Best lists

Best help desk software for small business

We compare Help Scout, Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Gorgias, Front and Zendesk for small teams on true cost with AI on, free plans, monthly billing and fees.

By the help-desk.reviews teamPublished 19 September 2026Updated 19 September 2026Prices and figures verified 18 September 2026

Help Scout is the best help desk for most small businesses: it has a permanent free plan for 5 users, Standard costs US$25 per user, and its AI agent is charged US$0.75 only when it resolves a conversation. Zoho Desk is cheaper per seat, and Freshdesk is the pick if you need EU hosting or a phone line.

Small teams feel add-on pricing most, because a per-agent AI copilot or a mandatory onboarding fee can double a modest bill. This list covers products sold to small teams, scored on our rubric, which weights true cost with AI switched on most heavily. If you are not sure you need a help desk at all, start with help desk vs shared inbox.

Quick picks

  • Email-first small team: Help Scout — free for 5 users, then US$25 per user.
  • Tightest budget: Zoho Desk — free for 3 users; Express from US$7 for up to 5.
  • Need EU hosting or phone: Freshdesk — Growth from US$19 per agent, EEA region chosen at sign-up.
  • Online store: Gorgias — priced by ticket, so adding agents costs nothing extra.

The ranking

1

Help Scout

Small teams that work mainly in email8.3
Price from
US$25 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per seat, plus AI usage
Free plan
Yes
EU data hosting
No

Help Scout is a shared inbox, live chat widget and knowledge base for small and mid-size support teams. Paid plans start at US$25 per user per month on annual billing, there is a free plan for up to 5 users, and its customer-facing AI agent costs US$0.75 per resolution with no charge when the customer still needs a person.

A free plan for 5 users, monthly billing, no mandatory fees and AI billed only per resolution make it the least risky start for a small team.

The catch: Data is hosted in the United States only, and the prices on the pricing page are annual-billing prices: paying monthly costs US$30 instead of US$25 on Standard.

True cost at 10 agents (Plus): US$450 a month for seats alone, US$825 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained · Alternatives

2

Zoho Desk

Small and mid-size teams that want a complete help desk at a low per-user price8.1
Price from
US$7 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per agent seat
Free plan
Yes
EU data hosting
Yes

Zoho Desk is a ticketing help desk with email, social and WhatsApp channels, a help centre and a chat widget, sold as part of the wider Zoho suite. Paid editions start at US$7 per user per month on annual billing, there is a free plan for up to 3 users, and the Zia AI assistant is included from the Professional edition at US$23. Zia AI Agents come with a free monthly token allowance, but the price of usage beyond it is not published.

The lowest seat prices on the list and a free plan for 3 users, though Express is capped at 5 users and generative AI starts on Professional.

The catch: Below Professional there is no bundled generative AI: on Express and Standard, AI features need your own OpenAI or DeepSeek API key, billed by that provider. And once Zia AI Agents use up the free token allowance, they draw on AI credits whose price Zoho does not publish.

True cost at 10 agents (Professional): US$230 a month for seats alone, US$230 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained

3

Freshdesk

Budget-conscious teams that want EU hosting and a cheap per-agent entry price8.0
Price from
US$19 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per seat, plus AI usage
Free plan
No
EU data hosting
Yes

Freshdesk is Freshworks' help desk, sold in two versions: standalone Freshdesk for email ticketing, and Freshdesk Omni, which adds chat, phone and messaging. Freshdesk starts at US$19 per agent per month on annual billing and Omni at US$29. The Freddy AI Agent is sold in packs of 100 sessions for US$49, and a session is charged whether or not the AI solves the customer's problem.

Growth at US$19 per agent is cheap email ticketing, but there is no free plan, only a 6-month program for 2 agents.

The catch: Freddy AI Agent sessions are used up whether or not the issue gets resolved, and the price per session is now several times what Freshworks' own June 2025 price list showed: US$49 per 100 sessions, against US$100 per 1,000 then.

