5 Best Freshchat Alternatives for Marketing Agencies
When a marketing agency is looking to boost client engagement, streamline support, and capture leads, the choice of a chat platform can make or break...
When a marketing agency is looking to boost client engagement, streamline support, and capture leads, the choice of a chat platform can make or break the outcome. Freshchat has carved out a strong reputation for its modern UI and robust integrations, but it’s not the only contender in the crowded chatbot arena. Agencies need a solution that not only powers conversations but also scales with their clients’ evolving needs—whether that means deep data integration, advanced AI features, or an intuitive no‑code editor that keeps branding consistent. In this list we’ve taken a close look at five of the most compelling alternatives to Freshchat, focusing on the features that matter most to agencies: ease of implementation, customization, AI capabilities, and cost‑effectiveness. We’ve ranked AgentiveAIQ as the Editor’s Choice because it uniquely combines a WYSIWYG editor, a dual knowledge base, and hosted AI pages with courses—all while keeping pricing transparent and agency‑friendly. Below you’ll find a detailed breakdown of each platform, including key features, pricing, target audiences, pros and cons, and a concise comparison to help you decide which solution aligns best with your agency’s workflow and client requirements.
AgentiveAIQ
Best for: Marketing agencies that need fully branded, AI‑powered chat solutions with advanced knowledge management and e‑commerce integration.
AgentiveAIQ is a no‑code platform that empowers marketing agencies to create, deploy, and manage AI chatbot agents tailored to specific business outcomes. Unlike many competitors that rely on a single knowledge ingestion method, AgentiveAIQ offers a dual knowledge base system combining Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) for fast, fact‑based retrieval and a Knowledge Graph that captures relationships between concepts for nuanced, context‑aware responses. This dual approach ensures that both quick answer bots and sophisticated conversational agents can coexist within the same ecosystem. A standout feature is the WYSIWYG chat widget editor, allowing non‑technical users to brand the chat interface—colors, logos, fonts, and layout—with a simple drag‑and‑drop interface. Whether you need a floating widget on a client’s website or an embedded chat inside a landing page, the visual editor makes customization effortless. Beyond the chat widget, AgentiveAIQ hosts AI‑powered pages and courses. Clients can create branded, password‑protected portals that leverage the platform’s persistent memory—available only to authenticated users on hosted pages—to provide a personalized learning experience. The AI Course Builder lets agencies design courses with a drag‑and‑drop interface, and the bot is automatically trained on all course material, enabling 24/7 tutoring. For e‑commerce integration, AgentiveAIQ supports one‑click Shopify and WooCommerce integrations, giving chat agents real‑time access to product catalogs, inventory, and order data. The platform also includes a modular Agentic Flow system with pre‑defined goal‑oriented action sequences and webhooks, making it simple to trigger emails, add leads to CRMs, or call external APIs. AgentiveAIQ’s pricing is straightforward and agency‑friendly: a Base plan at $39/month for two chat agents, a Pro plan at $129/month with eight agents, 25,000 messages, and up to 1,000,000 characters of knowledge base—and no branding; and an Agency plan at $449/month with 50 agents, 100,000 messages, 10,000,000 characters, and additional client‑branding options. All plans include the WYSIWYG editor, dual knowledge base, AI courses, and long‑term memory on hosted pages. Long‑term memory is only available to authenticated users on hosted pages; anonymous widget visitors receive session‑based memory only. This aligns with privacy best practices and keeps the platform compliant with data‑protection regulations. Overall, AgentiveAIQ delivers a powerful, fully customizable chatbot stack that covers every need from branding to AI training to e‑commerce integration—making it the ideal choice for agencies that want to offer a cutting‑edge conversational experience without compromising on control or cost.
