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Customer Support · head to head

Playvox vs Scratchpad

Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

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

From
On request
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: 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.; 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: Playvox covers Quality management, Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Playvox and Scratchpad actually diverge.

Attributes where Playvox and Scratchpad differ
AttributePlayvoxScratchpad
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM

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 Playvox

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

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.

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot Scratchpad
  • 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 Scratchpad
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot Scratchpad
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot 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 Playvox
  • A rep who wants to update twenty opportunities in a grid rather than opening twenty Salesforce recordsnot Playvox
  • A sales manager wanting stale and incomplete pipeline records flagged automatically instead of chased by emailnot Playvox
  • A revenue operations lead trialling AI notetaking that writes back to CRM fields before committing budget, using the free tiernot Playvox

Where each one falls short

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

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.

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

Playvox

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

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 Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox 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 Playvox or Scratchpad better?
Neither clearly leads. Playvox starts at On request and Scratchpad at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Playvox or Scratchpad?
Scratchpad has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Playvox and Free for Scratchpad.
Does Playvox or Scratchpad run on more platforms?
Playvox runs on Web. 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. Playvox starts at On request.
What is Playvox best used for?
Playvox is most often used for a 200-agent support team on zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platform, a cx operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota tool, a bpo that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistently, a support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failed. Of those, a 200-agent support team on zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platform and a cx operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota tool are not what Scratchpad is typically brought in for.
What can Playvox do that Scratchpad cannot?
Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management. Scratchpad covers Spreadsheet pipeline views, Call recorder and notetaker, AI field updates, Deal and account agent.

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.

Scratchpad: Does Scratchpad work with HubSpot?

No. It is Salesforce-only.

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.

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.

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.

Scratchpad: Does it replace Salesforce licences?

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

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.

Scratchpad: What are AI credits spent on?

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

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