses your store, Tidio can trigger messages based on behavior. For example, it offers a discount code when someone has items in their cart but has not checked out after 60 seconds. The chatbot pulls real-time product info and shows image carousels. It handles "Where is my order?" questions by looking up tracking data. This shopping-specific automation goes beyond general-purpose tools.
Key Strengths:
Excellent Shopify and WooCommerce integration - Tidio connects directly to your product catalog, order system, and customer database. Chatbots show product cards, check order status, and recommend items. This e-commerce-specific functionality goes deeper than general tools like Drift or Boei
Generous free plan for testing - The free tier includes 50 live chat conversations per month, a basic chatbot, and email integration. Enough to test whether live chat works for your store before paying. Most competitors limit free plans more
Visual chatbot builder is intuitive - The drag-and-drop builder lets non-technical users create conversation flows and lead qualification sequences. Pre-built templates cover e-commerce scenarios like abandoned cart, shipping, and returns. You can have a working cart abandonment bot within 30 minutes
Key Weaknesses:
AI costs escalate quickly at $0.50 per conversation - Lyro AI charges per conversation, not per month. At 1,000 AI conversations, that is $500/month on top of the base price. At 3,000, it is $1,500/month. What starts affordable becomes expensive at scale
WhatsApp and advanced channels cost extra - WhatsApp needs a $59/month add-on. Instagram, Messenger, and other channels are limited on lower plans. The real monthly cost with Tidio is often $150-300 for true omnichannel. Boei starts at $8/month with all channels included
Free plan is limited to 50 conversations - While the free tier is useful for testing, 50 conversations per month is not enough for any active store. Most stores hit this limit in the first week. The free plan is a taste, not a real solution
Switching from Drift: Tidio focuses on e-commerce, so the switch works best for online stores. There is no direct migration from Drift. You set up Tidio and connect it to your store platform. If you used Drift for B2B sales, Tidio's strengths are elsewhere.
Best for: E-commerce stores on Shopify or WooCommerce willing to pay for specialized automations. Great for stores with high support volume around orders and product questions.
Pricing: Free plan available. Starter $29/month. Lyro AI $0.50/conversation. WhatsApp $59/month extra. 7-day free trial.
What it does: Crisp is a European customer messaging platform. It offers live chat, shared inbox, knowledge base, and basic chatbot. Headquartered in France with EU servers, it is popular with European businesses that prioritize GDPR compliance. The interface is clean and modern. The team focuses on privacy-first messaging.
Crisp takes a shared inbox approach. All conversations land in one team inbox, whether from live chat, email, Messenger, or other channels. Agents can respond, assign, tag, and track conversations. The platform also includes a CRM with contact profiles. It has a status page for service monitoring. On paid plans, co-browsing lets agents see and interact with a visitor's screen in real time.
Key Strengths:
EU servers and strong GDPR compliance - Data stays in Europe. Crisp takes privacy seriously with clear data processing, easy GDPR export/deletion tools, and good documentation. For European businesses with strict data rules, this matters more than features. Crisp also offers a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) out of the box
Built-in knowledge base and help center - Unlike most chat tools that only handle real-time messaging, Crisp includes a full knowledge base. The chatbot references these articles when answering questions. This self-serve approach deflects common questions before they reach your team
Decent free plan for small teams - The free tier includes 2 seats, basic live chat, and a mobile app. Good enough for micro-businesses or freelancers who need basic customer chat. The free plan also includes chat customization and a contact form
Key Weaknesses:
AI features require the $95/month plan - Crisp's AI chatbot, MagicReply, is only on the Unlimited plan at $95/month. The Basic (free) and Pro ($25/month) plans have no AI. That makes the entry point for AI support 7x more than Boei's $6/month AI add-on
Limited channel support compared to alternatives - Crisp supports live chat, email, Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram. No WhatsApp below $95/month. No Signal, Viber, WeChat, or the 40+ other channels Boei offers. The selection is narrow for businesses wanting true omnichannel
Switching from Drift: Crisp offers a clean break from Drift's complexity. Setup takes about 15 minutes. Crisp's strength is support and messaging, not sales qualification. If you relied on Drift's lead routing and meeting booking, you will need Crisp's bot builder or an external scheduling tool.
Best for: EU-based teams prioritizing data sovereignty and GDPR compliance. Also a good fit for teams that want a knowledge base and live chat in one tool. (Boei also hosts data in the EU on Amsterdam servers and is fully GDPR-compliant, starting at $8/month.)
