Best Customer Messaging Platforms Shortlist
Here’s the shortlist of the best customer messaging platforms that I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:
Customer messaging platforms help businesses communicate with prospects and customers through multiple messaging channels, such as live chat widgets, emails, or social media platforms. In today’s business environment, these platforms are essential to companies who want to deliver exceptional customer experiences as they help support and customer success teams solve tickets in a timely manner.
Read my review to discover the best customer messaging platforms you can use today. My review includes descriptions of the top-rated solutions currently available, as well as screen grabs so you can examine their interface. I’ve also included a comparison chart so you can quickly determine which tool would be the right fit for your company.
How I Selected the Best Customer Messaging Platforms
Perhaps you're wondering how I selected the best customer messaging platforms for this list? To build this top 10 list, I evaluated and compared a wide range of customer messaging platforms with positive user ratings.
After determining my long list of top choices, I further honed my list by using the selection criteria below to see how each platform stacked up against the next one. I also drew on my years of customer experience to pinpoint the features that add a lot of value.
If you have general questions about how customer messaging platforms work, or how to pick the best option for your organization, take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions section below. Or, you can skip directly to my detailed software summaries, if that's what you need the most.
Selection Criteria
Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best customer messaging platforms for this article:
Multi-channel communication
The main advantage of using a customer messaging platform is that it enables you to manage all your incoming messages without having to juggle multiple tools. I selected solutions that enable you to control your communications in a single interface.
Message Prioritization
Having the ability to manage your messages in a single interface is nice, but it’s even better when it’s combined with a prioritization feature so your support agents can quickly solve urgent inquiries. I looked for platforms that allow you to segment your customer conversations based on various criteria.
Automation
Being able to automate repetitive tasks enables your support team to take on more customer inquiries. I chose tools that help your agents speed up their work with automated workflows.
Software integrations
Customer messaging platforms should integrate with most, if not all, your communication tools. I picked solutions that offer native integrations with popular social media platforms, such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram, and email clients such as MailChimp or Klaviyo.
Pricing
There are dozens of customer messaging solutions out there, each with its own pricing structure. I selected tools that offer a wide variety of features so you get a nice return on your investment.
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Overviews of the 10 Best Customer Messaging Platforms
Here’s a brief description of each customer messaging platform that showcases each system’s best use case, noteworthy features, and pros & cons. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a snapshot of their user interface too.
HubSpot
Best customer messaging platform for customer satisfaction assessment
HubSpot is a customer messaging platform that enables companies to assess customer satisfaction with feedback surveys so they can improve their performance.
Why I picked HubSpot: HubSpot helps your support agents connect with prospects and customers via email, live chat, instant messaging tools, and social media platforms. The solution creates a universal inbox for all your teams, so your agents can easily mark conversations and escalate them to other departments.
HubSpot enables you to route or assign conversations to specific teams or individuals. You can also create filters to automatically move specific types of customer inquiries to different departments, so your team can answer all conversations in a timely manner. You can also ask your customers to rate your team’s responses, so you can assess their satisfaction levels.
HubSpot Standout Features and Integrations
Features include automated workflows, canned responses, follow-up notifications, conversation records, ticket prioritization, and a universal inbox.
Integrations include Aircall, Facebook Messenger, Google Meet, Gmail, Instagram, Mailchimp, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, WordPress, Zoom, and others.
Pros
- Visual builder for automated conversations
- Canned response templates
- Comprehensive knowledge base
Cons
- Feedback surveys could be more flexible
- You can’t open lists directly, so you have to download, modify, and upload each one
Crisp
Best customer messaging platform for efficient team collaboration
Crisp is a customer messaging platform that makes it easy for team members to collaborate and provide the best solutions for their customers.
Why I picked Crisp: Crisp enables you to manage all your messages from a central location. The software creates profiles for your customers, so you can easily track their purchase history or previous interactions when they start a conversation.
Crisp enables your support specialists to tag each other in conversations in order to collaborate and provide the best answers for your customers. In addition, the platform also allows you to create automated chat flows that rely on custom triggers to activate.
