Excellent customer communication is a core element of any successful business. In fact, customer satisfaction—and hence your sales—depends on responding to customer requests and queries as fast and accurately as possible.
Managing emails and other communication from customers puts a lot of pressure on your customer service team, but there are ways to ease the load and improve teamwork and email productivity—like shared inbox software, for example. ?
Shared inbox tools allow multiple team members to access your group email accounts and deal collaboratively with incoming messages. This centralizes and simplifies email task management so customer emails are dealt with more quickly and effectively.
Below, we’ll review what to look for when you’re considering a collaborative inbox to boost team productivity and enhance customer experience. Then we’ll compare some great shared inbox tools and productivity options, so you can find the best fit for your business.
10 Best Shared Inbox Software in 2024 (Reviews & Pricing)
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Shared Inbox Software?
Many types of features and functionalities help to make email management a breeze. Different shared inbox tools might be able to offer you:
- Inbox management tools that filter and prioritize incoming emails according to criteria like keywords or the name of the sender
- Automations that eliminate repetitive tasks so your customer support team can focus where they’re truly needed—for example, chatbots that offer canned responses to frequently asked questions ?
- Collaboration features that allocate each customer conversation to the specific team member best qualified to deal with it
- Email writing tools like an AI assistant that provides prompts and edits your emails for you ?
- Email project management software that links customer conversations to trackable tasks and simplifies follow-ups
- Integration with other tools, so every part of your tech stack works together
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Shared Inbox Software to Use
With all those possibilities in mind, it’s a good idea to create a shortlist of the ideal shared inbox software functionality you’d like for your business. Then compare that to our list of the best shared inbox tools for 2024.
1. ClickUp
ClickUp is an all-in-one project management and productivity platform that also transforms the way you work with emails. This type of shared inbox software is one of the best traditional email alternatives out there.
The ClickUp Inbox feature centralizes all your communication on one handy platform—which also streamlines your email project management workflow. Send and receive emails from within the ClickUp platform, transform emails into tasks, or attach them to existing task threads.
This free project management software simplifies task management too, allowing you to assign emails to multiple users directly on the platform, and include due dates and any internal comments.
Save even more time by asking the ClickUp AI writing assistant to craft and edit engaging, targeted emails for you. Or create your own email templates that you can reuse repeatedly. Or do both. Then use automations to send emails automatically at exactly the right time. ?
ClickUp best features
- View your email tasks in your choice of formats, including a List, Table, Kanban-like Board, or Calendar
- Stay on track with your most important work with smart, automated reminder notifications that display right next to your work
- Take advantage of a range of communication plan templates to create a comprehensive communication strategy
- Co-ordinate your marketing activities and simplify scheduling with the built-in ClickUp Email Marketing Template
- See all your project metrics in real time on your customizable ClickUp Dashboard
- Integrate with other popular communication platforms like Gmail, Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, and Slack
ClickUp limitations
- ClickUp AI is only available as an add-on on paid plans
- The mobile app doesn’t yet have all the features of the desktop one
ClickUp pricing
pricing-table
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,200+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (3,900+ reviews)
2. Help Scout
Help Scout’s shared inbox tools keep all your customer interactions—and your client, partner, and vendor conversations too—on one central platform. Designed with customer service teams in mind, users have individual email addresses, and they can also access emails that come to shared team inbox addresses like help@ or info@.
Help Scout offers a live chat messaging tool too and can get you started with a social media support strategy. Guides, courses, and other resources get your team up and running quickly.
Help Scout best features
- Enhance team collaboration and improve response time with a shared email inbox
- Avoid duplicated (or conflicting) communication with the Collision Detection feature, which pauses email responses so you can view updates a team member is making ?
- Reduce email volume by creating your own self-service knowledge base—no code required
- Save time with more than 75 keyboard shortcuts
Help Scout limitations
- There isn’t a huge variety of templates available
- The features of the mobile app are fairly basic
Help Scout pricing
- Standard: $25/month per user
- Plus: $50/month per user
- Pro: Contact for pricing
Help Scout ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (200+ reviews)
3. Missive
This shared inbox solution offers team email and live chat functionality and can also deal with social media messages.
Missive allows you to assign conversations from the email inbox to teams or specific team members and apply labels to make filtering easy. It also reduces messaging overload by merging related conversations into a single email thread. Your team can communicate in real time using internal team chat rooms and can collaborate on shared email responses. ?♀️
Missive best features
- Send canned responses to common questions so your team can spend time dealing with more complex queries
- Make sure everyone’s up to speed with internal notes attached to emails
- Get regular status updates so you know what’s happening with all email assignments
- Create customized workflows to save time and enhance team performance
Missive limitations
- This shared inbox software doesn’t offer an option to build a self-service platform
- You’ll need a paid plan to automate workflows and get API access
Missive pricing
- Free
- Starter: $14/month per user
- Productive: $18/month per user
- Business: $26/month per user
Missive ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.9/5 (50+ reviews)
4. Gmelius
Gmelius is a Gmail add-on that allows you to share a Google collaborative inbox, a Google Group, or an email address like help@. You can tag and classify emails according to their content and set expectations by sending an auto-response to let clients know their mail has been received.
