Overview

Hiver is a shared-inbox and help-desk platform for teams managing customer email together. It suits teams that need shared inboxes, service workflows, and API access, with paid plans that scale from 10 users to unlimited users. Its free starting point is useful, but the annual tiers’ inbox and automation caps make plan fit worth checking before committing.

Key features

Shared inboxes are the center of Hiver’s offering, with SLA management, ticket automation, a help center, and a customer portal alongside them. That combination suits teams that want to coordinate support work and offer customers self-service, rather than simply replace an individual email client.

API access is a practical advantage for teams fitting support software into an existing stack. The feature set also spans operational controls and customer-facing tools; however, the lower paid tiers cap automations per shared inbox, so teams with heavier workflow needs may need to move up a plan.

Pricing

Hiver uses a freemium model, offers a free plan, and has a 7-day trial. Paid plans are billed annually:

Plan	Price	Included limits	Best fit
Growth	$25.00 USD per month (billed Annual)	2 shared inboxes, 10 users, 10 automations per shared inbox, 2 custom fields	Small teams with contained inbox and automation needs.
Pro	$55.00 USD per month (billed Annual)	5 shared inboxes, unlimited users, 20 automations per shared inbox, 10 custom fields	Teams that need more inboxes and room for additional users.
Elite	$85.00 USD per month (billed Annual)	Unlimited shared inboxes, users, and automations; 6 custom roles	Larger or growing operations that need fewer capacity ceilings and custom roles.

Growth’s 10-user ceiling and two-inbox limit keep its entry price relevant to smaller operations, but its 10 automations per inbox may constrain more involved workflows. Pro removes the user cap and doubles the automation allowance per inbox, while Elite removes the listed inbox, user, and automation caps.

Platforms

Hiver is available as an API platform. That matters to teams integrating it into a software stack, but the platform listing does not establish availability for particular desktop or mobile operating systems.

Who it's for

Hiver is best suited to teams that handle customer support through shared inboxes and want SLA management, automation, a help center, or a customer portal in the same service platform. API access makes it relevant to builders working around an existing stack. It is less compelling for individuals seeking a general-purpose email client, or for teams whose needs exceed Growth’s inbox and automation limits but cannot justify a higher annual tier.

Pros and cons

Pros

Support workflows beyond shared email: SLA management, ticket automation, a help center, and a customer portal serve teams with structured support needs.
Room to scale: Pro allows unlimited users, while Elite also removes the listed inbox and automation caps.
API access: A useful fit for teams connecting support software with their existing stack.

Cons

Annual billing on paid plans: The stated prices are billed annually, which is a less flexible commitment than a monthly paid term.
Growth has tight ceilings: Two shared inboxes, 10 users, and 10 automations per inbox may be restrictive as a support team grows.
Free-plan capacity is unclear: The plan includes 2 agent seats, but teams should verify its other limits before adopting it.

Alternatives

Choose Front instead if its Starter tier’s up-to-10-seat limit, 10 automation rules, one workspace, and 10 channels per license suit your team’s needs; it has no free plan and costs $25.00 USD per month billed annually.

Choose Gmelius instead if a lower-priced starting tier fits: Meli costs $19.00 USD per month billed annually and supports up to five users and 5,000 email conversations per month. It has no free plan.

For a free, open-source email client with multiple-account support, consider Mozilla Thunderbird; it does not match Hiver’s listed support-platform feature set.

For a free email service with five users, one domain, and 5 GB of mail storage per user, consider Zoho Mail. For a general-purpose email client, Spark Mail, eM Client, Mailspring, and Newton Mail are alternatives.

Browse Shared Inbox Software, Customer Self-Service Software, AI Customer Service Software, Help desk software, or Email clients to compare categories.

Verdict

Choose Hiver if your team needs shared customer inboxes plus structured support tools, and API access matters to your existing stack. Its clearest strength is bringing inbox coordination and service workflows together; its main trade-off is annual pricing with meaningful plan ceilings below Elite. Teams wanting a general email client, or needing more Growth capacity without stepping up, should look elsewhere.

	Hiver	Metis Mail
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$25/mo	$9.58/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	api	self-hosted, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$25/user/mo	$12/user/mo
App coverage	—	web
Account limit	—	3 accounts
Unified inbox	—	Yes
Scheduled sending	—	Yes

Hiver vs Metis Mail

Hiver

Metis Mail