True cost at 10 agents (Freshdesk Pro): US$550 a month for seats alone, US$1,085 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained · Alternatives

4

HubSpot Service Hub

Teams already on HubSpot's CRM that want support tickets on the same customer records as sales and marketing7.5
Price from
US$7 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per seat, plus AI usage
Free plan
Yes
EU data hosting
Yes

HubSpot Service Hub is the customer service part of HubSpot's CRM: ticketing, shared inboxes, live chat, calling, a knowledge base and a customer portal, all on the same contact records as HubSpot's marketing and sales tools. Seats cost US$7 (Starter), US$90 (Professional) and US$150 (Enterprise) per seat per month on an annual commitment. Professional and Enterprise also require one-time onboarding at US$1,500 and US$3,500. The Breeze Customer Agent costs US$0.50 per resolved conversation, paid in HubSpot Credits.

Starter at US$7 per seat on annual commitment is low if you already use HubSpot's CRM, but Professional adds a US$1,500 onboarding fee.

The catch: The advertised prices leave things out. Professional and Enterprise need one-time onboarding (US$1,500 and US$3,500), the Starter price of US$7 assumes an annual commitment against US$20 month to month, and the included credits cover only about 60 AI resolutions a month on Professional. If you hold other HubSpot hubs at a higher tier, every Core Seat is priced at that tier.

True cost at 10 agents (Professional): US$900 a month for seats alone, US$1,120 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained

5

Gorgias

Shopify and other ecommerce brands with many agents and moderate ticket volume7.4
Price from
US$10 per month
Pricing model
Per ticket volume
Free plan
No
EU data hosting
Yes

Gorgias is a help desk built for online stores, above all Shopify stores, with order data in the inbox and an AI agent that can handle refunds, cancellations and address changes. It is priced by billable tickets a month rather than per agent. Basic costs US$50 a month for 300 tickets, Pro US$300 for 2,000 and Advanced US$750 for 5,000, on annual billing. The AI Agent costs US$0.90 per automated interaction, and each of those interactions also uses up one of your plan's tickets.

For small online stores, Basic at US$50 a month for 300 tickets includes the whole team.

The catch: Every conversation the AI Agent handles is billed twice: once as an automated interaction at US$0.90 and once as a helpdesk ticket against your plan's allowance. Beyond the interactions included in your plan, the AI rate rises to US$1.50.

True cost at 10 agents (Pro): US$480 a month for seats alone, US$930 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained

6

Front

Small and mid-size operations and account teams that work mainly in email6.8
Price from
US$25 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per seat, plus AI usage
Free plan
No
EU data hosting
Yes

Front is a shared inbox and ticketing tool built for teams that live in email, such as logistics, travel and B2B services. Plans cost US$25, US$65 and US$105 per seat per month on annual billing. Copilot adds US$20 per seat below Enterprise, and the Autopilot AI agent is charged per conversation by what it achieved: US$0.05 to triage, US$0.39 to hand off and US$0.89 to resolve.

Suits small operations teams that work in shared email; Starter at US$25 per seat is capped at 10 seats.

The catch: Seat caps push growing teams up a tier: Starter stops at 10 seats and Professional at 50, beyond which Enterprise is the only option at US$105 per seat, annual only. Payments are non-refundable and removed seats keep being billed until the next term.

True cost at 10 agents (Professional): US$650 a month for seats alone, US$1,295 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained

7

Zendesk

Mid-size and enterprise teams that need phone, messaging and email in one tool5.2
Price from
US$19 per agent per month
Pricing model
Per seat, plus AI usage
Free plan
No
EU data hosting
Yes

Zendesk is a help desk for mid-size and large support teams that covers email, messaging, live chat, phone, WhatsApp, social channels and a help centre in one suite. Omnichannel plans start at US$55 per agent per month on annual billing, the Copilot agent-assist add-on costs US$50 per agent and must be bought for every seat, and AI agents are billed per automated resolution under rules that Zendesk's own pricing page and help centre currently describe differently.

