The Problem
Why teams leave Drift
Starting price of $2,500/month
Enterprise pricing $30K-$150K+/year
Salesloft acquisition brought product uncertainty
Bot builder requires technical resources
Limited analytics without premium tier
What We Build Instead
Your custom customer support tool
Conversational marketing platform on your site
AI chatbot with custom training on your content
Live chat with routing and queue management
Meeting booking integrated with your calendar
Visitor intelligence and company identification
Conversation analytics and conversion tracking
The Math
Drift vs. custom build
Based on 15 seats at $150/seat/month, with ~10% annual SaaS price increases.
Keep paying Drift
Build with 86 SaaS
3-year savings with 15 seats
$45,600
51% less than Drift
Pricing Breakdown
Drift tier pricing vs. one-time custom build
Compare what you pay per seat across Drift's tiers against a single investment in software you own forever.
| Tier | Monthly/Seat | Annual/Seat | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium | $150/mo | $125/mo | Live chat, Custom chatbots, Meeting scheduler, Basic reporting |
| Advanced | $300/mo | $250/mo | AI chatbots, ABM features, Salesforce integration, Advanced routing |
| Enterprise | $500/mo | $420/mo | Custom AI training, Workspace analytics, API access, Dedicated CSM, SLA |
| Custom Build by 86 SaaS | $20,000–$40,000 one-time | $0/seat | Unlimited users, full ownership, no recurring fees |
Migration Timeline
From Drift to ownership — week by week
A structured migration plan to move off Drift in 5-9 weeks with zero downtime.
Discovery & Audit
1 weekAudit chat flows, bot scripts, routing rules, and visitor tracking setup
Architecture & Design
1-2 weeksDesign conversational platform with chatbot logic, routing, and analytics
Core Development
3-5 weeksBuild live chat, AI chatbot, meeting booking, visitor ID, and analytics
Data Migration & Testing
1 weekMigrate chat histories, bot scripts, and validate routing accuracy
Deployment & Training
1 weekDeploy on website and train sales/support teams
Total build time
5-9 weeks
Feature Comparison
What you keep, what you skip, and why
A transparent comparison of Drift features vs. your custom-built alternative.
| Feature | Drift | Custom Build | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live Chat | |||
| AI Chatbot | Train on your content for better accuracy | ||
| Meeting Scheduling | |||
| Visitor Identification | |||
| Chat Routing | |||
| Conversation Analytics | |||
| Email Playbooks | |||
| CRM Integration | |||
| ABM Targeting | Use dedicated ABM tools like 6sense for account targeting | ||
| Data Ownership | All conversation data stays on your infrastructure |
Your custom build focuses on the features your team actually uses — typically 15-20% of what Drift offers — built exactly for your workflow.
How It Works
From Drift to ownership in 5-9 weeks
Free Audit
We analyze your Drift usage and identify exactly which features your team actually uses.
Scope & Build
We build your custom customer support tool with only the features you need. 5-9 weeks.
Deploy & Migrate
We deploy to your infrastructure, migrate your data from Drift, and train your team.
You Own It
Full source code, documentation, and optional maintenance retainer. No vendor lock-in. Ever.