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EngageBay Alternative: One Flat Seat, No Contact Caps
EngageBay sells the same all-in-one idea with a free plan for 15 users and a $12.74 entry seat. Its tiers are set by contact count, so a team with 1,000 contacts lands on Growth at $55 to $65 per user. EmpireVault is $39 per seat with no contact cap. Here is the five-person team priced both ways, with EngageBay’s own pages as the source.
No credit card required · One seat in the trial
The Short Answer
Pick EngageBay if you have few contacts and want to pay little or nothing. Its free plan is, in its own words, “a genuinely free plan, not a trial”: CRM, helpdesk, live chat, email broadcasts and appointment scheduling for up to 15 users, 250 contacts and 1,000 branded emails, with no credit card. Basic at $12.74 to $14.99 per user adds calling credits, SMS marketing and 500 contacts. It also has live chat, landing pages, pop-ups and push notifications, which EmpireVault does not.
Pick EmpireVault if your contact list is the thing that keeps growing. EngageBay’s tiers are set by contacts: 250 on Free, 500 on Basic, 5,000 on Growth, 10,000 on Pro, and the five-person team with 1,000 contacts lands on Growth at $276 to $325 a month. EmpireVault is $195 for the same five people with no contact cap, built-in e-signature and an office suite, neither of which is on EngageBay’s price list. If 500 contacts is all you will ever have, EngageBay is cheaper and we would rather say so here.
Which Plan Covers a Five-Person Team
Thirteen things a five-person business needs: an owner, two salespeople and two support agents who need SLAs and a knowledge base, and email marketing to 1,000 contacts, the same team the pricing page prices against HubSpot. Each EngageBay cell names the first tier whose comparison row is marked supported and its price per user per month, shown as the biennial price EngageBay displays by default up to the month-to-month price.
No ticks and crosses: you cannot check a tick. Yes is included on the plan named in the cell. Partial is included with the limitation written out. No is not offered.
| What the team needs | EmpireVault ($39 per seat, one plan) | EngageBay |
|---|---|---|
| Pipeline CRM for the whole team | YesContacts, companies, deals on a pipeline board with AI lead scoring. One plan, $39 per seat. | YesFree, $0: deals, tasks and a 360-degree contact view on every tier, for up to 15 users and 250 contacts on Free. |
| Helpdesk with SLAs for two support agents | YesTickets with SLA policies, AI triage and routing suggestions, a customer portal and CSAT ratings. Included. | PartialTicketing, ticket views, groups and canned responses from Free, $0 (2 views and 10 canned responses on Free, 10 and 10 on Basic, 50 and 50 on Growth). Ticket SLAs with a pausing timer are a documented feature, but the pricing page does not name a tier for them; its only SLA row is an uptime commitment on Pro. |
| Knowledge base for self-service | YesPublic knowledge base and help centre, with articles the website chat agent answers from. Included. | PartialA Help Center knowledge base exists in EngageBay’s help documentation; the pricing page does not list it or name a tier. (“AI Knowledge Sources” on the pricing page are inputs for the chatbot, not a customer knowledge base.) |
| Email marketing to 1,000 contacts | PartialNo contact cap and no per-contact charge, and each campaign step is generated for the contacts who are due and approved before it sends. Campaigns send through your own mailbox, so your email provider’s daily sending limit applies; there is no bulk sending service. | YesGrowth, $55.24 to $64.99: the first tier whose contact cap, 5,000, covers 1,000 contacts; Free caps at 250 and Basic at 500. Growth includes 25,000 branded emails a month, sent by EngageBay. Email broadcasts exist from Free; marketing automation and workflows start on Growth. |
| Public booking pages | YesPublic booking pages per event type with conflict checking against your Google or Microsoft calendar, and bookings linked to the CRM contact. Included. One host per event type; no payment at booking. | YesFree, $0: appointment scheduling is marked supported on every tier. |
| Quotes | YesQuotes with your pricing and tax, share links, approvals, renewals and retainers; an accepted quote becomes a contract. Included. | YesGrowth, $55.24 to $64.99: Proposals are supported on Growth and Pro only, with proposal analytics on Pro. |
| E-signature | YesBuilt-in e-signature with an audit trail. No DocuSign or other signing service to buy. Included. | NoNot on the All-in-One pricing page. Whether a proposal can be signed is not stated. |