Crisp Standout Features and Integrations
Features include conversation routing, chatbots, data centralization, a universal inbox, team activity reports, automation, and ticketing.
Integrations include Cloudflare, Facebook Messenger, Joomla, Mailchimp, Prestashop, Segment, Telegram, Webflow, WhatsApp, and others.
Pros
- Good personalization options
- Simple onboarding
- Doubles as a flexible support software
Cons
- Reporting could be more granular on certain metrics
- Limited contact management features
Front
Best customer messaging platform for collaborative chats
Front is a customer messaging platform that enables support teams to communicate and collaborate in order to solve customer tickets.
Why I picked Front: Front helps your team members work together without forwarding conversations or reassigning tickets. The software allows you to tag other users when you want a second opinion, and you can have a conversation with your teammates without leaving the chat window.
Front is great at helping small customer support or service teams handle more tickets without affecting the user experience. The tool’s collaborative email functionality enables support agents to consult with product owners or other specialists to find answers to complicated customer inquiries so they can solve tickets without delays.
Front Standout Features and Integrations
Features include omnichannel communication, shared inbox, collaborative email, automated workflows, reply templates, and reporting.
Integrations include Asana, CallHippo, ClickUp, Dialpad, Google Drive, Instagram, Jira, Microsoft Outlook 365, Slack, and others.
Pros
- Can act as an internal messaging service
- Search functionality helps you find conversations with keywords
- Does an excellent job of creating conversation threads, so you can always catch up on old conversations
Cons
- Imported tables don’t keep their coloring and formatting, so you have to reorganize them on import
- The mobile app doesn’t access your calendar, so you have to switch to a calendar app and consult it if you need to schedule meetings
Gorgias
Best customer messaging platform for ecommerce
Gorgias is a customer messaging platform that’s designed to help ecommerce businesses increase their conversions with improved communications.
Why I picked Gorgias: Gorgias helps you improve the shopping experience you offer on your ecommerce website. The software offers ecommerce-specific features, allowing you to perform specific actions without leaving the chat window. So instead of creating a ticket and pushing it to another department, your agents can simply update an order’s shipping address or cancel an order on the spot.
Gorgias also helps international ecommerce stores to answer customer questions 24/7. The platform’s chatbots can help you automate your FAQs, so your website visitors can instantly get answers to questions regarding shipping, available sizes, and more.
Gorgias Standout Features and Integrations
Features include one inbox, chatbots, helpdesk, customer profiles, task automation, chat messaging, and push notifications.
Integrations include Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Judge.me, JustCall, Klaviyo, Magento, NetSuite, Shopify, Twitter, and others.
Pros
- Autoreplies answer FAQs in seconds
- Straightforward design
- Deep Shopify integration
Cons
- Limited reporting
- Training library could be more extensive
Gladly
Best customer messaging platform for personalized shopping experiences
Gladly is a customer messaging platform that helps online stores increase brand loyalty with personalized shopping experiences.
Why I picked Gladly: Gladly enables you to route conversations to the best support agent available for every conversation so they can act as a shopping assistant and make personalized recommendations. The platform also allows you to assign certain agents as dedicated support assistants for specific customers or customer segments, increasing the user’s shopping experience.
Gladly enables you to accept payments through your messaging channels, so your agents can complete purchases without having to redirect the lead to other pages. This helps you reduce your shop’s cart abandonment rate while also increasing customer satisfaction.
Gladly Standout Features and Integrations
Features include customer profiles, knowledge base creation, chat shopping, task management, workforce management, and reporting.
Integrations include Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce, Simplr, Delighted, Klaviyo, Facebook Messenger, Segment, Spree Commerce, and others.
Pros
- Makes it easy to create personalized shopping experiences for your customers
- Straightforward agent interface
- Great looking chat widget
Cons
- The notifications that show up in the top navigation bar can be distracting
- Limited customization options
Drift Conversation Cloud
Best customer messaging platform for conversational marketing
Drift is a customer messaging platform that helps businesses drive user engagement with meaningful conversations.