Covers every channel, but Suite Team starts at US$55 per agent and Copilot needs Suite Professional, so it is the costliest way for a small team to add AI.

The catch: Copilot cannot be licensed for a subset of agents: once it is on, every Suite Professional seat costs US$115 plus US$50. And the per-resolution price of AI agents under the billing model in force since May 2026 is not published.

True cost at 10 agents (Suite Professional): US$1,150 a month for seats alone, US$2,250 a month with AI switched on.

Read the review · Pricing explained · Alternatives

Comparison table

ProductScorePricing modelPrice fromFree planEU data hostingGermanSpanishBest for
Help Scout8.3Per seat, plus AI usageUS$25 per agent per monthYesNoNot documentedNot documentedSmall teams that work mainly in email
Zoho Desk8.1Per agent seatUS$7 per agent per monthYesYesNot documentedNot documentedSmall and mid-size teams that want a complete help desk at a low per-user price
Freshdesk8.0Per seat, plus AI usageUS$19 per agent per monthNoYesYesYesBudget-conscious teams that want EU hosting and a cheap per-agent entry price
HubSpot Service Hub7.5Per seat, plus AI usageUS$7 per agent per monthYesYesYesYesTeams already on HubSpot's CRM that want support tickets on the same customer records as sales and marketing
Gorgias7.4Per ticket volumeUS$10 per monthNoYesNot documentedNot documentedShopify and other ecommerce brands with many agents and moderate ticket volume
Front6.8Per seat, plus AI usageUS$25 per agent per monthNoYesNoNoSmall and mid-size operations and account teams that work mainly in email
Zendesk5.2Per seat, plus AI usageUS$19 per agent per monthNoYesYesYesMid-size and enterprise teams that need phone, messaging and email in one tool

True cost at 3, 10 and 50 agents

seats only with AI on

3 agents · Entry tier

HubSpot Service Hub
US$21US$21
Zoho Desk
US$42US$42
Freshdesk
US$57US$155
Help Scout
US$75US$188
Front
US$75US$269
Gorgias
US$230US$365
Zendesk
US$165US$368

3 agents: 750 tickets a month, 150 of them resolved by AI, agent-assist add-on on for every agent.

10 agents · Mid tier

Zoho Desk
US$230US$230
Help Scout
US$450US$825
Gorgias
US$480US$930
Freshdesk
US$550US$1,085
HubSpot Service Hub
US$900US$1,120
Front
US$650US$1,295
Zendesk
US$1,150US$2,250

10 agents: 2,500 tickets a month, 500 of them resolved by AI, agent-assist add-on on for every agent.

50 agents · Mid tier

Zoho Desk
US$1,150US$1,150
Help Scout
US$2,250US$4,125
Freshdesk
US$2,750US$5,425
Gorgias
US$3,450US$5,700
HubSpot Service Hub
US$4,500US$5,720
Front
US$3,250US$6,475
Zendesk
US$5,750US$11,250

50 agents: 12,500 tickets a month, 2,500 of them resolved by AI, agent-assist add-on on for every agent.

Estimates from vendors' published USD list prices with annual billing, verified on the date shown on this page. Taxes, discounts, onboarding fees and telephony usage are not included.

Help desk true-cost calculator

How to choose

If you answer customers by email and want to start free, pick Help Scout. The free plan covers 5 users and 100 contacts a month, and the paid plans have no minimum below Pro.

If every dollar counts and you have no more than 3 agents, start on Zoho Desk Free and move to Standard at US$14 when you need a help centre and chat. Remember that AI on Express and Standard needs your own OpenAI or DeepSeek key.

If you must keep customer data in the EU, pick Freshdesk and choose the EEA region when you sign up; Help Scout hosts in the US only. Freshdesk vs Help Scout compares the two in detail.

If you sell on Shopify, pick Gorgias; if your team shares one busy inbox with other departments, compare Help Scout vs Front.