| Document editing | YesEuro-Office: documents, spreadsheets, slides and PDF, edited together in the browser. Included. | NoNot on the pricing page. File storage is 1 GB on Basic, 5 GB on Growth and 20 GB on Pro, none on Free. |
| Phone and SMS | PartialBusiness number, SMS inbox and missed-call text-back through your own Twilio or Telnyx account (carrier costs are yours). Inbound calls only; no outbound dialler. US texting needs A2P 10DLC registration. | YesBasic, $12.74 to $14.99: calling minutes (15 credits) are supported on Basic, Growth and Pro, not Free; SMS marketing is a Basic card highlight. Call recordings and call scripts are Pro only. |
| AI assistant | YesIncluded, no add-on: drafts and summaries in email, lead scoring, ticket triage and draft replies, resume scoring, the website chat agent. Allowance: 100 email AI requests per person a day, 40,000 a day for everything else. | YesFree, $0: 20 AI conversations a month and 10 AI knowledge sources on Free; 50 and 20 on Basic; 200 and 100 on Growth; 500 and 200 on Pro. |
| A free plan that stays free | NoA 21-day free trial with one seat and every module, no credit card; no permanent free plan. | Yes“Free for 15 users, no credit card required”: CRM, helpdesk, live chat, email broadcasts and appointment scheduling, 250 contacts, 1,000 branded emails, 2 email sequences. |
| Everything on one price, nothing gated by tier | Yes$39 per seat per month covers every module. No feature tiers, no add-ons, no contact caps. Billed monthly, or $390 a seat a year ($32.50 a month) on annual billing. | NoFour tiers set by contact caps (250, 500, 5,000, 10,000; more by arrangement on Pro) and by features: proposals and marketing automation from Growth, call recording and phone support on Pro. Yearly billing is 8% off and biennial 15% off the monthly price. |
| Live chat, landing pages and pop-ups | PartialThe Engage chat widget answers from your knowledge base, captures leads and hands off to a person, and there are web forms; there is no landing-page builder, pop-ups or push notifications. | YesLive chat from Free; landing pages on every tier (1 on Free, 10 on Basic, 50 on Growth, 100 on Pro); web pop-ups, site messaging and push notifications. |
EngageBay facts from engagebay.com/pricing/all-in-one, the engagebay.com homepage FAQ and EngageBay’s service-level-agreement feature page, read 23 October 2026. Prices: Free $0; Basic $12.74 biennial, $13.79 yearly, $14.99 monthly; Growth $55.24, $59.79, $64.99; Pro $101.99, $110.39, $119.99. Two cells say the tier is not stated: ticket SLAs and the knowledge base are documented features that the pricing page does not place on a tier.
Start a 21-Day Free TrialThe Same Team, Priced Both Ways
The team is the one the pricing page already uses: an owner, two salespeople and two support agents, with SLAs and a knowledge base for support and email marketing to 1,000 contacts. EmpireVault is billed monthly and can be cancelled at any time; EngageBay’s lowest figure is its two-year commitment, and the monthly figure is shown beside it.
| Line | EmpireVault | EngageBay |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | 1 plan, every module, for all 5 people | Growth for all five, because 1,000 contacts is over Basic’s 500-contact cap: CRM, ticketing, 5,000 contacts, 25,000 branded emails, marketing automation, proposals, appointment scheduling, calling credits. |
| Monthly cost | $195 for all 5 people (5 × $39) monthly, cancel any time, or $162.50 a month billed annually (5 × $32.50) | $276.20 on Growth billed for two years (5 × $55.24), $298.95 billed yearly, $324.95 month to month. On Basic it would be $63.70 to $74.95, but only up to 500 contacts. |
| AI assistant | Included (100 email AI requests per person a day; 40,000 a day for the rest) | Included: 200 AI conversations a month and 100 knowledge sources on Growth. |
| E-signature | Included, built in | Not on the pricing page. |
| One-time onboarding | $0 self-serve | None on the pricing page; free onboarding sessions and a dedicated account manager from Growth, and a free migration service from any platform. |
| Email marketing | No contact cap or per-contact charge; campaigns send through your own mailbox, so your provider’s daily limit applies | 5,000 contacts and 25,000 branded emails a month on Growth, sent by EngageBay; 10,000 contacts on Pro, more by arrangement. |
| Tiers to choose between | None | Free, Basic, Growth and Pro, each billed monthly, yearly (8% off) or biennially (15% off). |
On this team EmpireVault is cheaper, because EngageBay’s contact caps push 1,000 contacts onto Growth. Halve the list to 500 and EngageBay’s Basic tier is a third of the price. The contact count, not the feature list, decides which is the better deal.
