Help desk software pricing varies significantly based on the number of users, included features, and contract length. See our pricing comparison below for a detailed breakdown:
Help desk pricing calculator
In the help desk pricing calculator, I used the tier structure, Starter, Growth, Pro, Enterprise, and Enterprise + AI agents, as part of a normalized pricing scale to make cross-vendor comparisons more effective.
While vendors use different plan names (like “Growth,” “Suite Team,” or “Essential”), I grouped them based on similar feature sets.
Freshdesk
Growth: Provides basic support functionality, including ticketing and email features, suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
Pro: Offers additional customization options, customer segmentation, and workflow capabilities for more tailored support operations.
Enterprise: Includes Automated response agents (bots), security features, and expanded multi-channel support for large-scale support environments.
Freshdesk plan comparison
In addition to the free-tier, Freshdesk offers 3 different plans and paid add-on tools:
Feature | Growth | Pro | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
Base price | $15/agent/mo | $49/agent/mo | $79/agent/mo |
Ticketing system | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Customer portal | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Multilingual support | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Custom reports | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Skill-based routing | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Approval workflows | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Audit logs | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Freddy AI Copilot | $29/agent/mo | $29/agent/mo | $29/agent/mo |
Freddy AI Agent | 500 sessions free, then $100/1K | 500 sessions free, then $100/1K | 500 sessions free, then $100/1K |
Zendesk Support Suite
Suite Team: Basic conversational service with quick setup for SMEs.
Suite Growth: Self-service and automation capabilities at a scale.
Suite Professional: Includes team access management and routing options, skill-based ticket routing, and analytics.
Suite Enterprise: Configurable roles and permissions at scale with content suggestions.3
Zendesk Support Suite plan comparison
Features | Suite Team | Suite Growth | Suite Professional | Suite Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Multilingual content | 1 default language | 40+ languages | 40+ languages | 40+ languages |
Multiple help centers | 1 | Up to 5 | Up to 5 | Up to 300 |
AI agents resolutions per agent/month | 5 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
Zendesk – Build Your Own Plan
Starting price: $19 per agent/month (billed annually)
Best for: Small businesses handling a low volume of support tickets and not requiring analytics.
Included features:
- Ticketing system
- Email, X, and Facebook messaging
- Customer details and conversation history
- AI agents
- Reporting and analytics
- Eligible for workforce management add-on
- Eligible for quality assurance add-on
Zendesk add-ons
Workforce management
Price: $25 per agent/month (billed annually)
Purpose: Supports scheduling and performance tracking, especially for larger teams.
Includes:
- Forecasting
- Automatic agent scheduling
- Agent activity tracking
- Performance reporting
Quality assurance
Price: $35 per agent/month (billed annually)
Purpose: Supports automated review of support interactions.
Includes:
- Agent feedback tools
- Performance trend tracking
- QA for AI agent interactions
Data privacy and protection
Price: $50 per agent/month (billed annually)
Purpose: Adds enhanced data security and compliance capabilities.
Includes:
Salesforce Service Cloud
Starter Suite: Basic CRM package for marketing, sales, support, and commerce.
Pro Suite: The CRM suite with additional marketing, sales, support, and commerce functions such as real-time chat and sales forecasting.
Enterprise: Plan with AI recommendations, and workflow automation.
Unlimited: For enterprises that need chatbots and 24-hour assistance.
Salesforce Service Cloud plan comparison
Top features | Starter Suite | Pro Suite | Enterprise | Unlimited | Einstein 1 Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Omni-channel routing | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Knowledge management | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Einstein for service | ❌ | ❌ | Available for purchase | Available for purchase | ✅ |
Service intelligence | ❌ | ❌ | Available for purchase | Available for purchase | ✅ |
Salesforce Service Cloud add-ons
Einstein for Service – From $75/user/month
Integrates conversational, predictive, and generative AI into customer service workflows to deliver personalized assistance.
Visual Remote Assistant – $50/user/month
Provides real-time visual support through video to assist customers remotely.
Service Intelligence – From $220/user/month
Provides data-driven insights and recommendations to assist with operational decision-making and performance analysis.6
Zoho Desk
Express: Provides basic email and social media support tools, along with simple workflows for small businesses.
Standard: Includes core support features such as ticket management and limited automation for small-scale teams.
Professional: Offers collaboration tools, process automation, custom reporting, and access-level controls for mid-sized organizations.
Enterprise: Supports AI agent functionality and customization capabilities for enterprise-level operations.
Zoho desk plan comparison
Top features | Express | Standard | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Custom reports | ❌ | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
AI agent dashboards | ❌ | ❌ | Limited | ✅ |
Field-level access control | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Email channels | 1 | 5 | 10 | 100 |
Live chat | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Ticket tags | 10 | 20 | 30 | 50 |
Macros | 2 | 5 | 15 | 30 |
Intercom
Essential: Entry-level plan with core support features such as shared inbox, ticketing system, pre-built reports, and a public Help Center. Includes access to the Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per resolution.
Advanced: Adds support for multiple inboxes, workflow automation, round robin assignment, and a private, multilingual Help Center. Includes 20 seats and Fin AI Agent access.
Expert: Expands on Advanced with features for identity management (SSO), HIPAA support, SLAs and Help Center capabilities. Includes 50 seats and Fin AI Agent access.
Intercom plan comparison
Feature | Essential | Advanced | Expert |
|---|---|---|---|
Base price | $29/seat/month | $85/seat/month | $132/seat/month |
Fin AI Agent | $0.99 per resolution | $0.99 per resolution | $0.99 per resolution |
Free trial | 14 days | 14 days | 14 days |
Messenger | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Shared inbox and ticketing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Pre-built reports | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Multiple team inboxes | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Workflow automation builder | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
SSO and identity management | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
HIPAA support | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Key factors that affect help desk pricing
Number of agents
- The pricing model often scales with the number of users or agents who will be using the software. More users generally mean higher costs.
Features
- Additional features: AI agents, skill-based routing, custom reporting, and analytics, can increase the price.
- Basic packages commonly include essential ticketing and outsourced support for emails, while enterprise packages offer more features.
Deployment type
- Cloud-based (SaaS) solutions typically have subscription-based models, which might be monthly or annually.
- On-premises solutions may involve a one-time license fee along with ongoing maintenance costs.
Customization
- Solutions that offer higher levels of customization and can scale according to business growth often come at a premium.
- The ability to tailor workflows, add custom fields, and create personalized user interfaces can affect the price.
Customer support
- The level of customer support (e.g., 24/7 support, dedicated account managers) and training provided (e.g., onboarding, user training, and documentation) can influence the cost.
- Service providers may charge extra for extensive support and training packages.
Integration capabilities
- Software that can offer a large number of integrations with CRM, ERP, and other third-party applications) may be priced higher due to the added value and convenience.
Security and compliance
- Additional security features (e.g., encryption, single sign-on, compliance with standards like GDPR, and HIPAA) can increase costs.
Contract length and payment terms
- Discounts might be available for annual contract terms.
- Additional services, such as add-on tools in the package, can increase costs.
Vendor selection criteria
- Number of B2B reviews: 4,000+ reviews on G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra software review sites.
- Average rating: Above 4.0/5 on G2, TrustRadius, and Capterra software review sites.
- Employee size: 1,000+ employees on Linkedin.
- Sorting: With sponsored vendors at the top, others are sorted by total number of reviews in descending order.
Reference Links
Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE and NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and resources that referenced AIMultiple.
Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.
He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.
Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.
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