Before adding any AI product, read do you need the AI add-on? and price it at your own volume in the true-cost calculator.

Verdict

Help Scout is the default for small businesses: free to start, simple to price and cheap to add AI to. Ignore it if you need EU data hosting or a phone channel, in which case pick Freshdesk, or if you run an online store, in which case pick Gorgias.

For buyers in the United Kingdom

A help desk holds your customers' personal data, so UK GDPR requires a written contract with the vendor. Hosting outside the UK, including in the EU, is a restricted transfer that needs its own safeguard. And since 19 June 2026 you must let people complain about how you use their data and acknowledge each complaint within 30 days.

Most vendors publish prices in US dollars. Zendesk, Freshdesk and Zoho Desk also publish their own sterling price lists, which our pricing pages show alongside; we never convert currencies. List prices exclude VAT. Each review states whether the product offers EU and UK data hosting.

Help desk software and data protection law in the United Kingdom

Frequently asked questions

What is the best help desk for a small business?

Help Scout suits most small support teams: a free plan for 5 users, Standard at US$25 per user on annual billing and an AI agent billed US$0.75 per resolution. Zoho Desk is cheaper per seat, and Freshdesk is the pick when you need EU hosting.

Is there a free help desk for small teams?

Yes. Help Scout is free for 5 users, Zoho Desk for 3, and HubSpot Service Hub for 2; none of these free plans include an AI agent. See free help desk software.

Is Zendesk too expensive for a small business?

Usually, if you want AI. Suite Team costs US$55 per agent, and Copilot is only available from Suite Professional at US$115, plus US$50 per agent for every seat. See Zendesk alternatives.

Do small teams need a help desk or a shared inbox?

A shared inbox is enough while one or two people answer from a single address. A help desk earns its cost once you need assignment, SLAs, a help centre or reporting. Our guide to help desk vs shared inbox sets out the signs.

