Our verdict
Honest take: Gorgias alternatives
Who it suits. If you need a real helpdesk, Re:amaze, HubSpot and Intercom Fin land between $420 and $575 a month for our medium store, below Gorgias at $670. If you only need chat with AI, Chatty ($199) and Zipchat ($300) cost far less.
Who overpays, and why. Anyone paying for a full helpdesk when Shopify Inbox would do. Inbox is free and now has an AI agent. Zendesk is the priciest on our numbers at about $1,118 for a medium store and $4,295 for a large one.
Gotchas.
- Seat based tools (Intercom, Zendesk, HubSpot, Re:amaze, Freshdesk, Richpanel) get expensive fast as your team grows.
- Chat only tools (Zipchat, Chatty, Shopify Inbox) do not handle email tickets, so they are not a like for like swap.
- Tidio's prices above the small store tier are not public, so we cannot rank it there.
Bottom line. Price the job you actually have. Most small stores are buying more helpdesk than they use.
Opinion, written by a person. Numbers come from the estimates on this site. Affiliate status never changes a verdict.
Swipe sideways to see every store size →
| App | How AI is billed | Small store 200 conv/mo | Medium store 1,000 conv/mo | Large store 4,000 conv/mo | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Inbox Free chat + AI agent (by Shopify) Free | Free | $0Free | $0Free | $0Free | 2026-10-26 |
| Aide Helpdesk + AI agent Free option overlaps | Per AI reply (plan allowances, no seat fees) | $39Starter | $39Starter | $149Pro | 2026-11-04 |
| HelpCenter: AI Helpdesk & Chat Budget helpdesk + AI FAQs Free option overlaps | No AI agent fee; priced per ticket (AI FAQs) | $40Standard | $70Advanced | $320Enterprise | 2026-10-26 |
| Chatty AI Chatbot & Live Chat AI chatbot + live chat Free option overlaps | Per AI conversation (plan allowances; $0.40 extra) | $59.99Basic | $199Plus | $1,399Plus | 2026-10-26 |
| Zipchat AI chatbot (sales + support) Free option overlaps | Per AI reply (plan allowances; $49 per 250 extra) | $80Starter | $300Pro | $960Scale Plus (annual) | 2026-10-26 |
| HubSpot Service Hub (Customer Agent) Helpdesk/CRM + AI agent | $0.50 per resolution via credits; Professional seats required | $120Professional × 1 seat | $420Professional × 2 seats | $1,470Professional × 5 seats | 2026-10-26 |
| Re:amaze Helpdesk + AI agent Free option overlaps | $0.85 per resolution after small per-user allowance, plus seats | $109.75Basic × 1 user | $474.50Basic × 2 users | $1,823.75Basic × 5 users | 2026-10-26 |
| Richpanel Helpdesk + AI agent | Token meter, ~$0.20–0.24 per AI conversation, $200/mo minimum, plus seats | $3191 helpdesk seat + AI meter | $4782 helpdesk seats + AI meter | $1,5555 helpdesk seats + AI meter | 2026-10-26 |
| Freshdesk (Freddy AI Agent) Helpdesk + AI agent | $49 per 100 AI sessions, plus seats | $117Growth × 1 (annual) + session packs | $528Growth × 2 (annual) + session packs | $2,055Growth × 5 (annual) + session packs | 2026-10-26 |
| Intercom (Fin AI Agent) Helpdesk + AI agent | $0.99 per Fin outcome, plus per-seat fee | $138Essential × 1 seat + Fin | $573Essential × 2 seats + Fin | $2,175Essential × 5 seats + Fin | 2026-10-26 |
| Zendesk (AI agents) Helpdesk + AI agent | $2.00 per automated resolution PAYG ($1.50 committed), plus seats | $259Suite Team × 1 + pay-as-you-go resolutions | $1,118Suite Team × 2 + pay-as-you-go resolutions | $4,295Suite Team × 5 + pay-as-you-go resolutions | 2026-10-26 |
| Siena AI AI agent platform | $0.90 per automated ticket + $750/mo platform fee | $840Platform + automation pack | $1,200Platform + automation pack | $2,550Platform + automation pack | 2026-10-26 |
| Tidio (Lyro AI Agent) Live chat + AI agent Free option overlaps | Per Lyro conversation ($39 for 200), human chats billed separately | $68Lyro AI Agent + Customer Service Starter | Not publicHigher Lyro / Customer Service tiers | Not publicHigher Lyro / Customer Service tiers | 2026-10-26 |
Some of these are full helpdesks, and others (Zipchat, Chatty, Shopify Inbox) are chat/AI layers only. Compare like with like. How we calculate.