Key takeaways
- Clari + Salesloft is sunsetting Drift. According to Salesloft's sunset FAQ, the chat widget, Drift Email and API integrations stop on January 31, 2027, or earlier if your contract ends first. Remaining data is deleted on May 1, 2027.
- Salesloft refers Drift customers to 1mind, an AI sales agent platform aimed at larger revenue teams. Small and mid-size teams usually need something simpler and cheaper.
- Choose a replacement by what you actually used Drift for, whether that was website Q&A, lead capture, meeting booking or account-based targeting, not by matching every feature.
- Export transcripts and contacts now, rebuild your top three playbooks first, and run the new tool in parallel for a couple of weeks before the cut-off.
- Tidio is our top pick for small and mid-size teams because it covers AI answers, lead capture and CRM sync in one tool, with no developer needed and a free plan to start.
For years Drift was the default answer to "how do we turn website visitors into sales conversations?". That is ending. In March 2026 Clari + Salesloft, which owns Drift, announced it would gradually sunset the product and point customers to 1mind as its successor. According to Salesloft's Drift sunset FAQ, the chat widget, Drift Email and API integrations stop on January 31, 2027, or earlier if your contract ends first.
That leaves Drift customers with about twelve weeks and a decision. Larger revenue teams may follow Salesloft's lead to 1mind, or look at Tidio's managed Premium plan if what they mainly need is AI answering website visitors at volume. Most small and mid-size teams used a fraction of Drift's features and can replace them with something simpler and cheaper. This guide helps you work out which group you are in, and what to move to.
Why teams are looking for an alternative to Drift
Drift did a lot well. It made "conversational marketing" a category, its playbooks were flexible, and its routing and Salesforce integration made it a favourite of B2B sales teams. The reasons to look elsewhere now are mostly practical:
- The sunset. The product stops working on a fixed date, so staying isn't an option beyond January 2027.
- The successor is aimed upmarket. 1mind sells AI sales agents to revenue teams with enterprise budgets and processes.
- Pricing was always enterprise-style. Drift was sold through sales conversations and annual contracts, which never suited smaller teams well.
- Many teams used only the basics. A handful of playbooks, a meeting link and CRM sync don't require an enterprise platform.
When to stay in the Salesloft ecosystem
If your Drift setup is deeply tied to Salesloft cadences, account-based targeting and intent data, and you have a revenue operations team to run it, evaluating 1mind first is reasonable. The migration may be smoother inside one vendor relationship. Just do it soon: the cut-off doesn't move because evaluation takes longer than planned.
What to look for instead
Start by listing what Drift actually did for you, then match those jobs:
| What you used Drift for | What to look for in a replacement |
|---|---|
| Answering visitor questions | An AI agent trained on your website and docs, with handoff to a person |
| Capturing leads | Visual flows triggered by page and behaviour, with consent capture |
| Qualifying leads | Short question sequences and routing rules |
| Booking meetings | Calendar booking in chat and routing to the right rep |
| CRM sync | Native integration with your CRM, including transcripts |
| Account-based targeting | Enrichment and account matching, usually in larger tools |
| Support conversations | A shared inbox, tickets and help content in the same tool |
Most small and mid-size teams will find that the first five rows cover 90% of their usage. If that's you, prioritise a tool that does those well and is easy to run, over one that matches Drift feature for feature.
Replace the jobs, not the features. A list of fifty Drift features leads to an enterprise contract; a list of five jobs leads to the right tool.
The best Drift alternatives for small and mid-size teams
We judged each tool on how well it replaces the parts of Drift smaller teams actually used, which are AI answers, lead capture, meeting booking and CRM sync, plus setup effort and pricing.
Tidio covers the core of what most smaller teams used Drift for. Lyro, its AI agent, answers visitors' questions from your website and help content, Flows replace Drift playbooks with visual sequences triggered by page, time on site or exit intent, and native integrations send leads and transcripts to HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce or Zoho CRM. It also handles support conversations, so one tool covers both sales and service chat.
Why we like it
- Rebuilds typical Drift playbooks without code
- AI agent answers questions before asking for details
- Native CRM integrations with transcripts attached
- Free plan and pricing that suits small teams
Watch out for
- No account-based targeting or intent-data features like Drift's enterprise tiers
- Meeting routing across many reps is simpler than in dedicated routing tools
Intercom's Fin for Sales answers prospects' questions, qualifies them against criteria you set and routes the best ones to sales, with pricing per qualified lead on top of seats. It is a strong replacement for SaaS companies that used Drift mainly for inbound qualification and also want a support platform.