Keep reading

Sources

  1. Help Scout pricing — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
  2. User-based billing and plans guide — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  3. Light users — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  4. Manage your contact-based plan — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  5. About annual payments — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  6. Import emails or tickets into Help Scout — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  7. Security at Help Scout — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  8. HIPAA at Help Scout — Help Scout Docs · 18 September 2026
  9. AI transparency — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
  10. About Help Scout — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
  11. eCatholic customer story — Help Scout · 18 September 2026
  12. Zoho Desk pricing — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  13. Zoho Desk price list data, all currencies — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  14. Zoho Desk edition comparison — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  15. Managing your agent seats — Zoho Desk Help · 18 September 2026
  16. Zia, the AI assistant in Zoho Desk — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  17. Zia Agents pricing — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  18. Zoho refund policy — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  19. Know your data center — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  20. Compliance at Zoho — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  21. Zoho and the GDPR — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  22. HIPAA compliance guide for Zoho Desk — Zoho Desk Help · 18 September 2026
  23. Zoho launches Zia LLM, prebuilt agents, a custom agent builder and an MCP server — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  24. Zoho Desk integrations — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  25. Zoho Desk product page — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  26. About Zoho — Zoho · 18 September 2026
  27. Freshdesk pricing — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  28. Freshdesk Omni pricing — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  29. Freshworks price list (current as of June 13, 2025) — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  30. Understanding Freshdesk pricing plans — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  31. Explore Freshdesk free plan — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  32. Understanding full-time vs occasional agents — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  33. Add and use collaborators to assist in ticketing — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  34. Freddy AI Agent and chatbot sessions FAQs — Freshworks Support · 18 September 2026
  35. Manage Freddy AI add-ons — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  36. Freshworks Terms of Service — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  37. Manage languages — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  38. Where is your data (servers) located? — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  39. Freshworks Data Processing Agreement — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  40. Freshworks sub-processors — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  41. Freshworks Trust Center — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  42. HIPAA configuration guide — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  43. The Freddy AI trust framework — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  44. Freshdesk API: rate limit — Freshworks Developers · 18 September 2026
  45. Freshdesk upcoming changes (December 2025 to June 2026) — Freshdesk Support · 18 September 2026
  46. Freshdesk Omni — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  47. Freshdesk apps — Freshworks Marketplace · 18 September 2026
  48. Freshdesk — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  49. Freshworks reports fourth quarter and full year 2025 results — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  50. Freshworks reports record second quarter 2026 results — Freshworks · 18 September 2026
  51. Freshworks pricing and buyer data — Vendr · 18 September 2026
  52. Service Hub pricing — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  53. Service Hub Preise — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  54. HubSpot Product & Services Catalog — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  55. HubSpot Service Hub pricing guide — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  56. HubSpot Credits — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  57. Understand HubSpot Credits and billing — HubSpot Knowledge Base · 19 September 2026
  58. AI customer service agent — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  59. Manage seats — HubSpot Knowledge Base · 19 September 2026
  60. HubSpot language offerings — HubSpot Knowledge Base · 19 September 2026
  61. HubSpot data centers — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  62. HubSpot security — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  63. Security and compliance — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  64. Sensitive data — HubSpot · 19 September 2026
  65. HubSpot AI cloud infrastructure FAQ — HubSpot Knowledge Base · 19 September 2026
  66. HubSpot Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 — US Securities and Exchange Commission · 19 September 2026
  67. Gorgias pricing — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  68. Voice and SMS add-on price tiers (pricing page script) — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  69. How you're billed for using Gorgias — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  70. Legacy pricing for Helpdesk and AI Agent subscribers — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  71. Voice add-on 101 — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  72. SMS add-on 101 — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  73. Import data from Zendesk — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  74. Migrate from non-Zendesk providers — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  75. Languages Gorgias can detect — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  76. Set the language AI Agent replies in — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  77. Security and privacy FAQ for Gorgias AI Agent — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
  78. Security at Gorgias — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  79. Data Processing Agreement — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  80. List of data subprocessors — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  81. Gorgias AI Agent — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  82. About Gorgias — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  83. Gorgias customer stories — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
  84. Front pricing — Front · 18 September 2026
  85. Front plans and pricing — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  86. Adding and removing licenses — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  87. Guests in Front — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  88. Channel limits per license — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  89. Autopilot pricing and billing — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  90. AI Answers (legacy) — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  91. Meet Autopilot, the AI agent built for control, not chaos — Front Community · 18 September 2026
  92. Switch to French? (staff answer on interface languages) — Front Community · 18 September 2026
  93. Data location — Front Help Center · 18 September 2026
  94. Data Processing Addendum — Front · 18 September 2026
  95. List of subprocessors — Front · 18 September 2026
  96. Security at Front — Front · 18 September 2026
  97. Rate limiting — Front Developers · 18 September 2026
  98. About Front — Front · 18 September 2026
  99. Front customers — Front · 18 September 2026
  100. Front pricing and buyer data — Vendr · 18 September 2026
  101. Zendesk pricing — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  102. What counts as an agent license in Zendesk — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  103. Managing light agent seats in your Zendesk account — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  104. Can I buy a Zendesk Copilot license for some agents only? — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  105. About automated resolutions for AI agents — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  106. About automated resolution tiers — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  107. Managing resolution allowances — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  108. Upgrading from automated resolutions to resolution allowances — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  109. Main Services Agreement — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  110. Agreements and terms: data processing agreement, sub-processor policy, business associate agreement — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  111. About the Data Center Location add-on — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  112. Regional Data Hosting Policy — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  113. Zendesk Trust Center — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  114. Zendesk AI data use information — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  115. Zendesk language support by product — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  116. What is being removed (updated August 2026) — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
  117. Zendesk completes acquisition of Forethought — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  118. About Zendesk — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  119. Zendesk QA — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  120. Fortnum & Mason customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  121. Best Egg customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
  122. Zendesk pricing and buyer data — Vendr · 18 September 2026

This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on it. We have not run hands-on tests of these products. Method: How we review