Smooch (Sunshine Conversations) vs Trengo

Smooch (now Sunshine Conversations by Zendesk) and Trengo represent two distinct approaches to customer communication. Smooch excels as a conversation API platform designed for developers, while Trengo offers a comprehensive team inbox solution for multi-channel support.

Understanding their core differences is crucial for selecting the right platform for your business needs and technical requirements.

Smooch provides robust conversation APIs with advanced automation capabilities, making it ideal for businesses that need custom integrations and programmatic control over customer interactions. Its strength lies in handling complex conversation flows and enterprise-level messaging requirements.

Trengo focuses on simplicity and team collaboration, offering features like shared inboxes, internal notes, and collision detection to prevent duplicate responses. It excels at managing high-volume customer communications across email, chat, social media, and messaging apps.

The key difference is architectural: Smooch requires development resources to implement, while Trengo provides immediate value through its user-friendly interface.

Smooch operates on a conversation-based pricing model, charging per active conversation rather than per agent. This can be cost-effective for businesses with many agents but fewer concurrent conversations.

Trengo uses traditional per-agent pricing starting around €15 per user monthly, making costs predictable and scalable with team growth. Additional features like advanced automation may require higher-tier plans.

Consider your conversation volume versus team size when evaluating total cost of ownership.

Choose Smooch if you need a developer-first conversation API with extensive customization capabilities and enterprise-grade scalability. Choose Trengo if you want an intuitive team inbox that consolidates all customer communications without requiring technical expertise.

Choose Smooch if: You have development resources and need a flexible conversation API that can be deeply integrated into your existing systems and workflows.

Choose Trengo if: You want a ready-to-use team inbox solution that requires minimal setup and provides immediate productivity gains for your support team.

For teams seeking a middle ground, consider Converge at $49/month flat rate - offering enterprise-grade features without per-agent pricing or complex implementation requirements.