How help desks charge
Help desk pricing follows one of five models: per agent or seat, per ticket, a flat price for the whole team, a tier capped by users, or a one-time license. AI is usually priced separately, per resolution or per session, on top of the seats. This index lists the published prices of 20 tools so you can compare them on one page.
Prices are in US dollars per month, billed annually unless marked, and were checked on each vendor’s pricing page on 28 and 29 October 2026. Zoho Desk showed only New Zealand dollars and Indian rupees from our location, so its US figures, marked *, are converted. We make Supahelp, which is in the table. Download the data as CSV.
| Tool | Pricing model | Entry price | Higher tiers | AI pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk | Per agent | Support Team $19; Suite Team $55 | Suite Professional $115; Enterprise by quote | 5 AI resolutions per agent a month included, then $1.50 to $2.00 each; Copilot $50 per agent |
| Intercom | Per seat plus per outcome | Essential $29 ($19 for new customers) | Advanced $85; Expert $132 | Fin $0.99 per outcome; Copilot $29 per agent |
| Freshdesk | Per agent | Growth $19 | Pro $55; Enterprise $89 | 500 free AI sessions once, then $49 per 100; Copilot $29 per agent on Pro and up |
| Help Scout | Per user | Free for 5 users; Standard $25 (monthly) | Plus $45; Pro $75 | AI Answers $0.75 per resolution; AI Drafts unlimited on Plus |
| Zoho Desk | Per user | Free for 3 users; Express about $7* | Standard about $14*; Professional about $23*; Enterprise about $40* | Not checked |
| Front | Per seat | Starter $25 (up to 10 seats) | Professional $65; Enterprise $105 | Not checked |
| Jira Service Management | Per agent | Free for 3 agents; Standard $21.50 (monthly) | Premium $55.28 | AI agent $1 per resolution |
| Featurebase | Per seat | Free for 1 seat; Growth $29 | Professional $59; Enterprise $99 | Fibi $0.49 per resolution |
| Gorgias | Per ticket | Starter $40 for 50 tickets (monthly) | Basic $77 (300 tickets); Pro $471 (2,000); Advanced $1,227 (5,000) | $1.50 per automated interaction past the plan limit |
| Helpjuice | Tiers | $249 | $449 (adds AI); $799 (unlimited users) | Included from $449 |
| HelpKit | Per site | $15 | $31; $79 | AI add-on $49 a month |
| InstantDocs | Per plan | Free (50 articles); Pro $79 (launch price, $119 list) | Enterprise by quote | 250 AI credits a month, then $10 per 50 |
| HelpCanvas | Flat | Free for 3 agents; Pro $29 | Business $79 | Included: 500 drafts and 1,000 chatbot conversations a month on Pro |
| Helpzen | Flat | $39 ($49 monthly) | One plan | Included |
| Supahelp | Flat | Free for 1 staff; Essential $64 ($79 monthly) | One paid plan | Included: 5,000 credits a month, about 500 AI answers |
| erelo Desk | Per ticket | $99 for 500 tickets, then $0.25 each | Managed service by quote | Included, unmetered drafts |
| PileDesk | Flat | Free for 6 months, then €29 | One plan | None listed |
| Maxdesk | Flat | Free, with ads and 3 months of history | Paid plans not checked | Not checked |
| Jitbit | One-time license | $2,490 once for unlimited agents (self-hosted) | Hosted version from $24 a month | Self-hosted AI $999 once |
| FreeScout | Free, self-hosted | $0 | None | Not checked |
What a team of 3, 10 or 25 pays
The cheapest plan that includes a help center or knowledge base, per month, seats only. AI usage comes on top for every per-agent tool.
| Plan | 3 agents | 10 agents | 25 agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Suite Team | $165 | $550 | $1,375 |
| Intercom Essential | $87 | $290 | $725 |
| Featurebase Growth | $87 | $290 | $725 |
| Help Scout Standard (monthly) | $75 | $250 | $625 |
| Jira Service Management | $0 (Free) | $215 | $538 |
| Freshdesk Growth | $57 | $190 | $475 |
| erelo Desk | $99 | $99 | $99 |
| Supahelp Essential | $64 | $64 | $64 |
| Helpzen | $39 | $39 | $39 |
| HelpCanvas Pro | $29 | $29 | $29 |
Per-agent plans are cheaper for very small teams and grow with every hire. Flat plans cost the same at 3 or 25 agents, but each caps something else: tickets, AI use or features. We cover those limits in flat-rate help desks.
What the price tables don’t show
- AI is metered differently. Intercom counts outcomes, Zendesk automated resolutions, Freshdesk sessions. Our cost per AI answer comparison puts them on one scale.
- Discounts sit on top. Intercom’s $19 Essential price is for new customers, and Zendesk and Intercom both run startup programs.
- Monthly billing costs more. Zendesk Suite Team is $69 monthly against $55 annually, and Intercom Essential is $39 against $29.
- Free plans have limits. Most cap users at one to five. Maxdesk’s free plan has unlimited agents but shows ads.
For full bills at different team sizes, see our Zendesk pricing and Intercom pricing breakdowns.
Changelog
We re-check these prices every month and note what changed here.
- 29 October 2026: first version, 20 tools.