Free Tool · Live 2026 Pricing
Help Desk Software Cost Calculator
Enter your agent count and a plan tier to see monthly and annual cost across six help desk platforms side by side, including Gorgias's per-ticket pricing model.
Prices are per-agent/month list pricing as published in 2026. Annual billing often runs 10-20% cheaper than the monthly rates shown here.
Cheapest option at this tier
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How this calculator works
Per-agent pricing
Freshdesk, Zendesk, Zoho Desk, Help Scout, and Intercom bill per agent seat per month. Total cost = agent count × the list price for your selected tier. These are published list prices; actual invoices can differ with annual billing discounts or negotiated enterprise deals.
Gorgias's per-ticket model
Gorgias bills by ticket volume, not agent count. This calculator multiplies your agent count by tickets/agent/month to estimate total monthly tickets, then maps that to Gorgias's published ticket tiers ($10 for 50 tickets up to $900 for 6,000 tickets, with an estimated per-ticket overage rate above that).
Frequently asked questions
Why do these tools cost so differently for the same agent count?
Most help desks price per agent per month, but the tiers unlock different feature sets at very different price points. Freshdesk's entry tier ($15/agent) is a fraction of Zendesk's entry tier ($55/agent) because Freshdesk gates fewer core features behind the paywall. Gorgias breaks this pattern entirely by pricing per ticket resolved rather than per agent, which favors small teams handling high ticket volume and penalizes large teams with low per-agent ticket counts.
Is the cheapest plan always the right choice?
No. The entry-level tier on most help desks usually lacks automation depth, advanced reporting, and AI features that mid-tier plans include. Teams that pick the cheapest tier often end up upgrading within 6-12 months once ticket volume grows past what manual triage can handle. Budget for the mid-tier price when comparing total cost of ownership, not just the sticker price.
When does Gorgias's per-ticket pricing beat per-agent pricing?
Gorgias tends to win on cost when a small team (1-5 agents) handles a high ticket volume relative to headcount, common in ecommerce where order-status questions are repetitive and partly automatable. It tends to lose once ticket volume scales past roughly 2,000-3,000 tickets/month, where a flat per-agent tool becomes cheaper. Model your peak-month volume, not your average month, since ecommerce ticket volume spikes seasonally.
Do these prices include AI features?
Sometimes, sometimes not. Freddy AI (Freshdesk) and Zia (Zoho Desk) are typically bundled into higher tiers. Intercom's Fin AI agent and Gorgias's AI Agent are billed separately per resolution on top of the base plan shown here, often $0.90-$1.00 per ticket resolved. Check the vendor's current pricing page for AI add-on costs before budgeting.