Top 5 Alternatives to Drift for Mortgage Brokers

Intercom is a versatile customer messaging platform that combines live chat, marketing automation, and help desk support into a single interface. For mortgage brokers, Intercom’s ability to segment users based on behavior, automate targeted messaging, and integrate with CRM systems makes it a powerful tool for engaging potential borrowers. The platform offers a robust set of pre‑built bots that can qualify leads, collect contact information, and schedule appointments—all while maintaining a conversational tone. With Intercom’s “Custom Bots” feature, brokers can craft tailored conversation flows that ask relevant mortgage questions, gather essential data, and route qualified leads to their sales team. Intercom’s pricing structure is tiered, with the Essential plan starting at $39/month for up to 2,000 contacts, the Pro plan at $99/month for 10,000 contacts, and the Premium plan at $199/month for 30,000 contacts. Each tier includes access to live chat, help center, and basic automation, while the Premium level adds advanced reporting, custom bots, and integrations with tools like Salesforce and HubSpot. Intercom also provides a wide range of integrations with mortgage‑specific software, such as loan origination systems, to streamline the lead nurturing process. Key strengths of Intercom include its intuitive visual flow builder, extensive integration ecosystem, and strong focus on user segmentation. However, the platform can become expensive as the contact list grows, and the free tier is limited in functionality, which may not be sufficient for brokers with high engagement volumes.

Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) is a live‑chat solution that focuses on real‑time customer engagement. Mortgage brokers can use Zendesk Chat to provide instant support, answer FAQs, and capture lead information directly from the website. The platform’s bot functionality allows brokers to pre‑qualify visitors by asking a few key questions about loan types, credit scores, or property values. Once a lead is deemed qualified, Zendesk Chat can automatically create a ticket in the broker’s Zendesk Support system or trigger a follow‑up email. Zendesk Chat’s pricing starts at $19/month for the Team plan, which includes basic chat features and a single agent. The Growth plan at $49/month adds multiple agents, integration with Zendesk Support, and advanced reporting. For brokers who already use Zendesk’s suite of customer service tools, Zendesk Chat offers seamless integration, reducing the need for separate systems. The platform’s strengths lie in its ease of deployment, real‑time chat capabilities, and integration with Zendesk Support. However, its bot capabilities are relatively basic compared to dedicated AI chat platforms, and it lacks advanced knowledge base integration for nuanced mortgage queries.

Freshchat is a modern messaging platform designed for sales and support teams. It offers a conversational interface that brokers can use to engage visitors, answer mortgage questions, and collect lead information. Freshchat’s intelligent bots can ask qualifying questions, route leads to the appropriate team member, and trigger follow‑up emails or calendar invites. The platform also integrates with Freshsales, allowing brokers to manage the entire lead lifecycle within a single ecosystem. Pricing for Freshchat starts at $12/month for the Growth plan, which includes up to 12 agents and basic live‑chat features. The Pro plan at $25/month adds advanced AI chatbots, integrations with external CRMs, and additional automation rules. Freshchat’s flexible pricing makes it an attractive option for smaller brokerages or those looking to test live‑chat features before scaling. Freshchat’s strengths include its low cost, easy-to-use interface, and strong integration with Freshsales. Its limitations are a relatively modest bot feature set compared to specialized AI platforms and limited multi‑channel support beyond web chat.

HubSpot Conversations is a free, built‑in chat solution that integrates tightly with HubSpot’s CRM and marketing tools. Mortgage brokers using HubSpot can add a live chat widget to their website, capture visitor data, and automatically log conversations in the CRM. The platform’s chatbot builder allows brokers to create guided flows that qualify leads, schedule appointments, and answer common mortgage questions. When a visitor answers the bot’s questions, the system can generate a contact record and assign it to a sales rep for follow‑up. HubSpot Conversations is included with all HubSpot CRM plans, both free and paid. The free tier offers basic live chat and chatbot functionality, while the Professional tier (starting at $45/month) adds advanced chat features, conversation insights, and integration with additional HubSpot tools. For brokers already invested in the HubSpot ecosystem, this solution offers a seamless experience without additional costs. The platform’s strengths are its zero‑cost entry point, deep CRM integration, and ability to combine chat with email and marketing automation. Its main drawback is the limited customization of the chat widget’s appearance and the lack of advanced AI features such as knowledge graph or RAG.