Modern customers expect support across multiple channels—emails, live chat, social media, SMS, you name it. 

Omnichannel contact center software unifies multiple communication channels, empowers your customer service team with 360 context, automation and insights, and helps you build stronger customer relationships.

But with so many options available, choosing the right tool might feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

This post reviews the top five omnichannel contact center platforms to help you find the perfect fit for your unique needs and budget. 

What is Omnichannel Contact Center Software?

Omnichannel contact center software is a cloud-based communication hub for businesses. It helps you manage all your customer interactions across multiple channels, like phone calls, emails, texts, and social media messages, all in one place.

What makes an omnichannel contact center irreplaceable for modern and internet-first businesses is that conversational data and context from multiple channels synchronize automatically. A customer can start a chat, then decide to email about it or hop on a call if needed, all within the same conversation.

All the conversation history, regardless of the channel used, is logged and readily accessible to your agents without the need to search through multiple applications. 

Why Do You Need Omnichannel Contact Center Software?

You need an omnichannel contact center to provide better customer service, offer an improved agent experience, allow remote work, and get insights into how your customer support team is performing.

To provide better customer service

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a customer, frantically searching for an answer online, then waiting on hold for ages on the phone, only to be directed to email. It’s a huge turn-off. 

79% of customers today expect seamless, effortless support across channels, with the primary cause of their frustration being disjointed interactions.

Omnichannel software eliminates this problem by allowing your customer support team to be available on all in-demand communication channels. The holistic view of each customer's history and interactions allows support agents to diagnose and resolve issues swiftly, leading to satisfied customers. 

To offer a better agent experience

When contact center reps juggle through multiple calls, emails, and chats simultaneously, it's stressful, inefficient, and hurts both agent morale and customer service. 

30% of contact center staff believe inadequate or difficult-to-use systems are the biggest obstacle in assisting customers. It's hard to understand customer journeys from scattered information with missing context or from conversations across disjointed channels. 

Omnichannel software brings all customer interactions onto a single platform, giving customer support agents a holistic view of customer journeys and helping them resolve issues more efficiently.

Advanced tools also automate tasks like routing inquiries to the right agent, assigning priorities, and managing queues. Automation frees up valuable time for agents to focus on what matters most—providing exceptional service.

To allow your customer service team to work remotely

Most omnichannel software is cloud-based, meaning agents can work remotely using their own devices. Remote working not only improves agent experience but also reduces your operational costs. 

You also get a productivity boost—according to Forbes, 35% of remote employees report increased productivity. 

The cherry on top? A geographically dispersed team means that you can offer round-the-clock customer support. 

To get insights into the performance of your customer service team

Omnichannel software provides built-in reporting tools that track key performance indicators (KPIs) like first contact resolution rates, average handling times, and customer satisfaction scores. 

With quantifiable data, analyze trends, identify common issues, and understand how your customer support team performs across different channels. 

This helps you look for areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and implement targeted training programs and development opportunities to help each agent reach their full potential.

What are the Best Omnichannel Contact Center Tools?

Omnichannel contact center software has many benefits, but only if you choose the right tool. What are your options? Read ahead to find out.

1. Plivo CX

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Plivo CX is a cloud-based omnichannel contact center solution that empowers small and medium businesses to deliver exceptional customer service across various channels. It unifies AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp to offer a seamless experience for both customers and agents.

Key Features

• Helps agents easily switch between channels or manage multiple customer interactions at once via a unified agent desktop
• Offers toll-free and local numbers in 50+ countries. Use them to call customers in over 190 countries and record calls for training and quality assurance 
• Integrates with your custom knowledge base to help agents come up with accurate and efficient responses
• Self-service chatbots are trained on your knowledge base to answer common questions automatically
• Set up call-backs on preferred channels and sticky routing to route repeat callers to the same agents 
• Integrates with popular business tools like Shopify, Zoho, Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot and connects to even more via a custom API
• Integrates with even homegrown systems 
• Workflow builder helps build custom user journeys across any channels the business interacts with the customer.

Limitations

• Lacks features related to quality assurance and workforce management
• Not the best for transactional ticket-based customer support interactions

Pricing

• Growth: $29 per user per month with 2,000 calls and 2,000 chat sessions
• Business: $69 per user per month with 5,000 calls and 5,000 chat sessions 

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Help Scout

Help Scout is a trusted omnichannel contact center software that promises to bring “every client, partner, and vendor conversation onto one unified platform”.

The tool stands out for its clean, user-friendly interface and focus on streamlined, efficient customer support.

