Drift alternatives: 14 chatbot tools compared

People searching for a Drift alternative are mostly existing customers or prospects who found that the product is being retired. Clari + Salesloft announced on 5 March 2026 that it is moving from Drift to 1mind. They go to B2B pipeline chat tools, chatbot builders, or support-first messengers, depending on whether Drift was used for sales or for service.

Short answer: The first three alternatives to Drift in our chatbot software ranking are Qualified, Landbot and Kindly. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Choose Qualified if you ran Drift for pipeline and want the same job done by a vendor that is staying in the market. All 14 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Chatbot & Conversational Marketing Software in 2026, and each says where it differs from Drift.

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Drift

#11 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking

  • Pricing: Not published; Drift is being sunset and Clari + Salesloft refers existing customers to 1mind
  • Established in: United States
01

Why buyers look past Drift

  1. 01

    The vendor has said it is winding Drift down

    Salesloft's newsroom post of 5 March 2026 says it is transitioning from the Drift conversational marketing product to prioritise 1mind, and its chat agents page now reads that it has transitioned from Drift to 1mind. drift.com redirects to a Salesloft address that returned a 404 page when we checked on 28 October 2026. Nothing there is a product to start on.

  2. 02

    The successor is a different vendor and a different product

    The replacement named by Salesloft is 1mind, a separate company that Salesloft partnered with, not a version of Drift. Existing customers face a migration either way, so comparing the wider field costs little extra and avoids committing to a single referral partner.

  3. 03

    No public price to compare against

    Drift's own pricing is no longer published, and the partner route is a sales conversation. Teams that need a budget before a meeting can start with tools that publish tiers, such as Landbot, Crisp, LiveChat or Smartsupp, and keep the quoted options for the shortlist.

