Comparison · 2026
Front is a powerful omnichannel inbox for growth-stage teams. Its Enterprise plan hits $105/seat/month. If you're an indie founder or a team under 15 people, the math gets uncomfortable fast.
Last updated: June 2026 · Pricing sourced from front.app and smailor.com
Smailor advantage
Flat pricing for the whole team
Front's Starter plan is $25/seat. Smailor Pro covers 15 members for €9.99 flat.
Front advantage
Omnichannel (SMS, social)
Front supports SMS, social inboxes, WhatsApp. Smailor is email-only.
AI
Self-hosted vs add-on billing
Smailor AI runs on EU servers at no extra cost. Front AI Copilot is a separate line item.
As of June 2026. ✅ included · ⚠️ partial/add-on · ❌ not available.
| Feature | Smailor | Front |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✅ Permanent | ✅ 14-day trial only |
| Pricing model | ✅ Flat workspace | ❌ Per seat/month |
| Entry paid price | ✅ €3.99/workspace | ❌ $25/seat/month |
| Shared inbox (email) | ✅ Groups | ✅ Shared inboxes |
| SMS / social inboxes | ❌ Email only | ✅ Professional+ |
| AI triage & routing | ✅ Pro+ (self-hosted) | ⚠️ Copilot add-on ($$$) |
| AI included in base plan | ✅ Pro plan (€9.99) | ❌ Enterprise add-on |
| EU data residency | ✅ Hetzner DE/FI | ❌ US-based |
| GDPR / DPA | ✅ Available | ✅ Available |
| Routing / automation rules | ✅ Incl. AI-based | ✅ Up to 10 (Starter) / unlimited (Enterprise) |
| Knowledge base | ❌ Not included | ✅ No-code KB (Starter+) |
| Discord notifications | ✅ Native (Solo+) | ❌ Via Zapier |
| REST API | ✅ All plans | ✅ All plans |
| Custom domain | ✅ From free tier | ⚠️ Custom email routing |
| SSO / SAML | ✅ Business | ✅ Professional+ |
| Team inbox limit (paid entry) | ✅ 5 groups | ⚠️ Limited on Starter |
Front's Starter plan is already $25/seat. By the time you need AI features, you're at $105/seat.
Smailor — flat workspace
Business includes unlimited team members, addresses, and custom domains.
Front — per seat (annual)
AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Autopilot are priced separately. Min. 2 seats.
Real cost at 5 users
Smailor Pro (5 users)
€9.99/mo
AI triage included. Up to 15 members.
Front Starter (5 users)
$125/mo
5 × $25/seat. No AI included.
What actually separates these two tools in day-to-day use.
Per-seat vs flat-rate — the number that matters
Front charges per seat at every tier. A 5-person team on Starter pays $125/month — before AI, before add-ons. Smailor Pro covers up to 15 people for €9.99/month. For small teams, this isn't a marginal difference; it's an order of magnitude.
Omnichannel — Front's clear lead
Front supports SMS, WhatsApp, social media inboxes, and voice on its Professional and Enterprise plans. Smailor is email-only. If your customer communication already spans channels beyond email, Front is genuinely the better fit.
AI — included vs billable add-on
Front's AI Copilot (drafting, summaries, QA) is priced as a separate add-on on top of any plan. Smailor's AI triage and spam filtering are included in the Pro plan at €9.99 — running on a self-hosted Qwen 2.5 model that never sends your data to third-party AI providers.
Data residency — EU vs US
Smailor runs exclusively on Hetzner infrastructure in Germany and Finland. Data never leaves the EEA. Front is US-headquartered. For EU-based businesses handling customer PII, the default data location is different — even if both tools offer DPA agreements.
Choose Smailor if…
Choose Front if…
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