Key Features

• Supports chat, live chat, email, and social media 
• A single shared inbox allows agents to not only interact with customers but also collaborate with each other
• Facilitates team collaboration with message assignments, private notes for internal communication and collaboration, real-time collision detection to prevent duplicate responses, and AI summarizer to streamline lengthy email threads 
• Automates tasks with customizable workflows based on specific triggers, such as adding tags for specific subject lines 
• iOS and Android apps help you stay connected and respond to customers on the go

Limitations (G2)

• No voice or SMS support (Website)
• Limited customization options for the knowledge base 
• The Messenger integration is available only for Pro and Plus plans

Pricing

• Standard: $20/user/month with 2 shared inboxes and 1 knowledge base
• Plus: $40/user/month with 5 shared inboxes and 2 knowledge bases
• Pro: $65/user/month with 25 shared inboxes and 10 knowledge bases

3. Kustomer

Acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2020, Kustomer has established itself as a major player in omnichannel customer service. It caters to mid-market businesses, specifically in e-commerce and retail industries. 

Key Features

• An AI-powered help center is available in 76 languages, which reduces support volume by deflecting 40% of inquiries with accurate, automated responses
• KIQ Customer Assist responds to customer queries using AI and information from your knowledge base
• Tailor your IVR menus based on customer data and route them to the right agent instantly
• The Timeline view displays every customer interaction in chronological order to give agents complete context

Limitations (G2)

• The integrations in Kustomer are slow to load and update. 
• Some users find the knowledge center to be “bland” with no options to customize it

Pricing

• Enterprise: $89/user/month with proactive service, multichannel communication, voice provider integration, and more
• Ultimate: $139/user/month with everything in the Enterprise plan plus enhanced routing, real-time user supervision, real-time dashboards, and more

The add-on features include API Limit Increase and Data Warehousing.  

4. Gorgias

Gorgias is the go-to omnichannel contact center software for e-commerce brands. The platform is designed to work with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magneto, and WooCommerce, and offers AI-powered customer service.

Key Features

• Supports email, live chat, social media (Facebook and Instagram), and WhatsApp 
• Automates repetitive tasks such as ticket assignments and tagging based on keywords, saving time and improving efficiency
• Custom flows enable automatic handling of customer interactions and ensure consistent and timely responses
• Publish FAQs and helpful information in internal or external help centers and provide customers with self-service options

Limitations (G2)

• Automation add-ons are expensive 
• Learning how to use Gorgias takes some time
• Historical data reporting is limited to 90 days, and users can’t create custom reports

Pricing

• Starter: $10 per month, 50 billable tickets
• Basic: $60 per month, 300 billable tickets
• Pro: $300 per month, 2,000 billable tickets
• Advanced: $750 per month, 5,000 billable tickets 
• Enterprise: Custom-priced, custom number of billable tickets

5. Gladly

Gladly is an omnichannel contact center platform renowned for its unique "people-centric" approach to customer service. It’s a partner of the Shopify Plus Certified app.

Instead of focusing on tickets, Gladly prioritizes understanding customers as individuals and building lasting relationships through personalized interactions. This philosophy has attracted many midmarket and enterprise brands, making up most of its customer base. 

Key Features

• Supports voice, email, social media, SMS, and live chat
• A ticket-free customer service approach prevents ticket duplication
• AI assistants summarize conversations, suggest replies, and draft marketing copy, which frees up agent time for complex inquiries
• Gladly Sidekick helps customers find answers instantly with personalized self-service options
• Offers extensive integrations with 38 popular tools like Shopify, Messenger, and Klaviyo
• Connects the right agents with the right customers based on sentiment, situation, and customer history

Limitations (G2)

• The system becomes idle after 10 minutes of inactivity
• Has several restrictions on customization for the front page and visual aids
• Lacks colorblind and dark modes

Pricing

• Hero: $180/agent/month with a unified customer view, a centralized knowledge base, real-time and historical reporting, and a single conversation history across channels
• Superhero: $210/agent/month with 99.9% uptime, customer reporting, and premium support

Plivo CX—The Ultimate Omnichannel Contact Center

The goal of an omnichannel contact center is to make you available to your customers on multiple platforms simultaneously. The right tool is the one that integrates with your existing toolset, helps your team improve with reporting and analytics, and delights your customers with well-organized knowledge bases and quick multichannel responses. 

If you're looking for a powerful omnichannel contact center software solution designed to scale with your business, check out Plivo CX.

Plivo CX is easy to use for customer support agents, offers voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat support, and natively integrates with popular tools like Shopify, Zendesk, and Zoho—all at an attractive price point. 

Start your free trial today.