Jumpstart emails within this shared inbox tool using a Gmail template or email snippet. Then create a library of categorized email responses and use that to quickly email clients without starting from scratch every time, making it easy to meet any service level agreements (SLAs). ✅
Gmelius best features
- Automatically allocate incoming emails according to rules—for example, by Round Robin or the Load Balancer
- Collaborate on responses and communicate internally using private notes
- Set up smart sequences to structure and automate email outreach and drip campaigns
- Integrate within Google Workspace or with other tools like Slack and Trello
Gmelius limitations
- There’s a learning curve, and some users feel that more training material would be helpful
- The Growth plan only offers a three-month reporting window, making it difficult to see long-term trends
Gmelius pricing
- Growth: $29/month per user
- Pro: $45/month per user
Gmelius ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (760+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (40+ reviews)
5. Groove
Groove lets you send your Gmail or other forwarded mail to one central, shared mailbox. Then you can add tags, assign conversations to team members, and have private internal chats about specific emails.
Save time by using Rules to automate your workflows or setting up Instant Replies to common questions. Then track team performance against your KPIs on the central dashboard. ?
Groove best features
- Avoid crossed lines and double replies with built-in collision detection
- Create custom folders for specific types of conversations
- Bring team members into the loop quickly with @ mentions
- Integrate the shared inbox software with tools like Shopify and Stripe
Groove limitations
- The Standard package only gives you six months of search history
- Some users would like to see more integration with their CRM systems
Groove pricing
- Standard: $15/month per user
- Premium: $25/month per user
- Advanced: $45/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Groove ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (170+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (60+ reviews)
6. Front
Aimed at helping businesses scale, Front offers shared inbox tools as part of their email management toolbox. Conversations are linked to customer history, making it easy to tailor all communication. ?
Automated workflows handle message assignments, replies, and—where necessary—escalations. Team members can share drafts of emails, leave comments, and send messages to teammates within the platform.
Front best features
- Manage a range of communication types, from emails or live chats to voice notes
- Categorize messages with tags so you can find them and report on them
- Assign messages based on content or criteria you set
- Integrate with other tools like WhatsApp, Facebook, and X
Front limitations
- There are many features, so new users may experience a steep learning curve
- Sometimes Front mistakenly merges unrelated conversations
Front pricing
- Starter: $19/month per user
- Growth: $59/month per user
- Scale: $99/month per user
- Premier: $229/month per user
Front ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (1,900+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (250+ reviews)
7. HubSpot
While HubSpot is best known for its sales and marketing solutions, it also offers a Service Hub for customer support teams. ?
The Service Hub includes basic shared inbox software and live chat for all sizes of businesses—from individuals and small teams to enterprises. This is especially convenient if you already use HubSpot.
HubSpot best features
- Centralize all customer conversations across your sales, marketing, and service teams
- Get access to customer data through the integration with HubSpot’s free CRM
- Use templates to set up canned responses to common questions
- Take advantage of the mobile inbox while you’re on the move
HubSpot limitations
- You’ll need a paid plan to remove the HubSpot branding on the live chat feature
- Smaller businesses may find the pricing a bit steep for them
HubSpot pricing
- Free
- Starter: From $30/month for two users
- Professional: From $500/month for five users
- Enterprise: From $1,200/month for 10 users
HubSpot ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (2,100+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (150+ reviews)
8. Helpwise
Helpwise is a centralized customer service platform that offers support across multiple channels, including shared email tools, SMS, social media, and live chat. Reduce the load on your help desk even further with a self-service center, canned responses, and chatbots that answer common questions.
Helpwise best features
- Quickly and easily get your team started on using the app
- Collaborate with team members on customer conversations to resolve issues quickly
- Integrate with task management, CRM, and calendar apps ?️
- Use the Android or iOS app to access Helpwise when you’re out and about
Helpwise limitations
- While it’s available for web browsers and mobile devices, there isn’t yet a desktop app
- The search functionality could use some improvement
Helpwise pricing
- Standard: $15/month per user
- Premium: $29/month per user
- Advanced: $49/month per user
Helpwise ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (160+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (20+ reviews)
9. Drag
Drag manages shared email addresses like help@ or support@ via a central inbox in Gmail. The visual shared inbox software allows you to collaborate across domains with contractors or customers. You can choose which Trello-like Drag boards each user can access and what they can do with those boards.
Drag best features
- Connect Google Groups or email accounts to Drag boards to share them with your team ?
- View tasks associated with emails as a customizable list or as boards
- Create to-do lists, write notes, or attach files, all on the Drag platform
- Take advantage of Drag’s award-winning support to ask any questions you have about the system
Drag limitations
- Gmail loads a little slower when you’re using Drag
- Reporting features are only available on the paid plans
Drag pricing
- Free
- Starter: $8/month per user
- Plus: $12/month per user
- Pro: $16/month per user
Drag ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (240+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (120+ reviews)
10. Hiver
Hiver allows you to run a multi-channel help desk—including emails, voice communication, and live chat—using shared inbox tools in Gmail, Outlook, and other email service providers. You can also set up a knowledge base to offer self-service support to your customers.
Hiver best features
- Get going quickly with the intuitive and familiar interface
- See query statuses and team workloads in real time
- Write a note to a colleague using @ mentions and link it to an email thread
- Use the ticketing system for routing technical queries to your IT department
Hiver limitations
- Emails can only be assigned to one person
- The pricing may be a bit high for smaller companies
Hiver pricing
- Lite: $19/month per user
- Pro: $49/month per user
- Elite: $69/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Hiver ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (900+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (100+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseTake Customer Service to the Next Level With Shared Inbox Software
Managing emails and other incoming messages takes up a lot of time, but there are tools available to help. Shared inbox tools and other alternatives to traditional email systems improve team collaboration and cut response times, resulting in more satisfied customers. ?
For even better results, choose a tool that includes project management features too—a tool like ClickUp, for example. You’ll streamline all your workflows, save time, enhance collaboration, and—very importantly—be able to provide next-level customer service.
Sign up for free with ClickUp today, and get rewarded with more satisfied customers, a happier team, and an improved bottom line for your business. ?
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