Pricing: Free (2 seats). Pro $25/month (4 seats). Unlimited $95/month (20 seats, includes AI and WhatsApp). 14-day free trial.
What it does: LiveChat is a dedicated live chat platform focused on the best agent experience. Founded in 2002, it has been refined over 20+ years. Used by 38,000+ businesses including PayPal and Adobe. The agent dashboard is widely considered the best in the industry.
LiveChat's core belief is that human conversations convert better than automated ones. The entire platform is built for agent speed and efficiency. It has keyboard shortcuts for every action, drag-and-drop file sharing, and automatic visitor info panels. Performance metrics help managers coach their teams. For organizations where human agents are the main touchpoint, LiveChat provides the most productive environment.
Key Strengths:
Best-in-class agent interface - The chat console is fast, intuitive, and designed for high-volume teams. Features include sneak peek (see what visitors type before sending), smart routing, canned responses, and internal notes. These make agents measurably more productive. No other tool matches LiveChat's agent experience
200+ integrations with a 20-year track record - LiveChat connects natively with CRMs, help desks, e-commerce platforms, and analytics tools. The API is mature and well-documented. Enterprise buyers trust the stability
Proven reliability at scale - 99.99% uptime SLA on Enterprise plans. Handles spikes in chat volume without slowdowns. The platform also offers detailed reporting on response times, chat duration, and customer satisfaction scores
Key Weaknesses:
AI chatbot is a separate product at $52/month - ChatBot is sold as an independent add-on starting at $52/month. Boei includes AI for $6/month. The total for LiveChat plus AI ranges from $72-189/month for a single agent
Per-agent pricing multiplies costs for growing teams - At $20/agent (Starter) to $59/agent (Business), a team of 5 pays $100-295/month before adding AI or WhatsApp. A team of 5 on Team plan with ChatBot pays $205 + $52 = $257/month. Boei starts at $8/month with AI at $6/month and live chat agents at $6/month each
WhatsApp requires third-party integration - LiveChat has no native WhatsApp integration. You need a third-party tool or marketplace connector. This adds complexity and cost. For businesses where WhatsApp is a primary channel, this is a real gap
Switching from Drift: LiveChat is a solid replacement if you mainly used human chat. The agent experience is arguably better than Drift's. If you relied on Drift's AI and automated playbooks, you need ChatBot separately ($52/month+).
Best for: Support teams of 5+ agents who prioritize the agent experience and need deep integrations. Ideal when most conversations are handled by humans, not AI.
Pricing: Starter $20/agent/month. Team $41/agent. Business $59/agent. ChatBot add-on $52-169/month. 14-day free trial.
What it does: tawk.to is a completely free live chat platform. It supports unlimited agents and unlimited websites. It is the most widely used free chat software. Over 35% of websites with live chat use tawk.to. The business model is unique: the software is free, and tawk.to makes money by offering paid chat agent services at $1/hour.
The platform covers live chat fundamentals well. It has real-time visitor monitoring, a customizable widget, canned responses, file sharing, and chat history. You also get a basic ticketing system and knowledge base. For teams that only need human-to-human chat with zero budget, tawk.to removes the cost barrier entirely.
Key Strengths:
Genuinely free forever with no hidden catches - No credit card required, no feature gates, no expiring trial. Unlimited agents, chat history, and websites. The only paid options are optional: remove branding for $19/month, or hire tawk.to agents at $1/hour
Unlimited agents included - Most free plans cap at 1-2 agents. tawk.to lets your entire team use the platform free. A 10-person team saves $200-740/month compared to per-agent tools like LiveChat or Intercom
Hire human agents at $1/hour - Need 24/7 coverage but cannot afford full-time staff? tawk.to offers trained chat agents who respond on your behalf. This is a unique service among chat providers. Quality varies with complex products though
Key Weaknesses:
No AI chatbot for automated responses - When your team is offline, visitors see a "leave a message" form. There is no AI to handle after-hours questions or qualify leads 24/7. The $29/month AI Assist add-on helps. But at that point, Boei at $14/month with AI gives you more for less
No multi-channel support and dated design - tawk.to only supports website chat. No WhatsApp, no Messenger, no Instagram, no email integration. The widget design has not been updated in years. It looks dated compared to modern alternatives. Customization options are limited
Switching from Drift: The switch is simple technically. Remove Drift's code, add tawk.to's snippet. But you lose almost everything that made Drift useful: AI, automation, lead qualification, meeting booking, and CRM integration. Only switch if you used Drift purely for basic human chat.
