A shared inbox allows users to share their mailboxes with other users to view and send email from a common mailbox. A shared inbox works similarly to a regular e-mail account, but can be managed by several users.

It is easy for businesses to have a general support email address such as help@aabergkvist.com, or sales@aabergkvist.com. Using a single support address works very well for both the company and the consumer, as the customer care process becomes much more streamlined.

Especially if you have a team dedicated to customer care, using a tool that allows your representatives to collaborate hand by hand will not only increase the organization of your team but also reduce waiting times for customers, which translates into higher outcomes.

Why a Shared Inbox Tool Is a Must-Have

A shared inbox tool is one of the best things that you can have when it comes to customer management.

Managing a single inbox can be easy when only one or even three people are in charge, but once the number of emails arriving at a shared inbox increases, so does the amount of problems.

The need to transfer emails to different departments or the "logistic" problems it carries, such as unanswered emails, duplicated responses, forgotten conversations, or responsibility issues.By using a shared inbox tool, every team member will know what's going on with each email, and nothing will slip through the cracks.

Features

Below are the features I will take into account when comparing:

• Supported Inboxes
• Versatility
• Integrations
• Analytics
• Entry Price

Front

Front is the #1 shared inbox for teams, which lets you organize all your messages — Email, SMS texts, live chat, Facebook, and Twitter — in one place, route them to the right people, and increase your team outcome.

It supports Gmail and Office 365 email clients, and it's available on Desktop and Mobile (iOS and Android).

It also has CRM integrations ranging from Salesforce to Zoho, automation capabilities with Zapier, and 60+ extra integrations with many software solutions.

Analytics are available starting on their Prime plan and can provide both individual and team-wide reports. Between their track features you will find:

• Conversation Reports
• Team Performance Reports
• Productivity Reports
• Tag Reports
• SLA Report (Prime and Enterprise users only)

Entry Price: Starts at $9/user/month — More info.

Hiver

Hiver is one of the leading shared inbox solutions on the market right now.

What sets it apart: it’s built right on top of Gmail. It does not force teams to adapt to a new interface to manage emails. It enhances Gmail to work for teams like customer support and basically for any team that collaborates on Email.

It's only available for G Suite users, as it works over the Gmail platform.

Available on Desktop and Mobile (iOS and Android).

It also counts with Zapier integrations, which allows you to connect Hiver to over 2,000 apps. In their analytics features, you will find:

• Conversation Reports
• User Reports
• Tag Reports

Being Conversation Reports the only form of analytics available in the Lite plan.

Entry Price: Starts at $7/user/month — More info.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk is an online customer engagement solution that lets you streamline your company's customer support using a ticketing system to efficiently manage your customers.

It's compatible with G Suite, Office 365, and other email clients.

Available in both Desktop and Mobile (iOS and Android).

Freshdesk converts requests coming in via email, web, phone, live chat, and social into tickets, and unifies ticket resolution across channels, while also offering features like an AI-powered support chatbot, predictive support capabilities, and field service management.

As it's a ticketing system, it's highly compatible with other platforms, including even a Chrome extension that allows you to work over the Gmail platform. For Zapier, Freshdesk is compatible with 84 apps, ranging from Asana to SurveyMethods. On the analytics field, they provide:

• Performance Reports (Time and SLA Metrics)
• Ticket Volume Reports
• Agent Performance Reports
• Group Performance Reports
• Ticket Volume Trends
• Performance Distributions
• Ticket Lifecycle Reports
• Top Customer Analysis

On top of that, it allows you to customize and build analytic reports in the way you want them - with minimal effort, offering the flexibility to pick the metrics you want to analyze.

Entry Price: Free plan available with unlimited users — More info.

Help Scout

Help Scout is ideal for companies of all sizes, their clutter-free features keep teams of any size on the same page. With this tool, your team will be able to see all activity for a contact, including saved replies and private notes.

It is built for speed and efficiency, so the UX is streamlined, and there are powerful automated actions that reduce the time reps spend on each task.It's compatible with Gmail, Microsoft 365, and several other email clients.

Available on Desktop and Mobile (iOS and Android).

Help Scouts have the most complete integrations list so far, mostly led by Integromat and Zapier, making them compatible with over 100 different apps.And as for analytics:

• Conversation Reports
• Productivity Reports
• Individual Performance Reports
• Customer Satisfaction Reports

Entry Price: $10/user/month — More info.

Drag

Drag helps companies run a CRM inside Gmail. Drag will convert your inbox into a work hub for communication, collaboration, and automation.

One of the most remarkable features of this tool is its "Drag Boards". A drag and drop ticketing system that offers several customization options.

Like Hiver, it's only available for G Suite users, as it works over the Gmail platform.

Available on Desktop and a Mobile App that is currently under closed beta.

For now, they do not offer integrations besides with G Suite, but you can find everything they have planned by looking at their roadmap.

On the analytics side, they open a new window of analytics for Gmail, offering:

• Productivity Reports
• ROI Reports
• Conversation Reports
• Sales Pipeline Reports

Entry Price: Free plan with unlimited users and up to 10 boards — More info.

Which One Did I Choose?

Among all the solutions listed above, I ended up opting for Front. The ability to have everything in one (Facebook, Gmail, Drift, and all the Twilio features) is one of the best parts of this tool, not to mention the unbeatable amount of integrations it has.

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