Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Front vs Scratchpad

Front logo

Front

Customer Support

Where teams collaborate on customer communication

From
$25/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Scratchpad logo

Scratchpad

CRM

Faster workspace over Salesforce for sales reps to update pipeline, take notes and manage deals

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Scratchpad has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Front starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier; Scratchpad scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • They diverge on capability: Front covers Shared inbox, Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Front and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where Front and Scratchpad differ
AttributeFrontScratchpad
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-based SaaSWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Front

  • Shared inbox
  • Email collaboration
  • Omnichannel messaging
  • Analytics
  • Workflows
  • Integrations
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot

Only in Scratchpad

  • Spreadsheet pipeline views
  • Call recorder and notetaker
  • AI field updates
  • Deal and account agent
  • Hygiene monitor
  • Notes linked to records
  • Custom prompts
  • Kanban and forecast views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Front

  • Omnichannel customer supportnot Scratchpad
  • AI-powered helpdesk automationnot Scratchpad
  • Team collaboration on support ticketsnot Scratchpad

Scratchpad

  • A 60-rep Salesforce team whose forecast is unreliable because opportunity fields are updated once a week in a panic before the pipeline callnot Front
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot Front
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot Front
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot Front

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Front

  • Starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
  • AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are included only in Enterprise tier ($105/seat/month); available as add-ons at higher cost in lower tiers
  • Starter tier limited to 10 automation rules; Professional tier allows 20; unlimited rules only in Enterprise
  • Advanced analytics excluded from Starter tier

Scratchpad

  • Scratchpad works with Salesforce and nothing else, with no HubSpot support, so it is off the shortlist entirely for any company on a different CRM regardless of how good the interface is.
  • AI credits are metered per user per month at 400 on Solo and 800 on Team, which means heavy notetaking use pushes teams towards Enterprise for capacity rather than for features.
  • There is no proper native mobile application, so representatives who wanted to update records from a car park between meetings are back in a mobile browser.
  • Sync with Salesforce and call processing can lag, and a pipeline view showing yesterday state during a forecast call undermines the exact meeting the tool was bought to improve.
  • It creates a second notes surface alongside native Salesforce notes, so organisations end up with deal history split across two places unless they explicitly ban one of them.

Pricing, plan by plan

Front

$25/month
  • Starter$25/month
    • Up to 10 seats
    • Shared inbox and ticketing
    • AI Topics and up to 10 automation rules
  • Professional$65/month
    • Up to 50 seats
    • Omnichannel support (email, SMS, social)
    • Macros and up to 20 automation rules
  • Enterprise$105/month
    • Unlimited seats
    • Smart rules and unlimited macros
    • Multi-language knowledge base

Scratchpad

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Workspace limited to 3 views
    • 10 hours a month of call recording and notetaking
    • AI field updates
  • Solo$19/month
    • Unlimited views with sheets and notes
    • Call recorder and notetaker
    • AI field updates
  • Team$49/month
    • Everything in Solo
    • 800 AI credits per user per month
    • Gong integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited AI credits
    • White-glove agent services included
    • Enterprise security and administration

Which should you pick?

Choose Front if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
  • You also want email collaboration.
Front review

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You need spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want call recorder and notetaker.
Scratchpad review

Questions people ask

Is Front or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. Front starts at $25/month and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Front or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Front and Free for Scratchpad.
Does Front or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
Front runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Scratchpad runs on Web, Chrome extension.
Can I use Scratchpad for free?
Yes. Scratchpad has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Front starts at $25/month.
What is Front best used for?
Front is most often used for omnichannel customer support, ai-powered helpdesk automation, team collaboration on support tickets. Of those, omnichannel customer support and ai-powered helpdesk automation are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can Front do that Scratchpad cannot?
Front covers Shared inbox, Email collaboration, Omnichannel messaging, Analytics. Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Front: How much does Front's Starter plan cost per seat?

Starter plan is $25 per seat per month for up to 10 seats, with 14-day free trial and no credit card required.

Source
Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

Front: Does Enterprise include AI features?

Yes, Enterprise at $105 per seat per month includes AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT at no additional cost.

Source
Scratchpad: Is the free plan usable in production?

Yes for an individual: full workspace with three views, 10 hours of recording and 100 AI credits a month. Teams outgrow it on views and credits.

Front: What is the seat limit for Professional?

Professional plan supports up to 50 seats at $65 per seat per month.

Source
Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

No. Every user still needs their own Salesforce licence; Scratchpad is an interface on top.

Front: Are there additional AI add-ons available?

Yes, Autopilot starts at $0.05 per conversation; Copilot, Smart QA, and other AI features range from $10-$20 per seat per month on lower tiers.

Source
Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

Notetaking, summarisation, field update suggestions and agent queries. Enterprise removes the cap.

Share

Related pages

More on Front

More on Scratchpad

Keep looking

Other head to heads