Hobson vs Front: AI support for small SaaS and Shopify teams
Front is a customer operations platform built around shared inboxes. It charges per seat, with Copilot at $20 per seat and Autopilot from $0.39 per conversation.
Hobson drafts every conversation for a flat price with unlimited seats, with a customer lookup and Linear escalation for SaaS teams and order actions for stores.
Choose Front for internal email collaboration across a business. Choose Hobson if the inbox is customer support and you want the drafting included.
14-day free trial. Hobson starts in shadow mode, so nothing reaches your customers until you choose. Hobson is opening to new stores soon, so for now you join the waitlist.
Updated 11 October 2026. Competitor prices checked on each vendor’s own site.
At a glance
| Feature | Hobson | Front |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly plans by conversations, every feature on every plan | Per seat, plus Autopilot usage |
| Starting price | £59 a month for 300 conversations (£590 a year billed annually) | Starter $25, Professional $65, Enterprise $105 per seat a month, billed annually |
| AI fee | None. Drafting and auto-send are included in the plan | Autopilot from $0.39 per conversation |
| Over the limit | No overage charges. At the limit Hobson stops drafting new conversations until you upgrade or the next period starts | Usage based |
| Seats | Unlimited seats on every plan | Charged per seat |
| AI drafting | A draft on every conversation, included | Copilot $20 per seat a month |
Prices as listed on each vendor’s own pricing page, checked on the dates under Sources. Prices exclude VAT.
What it costs in practice
Three example stores on monthly billing at list prices. Each competitor figure counts its seats and its fee for each conversation its AI resolves, on the plan shown. Drafting add-ons are left out, which favours the competitors. US dollar prices are converted at £1 = $1.33. Hobson’s AI drafting pauses at your plan limit, and you’re never billed overage.
Small store
300 conversations, 2 agents, 30% (90) resolved by AI
- Hobson Starter
- £59
- Front Professional
- ≈ £124
- 2 seats × $65US$130
- 90 Autopilot conversations × $0.39US$35.10
Growing store
1,000 conversations, 3 agents, 40% (400) resolved by AI
- Hobson Growth
- £179
- Front Professional
- ≈ £264
- 3 seats × $65US$195
- 400 Autopilot conversations × $0.39US$156
Busy store
3,000 conversations, 8 agents, 50% (1,500) resolved by AI
- Hobson Scale
- £399
- Front Professional
- ≈ £831
- 8 seats × $65US$520
- 1,500 Autopilot conversations × $0.39US$585
How the AI works
Hobson drafts every conversation and a person approves it. It recommends auto-send for a category, such as order status or returns, once it has at least 20 reviewed outcomes, a 95% confidence lower bound of 70% or more acceptable, and facts changed in no more than 10% of replies. Policy categories like refunds stay locked until your policy is in the knowledge base. Every auto-send waits a minute so you can undo it, and a category goes back to asking first if corrections rise.
Front charges for its AI by usage, so the bill rises as it does more. Hobson’s price stays the same.
Where Front is better
- Shared inbox collaboration across support, sales and operations teams.
- A long track record.
Where Hobson is better
- Drafts on every conversation included, where Copilot is $20 per seat.
- No per-seat fees.
- Linear escalation and a customer lookup for SaaS teams, plus Shopify order actions for stores.
- Auto-send earned per category on measured accuracy.
Switching
Connect Gmail in two clicks or forward your support email, and Hobson starts in shadow mode: it drafts every reply and sends nothing until you choose. Your history in Front stays where it is.
Questions
Sources
- Front pricing, checked 14 November 2026
Prices are list prices excluding VAT, voice, SMS and add-ons unless shown, and can change at any time. Check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Front is a trade mark of its owner. Hobson is not affiliated with it. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@hobson.support and we’ll correct it.
Put Hobson on duty.
Connect your inbox in a few minutes. Hobson drafts, you approve, and nothing reaches a customer until you say so.