Best for: Bootstrapped startups and solo founders testing live chat with zero budget. Also works for businesses that already have phone and email support and want a basic chat option at no cost.
Pricing: Free forever. Optional: remove branding $19/month, hire chat agents $1/hour, AI Assist $29/month.
What it does: HubSpot Service Hub combines live chat, AI chatbot, ticketing, knowledge base, and customer feedback tools. It lives within the HubSpot ecosystem. The free CRM includes basic live chat for startups. For businesses already using HubSpot Marketing or Sales Hub, Service Hub adds customer communication without switching platforms.
HubSpot's key advantage is the unified contact record. When a visitor chats on your website, the conversation links to their contact profile. That profile includes every email they opened, page they visited, and form they filled. This full view gives your team context that standalone chat tools cannot match. The trade-off: you get increasingly tied to the HubSpot ecosystem, and costs grow as your needs do.
Key Strengths:
Seamless HubSpot ecosystem integration - If you already use HubSpot CRM, Marketing Hub, or Sales Hub, adding Service Hub creates a unified customer view. Every chat, ticket, and interaction feeds into the same contact record. No data silos. Your sales team sees support conversations and vice versa
AI chatbot included on paid plans - HubSpot's AI chatbot (Breeze) handles common questions, qualifies leads, and books meetings. No per-conversation fees. Unlike Intercom ($0.99/resolution) or Tidio ($0.50/conversation), the AI cost is bundled in. This makes costs more predictable
Generous free CRM with basic chat - The free HubSpot CRM includes a basic live chat widget, chatbot builder, and shared inbox. For teams testing CRM and chat together, this removes the need for two separate tools
Key Weaknesses:
Expensive beyond the free tier - The Starter plan ($45/month) is reasonable. But most serious features need Professional ($450/month) or Enterprise ($1,200/month). The jump from $45 to $450 is steep. WhatsApp only appears on Professional and above
Platform lock-in becomes real - Once your contacts, workflows, and automations live in HubSpot, switching is painful. The free CRM is a funnel into paid plans. If you outgrow Starter, you face a $450/month upgrade or a hard migration. Boei at $8/month connects to any CRM via webhooks and direct integrations without lock-in
Chat features feel secondary to the CRM - HubSpot's live chat and chatbot are good, not best-in-class. The widget has fewer options than Boei or Intercom. The chatbot builder is less flexible than Tidio's. The agent interface lacks LiveChat's polish. You choose HubSpot for the ecosystem, not the chat alone
Switching from Drift: If you already use HubSpot, the switch is natural. You replace an external tool with a native one. HubSpot's chatbot can replicate basic Drift playbooks. If you are not in HubSpot yet, switching means adopting an entire platform, not just replacing a chat widget.
Best for: Businesses already committed to the HubSpot ecosystem. Chat features are a strong bonus for existing users, but not enough on their own to switch to HubSpot from scratch.
Pricing: Free CRM with basic chat. Starter $45/month. Professional $450/month. Enterprise $1,200/month. No free trial on paid plans (free CRM serves as trial).
What it does: Freshchat is Freshworks' messaging and live chat product. It works alongside Freshdesk (help desk), Freshsales (CRM), and other Freshworks products. It offers live chat, chatbot, and multi-channel messaging for support teams. Pricing is competitive at $15/agent.
Freshchat follows similar logic to HubSpot: it is strongest alongside other Freshworks tools. Conversations can escalate to Freshdesk tickets. Contacts sync to Freshsales automatically. Freshcaller adds phone support. The chatbot builder (Freddy AI) offers automated responses. The best AI features need higher-tier plans. The platform supports web chat, email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Apple Business Chat, LINE, and Google Business Messages.
