Shopify Inbox Alternatives (2026)

Shopify Inbox is Shopify's own free app: an AI sales associate on your storefront that answers questions and helps shoppers find products from your catalog. For many stores it is the right first step. The main Shopify Inbox alternatives are BOBBI Smart Store, Rep AI, Dialog, Zipchat, Tidio with Lyro AI, Gorgias and Manifest AI. Merchants compare them when they want proactive selling priced for their traffic, a helpdesk for a support team, the same assistant on messaging apps, or a storefront that guides each shopper by itself.

Disclosure: this comparison is published by BOBBI Oy, the maker of BOBBI Smart Store, which is listed first. The "Best for" and "How it differs" columns are our own summary of what each app does best. Pricing models, prices, free plans and ratings come from each app's official Shopify App Store listing, checked on 14 October 2026; the last column links the listing.

Best Shopify Inbox alternative by need

Best for a storefront that guides every shopper: BOBBI Smart Store (3% of sales made through BOBBI, max $2,000/month; no monthly fee).
Best for proactive AI sales chat on your theme: Rep AI (from $104/month for up to 10,000 visitors).
Best for detailed product questions at 25,000+ monthly visitors: Dialog (free plan; paid from $249/month).
Best for WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger as well as your site: Zipchat (free plan; from $80/month).
Best for support-first chat on a budget: Tidio with Lyro AI (free plan; Lyro AI from $39/month).
Best for a support team's helpdesk: Gorgias (from $10/month for 50 tickets).
Best for staying free: Shopify Inbox itself.

Shopify Inbox alternatives compared

App	Best for	How it differs from Shopify Inbox	Pricing model	Starting paid price	Free plan / trial	App Store rating	Source, date checked
BOBBI Smart Store	A storefront that guides every shopper to the right product	The store is the conversation: shoppers chat and tap simple choices with products in view, instead of a chat window on top of the theme	Platform fee on BOBBI sales, billed through Shopify	3% of sales made through BOBBI (max $2,000/month); no monthly fee	No monthly fee; pay only on BOBBI sales	5.0 (4)	BOBBI pricing, App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Rep AI	Proactive AI sales chat on your existing theme	Built for proactive selling, with support automation; paid plans scale with monthly visitors	Monthly visitors	$104/month (up to 10,000 visitors)	100 free visitors/month; 14-day trial	4.6 (119)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Dialog	Detailed product questions on larger stores	A dedicated AI shopping assistant; paid plans scale with monthly unique visitors from 25,000	Monthly unique visitors	$249/month (up to 25,000 visitors)	Free plan (200 conversations/month); 14-day trial	5.0 (38)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Zipchat	Sales and support chat across messaging channels	The same AI on your site, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger; priced by AI replies	AI replies	$80/month (750 AI replies, about 300 conversations)	Free plan (120 AI replies/month); 7-day trial	4.9 (207)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Tidio (Lyro AI)	Support-first live chat with an AI agent	Live chat with ticketing, a visual chatbot builder and the Lyro AI agent	Conversations	$29/month; Lyro AI from $39/month (200 Lyro conversations)	Free plan; 7-day trial	4.8 (1,355)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Gorgias	Support teams that need a helpdesk	A full helpdesk with tickets, agents and live chat; automation is an add-on	Tickets	$10/month (50 tickets, 3 agents)	7-day trial	4.3 (704)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Manifest AI	ChatGPT-style product recommendation chat	Recommendation chat with cart and checkout recovery and lead collection; paid pricing is not published	Contact sales	Contact sales	Free to test	4.6 (59)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026
Shopify Inbox (for reference)	A free AI sales associate from Shopify	—	Free	Free	Free	4.6 (5,817)	App Store listing 14 Oct 2026

Prices in USD as listed on each app's Shopify App Store listing on 14 October 2026; several apps list 17–20% lower annual prices, and most paid plans scale with visitors, replies, conversations or tickets. Prices and ratings are a snapshot of that day and change over time.

What Shopify Inbox does

According to its Shopify App Store listing, Shopify Inbox puts an AI-powered sales associate on your storefront. It is worth knowing well before you replace it:

It answers shoppers' questions and helps them find the right products from your catalog.
It learns from your catalog, inventory, policies and store content, and you set its tone, style and rules.
When shoppers sign in with Shop, it can personalize replies using their preferences and purchase history from across Shopify.
You can run Inbox with or without the AI agent, and rate chats to train it.
Built-in analytics show orders assisted and buyer satisfaction.
It is free, made by Shopify and rated 4.6 from 5,817 reviews.

Is Shopify Inbox enough?

For a store that wants a free chat assistant answering product and policy questions, it often is. Look at an alternative when one of these is true:

You want the store to guide shoppers, not wait for questions. Many shoppers who cannot decide leave without asking anything. A storefront that asks what they need and narrows the choices with them, such as BOBBI Smart Store, works on every visitor.
You want an assistant priced and tuned for selling at your traffic. Rep AI and Dialog price paid plans by monthly visitors, so the cost is known before a busy season.
A support team handles the chats. Gorgias and Tidio add ticketing, agent seats and helpdesk workflows.
Shoppers message you on WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger. Zipchat runs the same AI across those channels and your site.