Why I picked Drift Conversation Cloud: Drift enables your customer success specialists to understand your leads. The solution tracks the activity of your prospects, so your team members can recommend specific actions or answer questions to facilitate conversions.
Drift’s notification system helps you stay on top of all conversations, regardless of the communication channel. Your team can personalize the chat based on the user’s activity or shopping history, so it increases the customer experience you offer.
Drift Conversation Cloud Standout Features and Integrations
Features include conversational chatbots, a self-service portal, lead tracking, customer profiles, ticketing, and analytics.
Integrations include 6Sense, Clearbit, Databox, Drip, Front, Google Meet, HubSpot, Marketo, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, and others.
Pros
- Helps you qualify leads for your sales team
- Proactive support team
- Makes it easy to create automated chat flows
Cons
- Can be expensive for startups or small businesses
- Navigation menu can be confusing at times
MessageBird
Best customer messaging platform for international companies that use direct calls
MessageBird is a customer messaging platform that allows international businesses to increase user engagement through direct communication.
Why I picked MessageBird: MessageBird is a great tool for international companies that need to interact with their customers via phone calls, text messaging, or instant messaging apps. The software partners with telecom service providers from all over the world to provide virtual, localized numbers you can use to engage your customers.
MessageBird keeps track of your customers across multiple channels and centralizes all your communications in a single thread so no information falls through the cracks. The solution also pulls data from third-party solutions like Shopify or Salesforce to enrich your data, so you can create 360 customer profiles.
MessageBird Standout Features and Integrations
Features include SMS campaigns, a visual campaign builder, a multi-channel shared inbox, feedback collection, and automation.
Integrations include Facebook Messenger, Google My Business, Instagram, Slack, Telegram, Twitter, WeChat, Whatsapp, Viber, and others.
Pros
- Chatbots help you personalize your customer service
- Helps you automate your FAQs
- Enables you to create self-service flows
Cons
- Sending links to customers can be complicated
- The interface could be simpler
Sinch
Best customer messaging platform for mobile communication
Sinch is a customer messaging platform that allows businesses to drive customer engagement with communications designed for mobile devices.
Why I picked Sinch: Sinch makes it easy for businesses to add real-time mobile communication to their messaging strategies. The platform allows companies to connect with their customers via SMS, instant messaging tools, social media platforms, and video calls.
Sinch helps you set up automated subscription renewal campaigns, appointment reminders, and other types of notifications without difficulty. The software enables you to track the success of your messaging campaigns and collect feedback from your customers. In addition, Sinch also enables you to build self-service portals where chatbots help your customers solve their own problems, so your agents can focus on serious inquiries.
Sinch Standout Features and Integrations
Features include SMS communication, SMS verification, video calls, automation, notifications, and number masking.
Integrations include Adobe Campaign, Calabrio, Freshdesk Messaging, Hootsuite, IBM Watson, Instagram, Oracle, Salesforce, SAP, Whatsapp, Zendesk Chat, and others.
Pros
- Makes it easy to collect post-conversation feedback
- Enables you to send automated reminders to your customers’ mobile devices
- Helps you create self-service and assisted service portals
Cons
- Video chatting in 1080p resolution can be expensive for small businesses
- Setting up SMS and WhatsApp campaigns could be easier
Messagely
Best customer messaging platform for targeted messaging
Messagely is a customer messaging platform that helps businesses increase their conversions with targeted messaging.
Why I picked Messagely: Messagely allows you to send highly relevant messages to prospects and customers. The tool enables you to build dynamic drip campaigns based on user behavior so you can send the right messages at the right time and move your leads through the customer journey.
Messagely’s shared team inbox allows your team members to support one another and collaborate to solve customer tickets. The chat window shows you the prospect’s latest activity on your website and their past interactions so you can provide them with highly personalized answers.
Messagely Standout Features and Integrations
Features include live chat, chatbots, push notifications, a shared inbox, a help desk, a knowledge base, and targeted messaging.
Integrations include Google Analytics, HubSpot, Microsoft Outlook, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Stripe, Zapier, Zoom, and others.
