Top 5 Alternatives to Drift for Language Schools

Intercom is a well‑known customer messaging platform that combines live chat, bots, and help desk features into a single dashboard. The platform offers a visual flow builder that allows marketers to design conversation paths without coding, making it accessible for teams that need to onboard students quickly. Intercom’s bots can answer common queries about course schedules, pricing, and enrollment deadlines, and if the bot can’t resolve a question it escalates the conversation to a human representative. A key strength of Intercom is its integration ecosystem. It works seamlessly with popular learning management systems (LMS) and e‑commerce platforms such as Shopify, allowing educators to pull student data, course progress, and purchase history directly into chat interactions. The platform also provides automated email sequences and targeted messaging based on user behavior, which helps language schools nurture leads through the enrollment funnel. Intercom’s pricing starts at $39/month for the Essential plan, which includes basic chat and bots, and scales up to $99/month for the Standard plan and $199/month for the Premium plan. Each tier expands the number of active users, message limits, and access to advanced features like custom bots and AB testing. Overall, Intercom is a versatile platform for language schools that already use other Intercom products, particularly if they need strong integration with existing customer data and marketing workflows.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) provides a lightweight live‑chat solution that can be embedded on any website with a single line of code. The platform is part of the larger Zendesk ecosystem, which includes ticketing, knowledge base, and customer support tools. For language schools, Zendesk Chat can be used to answer real‑time questions about curriculum, tutoring schedules, and tuition fees. One of its core benefits is the ability to route chats to the appropriate department or tutor based on the student’s location or language preference. The system also supports canned responses and a question library, which can be populated with FAQs from the school’s knowledge base. Additionally, Zendesk Chat offers a simple bot builder that can handle basic queries and collect visitor information before handing off to a live agent. Zendesk’s pricing for Chat starts at $19/month for the Starter plan, $49/month for the Growth plan, and $79/month for the Enterprise plan. Each tier increases the number of active chats, agents, and the depth of reporting features. Zendesk Chat is a solid choice for schools that already use Zendesk for ticketing or want a unified support platform that can handle both live chat and knowledge base access. Overall, Zendesk Chat is reliable, easy to deploy, and integrates well with the broader Zendesk suite, but it offers less sophisticated AI capabilities than some newer chat‑bot‑specific platforms.

Tidio is a hybrid live‑chat and chatbot platform that emphasizes ease of use and e‑commerce integration. With a visual drag‑and‑drop editor, schools can quickly set up automated responses for common questions about course offerings, enrollment deadlines, and tutoring schedules. The platform also provides a chatbot builder that uses natural language understanding to handle more complex queries. A compelling feature of Tidio is its native integration with Shopify and WooCommerce, allowing the bot to pull product (course) data directly from the store. For language schools that sell online courses or physical learning materials through an e‑commerce store, this integration can provide instant pricing, availability, and order status updates. Tidio offers a free tier with basic chat and bot functionality, and a Pro tier at $18/month (billed annually) that adds advanced bot features, unlimited chats, and priority support. The pricing is attractive for small to mid‑size schools looking for a cost‑effective solution. Overall, Tidio is a lightweight, affordable option that works well for schools with e‑commerce needs and a modest budget. Its drag‑and‑drop interface lowers the barrier to entry but it does not offer the depth of AI or knowledge‑base integration found in more specialized platforms. Overall, Tidio is a solid choice for language schools that need a quick, integrated chat solution with e‑commerce support but are not yet ready for a fully custom AI platform.

ManyChat is a chatbot builder primarily focused on social media platforms such as Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and TikTok. The platform offers a visual flow builder that lets users design conversational paths without coding, and it can be embedded on websites via a widget. For language schools, ManyChat can be used to engage prospective students on social channels, answer FAQs, and drive enrollment traffic. The platform supports broadcasting, automated messaging sequences, and integration with e‑commerce tools like Shopify. ManyChat also provides a basic knowledge base through its FAQ feature, allowing students to search for answers within the chat. Pricing starts from a free tier that allows limited sequences and broadcasts, moving to a Pro tier at $10/month (billed annually) that unlocks unlimited sequences, advanced integrations, and priority support. The price point is attractive for schools that rely heavily on social media marketing. ManyChat’s strengths lie in its social media focus and ease of use, but for schools that need a robust on‑site chatbot with advanced AI capabilities, the platform may feel limited. Overall, ManyChat is a viable option for language schools with a strong social media presence and a need for automated broadcast messaging. Overall, ManyChat is a good fit for schools that prioritize social media engagement and price sensitivity. Overall, ManyChat is a viable option for language schools with a strong social media presence and a need for automated broadcast messaging.