The 6 best Engage Hub alternatives to check out in 2025

So, you’re looking for an alternative to Engage Hub. It’s a well-known tool, but you’re probably here because you’re starting to feel its limitations. You might be after something with a bit more power, better flexibility, or a setup process that doesn’t feel like a six-month project.

The thought of switching platforms can be a headache, especially the idea of ripping out your entire workflow just to get some modern features. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve put together this guide to walk you through the best Engage Hub alternatives out there. We’ll focus on tools that bring useful things to the table like AI automation and smooth integrations, helping you find the right fit for your team without all the drama.

What is an engagement hub?

Before we dive in, let’s quickly get on the same page. What exactly is an "engagement hub"?

Think of it as a central command center for all your customer conversations. Instead of your team jumping between support tickets, community forums, social media messages, and live chat, an engagement hub tries to pull all those interactions into one place. This gives you a single, clear view of each customer, which makes it much easier to provide consistent support.

The main idea is to build better relationships and keep customers happy by making every interaction feel connected and personal. It’s about streamlining conversations and using data to understand what your users really need.

What to look for in Engage Hub alternatives

It’s easy to get bogged down by endless feature lists when you’re comparing tools. To help you cut through the noise, here’s what we think really matters when looking for a solid Engage Hub alternative.

• Quick setup and integration: Let’s be real, how fast can you actually start using it? The best tools today don’t demand that you move all your data or completely change how you work. They should integrate with what you already use (like your helpdesk and knowledge bases) and make them better. Look for a tool that adds to your current setup, not one that forces a total overhaul.

• Smart AI and automation: A lot of modern customer engagement is about working smarter, not harder. You’ll want a platform that uses AI to handle repetitive tasks, like answering common questions, helping agents draft replies, or routing new tickets. This lets your team focus on the tricky problems and gets customers answers much faster.

• Connects to all your knowledge: Your company’s knowledge is probably spread out across Confluence pages, Google Docs, old support tickets, and your help center. A truly intelligent platform can tap into all of these sources to build a single brain, making sure the answers it provides are always accurate and up-to-date.

• You’re in the driver’s seat: You know your business better than anyone, so your tools should adapt to you, not the other way around. Can you tell the platform exactly which questions to automate? Can you tweak the AI’s tone of voice or define specific actions it can take? This level of control is essential.

• Pricing that makes sense: Nothing is worse than getting a surprise bill. Be cautious with platforms that charge you for every ticket their AI resolves, as your costs can shoot up unexpectedly. Look for clear, predictable pricing models so you always know what you’re paying for.

Quick comparison of the top Engage Hub alternatives

Here’s a quick look at how our top picks stack up against each other.

Tool	Best For	Key Feature	Pricing Model	Self-Serve Setup?
eesel AI	Teams wanting to automate support in their existing helpdesk	AI agent that learns from all company knowledge	Subscription (no per-resolution fees)	Yes, go live in minutes
Salesforce Service Cloud	Large enterprises needing an all-in-one CRM & support suite	360-degree customer view	Subscription (per user/month)	No, requires implementation partner
Zendesk	Businesses looking for a dedicated, feature-rich helpdesk	Omnichannel ticketing system	Subscription (per agent/month)	Yes
Khoros Communities	Brands focused on building dedicated online communities	Forum and moderation tools	Custom Quote	No
Gainsight CS	B2B SaaS companies focused on customer success	Customer health scoring	Custom Quote	No
HubSpot Service Hub	SMBs already using the HubSpot ecosystem	Integration with HubSpot CRM	Subscription (tiered plans)	Yes

The 6 best Engage Hub alternatives in 2025

Alright, let’s get into the details of what makes each of these platforms a solid choice.

1. eesel AI: One of the modern Engage Hub alternatives

eesel AI is a compelling modern option for teams who want to add powerful AI and automation to their existing setup without going through a painful migration. It’s not a replacement for your helpdesk; it’s a smart AI layer that connects to all your company knowledge and works right inside the tools you already use.

Why it’s a great alternative:

• Get started in minutes, not months: You can skip the mandatory demos and long-winded sales calls. eesel AI is fully self-serve. You just connect your helpdesk, like Zendesk or Freshdesk, with a click and can get going on a free plan. You could literally be up and running in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

• It learns from everything: This is where it really stands out. eesel AI doesn’t just learn from your official help center articles. You can connect it to past tickets, Confluence, Google Docs, Slack threads, and over 100 other sources. This gives your customers and agents instant, accurate answers pulled from your company’s entire collective brain.

• Test without any risk: It has a powerful simulation mode that lets you test the AI on thousands of your past tickets before it ever interacts with a live customer. You can see exactly how it would have performed, get a forecast of your resolution rate, and tweak its settings. When you’re ready to go live, you can start small by telling it to only handle specific types of tickets.

Pros:

• Incredibly simple, self-serve setup.

• Connects to over 100 knowledge sources instantly.

• Clear pricing without tricky per-resolution fees.

Cons:

• It’s focused specifically on AI automation for support and knowledge, so it’s not meant to replace your entire CRM.

Pricing: Plans start at $299/month, and there’s a free trial so you can test it out first.

2. Salesforce Service Cloud: A classic among enterprise Engage Hub alternatives

Salesforce Service Cloud is the big one, the enterprise-grade solution for customer service. It’s part of the huge Salesforce ecosystem and is built for large companies that need a single view of every customer across sales, marketing, and support.

