Hiver vs Gmelius: The Ultimate Comparison

Hiver and Gmelius are the two names teams compare most when the shared inbox has to live on Gmail, and the honest 2026 answer is more interesting than either vendor's own comparison admits: Hiver now has a free plan and bundles its AI from the first paid tier up, Gmelius starts cheaper than Hiver's first paid tier and includes AI everywhere, and both have real weaknesses the other's marketing page will happily show you. This comparison is verified against both vendors' current pricing pages, dated, and includes the option both of them leave out: what to pick when neither quite fits. Every figure below was checked at publication.

Hiver vs Gmelius at a glance

Both ladders verified against the vendors' pricing pages at publication, annual billing shown. The short version: Gmelius wins the entry price, Hiver wins the free tier and the ceiling.

Hiver vs Gmelius vs Drag pricing

The current ladders, verified: Hiver runs Free, then Growth at $25 per user per month billed annually ($35 monthly), Pro at $55, and Elite at $85, with a 2-seat minimum on paid plans and AI Agents plus Copilot bundled from Growth up. Gmelius has no free plan, a 7-day trial, then Meli at $19 ($21 monthly), Growth at $25 ($33), Pro at $40 ($50), and a custom Enterprise tier with a 50-user minimum, with AI included on every tier. Drag, the third option this page returns to below, runs $12, $18 with AI, or $24 per user per month with a 7-day trial and no card. Read the shape, not just the numbers: Gmelius is the cheapest way in, Hiver is the only free way in, Hiver's ceiling is twice Gmelius's, and Drag undercuts both entry points while staying entirely on Gmail.

The AI story, side by side

This is where the ladders diverge most. Hiver's AI, Agents that resolve conversations and a Copilot that drafts and summarizes, comes bundled from the Growth tier up, a 2026 change from its old add-on pricing that many comparisons still miss. Gmelius includes its AI, automation suggestions, reply drafting, and its longstanding rules engine, on every tier including the cheapest, which makes it the least expensive way to get AI into a shared Gmail inbox between these two. Neither charges per resolution. If AI-assisted support at minimum spend is the goal, Gmelius wins this section; if AI depth at scale matters more, Hiver's Agents are the more ambitious product.

Feature by feature: the details that decide

Shared drafts and collision detection: both have them, and both work; Hiver's collision alerts are the more visible of the two. Automation: Gmelius's rules engine is the deeper builder and comes on every tier, while Hiver's automations start properly at Growth and scale into SLA-driven routing above it. Analytics: Hiver wins outright, its reports read like a support manager designed them, where Gmelius covers workload basics. Channels: Hiver goes multichannel with live chat, WhatsApp and voice on upper tiers; Gmelius stays email-first and adds boards and sequences instead, light project management Hiver does not attempt. Integrations: both cover the standards, Slack, Zapier, HubSpot class, with tier gating that changes often enough that the vendor pages are the only honest source on the day you buy. And the Gmail feel: Gmelius is the more Gmail-native of the two by a nose, while Hiver increasingly assumes you will also live in its web app, which some teams like and Gmail purists notice.

Where Hiver fits better

Choose Hiver when the trajectory is a proper support operation: multichannel beyond email (live chat, WhatsApp, voice on upper tiers), SLAs and CSAT surveys, analytics with manager depth, and an AI roadmap that behaves like a help desk's. The free plan makes it the only way to start at zero between these two, and the 2-seat minimum on paid tiers only matters below team size anyway. The trade: it is the more expensive ladder at every paid rung, and the Gmail experience increasingly shares weight with Hiver's own web app.

Where Gmelius fits better

Choose Gmelius when the team is small, budget-led, and automation-hungry: the $19 entry is the cheapest paid shared inbox of the pair, AI and the rules engine come with it, and boards plus email sequences give it light project and outreach powers Hiver does not chase. The trades: no free plan, a 50-user floor on Enterprise pricing conversations, and a company whose recent public attention has drifted toward other markets, worth knowing when you are buying a multi-year workflow home.

