Ever feel like you’re paying too much for software that doesn’t fully deliver? Zendesk AI promises helpful tools like ticket routing, tagging, and reply drafting, but its steep prices and complicated setup often leave teams frustrated.
Many users find Zendesk hard to use. Automations are tricky to set up, the interface can feel overwhelming, and basic features often cost extra. For smaller teams or businesses trying to stay on budget, Zendesk can feel like more trouble than it’s worth.
The good news is there are other options. Affordable alternatives offer the same benefits or let’s say, even more without the headaches or high price tag.
How much does Zendesk AI cost?
Here’s what Zendesk’s plans cost and what you get with them:
| Plan/Feature | Cost per user/month | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Suite Team Plan | $55 | Tools like ticket handling and a knowledge base. Good for small teams but lacks advanced features. |
| Suite Professional Plan | $115 | Adds features like reporting, SLA tracking, and ticket prioritization. |
| Advanced AI Add-on (available only on Suite Professional Plan) | $50 | Includes AI for ticket replies and workflow automation. |
| Workforce Management Add-on | $25 | Tools to help manage and schedule teams. Optional. |
| Quality Assurance Add-on | $35 | Helps track and improve customer service quality. Optional. |
If you’re running a team of 10 agents on the Suite Professional Plan with Advanced AI, expect to pay $1,650 per month. Adding optional tools like workforce management or quality assurance will cost even more.
Picking an alternative
Zendesk’s pricing and design often cause problems for businesses. It’s expensive, hard to customize, and some features are confusing to use. On top of that, the interface feels outdated compared to other options on the market.
Many alternatives give you the same tools at a lower cost. They’re simpler to set up, easier to navigate, and include key features without hidden charges. If Zendesk feels like it’s draining your budget and energy, these alternatives can give you better results without the frustration.
Finding the best alternatives to Zendesk AI wasn’t a random process. We focused on what really matters to businesses when picking software. Here’s what guided our selection:
- What users think: We looked at reviews and ratings to ensure these options are trusted and well-loved by real users.
- What they offer: Each alternative comes with valuable features and benefits that solve common problems and improve workflows.
- How they help teams: We prioritized tools that boost productivity and make both customer and team experiences better.
- How easy they are to use: Seamless integration with Zendesk or other platforms was a must. These tools shouldn’t make your work harder, they should make it easier.
These criteria helped us find solutions that combine functionality, affordability, and ease of use to give your team the best results.
10 best Zendesk AI affordable alternatives in 2025
1. eesel AI
eesel AI is a helpful tool that works alongside the help desk you already use, such as Zendesk. It also connects with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and Confluence. By learning from your past tickets and documents, eesel AI picks up on your team’s style and can handle ticket routing, tagging, and even automatic resolutions. You can create multiple chatbots with different personalities to respond to customer questions or draft answers for your agents. Although eesel AI isn’t a help desk itself, it fits in with your current setup so you don’t have to switch platforms.
It’s easy to set up, kind on the budget, and gives you quick access to AI help. If you want to reduce manual work without breaking the bank, eesel AI is a smart choice. Plus, you can take it with you to whatever platform you prefer.
Pricing/Availability:
- Starter Plan: $49/month (monthly) or $39/month (annually)
- Basic public chat
- Up to 1 bot
- 500 interactions per month
- Team Plan: $299/month (monthly) or $239/month (annually)
- Helpdesk and team chat integrations (Slack, Microsoft Teams)
- Up to 3 bots
- 1,000 interactions per month
- Business Plan: $799/month (monthly) or $639/month (annually)
- AI actions for ticket triage and past ticket training
- Unlimited bots
- 3,000 interactions per month
- Custom Plan: Contact Sales
- Offers bespoke solutions with advanced AI actions, custom integrations, and unlimited interactions
2. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based tool that brings support tickets from email, chat, and social media into one place. Its AI assistant, Zia, gives context-aware suggestions, recommends solutions, and flags high-priority tickets. The platform also provides detailed reports to help you track performance.
Why it’s on the list:
Zoho Desk offers a variety of useful tools without breaking the bank. It connects easily with other Zoho apps, making it a convenient pick if you already use Zoho’s ecosystem.