Why it’s on the list:

It is an incredibly powerful and detailed platform for managing customer relationships at a massive scale. If you need deep customization, tons of reporting options, and complex case management, Service Cloud delivers.

Limitations to consider:

All that power comes with a steep learning curve. Service Cloud isn’t something you can set up over a weekend. Getting it running usually requires a dedicated internal team or an expensive consultant. For smaller teams that don’t need a complete CRM overhaul, it can be a bit much.

Pricing:

Starts at $25 per user per month (billed annually), but the price goes up fast for the advanced features most large companies need.

3. Zendesk: A popular choice in Engage Hub alternatives

Zendesk is one of the most popular names in the helpdesk world for a reason. It offers a reliable ticketing system, support across email, chat, phone, and social media, and a customizable help center.

Why it’s on the list:

For a lot of businesses, Zendesk is their engagement hub. It’s excellent at organizing and resolving customer support issues efficiently. It provides a great foundation for any support team.

Limitations to consider:

While Zendesk has its own AI features, they tend to be limited to the knowledge you’ve stored within the Zendesk platform itself. To get automation that can learn from your Confluence spaces, Google Docs, and past ticket resolutions, you need to add a specialized tool. This is where something like eesel AI comes in handy, as it works directly inside your Zendesk to pull knowledge from everywhere else.

Pricing:

Plans start from $19 per agent per month when billed annually.

4. Khoros Communities: For community-focused Engage Hub alternatives

Khoros is a highly specialized platform that does one thing really well: it helps you build and manage a branded online community. It provides all the tools you need for forums, blogs, Q&A sections, and user groups, helping brands create a space where customers can connect with and help one another.

Why it’s on the list:

If your main objective is to foster a lively peer-to-peer support community, Khoros is a purpose-built tool for the job. It’s designed from the ground up to encourage user-generated content and conversation.

Limitations to consider:

Khoros is a bit of a one-trick pony. It’s focused almost entirely on the community and doesn’t offer the same direct support automation or ticketing features as other platforms. It’s also an enterprise-level tool that won’t be a fit for smaller teams or budgets.

Pricing:

You’ll have to talk to their sales team for a custom quote.

5. Gainsight CS: A proactive choice for Engage Hub alternatives

Gainsight is a top player in the customer success field. It’s designed to help B2B companies reduce churn, spot opportunities to grow accounts, and keep an eye on customer health. It’s less about answering individual support tickets and more about driving long-term customer value.

Why it’s on the list:

Gainsight offers a different, more proactive way of thinking about engagement. Instead of just reacting to problems, it helps you understand how customers are using your product so you can step in at the right moment. Its customer health scores and lifecycle management tools are fantastic for SaaS businesses.

Limitations to consider:

Gainsight is not a frontline support tool. It’s a strategic platform for customer success managers that takes a good amount of effort to set up and integrate with your data. It isn’t designed to automate ticket resolution.

Pricing:

Available upon request; you’ll need to get a custom quote.

6. HubSpot Service Hub: An integrated option for Engage Hub alternatives

HubSpot Service Hub is a customer service tool that’s fully integrated with HubSpot’s well-known CRM platform. It brings ticketing, a knowledge base, live chat, and customer feedback surveys together under one roof, connected to their Marketing and Sales Hubs.

Why it’s on the list:

For businesses already using HubSpot, adding the Service Hub is a no-brainer. It creates a smooth flow of information between your support, sales, and marketing teams, which helps you create a much more unified customer experience.

Limitations to consider:

While it’s convenient, its features sometimes aren’t as deep as what you’d get from a dedicated tool. The automation and AI are solid, but they can be less flexible than specialized AI platforms that can connect to a wider variety of knowledge sources.

Pricing:

HubSpot offers a free tier with basic features; paid plans start at $45/month (billed annually).

[This review of HubSpot, one of the top Engage Hub alternatives, covers its features to help you decide if it’s the right CRM for your team.]

How to choose the right Engage Hub alternatives for your business

Okay, that’s a lot of options. If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a simple way to think through the decision.

• What’s your main goal? First, figure out the number one problem you’re trying to solve. If it’s automating support tickets and bringing all your knowledge together, your shortlist will look very different than if you’re trying to build a community from scratch.

• Look at your current toolkit: Do you generally like your helpdesk but just want to make it smarter? A tool like eesel AI that plugs right in could be perfect. Or are you looking to rip everything out and start fresh? Then an all-in-one suite like Salesforce or HubSpot might make more sense.

• Be realistic about your resources: How much time and manpower can you dedicate to this? Do you have a team ready for a complex, months-long implementation project? Or do you need a self-serve tool that you can get up and running this afternoon?

This flowchart might help you visualize the decision path:

So, what are the right Engage Hub alternatives for you?

At the end of the day, the "best" Engage Hub alternative is the one that solves your biggest problems without creating a bunch of new ones. There’s a clear shift happening away from massive, all-in-one platforms that force you to change everything. Instead, more teams are looking for smart, flexible tools that plug into the systems they already use.

That’s the whole idea behind a tool like eesel AI. It gives you a powerful AI agent that learns from all your scattered knowledge, from documents to past tickets, and works right inside the helpdesk your team relies on every day.

If you’re curious to see how an AI layer could improve your current setup, it’s a low-risk way to find out. You can try eesel AI for free and get it running in just a few minutes.