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Customer Support · head to head

Missive vs Plain

Missive logo

Missive

Customer Support

Team inbox and chat for productive teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plain logo

Plain

Customer Support

AI support infrastructure built for B2B teams

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Missive has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Missive each plan caps users rather than only pricing them, at 5 on Starter and 50 on Productive; Plain foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • They diverge on capability: Missive covers Shared inbox, Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Missive and Plain actually diverge.

Attributes where Missive and Plain differ
AttributeMissivePlain
Starting priceFree$35/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionTiered pricing per seat with credit system
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, Mac, WindowsWeb, API
Founded2015Unknown

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 Missive

  • Shared inbox
  • Team chat
  • Email
  • Tasks
  • Calendar
  • WhatsApp
  • SMS
  • Asana

Only in Plain

  • Multi-channel consolidation
  • AI agents
  • Workflow automation
  • Sidekick assistant
  • Insights engine
  • Linear and Jira integration
  • Help Center and Knowledge Base
  • API-first extensibility

What people use each for

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

Missive

  • Shared team inbox across email, SMS and social messagesnot Plain
  • Collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasksnot Plain

Plain

  • Consolidating support from multiple channels into one inboxnot Missive
  • Automating support workflows with AI agentsnot Missive
  • Extracting insights and trends from customer conversationsnot Missive
  • Building custom support solutions with API accessnot Missive
  • Implementing AI-assisted customer support at scalenot Missive

Where each one falls short

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

Missive

  • Each plan caps users rather than only pricing them, at 5 on Starter and 50 on Productive
  • Integrations, automation rules and API access all require the Productive plan at $24 per user per month
  • Rules are capped at 1,000 per workspace even on the paid tiers
  • SAML SSO and IP restriction are Business only at $36 per user per month
  • AI features need either Missive AI credits or a bring your own key arrangement rather than being included

Plain

  • Foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • Pricing increases significantly from Foundation to Horizon ($35 to $299 per month)
  • No published pricing for Frontier (custom) plan
  • Additional seat costs ($99 per seat) add up for larger teams
  • Credit-based system requires monitoring usage to avoid overages

Pricing, plan by plan

Missive

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 3 users
    • Basic features
    • Email & chat
  • Starter$14/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Shared inboxes
    • Rules & automation
  • Productive$18/month
    • Starter + Calendars
    • WhatsApp
    • SMS
  • Business$26/month
    • Productive + API
    • SAML SSO
    • Priority support

Plain

$35/month
  • Foundation$35/month
    • 2,000 credits per month
    • Slack and email channels
    • Ari AI agent
  • Horizon$299/month
    • 15,000 credits per month
    • All Foundation features
    • Microsoft Teams integration
  • Frontier$null/custom
    • Custom credit allowance
    • All Horizon features
    • Discord channels

Which should you pick?

Choose Missive if

  • You need shared inbox.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want team chat.
Missive review

Choose Plain if

  • You need multi-channel consolidation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want ai agents.
Plain review

Questions people ask

Is Missive or Plain better?
Neither clearly leads. Missive starts at Free and Plain at $35/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Missive or Plain?
Missive has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Missive and $35/month for Plain.
Does Missive or Plain run on more platforms?
Missive runs on Web, Ios, Android, Mac, Windows. Plain runs on Web, API.
Can I use Missive for free?
Yes. Missive has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plain starts at $35/month.
What is Missive best used for?
Missive is most often used for shared team inbox across email, sms and social messages, collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasks. Of those, shared team inbox across email, sms and social messages and collaborating on customer conversations with internal comments and tasks are not what Plain is typically brought in for.
What can Missive do that Plain cannot?
Missive covers Shared inbox, Team chat, Email, Tasks. Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, AI agents, Workflow automation, Sidekick assistant.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Missive: How much does Missive cost per month?

Missive charges $14/user/month for Starter (up to 5 users), $24/user/month for Productive (up to 50 users), and $36/user/month for Business (unlimited users).

Source
Plain: What is included in the Foundation plan?

The Foundation plan ($35/month per seat) includes 2,000 credits per month, support for Slack and email, Ari AI agent, Linear and Jira integrations, and Help Center access. Up to 5 seats are included.

Source
Missive: Is there a free trial available?

Yes, Missive offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required to start.

Source
Plain: Can I use Plain with Microsoft Teams?

Yes, Microsoft Teams integration is available on the Horizon plan ($299/month) and higher.

Source
Missive: Does Missive offer yearly billing discounts?

Yes, Missive provides a 20% discount for yearly billing compared to monthly pricing on all plans.

Source
Plain: Is there a free trial for Plain?

Yes, Plain offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. You can also get 50% discount through their startup program.

Source
Missive: Which plan includes SSO authentication?

The Business Plan at $36/user/month includes SAML SSO, IP restriction, and advanced analytics features.

Source
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