Pricing/Availability:
- Express Plan: $9/user/month (monthly) or $7/user/month (annually)
- Email, social media, web forms
- Ticket timeline & history
- Direct assignment and multi-level escalations
- Standard Plan: $20/user/month (monthly) or $14/user/month (annually)
- Live chat, knowledge base, and generative AI
- Customer happiness ratings and custom dashboards
- Professional Plan: $35/user/month (monthly) or $23/user/month (annually)
- Telephony, blueprints, multilingual help center, round-robin assignment
- Enterprise Plan: $50/user/month (monthly) or $40/user/month (annually)
- Zia AI assistant, Answer Bot, guided conversations, multi-brand help center
3. Intercom
Intercom combines live chat, help desk tools, and AI features to make customer communication more efficient. Its shared inbox, chatbots, and ticketing system keep your team organized, while the Fin AI Agent offers personalized replies, supports multiple languages, and hands off complex issues to humans when needed.
Why it’s on the list:
Intercom’s AI tools and intuitive interface are a plus for growing teams that want to handle support in one place. Fin AI Agent simplifies repetitive questions so your team can focus on the trickier problems.
Pricing/Availability:
- Essential Plan: $39/user/month (monthly) or $29/user/month (annually)
- Shared inbox, basic chatbots, AI Compose, ticketing system, and public help center
- Advanced Plan: $99/user/month (monthly) or $85/user/month (annually)
- Automation workflows, multiple team inboxes, social channel integrations
- Expert Plan: $139/user/month (monthly) or $132/user/month (annually)
- Workload management, multiple help centers, advanced reporting, SSO
- Fin AI Agent: $0.99 per resolution
- Knowledge management, tone adjustments, multilingual support, AI-generated CSAT
4. Help Scout
Help Scout focuses on straightforward tools that keep support human. It includes a shared inbox, a knowledge base, and live chat, enhanced by AI-driven features like suggested replies. Help Scout charges by the number of contacts you serve rather than the number of users, which can be cost-effective for teams with many agents.
Why it’s on the list:
Help Scout offers a simple, welcoming interface and unlimited users in each plan. The AI features handle routine tasks, helping agents keep up with a busy inbox without losing that personal touch.
Pricing/Availability:
- Free Plan: $0/month
- Up to 50 contacts
- One inbox, a knowledge base, basic reporting
- Standard Plan: $50/month (monthly) or $45/month (annually)
- Up to 100 contacts
- Multiple inboxes, advanced reports, customer satisfaction ratings, API access
- Plus Plan: $75/month (monthly) or $67/month (annually)
- Up to 100 contacts
- Integrations with Salesforce and Jira, advanced permissions, restricted docs sites
- Pro Plan: Starts at $495/month
- For 1,000+ contacts
- Advanced security, higher limits, dedicated onboarding
5. Freshdesk (Freddy AI)
Freshdesk’s Freddy AI assists with tasks like ticket prioritization, routing, and drafting responses. It offers clear workflows that help agents tackle questions more quickly. Freddy AI also delivers insights to highlight where your team can improve.
Why it’s on the list:
Freddy AI is built right into Freshdesk, so it’s a natural fit if you already use Freshdesk. It helps reduce manual effort while keeping setup simple.
Pricing/Availability:
- Pro Plan: $49/agent/month, billed annually
- Enterprise Plan: $79/agent/month, billed annually
- Freddy AI Agent:
- First 500 sessions included
- $100 per additional 1,000 sessions
- Freddy AI Copilot:
- $35/agent/month, billed monthly
- Freddy AI Insights (Beta):
- Included in Freddy AI Copilot
Freddy AI is included in Pro and Enterprise plans, providing AI-driven features at a reasonable price.
6. Kayako
Kayako organizes interactions from email, chat, and social media in one workspace. Its clean interface helps teams see a customer’s entire journey, so they can give more personalized support. Built-in AI suggestions help agents find answers fast.
Why it’s on the list:
Kayako suits teams who want a straightforward tool but still need personal touches for customers. Unlimited AI-suggested replies also make it appealing for smaller teams or those just starting with AI.
Pricing/Availability:
- Essential Plan:
- $49/agent/month billed monthly
- $39/agent/month billed annually
- Advanced ticketing, unlimited AI-suggested responses, API access
- Enterprise Plan:
- Pricing available upon request
- Autonomous resolutions, advanced reporting, multilingual support, ticket summaries
Kayako offers a free trial, so you can explore its features before making a commitment.
7. HubSpot Breeze Intelligence
Breeze Intelligence is HubSpot’s AI add-on that enriches customer data, helps detect buyer intent, and shortens forms for easier conversions. Though still in beta, it can keep your CRM updated and actionable, letting your team focus on leads and customers rather than manual data entry.