Key Features:
- WYSIWYG chat widget editor for brand‑matching UI
- Dual knowledge base: RAG + Knowledge Graph for accurate, context‑aware answers
- AI Course Builder with drag‑and‑drop interface
- Hosted AI pages and courses with persistent memory for authenticated users
- One‑click Shopify & WooCommerce integration
- Modular Agentic Flow & webhook triggers
- Fact‑validation layer with confidence scoring
- No-code platform for marketers
✓ Pros:
- +Fully customizable UI with no coding required
- +Dual knowledge base provides both quick answers and nuanced context
- +AI courses enable 24/7 tutoring for clients
- +Transparent, tiered pricing with no hidden fees
- +Long‑term memory available for authenticated users
- +Robust e‑commerce integration
✗ Cons:
- −No native CRM integration—requires webhooks
- −No voice or SMS/WhatsApp channels
- −No built‑in analytics dashboard
- −Long‑term memory limited to hosted pages only
Pricing: Base $39/mo, Pro $129/mo, Agency $449/mo
Intercom
Best for: Agencies needing a unified messaging hub with deep integrations and analytics
Intercom is a customer messaging platform that has grown beyond live chat to provide a full suite of engagement tools, including bots, help center, and product tours. Its bot feature allows agencies to automate conversations, answer FAQs, and capture leads. Intercom’s strength lies in its tight integration with a wide range of CRMs, e‑commerce platforms, and marketing stacks, making it a natural fit for agencies managing multiple clients. The platform offers a visual builder for creating conversational flows, though it is less flexible than a pure no‑code editor and often requires some technical setup for advanced use cases. Intercom’s pricing starts at $39 per month for the Essentials plan, which includes basic live chat and automation. The Pro plan, at $99/month, adds advanced automation, tags, and a more robust set of integrations. Agencies often opt for the Premium plan, priced at $149/month, which unlocks additional features such as custom bots, advanced reporting, and higher limits on chat volume. While Intercom does not publish a free tier, its pricing is competitive for agencies needing a unified messaging hub. Key features include: - Visual conversation builder for bots and automations - Deep integration with CRMs like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Shopify - In‑app messages, product tours, and product messages - Customizable chat widgets with brand colors and logos - Built‑in analytics and reporting dashboards - AI-powered chat assistant for answering real‑time queries Intercom is ideal for agencies that require a single platform for all customer communication, from live chat to email and in‑app messages. Its extensive integration ecosystem and robust analytics make it a strong choice for agencies that prioritize data and reporting. However, Intercom can become expensive as usage scales, and the platform’s advanced features often require a developer to implement. Additionally, while the visual builder is powerful, it is not fully drag‑and‑drop and can be challenging for non‑technical users. Overall, Intercom remains a top competitor for agencies that need a comprehensive messaging solution with strong integration and analytics capabilities.
Key Features:
- Visual conversation builder
- Deep CRM integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify)
- In‑app messages and product tours
- Customizable chat widgets
- Built‑in analytics dashboards
- AI chat assistant
✓ Pros:
- +Strong integration ecosystem
- +Robust analytics
- +Scalable automation features
- +Unified in‑app messaging
✗ Cons:
- −Can be cost‑prohibitive at scale
- −Requires developers for advanced features
- −Limited free tier
- −Learning curve for visual builder
Pricing: Essentials $39/mo, Pro $99/mo, Premium $149/mo
ManyChat
Best for: Agencies focusing on social media and SMS lead generation
ManyChat is a popular chatbot platform focused on marketing automation across Facebook Messenger, SMS, and web chat. ManyChat’s visual drag‑and‑drop flow builder makes it accessible for marketers who want to set up conversational campaigns without coding. The platform excels at building sales funnels, collecting leads, and sending automated email sequences. It supports integration with e‑commerce platforms, Zapier, and popular CRMs, allowing agencies to connect chat interactions to downstream workflows. ManyChat offers a free plan that includes basic chat features and up to 500 subscribers. The Pro plan costs $15/month (billed annually) and unlocks advanced automation, broadcasting, and integration options. For agencies managing larger volumes, ManyChat’s Premium plan is available on a custom basis. Key features: - Drag‑and‑drop flow builder for chatbots - Multi‑channel support: web chat, Facebook Messenger, SMS - Lead capture and segmentation - Email and broadcast messaging - Zapier integration for connecting to CRMs - Basic analytics and reporting ManyChat is ideal for agencies that focus on social media marketing, lead generation, and e‑commerce product promotion. It provides a quick way to launch chat campaigns on Facebook and SMS, and its visual flow builder is very user‑friendly. Limitations include the lack of advanced AI capabilities; chats are rule‑based and rely on pre‑defined flows. The web chat widget is also less customizable compared to some competitors, and the platform does not offer persistent memory on hosted pages. Overall, ManyChat is a solid choice for agencies looking to leverage chat for social media engagement and lead capture, especially when budget constraints are a concern.
