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Customer Support · head to head

Hiver vs Playvox

Hiver logo

Hiver

Customer Support

Gmail-based help desk

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

Contact centre quality management, coaching and workforce management, now sold by NiCE

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hiver has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Hiver hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69; Playvox niCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • They diverge on capability: Hiver covers Shared inbox, Playvox covers Quality management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hiver and Playvox actually diverge.

Attributes where Hiver and Playvox differ
AttributeHiverPlayvox
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome-extensionWeb
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Customer Support).

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 Hiver

  • Shared inbox
  • Email assignment
  • Collision detection
  • Email notes
  • Templates
  • Analytics
  • Gmail
  • Google Workspace

Only in Playvox

  • Quality management
  • Agent coaching
  • Workforce management
  • Performance management
  • Agent motivation
  • Helpdesk connectors
  • Interaction analytics

What people use each for

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

Hiver

  • Shared inbox managementnot Playvox
  • Customer support via Gmailnot Playvox
  • Team email collaborationnot Playvox

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot Hiver
  • A CX operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota toolnot Hiver
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot Hiver
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot Hiver

Where each one falls short

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

Hiver

  • Hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69

Playvox

  • NiCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • Playvox WFM carries a minimum agent commitment reported around 35 seats, so a team of 20 either pays for agents it does not have or cannot buy the module at all.
  • The suite is modular and priced modularly, so the quality, performance, coaching, WFM and analytics pieces each carry a line item and the advertised mid-market saving disappears once you licence three or four of them.
  • Forecasting was built around digital and omnichannel volume, and teams with complex voice requirements such as skills-based routing with heavy shrinkage rules routinely find the scheduling engine less precise than dedicated voice WFM tools.
  • Because it sits on top of another vendor helpdesk rather than owning the interaction data, scoring depends on connector fidelity, and when a source platform changes its API or its recording retention the scorecards go stale before anyone notices.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hiver

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 users
    • Email management
    • Basic analytics
  • Lite$19/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Email templates
    • Notes & @mentions
  • Pro$49/month
    • CSAT surveys
    • SLA management
    • Custom reports
  • Elite$69/month
    • Round-robin
    • Skill-based routing
    • Okta SSO

Playvox

On request
  • Playvox by NiCE Workforce Engagement Management$undefined/year
    • Quality management and scorecards
    • Coaching workflows
    • Performance dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Hiver if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome-extension.
  • You also want email assignment.
Hiver review

Choose Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox review

Questions people ask

Is Hiver or Playvox better?
Neither clearly leads. Hiver starts at Free and Playvox at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hiver or Playvox?
Hiver has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hiver and On request for Playvox.
Does Hiver or Playvox run on more platforms?
Hiver runs on Web, Chrome-extension. Playvox runs on Web.
Can I use Hiver for free?
Yes. Hiver has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Playvox starts at On request.
What is Hiver best used for?
Hiver is most often used for shared inbox management, customer support via gmail, team email collaboration. Of those, shared inbox management and customer support via gmail are not what Playvox is typically brought in for.
What can Hiver do that Playvox cannot?
Hiver covers Shared inbox, Email assignment, Collision detection, Email notes. Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Playvox: Is Playvox still sold as its own product?

Yes, as Playvox by NiCE. It is a distinct SKU beneath NiCE CXone, not a discontinued brand, but it is sold by NiCE sales rather than an independent company.

Playvox: Do I need NiCE CXone to use it?

No. Playvox connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Genesys and others. Running it against a competitor platform is supported, though it is not where the vendor makes the most money.

Playvox: What does it actually cost?

Nothing is published. Full-suite list pricing reported by buyers sits around 70 to 120 US dollars per agent per month, with WFM alone around 30 to 60, before volume discounting.

Playvox: Can a 15-agent team buy it?

Not realistically for WFM, which carries a minimum seat commitment. Quality management alone is more accessible but still sold on an annual quoted contract.

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