02

14 alternatives at a glance

Challengers first, then established names
AlternativeHeadquartersFree optionPricing Key differenceSwitch ifOur rank
QualifiedUnited StatesNo free tierQuoted per organisationPipeline-focused chat that routes named accounts to salesyou ran Drift for pipeline and want the same job done by a vendor that is staying in the market#14
LandbotSpainYesFree €0 (100 chats/month, 1 seat); Starter €32/month billed annually (€40 monthly): 500 chats, 100 AI chats, 2 seats; Professional €80/month annually (€100 monthly): 2,500 chats, 300 AI chats, 3 seats; Professional + WhatsApp €160/month; Business from €400/month by contract; overage €0.05/chat, €0.10/AI chat, €25/extra seatSpanish no-code chatbot builder purpose-built for lead qualification and WhatsApp conversion, not support ticketsyou want to build lead-qualifying flows yourself and pay a published, low entry price#1
KindlyNorwayNo free tierSession-based pricing on an annual commitment; not published — quoted per organisationNorwegian AI support platform mixing branched dialogue flows with generative answers in 100+ languages, aimed at high-volume customer serviceEuropean data location and a fixed annual AI contract matter more than self-serve pricing#8
CrispFranceYesFree (2 seats); Mini $45/month (4 seats); Essentials $95/month (10 seats); Plus $295/month (20 seats); Enterprise quoted; priced per workspace with a block of seats included, extra seats $10/month eachFrench all-in-one messaging platform with a no-code AI chatbot builder and flat per-workspace pricinga small team wants live chat and a bot without paying for every seat#4
TrengoNetherlandsNo free tierBoost €299/month billed annually (€349 monthly) for 10 users and 6,000 conversations a year (500 a month on monthly billing); Pro €499/month annually (€599 monthly) for 20 users; Enterprise quoted; AI-handled conversations carry a €0.25-0.30 surcharge each; broadcasting is an add-on; free trial availableDutch omnichannel inbox where website chat sits beside a WhatsApp Business number for outbound marketingcustomers reach you mostly on WhatsApp and email and you want one team inbox#7
Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)GermanyYesFree €0; Pro from €105/month (€87/month billed annually); Enterprise quoted. Add-ons: Connect AI Agent from €99/month, AI Copilot from €19/month per seat, Workflows from €50/month, WhatsApp Campaigns from €20/month plus Meta feesGerman chat platform, rebranded Lime Connect, with a no-code Workflows builder and paid WhatsApp marketing campaignsyou want chat with an AI agent that is billed per conversation and add-ons you can switch on one by one#6
TidioPolandYesFree tier; paid by monthly conversations reached, publishedChat widget for small shops, with bots on a separate metera small team needs a cheap widget and a bot, and can live with conversation-based billing#12
SmartsuppCzech RepublicYesFree (1 operator, 25 conversations/month); Solo $17/month; Plus $25/month; Expert $83/month; Enterprise from $280/month — up to 30% off on annual billingCzech chat and automation platform for online stores, with a Mira AI shopping agent sold as an add-onyou only need website chat with WhatsApp and Messenger at the lowest list price#2
TiledeskItalyNo free tierPro €149/month (€124/month billed annually) — 3 users, 20 AI agents, 5M AI tokens, 3,000 conversations/month; Business €499/month (€416/month annually) — 5 users, 50 AI agents, 10M tokens, 5,000 conversations/month; Enterprise and White Label quoted; 14-day free trialItalian open-source conversational AI platform: build chatbots and AI agents visually, deploy across channels or self-hostdata sovereignty or self-hosted models matter and you have people to configure the agents#3
LiveChatPolandNo free tierStarter $19/person/month (annual) or $25 (monthly); Team $49/$59; Business $79/$89; Enterprise quotedPolish sales-chat platform built around targeted campaigns and proactive outreach, not just support queueshumans will answer most chats and you want a per-seat chat product with AI help included#5
ChatfuelUnited StatesNo free tierBusiness US$18/month billed yearly (includes US$20 AI credits a month); Agency US$90/month billed yearly (3 companies, US$100 AI credits); monthly billing about 10% higherBots and AI agent for Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and websites, sold by 200 Labs, Inc.your leads arrive through social messaging and click-to-chat ads, not through a B2B website#15
IntercomUnited StatesNo free tierEssential $19/seat/month; Advanced $85/seat/month; Expert $132/seat/month (billed annually); Fin AI Agent billed separately at $0.99 per outcome on every plan; SMS, WhatsApp, phone and email campaigns billed on usage; 14-day free trialUS messaging platform built around the Fin AI agent, sold as an outcome-priced add-on to every tieryou want an established messenger with an AI agent and can budget per-outcome fees#9
FreshchatUnited StatesYesFree tier; paid per agent per month, published; AI sessions extraFreshworks messaging product with a free tier and AI add-onyour company already uses Freshworks and wants chat inside that suite#13
ZendeskUnited StatesNo free tierSold as "Messaging and live chat" inside Zendesk Suite plans: Suite Team $55/agent/month; Suite Professional $115/agent/month (annual billing); Suite Enterprise + Copilot quotedMessaging and chat bundled inside the Zendesk Suite, not sold as a standalone chat productchat is one part of a ticketing and support operation you are consolidating#10
03

What each one does differently

Qualified

United States · Quoted per organisation

Closest to what Drift was used for: a B2B website agent (Piper, an AI SDR) that books meetings and feeds a CRM. Salesforce completed its purchase of Qualified on 1 April 2026, so it suits Salesforce shops. No price is shown on its pricing page, and it is not built for support chat.

Switch from Drift if you ran Drift for pipeline and want the same job done by a vendor that is staying in the market.

Qualified, #14 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Landbot

Spain · Free €0 (100 chats/month, 1 seat); Starter €32/month billed annually (€40 monthly): 500 chats, 100 AI chats, 2 seats; Professional €80/month annually (€100 monthly): 2,500 chats, 300 AI chats, 3 seats; Professional + WhatsApp €160/month; Business from €400/month by contract; overage €0.05/chat, €0.10/AI chat, €25/extra seat

A no-code builder where you design the conversation flow yourself, with published euro prices: Free at 100 chats a month, Starter at €32 a month (annual) for 500 chats and 100 AI chats. WhatsApp on your own number starts on Professional. It is a bot builder, not a sales-engagement suite.

Switch from Drift if you want to build lead-qualifying flows yourself and pay a published, low entry price.

Landbot, #1 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Kindly

Norway · Session-based pricing on an annual commitment; not published — quoted per organisation

Norwegian AI support agent platform whose own site says it is made in Oslo with data kept in Europe. Contracts are fixed upfront on the expected number of AI agent sessions per year, with no list price. It targets customer support automation, not account-based sales routing like Drift's playbooks.

Switch from Drift if European data location and a fixed annual AI contract matter more than self-serve pricing.