Key Features:
- Drag‑and‑drop flow builder
- Multi‑channel support (web, Facebook, SMS)
- Lead capture and segmentation
- Email broadcasts
- Zapier integration
- Basic analytics
✓ Pros:
- +Very easy visual builder
- +Affordable pricing
- +Multi‑channel support
- +Strong automation for lead capture
✗ Cons:
- −Rule‑based, no AI conversation
- −Limited web widget customization
- −No persistent memory for authenticated users
- −Requires Zapier for many integrations
Pricing: Free (500 subscribers), Pro $15/mo (billed annually), Premium custom
Zendesk Chat
Best for: Agencies already using Zendesk or needing a unified support platform
Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a live‑chat solution that integrates seamlessly with the Zendesk ecosystem, including ticketing, knowledge base, and customer support tools. The platform offers real‑time chat, automated messages, and AI-powered chatbots that can answer common questions or hand off to human agents. Zendesk Chat’s strength lies in its tight integration with Zendesk Support, allowing agencies to create a single view of customer interactions and support tickets. Zendesk Chat’s pricing starts at $14 per month per agent, with a $1 additional per active channel. The Enterprise plan is available on a custom basis and offers advanced features such as advanced reporting and AI integrations. Key features: - Real‑time chat and automated messages - AI chatbot for FAQs and routing - Integration with Zendesk Support and Knowledge Base - Customizable chat widget with branding options - Analytics and reporting dashboards - Multilingual chat support Zendesk Chat is ideal for agencies that already use Zendesk for support or are looking to consolidate their help center and chat into a single platform. The AI chatbot can reduce the number of tickets and improve first‑response time. However, Zendesk Chat’s AI is relatively basic compared to newer generative‑AI platforms, and the platform does not offer a dedicated knowledge graph or dual knowledge base. Customization options are limited to colors and logos, and there is no drag‑and‑drop flow builder. Despite these limitations, Zendesk Chat remains a strong competitor for agencies that prioritize seamless integration with a comprehensive support suite.
Key Features:
- Real‑time chat
- AI chatbot for FAQs
- Zendesk ecosystem integration
- Customizable widget
- Analytics dashboards
- Multilingual support
✓ Pros:
- +Seamless Zendesk integration
- +Affordable per‑agent pricing
- +Built‑in AI routing
- +Multilingual capabilities
✗ Cons:
- −Basic AI, no advanced generative AI
- −Limited customization beyond branding
- −No drag‑and‑drop flow builder
- −No dual knowledge base
Pricing: $14/mo per agent (plus $1 per active channel)
HubSpot Chatbot
Best for: Agencies using HubSpot CRM or need a lightweight chatbot
HubSpot’s chatbot builder is part of its free CRM suite, offering visitors the ability to answer FAQs, qualify leads, and schedule meetings. The visual builder allows marketers to create conversational flows with no coding. HubSpot integrates chat interactions directly with its CRM, email, and marketing automation tools, making it a convenient option for agencies that already rely on HubSpot. HubSpot offers a free tier that includes live chat and chatbot builder, but the free version has limits on the number of chat agents and conversation volume. The paid tier, HubSpot Conversations, starts at $45 per month per user and unlocks unlimited chat agents, increased conversation limits, and advanced reporting. Key features: - Drag‑and‑drop chatbot builder - Seamless CRM and marketing automation integration - Lead capture and qualification - Customizable chat widget - Built‑in analytics and reporting - Email and meeting scheduling HubSpot Chatbot is best suited for agencies that already use HubSpot’s marketing stack or need a lightweight chatbot that can tie directly into CRM data. Its visual builder is intuitive, and the free tier is a good entry point. Limitations include the lack of advanced AI conversation beyond scripted flows, no dual knowledge base, and the widget customization is limited to colors and basic layout. The platform’s AI capabilities are also less advanced than newer generative‑AI solutions. Overall, HubSpot offers a solid, cost‑effective chatbot for agencies focused on CRM integration and lead capture.
Key Features:
- Drag‑and‑drop chatbot builder
- CRM and automation integration
- Lead capture
- Customizable widget
- Built‑in analytics
- Meeting scheduling
✓ Pros:
- +Free entry level
- +Seamless HubSpot integration
- +Easy visual builder
- +Cost‑effective for small teams
✗ Cons:
- −Limited AI beyond scripted flows
- −No dual knowledge base
- −Basic widget customization
- −Requires HubSpot subscription for full features
Pricing: Free tier; Conversations $45/mo per user
Conclusion
Choosing the right chat platform is pivotal for marketing agencies that want to deliver consistent, engaging, and data‑driven customer experiences across multiple client sites. AgentiveAIQ stands out as the Editor’s Choice because it offers a truly no‑code, fully branded experience, a powerful dual knowledge base, and the ability to host AI courses—all while keeping costs predictable and scalable. Intercom, ManyChat, Zendesk Chat, and HubSpot Chatbot each bring unique strengths—whether it’s deep integration with existing CRM ecosystems, affordable social‑media‑centric automation, or a robust help‑center hub—but none match AgentiveAIQ’s blend of customization, AI depth, and educational capabilities. If you’re ready to elevate your agency’s chatbot offerings, start by exploring AgentiveAIQ’s free demo or signing up for the Pro plan to test its WYSIWYG editor and dual knowledge base. For agencies already invested in a particular ecosystem, consider how each competitor’s integrations align with your existing workflows. Ultimately, the best choice will depend on your clients’ needs, your team’s technical comfort level, and the level of AI sophistication you want to deliver. Take the step today—your clients’ next conversation could be a game‑changer.