Hiver review 2026: see how this Gmail-based shared inbox and AI helpdesk platform compares on features, pricing tiers and Zendesk alternatives.
Hiver is a customer service platform built natively on top of Gmail and Google Workspace, founded in 2011 under the name Grexit by co-founders Niraj Ranjan Rout (CEO) and Nitesh Nandy. The company later rebranded to Hiver and is now headquartered in San Francisco with a significant operations base in Bengaluru, India, having raised roughly $26 million in funding, including a $22 million Series B round in 2022 led by K1 Capital.
Hiver's original and still-defining idea was to let teams run a help desk directly from a shared Gmail inbox, such as a support@ address, without forcing agents into a separate ticketing portal. The platform has since expanded into a broader omnichannel customer service suite covering chat, phone, WhatsApp and a self-service knowledge base, while retaining its native Gmail and Outlook integration as its core differentiator.
Hiver's foundation is shared inbox management, letting teams collaboratively manage support, sales or operations email addresses with ticketing, assignment and internal notes, all inside the familiar Gmail or Outlook interface. On top of email, Hiver supports live chat, a self-service help center knowledge base, phone support and WhatsApp messaging as additional channels within the same platform.
More recent additions include AI agents and an AI copilot that can draft responses, summarize conversation threads and automate routine replies, alongside rule-based automation, round robin ticket assignment, and skill-based routing on higher tiers. Higher plans add a customer self-service portal, SLAs, CSAT surveys, advanced analytics, premium integrations, API access, and enterprise controls like SSO, HIPAA compliance support and custom roles.
Hiver's Free plan costs $0 per month and includes shared inbox and ticketing across email, chat and help center channels, suited to teams just getting started with structured customer service. The Growth plan is priced between $25 and $35 per user per month depending on monthly or annual billing, and adds AI agents, an AI copilot, rule-based automation and prebuilt analytics.
The Pro plan, Hiver's most popular tier, runs $55 to $65 per user per month and adds a customer portal, SLAs, CSAT surveys and API access, while the Elite plan at $85 to $95 per user per month adds AI quality assurance, skill-based routing and enterprise security features like SSO and HIPAA support. All paid plans require a minimum of two seats.
Hiver is used as a shared inbox and AI-powered customer service platform built on Gmail and Google Workspace, handling email, chat, phone and WhatsApp support in one place.
Yes, Hiver offers a Free plan covering shared inbox and ticketing across email, chat and help center channels. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month on the Growth tier.
Hiver was founded in 2011 under the name Grexit by Niraj Ranjan Rout and Nitesh Nandy, later rebranding to Hiver.
Yes, while Hiver originated as a Gmail-native shared inbox tool, it also supports Outlook alongside its broader omnichannel platform.
Hiver includes AI agents and an AI copilot that draft responses and summarize conversation threads, plus AI-powered quality assurance and insights on the Elite plan.
Hiver is built natively inside Gmail and Google Workspace so agents work from their existing inbox, while Zendesk is a standalone help desk platform requiring agents to work in a separate portal.