Kindly, #8 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Crisp

France · Free (2 seats); Mini $45/month (4 seats); Essentials $95/month (10 seats); Plus $295/month (20 seats); Enterprise quoted; priced per workspace with a block of seats included, extra seats $10/month each

Prices per workspace, not per agent: Mini is $45 a month with 4 seats, Essentials $95 with 10 seats, and a free plan sits below. It includes a chatbot builder and shared inbox. Nothing in it scores target accounts or routes to account executives the way Drift did.

Switch from Drift if a small team wants live chat and a bot without paying for every seat.

Crisp, #4 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Trengo

Netherlands · Boost €299/month billed annually (€349 monthly) for 10 users and 6,000 conversations a year (500 a month on monthly billing); Pro €499/month annually (€599 monthly) for 20 users; Enterprise quoted; AI-handled conversations carry a €0.25-0.30 surcharge each; broadcasting is an add-on; free trial available

Shared inbox for WhatsApp, email and chat, sold in bundles: Boost is €299 a month on annual billing for 10 users and 6,000 conversations a year, Pro €499 for 20 users and 18,000. Built for service and ecommerce teams; it has no B2B account-based marketing features like Drift's.

Switch from Drift if customers reach you mostly on WhatsApp and email and you want one team inbox.

Trengo, #7 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Lime Connect (formerly Userlike)

Germany · Free €0; Pro from €105/month (€87/month billed annually); Enterprise quoted. Add-ons: Connect AI Agent from €99/month, AI Copilot from €19/month per seat, Workflows from €50/month, WhatsApp Campaigns from €20/month plus Meta fees

Now sold as Lime Connect (ex Userlike). Chat and messaging with add-ons priced separately: the Connect AI Agent is €99 a month including 100 conversations, the AI Copilot €19 per operator, Workflows from €50. Billing counts conversations, not messages. German vendor, support-led, with no ABM layer.

Switch from Drift if you want chat with an AI agent that is billed per conversation and add-ons you can switch on one by one.

Lime Connect (formerly Userlike), #6 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Tidio

Poland · Free tier; paid by monthly conversations reached, published

Free-to-start widget with a conversation meter: its Starter plan covers 100 billable conversations and Growth starts at 250. Lyro, its AI agent, is metered separately and can also be added on top of other help desks. Aimed at small shops; no CRM account matching.

Switch from Drift if a small team needs a cheap widget and a bot, and can live with conversation-based billing.

Tidio, #12 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Smartsupp

Czech Republic · Free (1 operator, 25 conversations/month); Solo $17/month; Plus $25/month; Expert $83/month; Enterprise from $280/month — up to 30% off on annual billing

Czech live chat with a free plan for one operator and 25 conversations a month; Solo is $17 a month and Plus $25 for three operators, on annual billing. AI agent plans are sold as a separate line. Light on analytics and sales routing compared with Drift.

Switch from Drift if you only need website chat with WhatsApp and Messenger at the lowest list price.

Smartsupp, #2 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Tiledesk

Italy · Pro €149/month (€124/month billed annually) — 3 users, 20 AI agents, 5M AI tokens, 3,000 conversations/month; Business €499/month (€416/month annually) — 5 users, 50 AI agents, 10M tokens, 5,000 conversations/month; Enterprise and White Label quoted; 14-day free trial

Conversation design studio with AI agents that can run on local open source LLMs and a self-hosted vector store such as Qdrant, per its own site. The pricing page did not load when we checked, so no price is quoted here. It is a toolkit for builders, not a finished sales playbook.

Switch from Drift if data sovereignty or self-hosted models matter and you have people to configure the agents.

Tiledesk, #3 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

LiveChat

Poland · Starter $19/person/month (annual) or $25 (monthly); Team $49/$59; Business $79/$89; Enterprise quoted

Per-user live chat: Essential is $19 per user a month on annual billing with 1 AI Agent and 10 AI resolutions; Growth is $79 with 10 AI Agents and 200 resolutions. Strong at agent-handled chat; it will not identify the company behind a visitor like Drift's account tools did.

Switch from Drift if humans will answer most chats and you want a per-seat chat product with AI help included.

LiveChat, #5 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Chatfuel

United States · Business US$18/month billed yearly (includes US$20 AI credits a month); Agency US$90/month billed yearly (3 companies, US$100 AI credits); monthly billing about 10% higher

Bots for Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and the website, from US$18 a month (billed yearly, plus US$20 of AI credits) for the Business plan. Built around social DMs and click-to-chat ads. It is a poor match for B2B website visitors that Drift handled.