The alternatives, one by one

1. BOBBI Smart Store — best for a storefront that guides every shopper

BOBBI turns your Shopify catalog into a Smart Store: shoppers say what they need, tap simple choices and see the matching products while the conversation narrows them down, then pay in your native Shopify checkout. It installs from the Shopify App Store and runs in parallel with your theme; you choose what share of visitors sees the Smart Store, so it can run next to Shopify Inbox while you compare. It costs 3% of the sales made through BOBBI, at most $2,000 a month, with no monthly fee. Consider that it is new (launched August 2026), has few reviews so far and runs in English. See BOBBI Smart Store: the facts.

2. Rep AI — best for proactive AI sales chat on your theme

Rep AI adds a proactive AI chat to your existing theme that recommends products and also automates support questions. Paid plans are priced by monthly visitors: $104 for up to 10,000, $209 for up to 25,000 and $368 for up to 50,000, plus $12 for each extra 1,000 visitors, with a 14-day trial. A Pay-as-you-Grow tier is free for 100 visitors a month. Rated 4.6 from 119 reviews.

3. Dialog — best for detailed product questions on larger stores

Dialog adds an AI shopping assistant that answers product questions and recommends products. A free plan includes 200 conversations a month; paid plans are priced by monthly unique visitors: $249 for up to 25,000, $399 for up to 50,000 and $799 for up to 100,000, with a 14-day trial. Rated 5.0 from 38 reviews.

4. Zipchat — best for messaging channels as well as your site

Zipchat is an AI chatbot and live chat for sales and support on your site, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, with product recommendations and order status. It is priced by AI replies: free for 120 a month, then $80 for 750, $300 for 3,000 and $600 for 6,000, with a 7-day trial. Rated 4.9 from 207 reviews.

5. Tidio with Lyro AI — best for support-first chat on a budget

Tidio combines live chat, ticketing, a visual chatbot builder and the Lyro AI agent. There is a free plan; paid plans start at $29 a month, and Lyro AI at $39 a month for 200 Lyro conversations, with a 7-day trial. Rated 4.8 from 1,355 reviews.

6. Gorgias — best for a support team's helpdesk

Gorgias is a helpdesk with live chat built for ecommerce support teams. Plans are priced by tickets: $10 a month for 50 tickets and 3 agents, $60 for 300 tickets and $360 for 2,000, with an automation add-on and a 7-day trial. Rated 4.3 from 704 reviews.

7. Manifest AI — best for ChatGPT-style recommendation chat

Manifest AI is a chat on your existing store that recommends products, with cart and checkout recovery, lead collection and a dedicated AI expert. It is free to test; paid pricing is not published on the listing. Rated 4.6 from 59 reviews.

How to choose

Start with the job: guiding shoppers to the right product, answering support questions, or both.
Check how the price scales: by visitors (Rep AI, Dialog), AI replies (Zipchat), conversations (Tidio), tickets (Gorgias) or sales made through the app (BOBBI).
If a free chat assistant is all you need, keep Shopify Inbox.
Whatever you choose, run it on part of your traffic first and judge it by revenue per visitor, not by the number of chats.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Shopify Inbox?

It depends on what you need beyond Inbox. If you want the store itself to guide every shopper to the right product, BOBBI Smart Store turns the storefront into a conversation where shoppers chat and tap simple choices. For proactive AI sales chat on your existing theme, Rep AI or Dialog. For the same AI on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger as well as your site, Zipchat. If support tickets are the main job, Tidio with Lyro AI or Gorgias.

Is Shopify Inbox free?

Yes. As listed on the Shopify App Store on 14 October 2026, Shopify Inbox is free. It is Shopify's own app and puts an AI sales associate on your storefront that answers questions and helps shoppers find products from your catalog. It is rated 4.6 from 5,817 reviews.

Is Shopify Inbox enough for my store?

Often, yes, as a first step. If you want a free chat assistant that answers product and policy questions from your catalog and store content, start with Inbox. Stores look further when they want proactive selling priced for their traffic, a helpdesk with ticketing for a support team, the same assistant on messaging apps, or a storefront that guides each shopper by itself instead of a chat window.

How is BOBBI different from Shopify Inbox?

Shopify Inbox is a chat on top of your existing theme that answers what shoppers ask. BOBBI Smart Store is the storefront itself: shoppers say what they need, tap simple choices and see the matching products while the conversation narrows them down, then pay in your native Shopify checkout. BOBBI costs 3% of the sales made through BOBBI, at most $2,000 a month, with no monthly fee; Inbox is free.

Can I use BOBBI and Shopify Inbox together?

Yes. BOBBI installs from the Shopify App Store, reads your catalog from Shopify automatically and runs in parallel with your theme. You choose what share of visitors sees the Smart Store; the others keep your current theme, including Shopify Inbox, so you can compare results before you change anything else.

Which Shopify Inbox alternatives have a free plan?

As listed on the Shopify App Store on 14 October 2026: Dialog has a free plan with 200 conversations a month, Zipchat a free plan with 120 AI replies a month, Tidio a free plan, Rep AI a free Pay-as-you-Grow tier for 100 visitors a month, and Manifest AI is free to test. Gorgias offers a 7-day trial. BOBBI Smart Store has no monthly fee and charges 3% of the sales made through BOBBI, at most $2,000 a month.