Pros
- Detailed customer profiles
- Ticketing system is helpful
- Good lead-tracking functionality
Cons
- Several chatbot triggers have confusing names
- Reporting feature could be more granular on specific metrics
Twilio MessagingX
Best customer messaging platform for SMS campaigns
Twilio MessagingX is a customer messaging platform that allows companies to increase user engagement with SMS and direct messaging campaigns.
Why I picked Twilio MessagingX: Twilio MessagingX helps you plan messaging campaigns for mobile devices. The software partners with over 1,500 carrier providers around the world, enabling you to reach your customers regardless of their location.
Twilio MessagingX pulls data from third-party sources, allowing you to personalize your messages and tailor them to your target audience. The solution helps you meet your leads and customers on their customer journey, making it easy to serve them contextual messages in order to increase conversions.
Twilio MessagingX Standout Features and Integrations
Features include an SMS campaign builder, an MMS campaign builder, a messaging API, delivery tracking, delivery insights, and push notifications.
Integrations include Facebook Messenger, Google My Business, WhatsApp, and others.
Pros
- Simple to use
- Campaign templates
- Free plan to get started
Cons
- Limited no-code personalization options
- Dashboard loads slowly from time to time
The 10 Best Customer Messaging Platforms Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top customer messaging platform selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best platform for your budget.
| Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HubSpot Best customer messaging platform for customer satisfaction assessment | 14-day free trial + freemium version available | From $45/month | Visit Website |
| 2 | Crisp Best customer messaging platform for efficient team collaboration | 14-day free trial | From $25/month (4 users) | Visit Website |
| 3 |  Front Best customer messaging platform for collaborative chats | 7-day free trial available | Plans start at $19/user/month | Visit Website |
| 4 |  Gorgias Best customer messaging platform for ecommerce | Demo available upon request | Plans start at $10/month | Visit Website |
| 5 |  Gladly Best customer messaging platform for personalized shopping experiences | Free demo | From $150/user/month (annually, 10 user min) | Visit Website |
| 6 |  Drift Conversation Cloud Best customer messaging platform for conversational marketing | Free trial available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
| 7 |  MessageBird Best customer messaging platform for international companies that use direct calls | Freemium version available | From $30/user/month | Visit Website |
| 8 |  Sinch Best customer messaging platform for mobile communication | Free trial available | Pricing upon request | Visit Website |
| 9 |  Messagely Best customer messaging platform for targeted messaging | 14-day free trial | From $29/user/month | Visit Website |
| 10 |  Twilio MessagingX Best customer messaging platform for SMS campaigns | Freemium version available | Pay-as-you-go pricing | Visit Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best customer messaging platforms list:
- Intercom Messenger
Best customer messaging platform for chat widgets
- Zendesk
Best customer messaging platform for ticket organization
- Freshchat
Best customer messaging platform for multilingual support
- User.com
Best customer messaging platform for growing teams
- Help Scout
Best customer messaging platform for in-app communication
- LiveAgent
Best customer messaging platform for social media customer service
- Tidio
Best customer messaging platform for small businesses
- Salesforce Service Cloud
Best customer messaging platform for enterprises
- Viber
Best customer messaging platform for file sharing
- Khoros
Best customer messaging platform for secure communications
Customer Messaging Platforms: Frequently Asked Questions
How do customer messaging platforms work?
How else can I improve my customer experience?
What is omnichannel messaging?
Provide great service with customer messaging platforms
Customer messaging platforms help you provide great customer service by bringing all your communications together and shortening your response times. And the impact of great service can be huge for your company. As Barry McCarthy, CEO of Deluxe, said:
“When considering how your business approaches customer service, remember that customers won’t simply compare you with other businesses within your industry. The bar for customer service is set by the best — not just the best of your direct competitors. Never forget you can find success with a barely competitive product, coupled with outstanding customer experience.”
If you want to discover new ways of improving your customer service, I recommend checking out the following resources too:
- Follow the Yellow Click Road: The Digital Customer Journey
- Examples of Customer Service Goals for your CX Teams
- Voice of Customer Analytics: Are You Listening?
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