Where EngageBay Wins
Not hedged, and not a set-up for a rebuttal. These are the reasons a team should buy EngageBay instead of EmpireVault.
A Free Plan for Fifteen People
“A genuinely free plan, not a trial”: CRM, helpdesk, live chat, email broadcasts, appointment scheduling and 20 AI conversations a month for up to 15 users, 250 contacts and 1,000 branded emails, with no credit card. EmpireVault gives you 21 days with everything on one seat and then asks for $39 a seat. A small team inside those limits pays EngageBay nothing.
Basic at a Third of the Price
Basic is $12.74 per user per month on a two-year term, $13.79 yearly or $14.99 month to month, and includes ticketing, calling credits, SMS marketing, live chat, 10 landing pages and 500 contacts with 3,000 branded emails. For a team whose list stays under 500 contacts that is a full suite at a third of EmpireVault’s seat.
Live Chat, Landing Pages, Pop-Ups and Push
EngageBay has a human live chat on every tier, landing pages (1 on Free up to 100 on Pro), web pop-ups, site messaging and push notifications. EmpireVault’s website surface is the Engage chat agent, which answers from your knowledge base and hands off to a person, and web forms. If building landing pages and pop-ups is part of your marketing, EngageBay has the tools and we do not.
Free Migration, Account Manager, Discounts
“Completely free migration service from any other platform”, plus free onboarding sessions and a dedicated account manager from Growth, and phone support on Pro. Yearly billing is 8% off and biennial 15% off. EmpireVault’s self-serve path is free to set up but comes with no account manager, and its migration service is scoped and quoted per project; its only discount is annual billing, two months free, with no two-year term.
Where EmpireVault Wins
Four things, and none of them is a cheaper entry seat. EmpireVault’s case against EngageBay is what happens as the contact list and the paperwork grow.
No Contact Caps
EmpireVault has no contact cap and no per-contact charge at any size; the only limit on a campaign is your own email provider’s daily sending allowance, because campaigns go out through your mailbox. EngageBay’s tiers are contact caps: 250, 500, 5,000 and 10,000, with more by arrangement. That is why the five-person team with 1,000 contacts costs $276 to $325 a month on EngageBay and $195 on EmpireVault, and why the gap widens as the list grows.
E-Signature and an Office Suite on the Seat
An accepted quote becomes a contract signed inside EmpireVault with an audit trail, and Euro-Office gives the team documents, spreadsheets and slides edited together in the browser. Neither e-signature nor document editing appears anywhere on EngageBay’s All-in-One pricing page, so a team that sends contracts buys a signing service alongside it.
The Working Day Is in the Product
An email client where every message already sits on the customer record, with AI drafts in your voice and summaries; a calendar that sends and receives real invitations with RSVPs; tasks and projects. EngageBay’s pricing page describes a CRM, marketing, helpdesk and live chat suite, not a mailbox, a calendar client or an office suite.
One Price, No Tier Hunting, No Two-Year Term
$39 per seat covers every module and there are no feature tiers, so proposals, call recording or automation never move you up a plan. EngageBay’s lowest prices need a two-year commitment; month to month, Growth is $64.99 and Pro $119.99 per user. EmpireVault’s $39 is the monthly price, and a one-year commitment takes it to $32.50; there is no two-year term.