Key Strengths:
Deep Freshworks ecosystem integration - If your team uses Freshdesk for ticketing and Freshsales for CRM, Freshchat connects seamlessly. Conversations become tickets. Contacts sync automatically. Reporting spans the entire suite. For teams already in Freshworks, adding Freshchat is the easiest path
Reasonable per-agent pricing - At $15/agent/month (Growth plan), Freshchat is cheaper than LiveChat ($20/agent) and Intercom ($74/seat). For a team of 5, that is $75/month. Still more than Boei's $8/month base, but competitive in the per-agent category
Multi-channel support out of the box - Unlike tawk.to (web chat only) or Chatbase (AI only), Freshchat supports 8+ channels. WhatsApp, Messenger, and email work on paid plans. Broader reach than several competitors, though far fewer channels than Boei's 50+
Key Weaknesses:
Per-agent pricing still adds up for growing teams - $15/agent is fine for 3 agents ($45/month). It becomes $150/month for 10 agents. Enterprise at $79/agent makes a team of 5 cost $395/month. Boei starts at $8/month. AI features (Freddy) need higher plans, adding more cost
Less competitive as a standalone product - Freshchat's biggest advantage is Freshworks integration. On its own, it lacks Boei's channel breadth (50+ vs 8), LiveChat's agent polish, and Intercom's AI depth. It works best as part of the Freshworks suite
Switching from Drift: Freshchat is a good switch for Freshworks users. The chatbot handles basic lead qualification. Multi-channel support covers more ground than Drift. But Freshchat has no ABM features. If account-based targeting was your main Drift use case, look elsewhere.
Best for: Teams already using Freshdesk, Freshsales, or other Freshworks products. A natural fit for support teams wanting live chat with their existing help desk.
Pricing: Growth $15/agent/month. Pro $39/agent. Enterprise $79/agent. 21-day free trial.
What it does: Qualified is the enterprise alternative for Drift's account-based marketing (ABM) features. Built natively on Salesforce, it identifies target accounts on your website. It enriches visitor data with company data and intent signals. It routes VIP prospects to the right sales rep in real time. It is the closest functional replacement for Drift's core ABM features.
Here is how Qualified's pipeline generation works. Someone from a target account visits your website. The platform identifies them using IP intelligence and intent data. It matches them to a Salesforce account record and alerts the assigned rep instantly. The rep can start a live conversation with full context: account tier, deal stage, previous interactions, and buying signals. For enterprise B2B companies running structured ABM programs, this is the highest-converting use case for conversational marketing.
Key Strengths:
Salesforce-native architecture - While Drift integrates with Salesforce, Qualified is built on it. You get real-time pipeline visibility, two-way data sync, and conversations triggered by Salesforce data. For Salesforce-heavy sales teams, this is a real advantage. Changes sync instantly both ways
ABM closest to Drift - Account identification, buyer intent signals, VIP routing, pipeline analytics, and personalized website experiences based on visitor company data. If these features drove your interest in Drift, Qualified is the only alternative that matches them
Purpose-built for enterprise sales - Qualified focuses on one thing: turning website traffic from target accounts into pipeline. Reporting ties directly to revenue influenced by chat. This makes ROI easy to prove to leadership
Key Weaknesses:
$3,500/month starting price - Qualified costs more than Drift. This is an enterprise tool for companies with large sales teams and marketing budgets over $100,000/year. That is 250x the cost of Boei. SMBs should look elsewhere
Enterprise-only with limited channel support - Only web chat and limited channels. No WhatsApp, no multi-channel, no support features. Qualified solves one problem (enterprise ABM) very well but does nothing else. For most businesses, this narrow focus does not justify the cost
Switching from Drift: Qualified is the most natural switch for enterprise Drift customers who rely on ABM and Salesforce. The migration means rebuilding playbooks, but the concepts map closely. Qualified's Salesforce-native approach may improve on Drift's integration. Expect 4-6 weeks for setup.
Best for: Enterprise B2B companies ($20M+ revenue) running Salesforce-centric ABM programs. Only consider Qualified if ABM is a core revenue strategy and budget allows it.
Pricing: Starting at $3,500/month. Annual contracts required. Custom demo needed.
What it does: Chatbase is a focused AI chatbot builder. You create GPT-powered chatbots trained on your own content. Upload documents, paste URLs, or connect knowledge bases. Chatbase generates a chatbot that answers questions about your business. It is not a full platform like Drift or Boei. It handles AI chat only, with no live agent features and no multi-channel support.
Setup is simple. Provide your data sources: website URLs, PDF documents, text files, or a Notion workspace. Chatbase trains a custom GPT model on your content. The chatbot embeds on your website as a widget or works via API. You control the personality, response length, and topic boundaries. For businesses that just want automated FAQ answers, Chatbase is the most focused tool.