Why it’s on the list:
Breeze Intelligence looks promising if you’re already using HubSpot. It fits neatly into HubSpot’s platform and gives you extra data insights and automation, which can help you follow up with customers more effectively.
Pricing/Availability:
- Starts at $45/month for 100 credits
- Requires a paid subscription to one of HubSpot’s Hubs (Marketing, Sales, Service, Content, Operations, or Commerce), starting at $15/month
8. Gorgias
Gorgias focuses on eCommerce brands by integrating with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. It consolidates customer messages from email, live chat, SMS, and social media in one dashboard. With AI-powered article suggestions, Gorgias reduces agent workload so they can quickly assist shoppers while still offering personal support.
Why it’s on the list:
Gorgias stands out for its deep eCommerce integrations and AI-driven automation, which can handle straightforward requests on its own. This saves time and lets your team focus on more detailed or unique customer concerns.
Pricing/Availability:
- Pro Plan (0% Automation): $360/month for 2,000 tickets; $0.36 per extra ticket
- Pro Plan (10% Automation): $666/month for 2,000 tickets; 200 automated tickets included
- Pro Plan (30% Automation – Recommended): $1,000/month for 2,000 tickets; 600 automated tickets included
- Optional Add-ons:
- Voice Support: Built-in call center
- SMS Support: Handle inbound text messages
The percentage of automation shows how many tickets Gorgias can handle without an agent stepping in.
9. Kustomer
Kustomer centralizes data from multiple channels—email, chat, SMS, voice, and social media—so agents have a full view of each customer. It offers customizable workflows, rules, and automation features to help your team handle requests efficiently and consistently.
Why it’s on the list:
Kustomer keeps the focus on each customer’s journey. With skills-based routing, sentiment tracking, and flexible integrations, it’s well-suited for mid-sized to larger teams looking for a single hub for all support conversations.
Pricing/Availability:
- Enterprise Plan: $89/user/month
- Omnichannel support, skills-based routing, workflow automations
- Ultimate Plan: $139/user/month
- Advanced analytics, custom permissions, higher data storage
10. Hiver
Hiver turns Gmail into a full customer service platform, letting your team manage shared inboxes and multiple channels right from their email. It covers email, live chat, WhatsApp, and voice support, while adding AI-driven suggestions and analytics to help with day-to-day tasks.
Why it’s on the list:
Hiver is a good option for teams that already live in Google Workspace. It offers a straightforward way to keep all customer interactions in one place, without making everyone learn a new system.
Pricing/Availability:
- Lite Plan: $24/user/month (billed monthly)
- Workflow automations, SLAs, essential analytics
- Growth Plan: $34/user/month (billed monthly)
- Team performance analytics, custom reports, advanced integrations
- Pro Plan: $59/user/month (billed monthly)
- Chatbots, Harvey AI, business hours, advanced analytics, CSAT surveys
Choosing the right Zendesk AI alternative
Choosing an AI tool can seem daunting. Here’s a quick way to narrow it down:
- Consider your business size and industry.Small teams may need simpler, low-cost features. Larger organizations often require robust analytics or advanced automation.
- Identify your pain points.Are response times dragging? Are repetitive tasks overwhelming your agents? Seek options with automation and self-service.
- Evaluate budget and scalability.Start with what fits your current budget, but make sure it can grow with you without big price jumps.
- Prioritize integration and easy setup.Look for a solution that quickly connects to your CRM, help desk, or team chat tools so you can hit the ground running.
Key trends in AI for customer support 2025
As we look ahead to 2025, AI-driven customer support is expected to evolve in a few key ways:
- Predictive insights: anticipating customer needs
- Real-time personalization: tailor responses to each user’s history and preferences
- Omnichannel support: agents can pick up any conversation right where it left off on any platform.
- Human + AI collaboration: AI will handle repetitive tasks while human agents tackle complex or nuanced cases.
- Focus on integration: Companies will look for solutions that fit seamlessly with their existing platforms.
Deciding your next step
Zendesk AI can be a powerful solution, but it doesn’t always fit every budget or workflow. Luckily, there are plenty of affordable alternatives out there, whether you need deeper analytics, better integrations, or a simpler interface. Each option on this list brings its own strengths to the table, so the best choice depends on your specific needs and goals.
If you’re ready to explore a more budget-friendly way to implement AI in customer support, check out one of these alternatives or give eesel AI a try for free. You can also reach out to hi@eesel.app to learn more.