The third option both comparisons skip

Every two-way comparison hides the question behind it: is either actually the right shape? Both Hiver and Gmelius layer a platform onto Gmail. Drag takes the other route, the inbox itself becomes the workspace: shared addresses render as boards on Gmail, emails become cards with owners, statuses, notes and automations, and the whole surface, email and WhatsApp together, is manageable from Claude or ChatGPT through Drag's official MCP server, which neither Hiver nor Gmelius offers. At $12 to $24 per user per month it undercuts both entry points. We are the maker, so take the framing with that disclosed; the checkable facts are on the pricing page, and the trial needs no card.

Switching between them, and trying any of the three

Moving between Hiver and Gmelius is undramatic in either direction: both sit on top of Gmail rather than replacing it, so your mail, labels and history stay where they are, and the migration is really about rebuilding rules, tags and assignments in the new tool, a settings afternoon for a small team rather than a data project. The same is true of trying Drag. The practical sequence most switching teams use: run the trial of the candidate alongside the incumbent on one shared address, rebuild only that inbox's rules, and let a week of real traffic make the decision. If the comparison above tilted you toward leaving either tool entirely, our guides to the best Hiver alternatives and Gmelius alternatives go deeper than this page can.

Hiver vs Gmelius: what should you choose?

The honest decision tree: starting at zero, Hiver, it has the only free plan here. Smallest paid budget with AI included, Gmelius at $19. Scaling support across channels with manager-grade analytics, Hiver, and accept the price ceiling. Automation-first small team, Gmelius. And if what you actually want is Gmail itself doing the work, boards in the inbox, AI clients driving it, pricing under both, that is Drag's lane, and the 7-day trial is the cheap way to test the claim. All three are real products; the mistake is buying the comparison winner instead of the shape your team works in.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hiver or Gmelius cheaper?

Gmelius is cheaper to start: $19 per user per month annual against Hiver's $25 with a 2-seat minimum. But Hiver has a free plan and Gmelius does not, so "cheapest" depends on whether zero is an option for your team size. At the top, Gmelius's $40 Pro undercuts Hiver's $55 Pro and $85 Elite.

Does Hiver still charge extra for AI?

No. Hiver's AI Agents and Copilot are bundled from the Growth tier up as of 2026, the old per-seat AI add-on is gone, though many older comparisons still cite it.

Does Gmelius have a free plan?

No. Gmelius offers a 7-day trial, then paid tiers from $19 per user per month billed annually. Hiver is the one of the pair with a genuinely free plan.

Which is better for customer support teams?

Hiver, in most cases: SLAs, CSAT, multichannel, and deeper analytics make it the more complete support product, at a higher price. Gmelius suits smaller teams whose support runs on email alone.

Which is better for automation?

Gmelius ships its rules engine and AI on every tier, making it the cheaper automation play. Hiver's automation is strong but starts at a higher rung.

Can either be managed from Claude or ChatGPT?

Not natively. Neither Hiver nor Gmelius ships an official MCP server as of publication. Drag does, which makes it the option to evaluate if AI-client workflows matter to your team.

Is Gmelius still actively developed?

Yes, the product is maintained and its AI features are current, though the company's public content focus has recently broadened toward other markets. Worth weighing for a long-term purchase, not a reason to rule it out.

Can I switch from Hiver to Gmelius (or back) without losing email history?

Yes. Both tools layer onto Gmail rather than storing your mail, so history stays in the mailbox regardless. What you rebuild are the workflow parts, tags, rules, assignments, and SLA settings, which for most teams is an afternoon of setup rather than a migration project.

Do Hiver and Gmelius work with Outlook?

Hiver does, it added Outlook support alongside Gmail. Gmelius is Gmail-only. If your company is mixed or may move to Microsoft, that single fact may outweigh everything else on this page; verify the current state on the vendors' sites before deciding on it.

What is the best alternative to both?

Depends on the itch: Drag if you want the inbox itself as the workspace at a lower price; Front if email must scale past Gmail entirely; Missive if multi-account craft matters most. Our full alternatives guides cover each honestly.

Ready to see the third option in your own inbox? Drag runs $12 to $24 per user per month, and the 7-day trial needs no card.