Key Strengths:
Focused AI chatbot with excellent training interface - Chatbase does one thing well. The training UI makes it easy to upload PDFs, crawl websites, and fine-tune responses. The GPT-powered AI handles complex questions with good accuracy. You can review conversation logs and retrain on questions it missed
Affordable entry point for AI-only needs - At $40/month for the standard plan with 1,500 credits, Chatbase is cheaper than adding AI to most live chat platforms. If you only need an automated FAQ bot, it is cost-effective. Pricing is based on chatbot usage, not seats
API access for custom implementations - Chatbase offers API access on paid plans. Developers can embed the AI chatbot in mobile apps, internal tools, or custom interfaces. This flexibility appeals to technical teams
Key Weaknesses:
Chat widget only, no live agent support - No Messenger, no email, no phone. WhatsApp is available via third-party integration but not built in. No human fallback when the AI cannot help. No shared inbox, no team features. When the bot cannot answer a question, the visitor hits a dead end
No conversational marketing features - No lead routing, no meeting booking, no sales qualification. Chatbase answers questions but does not engage visitors or drive conversions. It is a passive FAQ tool, not an active sales platform
Limited analytics and reporting - Chatbase provides basic conversation logs and usage metrics. It lacks the detailed analytics that Drift, Intercom, or Boei offer. You cannot track conversion rates or attribute revenue to chat. For teams that need to prove ROI, this is a gap
Switching from Drift: Chatbase only replaces Drift's AI chatbot, and only partially. You lose live chat, lead routing, meeting booking, and CRM integration. Chatbase is not a Drift replacement. Only switch if an AI FAQ bot is all you need.
Best for: Businesses that only need an AI-powered FAQ chatbot on their website. No live chat or multi-channel needed. Also useful as a supplement to a chat tool that lacks AI.
Pricing: Free plan (limited). Standard $40/month (1,500 credits). Pro $99/month. Unlimited $399/month.
What does each tool actually cost for a team of 5 handling 1,000 conversations per month, with AI? This table shows the realistic monthly spend.
| Tool | Base Cost (5 users) | AI Cost (1,000 conversations) | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drift | $2,500/mo minimum | Included | $2,500/mo |
| Boei | $8/mo + 5 agents x $6 = $38/mo | $6/mo (2,000 AI replies) | $44/mo |
| Intercom | $74 x 5 = $370/mo | $0.99 x 1,000 = $990/mo | $1,360/mo |
| Tidio | $29/mo (Starter) | $0.50 x 1,000 = $500/mo | ~$529/mo |
| Crisp | $95/mo (Unlimited, up to 20 seats) | Included | $95/mo |
| LiveChat | $41 x 5 = $205/mo (Team plan) | $52/mo (ChatBot Starter) | $257/mo |
| tawk.to | Free | $29/mo (AI Assist add-on) | $29/mo |
| HubSpot | $45/mo (Starter) | Included (Breeze AI) | $45/mo |
| Freshchat | $15 x 5 = $75/mo (Growth) | Higher-tier plan required | $75-395/mo |
| Qualified | $3,500/mo minimum | Included | $3,500/mo |
| Chatbase | $40/mo (Standard) | Included | $40/mo |
A few things stand out. Tools with per-conversation AI pricing (Intercom and Tidio) get much more expensive as volume grows. At 3,000 conversations, Intercom jumps to $3,340/month. Tidio hits $1,529/month. Boei at $44/month for 5 agents with AI is still 57x cheaper than Drift. Even without live chat agents, Boei costs just $14/month with AI. That is enough for most SMBs. tawk.to and HubSpot Starter are genuinely affordable, but with real trade-offs in channels and features.
The enterprise tools (Drift and Qualified) cost 57-250x more than the affordable alternatives. For most SMBs, $2,500+/month does not generate enough extra revenue over a $14-95/month tool to justify the difference.
Yes. tawk.to offers genuinely free live chat with unlimited agents and websites. No feature gates or time limits. But tawk.to lacks AI and multi-channel support. HubSpot's free CRM also includes basic live chat and a simple chatbot builder. Paid plans start at $45/month for more features. Tidio and Crisp both offer free tiers with limited conversations. If you need AI chatbot and WhatsApp, Boei starting at $8/month is the most affordable paid option. Add AI for $6/month more.
Salesloft acquired Drift in February 2024. Since then, Drift has been absorbed into Salesloft's sales engagement platform. Drift no longer operates as an independent product. The standalone brand is being phased out, and new customers buy Salesloft packages that include Drift features rather than purchasing Drift directly. The product roadmap is now controlled by Salesloft and focused on enterprise sales workflows. For SMBs, the acquisition made Drift even less accessible than it already was.
