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Customer Support · head to head

Plain vs Hiver

Plain logo

Plain

Customer Support

AI support infrastructure built for B2B teams

From
$35/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Hiver logo

Hiver

Customer Support

Gmail-based help desk

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hiver has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Plain foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, Hiver covers Shared inbox.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plain and Hiver actually diverge.

Attributes where Plain and Hiver differ
AttributePlainHiver
Starting price$35/monthFree
Pricing modelTiered pricing per seat with credit systemsubscription
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Chrome-extension
FoundedUnknown2011

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 Plain

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

Only in Hiver

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

What people use each for

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

Plain

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

Hiver

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

Where each one falls short

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

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

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

Pricing, plan by plan

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

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Plain if

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

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

Questions people ask

Is Plain or Hiver better?
Neither clearly leads. Plain starts at $35/month and Hiver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plain or Hiver?
Hiver has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $35/month for Plain and Free for Hiver.
Does Plain or Hiver run on more platforms?
Plain runs on Web, API. Hiver runs on Web, Chrome-extension.
Can I use Hiver for free?
Yes. Hiver has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plain starts at $35/month.
What is Plain best used for?
Plain is most often used for consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox, automating support workflows with ai agents, extracting insights and trends from customer conversations, building custom support solutions with api access. Of those, consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox and automating support workflows with ai agents are not what Hiver is typically brought in for.
What can Plain do that Hiver cannot?
Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, AI agents, Workflow automation, Sidekick assistant. Hiver covers Shared inbox, Email assignment, Collision detection, Email notes.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Plain: Can I use Plain with Microsoft Teams?

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

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
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