Help desk comparisons and pricing, at published prices.
Choosing a help desk is mostly a pricing question that looks like a features question. Per-seat, per-workspace and per-ticket pricing give very different bills for the same small team, and AI charges now add a second line on top.
These comparisons use prices from each vendor's own pricing page, say when a vendor does not publish a number, and are rechecked monthly. Convot makes one of the tools compared, and every page says so.
Prices, checked at the source
Start with the numbers. Every price here comes from the vendor's own pricing page, with annual and monthly billing kept apart.
Help desk pricing index 2026: what 24 support tools charge
Seat, ticket and AI prices for 24 help desk, chat, roadmap, status and scheduling tools, each checked on its own pricing page in October 2026.
Help Desk Price Calculator
The monthly bill on Intercom, Zendesk, Help Scout, Front, Crisp and Convot at your seats, products and AI volume.
AI Support Cost Calculator
What you really pay per AI-resolved ticket across Intercom Fin, Zendesk AI and Convot.
Pricing explained, tool by tool
What each plan costs, what it includes, and what a small team really pays once seats, workspaces and AI are added up.
Intercom pricing (2026): seats, Fin outcomes and add-ons explained
Intercom pricing in 2026: what each plan costs per seat, how Fin's $0.99 outcome is counted, which add-ons cost extra, and what a small team really pays.
Zendesk pricing (2026): every plan, AI costs, add-ons and how your bill is set
Zendesk pricing in 2026: Support Team $19, Suite Team $55 and Suite Professional $115 per agent, plus how AI, add-ons and billing terms set the bill.
Crisp pricing and plans (2026): Free, Mini $45, Essentials $95 and Plus $295
Crisp pricing and plans in 2026: Free, Mini $45, Essentials $95, Plus $295 per workspace, with worked monthly bills for 1, 3 and 5 seats, 1 or 3 sites and AI.
Alternatives to the tool you use now
If you already know what you want to leave, start here. Each guide compares the realistic replacements at published prices.
The best Intercom alternatives for SaaS support teams (2026)
The best Intercom alternatives for SaaS support teams in 2026: Zendesk, Help Scout, Front, Crisp, Pylon and Convot, with verified prices and AI costs.
The best Zendesk alternatives for small support teams (2026)
Leaving Zendesk with a team of one to five? Per-agent costs, free plans and trials, and what you give up, across Help Scout, Freshdesk, Front, Crisp and Convot.
The best Help Scout alternatives for small support teams (2026)
Eight Help Scout alternatives compared on cost for three people, free plans, AI pricing and multiple products, from vendor pricing pages.
The best Freshdesk alternatives for small support teams (2026)
Eight Freshdesk alternatives compared on price for three agents, live chat, AI pricing and fit, checked on each vendor's own pricing page.
The best Front alternatives for small support teams (2026)
Eight Front alternatives compared on cost for three seats, email plus chat, free plans and AI pricing, from shared inboxes to help desks.
The best Crisp alternatives for Shopify app teams (2026)
The best Crisp alternatives for Shopify app teams in 2026: Intercom, Help Scout, Tidio, Chatwoot and Convot, with verified prices and who each one suits.
The best tools for your situation
Shortlists built around a constraint: a small team, no budget yet, a hatred of per-seat pricing, several apps, or a changelog and status page in the same tool.
Best help desk for small teams (2026): 7 tools, costs at 3 to 12 seats
An affordable help desk for a 3 to 12 person team: seven tools with the monthly bill at each size, free plans, and which suits email, chat or several products.
The best free help desks for startups under $1k MRR (2026)
Free help desk plans compared for early-stage SaaS: seats, limits, help center, AI, and what the first paid step costs when you outgrow them.
The best help desks with flat pricing, no per-seat fees (2026)
Flat-priced help desks compared on what 3, 7 and 12 agents cost a month, against per-seat tools like Help Scout, Intercom and Zendesk.
The best help desks for Shopify app developers and multi-app teams (2026)
Seven help desks compared for Shopify app developers and teams with several apps: merchant data for AI, one inbox, and the cost of 5 agents across 3 apps.
The best help desks with a built-in changelog and status page (2026)
Which support platforms include a help center, changelog, roadmap and status page in one subscription, and what the same stack costs bought separately.
Best changelog and release notes tools for SaaS: 8 compared (2026)
Eight changelog and release notes tools compared on free plans, price, what the price grows with, and what else they include, from roadmaps to live chat.
Convot compared, head to head
Side-by-side pages for Convot against each tool. Convot publishes these, so check the vendor's own page before you decide.
Crisp vs Intercom for Shopify app developers: which to pick
Crisp vs Intercom for a Shopify app team: verified prices, AI costs, what each does well, and what neither shows you about the merchant you are talking to.
