Top 7 Alternatives to Drift for Mortgage Brokers

Intercom is a widely used customer messaging platform that combines live chat, automated bots, and help desk capabilities. It is designed for businesses that need to engage visitors, capture leads, and provide support across multiple channels. The platform offers a visual bot builder that allows non‑technical users to create conversation flows, trigger messages based on user behavior, and integrate with popular CRM systems such as Salesforce and HubSpot. Intercom’s messaging suite also supports in‑app messages, product tours, and email sequences, giving mortgage brokers a one‑stop shop for nurturing prospects from initial contact to closing. Intercom’s key strengths include its robust analytics dashboard, which tracks conversation metrics, user engagement, and revenue attribution. Mortgage brokers can use these insights to refine marketing strategies, measure the effectiveness of loan‑related campaigns, and identify high‑intent leads. The platform also provides a knowledge base feature that allows brokers to publish articles and FAQs directly within the chat interface, reducing the need for manual responses. Intercom’s pricing is tiered; the Essentials plan starts at $39/month (for up to 2,000 contacts), the Pro plan at $99/month (up to 10,000 contacts), and the Premium plan at $199/month (up to 25,000 contacts). Additional add‑ons such as the Automation and Teams modules can increase the price but add advanced routing and collaboration features. While Intercom offers a powerful suite of tools, its pricing can scale quickly with contact volume and add‑ons. The platform also relies heavily on its proprietary ecosystem, which can result in vendor lock‑in if brokers need to move data or integrate with non‑standard systems.

HubSpot Live Chat is part of HubSpot’s inbound marketing and sales platform, providing real‑time chat, chatbots, and email automation. Designed for businesses that want to combine chat with SEO, content marketing, and lead nurturing, HubSpot’s chat solution integrates seamlessly with its CRM, allowing brokers to capture visitor data, track interactions, and score leads automatically. The chat widget is fully customizable, and the bot builder enables the creation of automated conversation flows that can answer FAQs, qualify leads, or schedule appointments. HubSpot’s strengths lie in its unified data ecosystem. All chat interactions are logged in the CRM, enabling sales teams to view a complete conversation history alongside contact details, deal stages, and email activity. The platform also offers a built‑in marketing automation engine, so brokers can trigger follow‑up emails, nurture sequences, or re‑engagement campaigns based on chat activity. HubSpot Live Chat is included in the free HubSpot CRM, but advanced chat features are available in the Starter ($45/month), Professional ($800/month), and Enterprise ($1,200/month) tiers. These tiered plans also unlock additional marketing and sales tools, such as custom reporting, advanced segmentation, and multi‑user collaboration. While HubSpot provides a powerful, data‑driven chat experience, its pricing can be high for brokers who only need chat functionality. Additionally, the platform’s focus on inbound marketing means that brokers must invest in content and SEO to fully leverage the chat data, which may not align with every broker’s marketing strategy.

LiveChat is a cloud‑based customer support platform that focuses on providing a seamless live‑chat experience alongside automated bot capabilities. The platform offers a fully customizable chat widget, real‑time chat monitoring, and a bot builder that allows brokers to automate common questions about loan rates, application status, or eligibility criteria. LiveChat’s integration catalogue includes Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, and many other CRMs, making it easy for mortgage brokers to capture leads and sync conversation data. Key differentiators of LiveChat include its robust reporting suite, which tracks metrics such as average response time, chat volume, and conversion rates. The platform also supports a knowledge base that can be embedded within the chat interface, reducing the need for manual responses. Pricing starts at $16/month per agent for the Essentials plan, $25/month for the Professional plan (additional features include advanced reporting and automation), and $45/month for the Enterprise plan with unlimited agents. LiveChat’s modular pricing structure allows brokers to scale based on the number of agents and features required. While LiveChat provides a solid chat experience, it does not offer native e‑commerce integration or advanced AI features such as a knowledge graph. Brokers who need AI‑powered lead qualification or complex conversational flows may need to supplement LiveChat with third‑party tools.

ManyChat is a conversational marketing platform that specializes in building Facebook Messenger bots and SMS marketing flows. Although originally geared toward social media, ManyChat’s visual flow builder and automation capabilities make it a viable option for mortgage brokers who want to engage prospects through Messenger or SMS. The platform allows brokers to create drip campaigns, conduct lead qualification, and broadcast loan rate updates. ManyChat’s integration options include Zapier, Twilio, and popular CRMs, enabling brokers to sync contact information and trigger downstream actions. ManyChat’s strengths are its simplicity and the ability to reach users on platforms where many prospects already spend time. The drag‑and‑drop builder requires minimal technical skill, and the platform offers pre‑built templates for lead capture and qualification. Pricing is tiered: Free for basic features, Growth at $10/month (up to 500 contacts), Pro at $29/month (up to 10,000 contacts), and Enterprise for larger volumes. While ManyChat is powerful for social‑media engagement, its focus on Messenger and SMS means it does not provide a website chat widget out of the box. Brokers who rely primarily on website chat may need to use an additional tool or embed ManyChat’s widget via a third‑party solution.

Zendesk Chat, formerly known as Zopim, is a chat solution that integrates tightly with the Zendesk help desk and support ecosystem. The platform offers real‑time chat, automated bots, and a knowledge base that can be embedded in the chat interface. For mortgage brokers, Zendesk Chat can be used to answer common loan questions, capture leads, and route high‑intent conversations to the sales team. The platform’s chat widget is highly customizable and can be styled to match a broker’s brand. Zendesk Chat’s key selling points include its ability to create conversational flows that trigger actions such as ticket creation, email notifications, or CRM updates. The platform also offers advanced reporting, chat transcripts, and the ability to record chat sessions for compliance purposes—a valuable feature for regulated industries like mortgage lending. Pricing starts at $14/month per agent for the Starter plan, $20/month for the Team plan, and $40/month for the Enterprise plan. Each tier unlocks additional features such as AI‑powered chatbots, advanced reporting, and unlimited chat rooms. While Zendesk Chat is robust, its feature set is closely tied to the Zendesk suite, which may be unnecessary if a broker already uses a different support platform.

Tidio is a modern chat platform that blends live chat, automated bots, and email marketing into a single interface. Designed for small to medium‑sized businesses, Tidio offers a chat widget that can be embedded on any website with a simple script. The bot builder allows brokers to create automated conversation flows that answer FAQs about mortgage rates, credit scores, or loan eligibility. Tidio also supports email automation, so once a conversation is closed, follow‑up emails can be sent automatically. Tidio’s integration options include Zapier, Shopify, HubSpot, and multiple CRMs, making it easy for mortgage brokers to sync leads and track conversions. The platform offers a free tier that includes unlimited chats and basic bot functionality, while the Premium plan costs $18/month per user and adds advanced bot features, custom themes, and priority support. The Enterprise plan is available on request. Tidio’s ease of use and flexible pricing make it an attractive choice for brokers who need a straightforward chat solution without a large upfront investment. However, the platform’s bot capabilities are less advanced than some competitors, and it does not provide native e‑commerce integrations beyond Shopify and WooCommerce connectors.