Yes. Drift made conversational marketing popular. But the core concept is available from many tools at a fraction of the cost. Boei offers AI chatbot, live chat, WhatsApp, and 50+ channels starting at $8/month. Tidio provides e-commerce tools starting free. These tools deliver the same visitor engagement at 1/57th to 1/178th of Drift's price. The features SMBs lose are ABM, enterprise Salesforce workflows, and dedicated implementation teams. Most small businesses do not need those.
Drift's real strengths are enterprise ABM and deep Salesforce integration. It identifies anonymous visitors by company using IP intelligence. It routes visitors from target accounts to specific reps in real time. It triggers personalized experiences based on company data like size, industry, and revenue. It syncs two ways with Salesforce custom objects. It provides multi-touch attribution reporting. Qualified ($3,500/month) is the only alternative matching these ABM features. For everything else, alternatives like Boei, Intercom, and Tidio deliver comparable results at much lower prices.
No. As of early 2026, Drift has been absorbed into Salesloft's platform. It no longer operates independently. The Drift brand is being phased out, and Salesloft controls the product roadmap. New customers cannot purchase Drift as a standalone product — they buy Salesloft packages. You are buying into the Salesloft ecosystem, not a standalone chat tool. If you only need chat and AI, you would be paying for a broader sales platform you do not need.
For lead generation, HubSpot's free CRM is the best no-cost option. It includes a chatbot builder that qualifies leads, asks screening questions, and books meetings. This replicates Drift's core lead gen workflow at no cost. The chatbot connects to HubSpot's free CRM. Leads are organized with full context automatically. The catch: HubSpot's free chatbot is basic. No AI, limited logic, and HubSpot branding on the widget. For better lead generation without enterprise pricing, Boei at $14/month with AI offers AI-powered lead qualification and 50+ channels. Tidio's free plan also captures leads but is limited to 50 conversations monthly.
Yes, and most businesses should. "Conversational marketing" was coined by Drift. It means engaging visitors through real-time conversations instead of static forms. But the strategy does not need enterprise software. Any tool that lets you chat with visitors, automate responses with AI, capture leads, and route conversations supports it. Boei does this starting at $8/month. Tidio does it from free. Even basic tawk.to with proactive triggers counts. Enterprise tools add account-based targeting and deep CRM workflows. Those features matter for $50,000+ deals to named accounts. Most businesses do not need them. If your average deal is under $10,000, skip Drift and Qualified.
It would be dishonest to say Drift and Qualified have no place. For a specific type of business, enterprise ABM tools deliver ROI that cheaper alternatives cannot match.
Consider Drift or Qualified if your company meets all of these criteria. You sell to named enterprise accounts with deals over $50,000. You run a structured ABM program with a target account list in Salesforce. Your marketing budget makes $2,500-3,500/month a reasonable line item. These tools identify VPs from target accounts on your pricing page. They connect the right rep instantly with full Salesforce context. That creates a buying experience generic tools cannot match. When one deal brings $100,000+ in annual revenue, the ROI math works.
But this describes a narrow segment. If your average deal is under $10,000 or you sell to a broad market, skip enterprise ABM. The same applies if your marketing budget is under $100,000/year. The alternatives on this list deliver 90% of the conversational marketing value at 1-5% of the cost. The remaining 10% (enterprise ABM) only matters if your sales motion depends on account-based targeting.
Drift built a category-defining product. But it no longer exists as a standalone tool. The 2024 Salesloft acquisition ended Drift as an independent product, and the brand is being phased out. Combined with the $2,500/month price tag, annual contracts, and enterprise-only focus, Drift is no longer a realistic option for most businesses. The good news: conversational marketing tools have matured. SMBs now have excellent options at every budget level.
For most small and mid-size businesses, Boei offers the best mix of features and value. AI chatbot, live chat, WhatsApp, and 50+ channels starting at $8/month per domain. Add AI for $6/month. Live chat agents are $6/month each. Setup takes 5 minutes instead of 5 weeks. With 5 agents and AI, you pay $44/month. That is 57x cheaper than Drift.
If you need enterprise ABM with Salesforce, Qualified or Intercom are your best bets. Expect enterprise prices. For everyone else, the alternatives on this list deliver what Drift promised at prices that make sense.
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Article by
Ruben is the founder of Boei, with 12+ years of experience in conversion optimization. Former IT consultant at Ernst & Young and Accenture, where he helped product teams at Shell, ING, Rabobank, Aegon, NN, and AirFrance/KLM optimize their digital experiences. Now building tools to help businesses convert more website visitors into customers.
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