Zendesk alternatives
4 tools in Customer Support comparable to Zendesk, ranked by VERILO editor rating and editorial score. Rankings are independent of affiliate relationships.
Teams leave Zendesk for one of two reasons: the per-agent bill grows faster than the team, or the setup — views, triggers and routing — needs more administration than a small team has. Support-only plans start at $19 per agent per month billed annually, but chat, voice and the help center arrive with the Suite at $55, and AI agents are billed on top.
Freshdesk is the like-for-like ticketing alternative with a lighter setup: Growth is $19 per agent billed annually and already includes a customer portal and knowledge base. Intercom suits teams whose support is chat-first and who want an AI agent answering from help center content; Essential starts at $29 per seat billed annually.
If what you need is a shared inbox rather than a ticketing system, Help Scout keeps an email-like experience with unlimited users, and Crisp covers website chat plus WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram for a flat workspace fee.
Intercom
Customer Support
Chat-first customer service platform with a shared inbox, help center and the Fin AI agent.
Help Scout
Customer Support
Email-style shared inbox, knowledge base and chat widget for support teams, priced by contacts helped.
Cheaper alternatives to Zendesk
Zendesk’s entry paid plan is Support Team at $19 per user a month. None of the alternatives with checked pricing starts lower on the same kind of price. 2 alternatives without a price check in the last 90 days are not included.
Free alternatives to Zendesk
None of the alternatives with checked pricing has a free plan. Intercom (14 days) and Freshdesk (14 days) offer a free trial instead. 2 alternatives without a price check in the last 90 days are not included.
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