Convot vs Intercom
Several brands in Intercom need Expert, $132 a seat, and Fin costs from $0.99 per outcome. Convot runs every app in one inbox, with Cove AI at $0.20.
Convot vs Zendesk
A Zendesk alternative for teams running more than one app: chat, inbox and help center per app, one flat bill by app count, and AI at $0.20 a resolution.
Convot vs Crisp
Crisp bills per workspace, one per website. Convot runs every app in one inbox for $89 a month for 3 apps, with a help center and changelog for each.
Convot vs Help Scout
A Help Scout alternative for teams running more than one app: a shared inbox, chat and help center per app, plus changelog, roadmap and status on one flat bill.
Every Convot comparison
How Convot compares to Intercom, Zendesk, Crisp, Help Scout, Freshdesk, Canny, Statuspage, Calendly and more, for teams running more than one app.
Switching help desks
How the move actually works, what comes across, and what changed at Intercom this year.
How to leave Intercom or Zendesk without losing your conversation history (2026)
The three ways to move years of support history to a new help desk, what each keeps and drops, how long it takes, and how to switch without downtime.
Migrating from Crisp to Convot: a step-by-step guide
How to move from Crisp to Convot: what the built-in importer brings over, how to run it, how to swap the widget code, and what to check before switching.
Should you leave Intercom after Salesforce bought it? (2026)
Salesforce closed its Fin (formerly Intercom) deal on 10 September 2026. Pricing was unchanged in November. When to leave and what to check at renewal.
More in Comparisons and pricing
Knowledge Base Software for Small Teams: Costs and Tests (2026)
What knowledge base software costs a three-person software team at one and three products, priced on vendor pages on 9 Nov 2026, plus the tests to run first.
Help Scout Pricing in 2026: Plans and Real Costs
Help Scout pricing checked 9 Nov 2026: $25, $45 and $75 per user, Pro's 10-user minimum, $0.75 AI resolutions, plus worked monthly bills for small teams.
Help Desk vs Service Desk: How to Choose for Your Team
Help desk vs service desk for a small software team, with a 3-agent monthly bill across five vendors, priced on 9 Nov 2026.
Help Desk Software Features to Prioritize
Help desk software features small SaaS teams should buy first: inbox, help center, AI handoff, SLAs, and how to score vendors.
Gorgias vs Zendesk for Small Software Teams
Gorgias vs Zendesk worked out as monthly bills for 3 and 5 agents, with ticket spikes and AI at 150 and 300 resolutions, priced 9 November 2026.
Gorgias Pricing in 2026: Plans, Add-Ons and Real Costs
Gorgias pricing, October 2026: $10 to $900 a month by ticket volume, AI at $0.90 to $1.00 per interaction, and the real bill at four volumes.
Zoho Desk Pricing in 2026: Plans, Add-Ons and Real Costs
Zoho Desk pricing, October 2026: free for 3 users, then $7 to $40 per agent a month billed annually, plus support fees, AI tokens and worked team costs.
Front Pricing Explained for Small Support Teams
Front pricing, October 2026: $25, $65 or $105 per seat billed annually, Autopilot AI at $0.89 per resolution, and what 3, 5 and 8 seats really cost.
Zendesk vs Freshdesk: Which Help Desk Fits Small Teams
Zendesk vs Freshdesk in October 2026: per-agent prices, Zendesk's new $1.50 to $2.00 AI resolution price vs Freddy sessions, and real team costs.
10 Gorgias alternatives for support teams in 2026, with prices
Compare 10 Gorgias alternatives for Shopify, SaaS, and app teams, including pricing, AI, integrations, migration paths, and best-fit use cases.
Shared inbox software for small teams: 5 tools compared with prices (2026)
What shared inbox software costs a small team: Crisp, Help Scout, Intercom, Front and Convot priced per seat, app and AI resolution, and how to pick one.
Tidio pricing (2026): Free, Starter $29, Growth from $59, Plus from $300 and Lyro AI costs
Tidio pricing checked 9 Nov 2026: Free, Starter $29, Growth from $59, Plus from $300 plus usage, Lyro at $0.70 to $0.78 each, and worked monthly bills.
Intercom vs Zendesk for small teams: pricing, AI costs and which to choose (2026)
Intercom vs Zendesk for small teams: seat prices, a monthly cost table with AI at 300 and 600 resolutions, workflow fit and migration. Checked November 2026.
Freshdesk Pricing (2026): Plans, Add-Ons and What 1, 3 and 5 Agents Pay
Freshdesk pricing, checked 9 November 2026: Growth $19, Pro $55, Enterprise $89 per agent, with worked bills for 1, 3 and 5 agents and Freddy AI.