Switch from Drift if your leads arrive through social messaging and click-to-chat ads, not through a B2B website.

Chatfuel, #15 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Intercom

United States · Essential $19/seat/month; Advanced $85/seat/month; Expert $132/seat/month (billed annually); Fin AI Agent billed separately at $0.99 per outcome on every plan; SMS, WhatsApp, phone and email campaigns billed on usage; 14-day free trial

Seats plus an AI agent charge: Essential and Advanced are priced per seat, and Fin, its AI agent, is billed from $0.99 per outcome. Messenger, shared inbox and help centre in one product. Sits closer to support than Drift, and the usage charge makes monthly cost hard to predict.

Switch from Drift if you want an established messenger with an AI agent and can budget per-outcome fees.

Intercom, #9 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Freshchat

United States · Free tier; paid per agent per month, published; AI sessions extra

Freshworks messaging product: a free plan for up to 10 agents, Growth at $19 per agent a month on annual billing, with the Freddy AI Agent sold at $49 per 100 sessions on top. Best next to Freshdesk or Freshsales. Not a sales-engagement tool.

Switch from Drift if your company already uses Freshworks and wants chat inside that suite.

Freshchat, #13 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

Zendesk

United States · Sold as "Messaging and live chat" inside Zendesk Suite plans: Suite Team $55/agent/month; Suite Professional $115/agent/month (annual billing); Suite Enterprise + Copilot quoted

Messaging and live chat sit inside the Suite plans, not as a separate chat product: Suite Team shows €55 per agent per month on annual billing on the Dutch-locale page. Built for ticket queues and support operations. Far heavier than Drift was for a marketing team.

Switch from Drift if chat is one part of a ticketing and support operation you are consolidating.

Zendesk, #10 of 15 in our chatbot software ranking →

04

When Drift is still the right choice

Staying makes sense only if you are an existing Drift customer under contract, your pipeline playbooks already work, and Salesloft has confirmed in writing how long your current plan runs and what the move to 1mind costs. Check the end date and data export terms first, since the vendor describes the product as being transitioned away, and nobody should sign a new Drift contract today.

05

What moving off Drift involves

  1. 01

    Export conversations and routing rules before the cut-off

    Ask Salesloft for a data export of conversation history, lead records and playbook logic, and write down which routes and meeting-booking rules were live. Most alternatives cannot import Drift playbooks, so they have to be rebuilt as flows on the new tool.

  2. 02

    Decide whether the job was sales or service

    If chat fed account executives and meeting booking, shortlist Qualified or Landbot-style qualification flows. If it mostly answered questions, Crisp, Trengo, LiveChat or Intercom fit better. Pick the job first, then the vendor.

06

Questions about replacing Drift

6 answers
Is Drift shut down?

Salesloft's 5 March 2026 post describes sunsetting the Drift conversational marketing product in favour of 1mind, and drift.com redirects to a Salesloft page. We did not find a published shutdown date, so ask Salesloft for the end date of your plan.

What is 1mind?

1mind is an AI sales agent company that Clari + Salesloft named as its partner to replace the Drift conversational product. It is a separate vendor, and Salesloft's page says it feeds buyer signals into the Salesloft platform.

Which alternative is closest to Drift for B2B sales?

Qualified is the nearest in purpose: its Piper AI SDR agent engages website visitors and books meetings. Salesforce completed its acquisition on 1 April 2026, and no price is shown on its pricing page.

Which options publish prices?

Landbot, Crisp, LiveChat, Smartsupp, Trengo, Lime Connect (Userlike), Tidio, Freshchat, Intercom and Chatfuel show prices on their pages, in euros or dollars. Qualified and Kindly require a quote, and Tiledesk's pricing page did not load.

Can I move my Drift playbooks to another tool?

Not directly. We found no vendor that states a Drift playbook importer. Plan to rebuild routing and qualification as new flows, which is easiest in builders such as Landbot or Tiledesk.

Is there a free option?

Landbot, Crisp, Smartsupp and Freshchat advertise free plans (for example Smartsupp for one operator and 25 conversations a month, Freshchat for up to 10 agents). Check each plan's limits before relying on it.

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Sources

Checked 28 October 2026
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Who wrote this

Last reviewed 28 October 2026

Sebastiaan Smits

Founder · Amsterdam, Netherlands

Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.

Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed 28 October 2026. How we review.

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