Top 5 Alternatives to Drift for Financial Advisors

Intercom has long been a favorite among SaaS and fintech companies for its comprehensive messaging suite that blends live chat, bots, and customer data. With a modular design, Intercom offers a **chatbot builder** that can guide prospects through product demos, answer FAQs, and qualify leads using AI‑powered responses. The platform integrates seamlessly with popular CRM systems—such as Salesforce and HubSpot—allowing advisors to pull client data into conversations and track interactions in a single place. Intercom’s **automation** features let you set up proactive messages based on user behavior, while its **ticketing system** ensures that unresolved queries are handed off to human agents for follow‑up. Pricing starts at **$39/month for the Starter plan**, which includes basic messaging and bots, and scales to **$99/month for the Pro plan** that unlocks advanced automation, custom branding, and higher usage limits. While Intercom offers powerful live chat functionality and robust analytics, its AI capabilities are primarily rule‑based, and the platform can become pricey as you add more agents or increase usage. For financial advisors who need a single platform for client communication, lead capture, and basic chatbot automation, Intercom remains a solid choice—particularly if you already use one of its partner CRMs.

HubSpot’s conversational marketing tools are part of its broader inbound marketing ecosystem. The platform’s **chatbot builder** is free to use and allows advisors to create basic bots that can answer FAQs, route visitors to the right resource, or capture contact information. Because it’s tightly integrated with the HubSpot CRM, conversations automatically populate contact records, making it easier to nurture leads and track interactions. HubSpot also offers **email marketing flows** and **automation** that can be triggered by chatbot interactions, providing a seamless path from initial chat to follow‑up email. Pricing for the **Starter plan** begins at **$50/month**, which includes the chatbot builder and basic automation, while the **Professional plan** at **$800/month** unlocks advanced marketing automation, predictive lead scoring, and additional user seats. HubSpot’s main strengths lie in its free tier, extensive marketing resources, and comprehensive CRM integration. However, the chatbot logic is relatively simple, and advanced AI or knowledge‑base features are limited. For advisors who already use HubSpot’s marketing tools and want a low‑cost way to add chatbots, this platform is a practical fit.

ManyChat is a popular platform for building conversational experiences across Facebook Messenger, SMS, and web chat. Its **visual flow builder** lets advisors craft message sequences that can answer common questions, gather contact details, or direct clients to relevant resources. ManyChat offers a range of pre‑built templates—especially for marketing funnels—which can be customized without coding. Pricing starts at a **free tier** with basic features, while the **Pro plan** is $10/month and the **Growth plan** is $60/month, offering advanced automation, unlimited broadcasts, and a larger contact list. ManyChat’s strengths include its ease of use for social media‑centric outreach, robust automation for nurturing leads, and affordability. However, it lacks deep integration with CRM systems, has limited AI capabilities, and does not provide a dedicated knowledge base or long‑term memory feature—making it less ideal for advisors who need secure client portals and compliance‑ready content. For financial professionals who prefer to engage clients via Facebook or SMS and want a simple, cost‑effective chatbot tool, ManyChat remains a viable option.

Tidio combines live chat and AI‑powered chatbots into a single, easy‑to‑install solution. The platform offers a **drag‑and‑drop chat builder** that allows advisors to create conversational flows to answer FAQs, schedule appointments, or hand off to a human agent. Tidio integrates with popular email services (Gmail, Outlook) and CRMs like HubSpot, making it straightforward to capture leads and sync data. Its **pricing model** includes a free tier with basic chat and bot capabilities; the **Basic plan** is $18/month and the **Plus plan** is $29/month, adding advanced automation and multi‑user support. Tidio’s strengths lie in its affordability, quick setup, and combined live chat & bot functionality—ideal for advisors who need a straightforward chat solution without extensive customization. However, it lacks a dedicated knowledge base, advanced AI, and robust compliance features, which can be a limitation for firms handling sensitive financial data. For small advisors or firms that require a simple, budget‑friendly chat interface, Tidio offers a solid entry‑level option.