What Else Comes With the Seat
EngageBay and EmpireVault make the same promise, one product instead of several, and EngageBay is the closer match on this list than any other product we compare against. The difference is where each one stops. Everything on the one $39 seat, sharing one customer record:
So the comparison worth running is EngageBay Growth plus an e-signature service plus an office suite plus whatever handles your mail and calendar, against one seat with no contact cap. If your list is under 500 contacts and you never send a contract, EngageBay Basic is cheaper, and this page is not going to argue otherwise.
Pricing, Side by Side
EmpireVault
$39 per seat / month
One plan. Every module included, no feature tiers. $39 per seat billed monthly, or $32.50 a month billed annually ($390 a year, two months free). A 21-day free trial with one seat and no credit card, but no permanent free plan.
EngageBay
$0–$119.99 per user / month
Free for 15 users (250 contacts). Basic $12.74 to $14.99, Growth $55.24 to $64.99, Pro $101.99 to $119.99 per user per month, the lower figure on a two-year term, the higher month to month, with yearly billing in between. Contact caps 250, 500, 5,000 and 10,000.
Per seat, EmpireVault is about two and a half times EngageBay Basic and about three fifths of EngageBay Growth, whichever billing term you compare. Which EngageBay tier applies is set by your contact count, so a growing list moves the comparison in EmpireVault’s favour and a small one moves it the other way. On a pure CRM-plus-helpdesk requirement with a few hundred contacts, EngageBay is cheaper, and this page is not going to argue otherwise.
Common Questions
Is EmpireVault a good EngageBay alternative?
It depends on your contact list and your paperwork. If you have a few hundred contacts and want a free or $12.74 seat with CRM, helpdesk, live chat and landing pages, EngageBay is the better buy. EmpireVault is the better choice when the list is growing past EngageBay’s caps, or when you send contracts for signature and want an office suite and an email client on the same $39 seat, billed monthly or annually.
How much does EngageBay cost compared to EmpireVault?
EngageBay’s All-in-One suite is free for up to 15 users and 250 contacts, then Basic at $12.74 to $14.99, Growth at $55.24 to $64.99 and Pro at $101.99 to $119.99 per user per month, the lower figure on a two-year term and the higher month to month, with contact caps of 500, 5,000 and 10,000. EmpireVault is $39 per seat per month, every module included, with no contact cap, billed monthly or $32.50 a month annually.
Does EmpireVault have a free plan like EngageBay?
No. EmpireVault has a 21-day free trial with one seat and every module and no credit card, but no permanent free plan. EngageBay’s free plan covers up to 15 users and 250 contacts with no time limit.
Does EngageBay include e-signature?
E-signature does not appear on EngageBay’s All-in-One pricing page, and the page does not say whether proposals can be signed. EmpireVault includes built-in e-signature with an audit trail on its one plan.
What would a five-person team pay on each?
On EmpireVault, $195 a month for all five with everything included and no contact cap, or $162.50 a month billed annually. On EngageBay, the team’s 1,000 contacts put it on Growth: $276.20 a month on a two-year term, $298.95 billed yearly or $324.95 month to month. With 500 contacts or fewer the team could use Basic at $63.70 to $74.95.
Can I move my data from EngageBay to EmpireVault?
Contacts import from CSV with custom fields, and the Migration service moves contacts, deals and tickets as part of a build or on its own. Everything exports again at any time as CSV and through the REST API.
Still Deciding?
Tell us how many contacts you have and whether you send contracts, and we will tell you straight which EngageBay tier you would land on and whether one EmpireVault seat beats it, including when it does not.
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How we verified this
Compared against EngageBay’s published pricing and documentation, read 23 October 2026. Every EngageBay cell above cites a page EngageBay publishes; no third-party blogs or comparison sites were used, and nobody on our team has used EngageBay hands-on, so nothing here is an opinion about how it feels to use. If something has gone out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
EngageBay sources: All-in-One pricing · Homepage FAQ · Service pricing · Service level agreements · Help Center docs.
EmpireVault sources: Pricing · Products · CRM · Support tickets · Knowledge base · Email campaigns · Email & Calendar · Calendar and booking pages · Quotes · Contracts and e-signature · Euro-Office · AI assistance · Phone and SMS screenshots · Deals pipeline screenshots · Helpdesk and SLA screenshots · Booking calendar screenshots · Document editing screenshots.