Acquire vs Smooch (Sunshine Conversations)
Converge Team
Side-by-side comparison for 2026
| Feature | Acquire | Smooch (Sunshine Conversations) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | From $500/mo | From $115/seat/mo |
| Best For | Teams needing video support and screen sharing capabilities | Existing Zendesk customers needing omnichannel messaging |
| Standout Feature | Video calling and cobrowsing for technical support | Deep integration with Zendesk ecosystem |
| Free Plan | ✗ | ✗ |
| G2 Rating | 4.4 | 4.2 |
Acquire and Smooch (now Sunshine Conversations by Zendesk) address different aspects of customer communication. Acquire specializes in visual support tools and co-browsing, while Smooch provides conversation APIs for building custom messaging experiences across multiple channels.
Smooch is designed for developers who want to integrate messaging into their applications, while Acquire offers a complete visual support solution for customer service teams.
Feature Comparison
Acquire excels in visual customer support with co-browsing, screen sharing, video chat, and real-time collaboration tools. It's built for support agents who need to see and interact with customer screens directly.
Smooch (Sunshine Conversations) provides conversation APIs that unify messaging across WhatsApp, SMS, web chat, and social channels. It's designed for building custom messaging workflows and integrations.
The fundamental difference: Acquire is a complete visual support platform, while Smooch is a messaging infrastructure for developers to build upon.
Pricing Comparison
Acquire pricing starts around $500/month per agent with tiered plans based on features. Costs are agent-based and can become expensive for larger support teams.
Smooch uses conversation-based pricing starting at $180/month for up to 1,000 conversations, with additional charges for higher volumes and premium features.
Pricing models differ significantly: Acquire charges per support agent, while Smooch charges based on conversation volume, making it more suitable for high-volume, low-touch interactions.
Acquire
Pros
- ✓ Video calling capabilities
- ✓ Screen sharing and cobrowsing
- ✓ Good mobile SDK
Cons
- ✗ Expensive per-agent pricing
- ✗ Limited social media integration
- ✗ Complex interface
Smooch (Sunshine Conversations)
Pros
- ✓ Strong Zendesk integration
- ✓ Good channel coverage
- ✓ Mature platform
Cons
- ✗ Per-agent pricing gets expensive
- ✗ Complex setup process
- ✗ Limited customization options
Verdict
Choose Acquire if you need advanced visual support capabilities like co-browsing and screen sharing for complex customer interactions. Choose Smooch if you're building custom messaging experiences and need flexible conversation APIs.
Choose Acquire if: You need advanced visual support tools for complex customer interactions and can justify the premium per-agent pricing.
Choose Smooch if: You're building custom messaging experiences, need conversation API flexibility, and have development resources for implementation.
For teams seeking reliable customer support features without the complexity of custom development or high enterprise costs, Converge at $49/month flat rate provides an accessible alternative with essential support tools and transparent pricing.
Looking for more options? Browse all 750+ platform comparisons, or see all Acquire comparisons and all Smooch (Sunshine Conversations) comparisons.