Why we like it
- Capable AI on complex product questions
- Sales and support in the same messenger
Watch out for
- Seats plus outcome-based fees get expensive for small teams
- Focused on software companies
HubSpot includes free live chat and a rule-based chatbot builder that qualifies leads and books meetings directly in the CRM. If HubSpot is already your CRM, it replaces Drift's basic playbooks with no extra integration.
Why we like it
- Free chat and bots connected to the CRM
- Built-in meeting links
Watch out for
- Free bots are rule-based; AI and advanced features are on paid Hubs
- Less compelling if your CRM is not HubSpot
If Drift's main job was turning visitors into meetings with the right rep, Chili Piper's routing and instant scheduling do that very well, and it now offers live and AI chat too. It is sold annually with seat minimums, so it fits B2B teams with several reps.
Why we like it
- Excellent routing, round-robin and instant booking
- Works with your existing forms
Watch out for
- Annual contracts and seat minimums
- More than a team with one or two salespeople needs
How to switch before January 31
Treat this like any platform migration, with a hard deadline:
- This week: inventory. List your active playbooks, where they run, what they ask, and where leads go. Note which ones actually produce pipeline; many accounts carry playbooks nobody has looked at in a year.
- Export. Export conversations and contacts, and screenshot or document playbook logic. Check with Salesloft what you can export and how.
- Rebuild the top three playbooks first. Usually the pricing page, the demo request and a returning-visitor message. Leave the rest until those work.
- Train the AI agent on your website, pricing and documentation, and test it with real questions from your Drift transcripts.
- Connect the CRM and check that new leads arrive with the right owner, fields and transcript.
- Run both in parallel for one or two weeks on part of your traffic, then switch fully well before the end of January. Remove the Drift script from your site afterwards.
Dependencies teams forget
Drift usually touched more than the chat widget. Before the cut-off, check:
- Drift Email. It stops on the same date as the widget, so move any follow-up sequences to your email or sales engagement tool.
- Attribution. Reports and CRM fields that credit "Drift" as a lead source need a new source value, or your pipeline reports will show a sudden drop.
- Custom API integrations. Anything built on the Drift API stops working too; list each one and decide what replaces it.
- Consent and cookies. Update your cookie banner and privacy notice for the new tool, and remove Drift's script so it doesn't keep loading.
- Routing rules and owners. Recreate who gets which leads, including out-of-hours behaviour, before you switch traffic.
For a broader checklist, our guide on switching help desks without losing data applies to chat tools too. To set up lead capture properly from the start, read how to generate leads with live chat.
Which one should you choose?
- Small or mid-size business that used Drift for Q&A, lead capture and CRM sync: Tidio.
- Larger team with thousands of website conversations a month: Tidio Premium, where Tidio's team sets up and maintains the AI agent and you pay per resolution.
- SaaS company focused on AI-qualified inbound leads: Intercom.
- Already on HubSpot and budget-conscious: HubSpot's own chat.
- B2B team whose main need is routing leads to meetings: Chili Piper.
You can also see every ranked option on our Drift alternatives list.
Frequently asked questions
When does Drift shut down?
According to Salesloft's Drift sunset FAQ, the Drift chat widget, Drift Email and custom API integrations stop on January 31, 2027, or at the end of your contract if that comes first. Remaining data is permanently deleted on May 1, 2027. Confirm your own dates with your Salesloft account team.
What is Salesloft recommending instead of Drift?
Clari + Salesloft named 1mind, an AI sales agent platform, as Drift's successor. It is aimed at revenue teams with larger budgets, so smaller teams often look at simpler tools.
Can I export my Drift data?
Plan to export conversations, contacts and playbook details before your access ends, and check the export options with Salesloft. Your CRM probably already holds most leads Drift created, so the key gaps are usually transcripts and playbook logic.
What is the cheapest Drift alternative?
HubSpot's free chat and Tidio's free plan are the lowest-cost starting points. Tidio adds an AI agent and works with several CRMs; HubSpot makes sense if it is already your CRM.