Pick Gorgias if you run a Shopify or other ecommerce store with many agents and moderate ticket volume, because it charges by ticket rather than by seat; pick Zendesk if you are outside ecommerce, have high ticket volume per agent, or need UK hosting, a HIPAA agreement or agent-assist AI.
The two are priced on different units. Gorgias sells a monthly allowance of billable tickets with up to 500 user seats, so adding agents costs nothing but every ticket counts. Zendesk charges per agent seat, so ticket volume is free but headcount is not. Each vendor's AI agent adds its own charge on top, and at Gorgias every AI-handled conversation also uses up a ticket.
Bottom line
- Gorgias is usually the better-priced choice for ecommerce teams with many agents, and Zendesk is the safer choice outside ecommerce or where ticket volume is high.
Side by side
| Gorgias | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.4 | 5.2 |
| Pricing model | Per ticket volume | Per seat, plus AI usage |
| Price from | US$10 per month | US$19 per agent per month |
| 10 agents · Mid tier · seats only | US$480 | US$1,150 |
| 10 agents · Mid tier · with AI on | US$930 | US$2,250 |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Mandatory extra fees | No | No |
| Channels | Email, Live chat, Phone, SMS, WhatsApp, Social messaging | Email, Live chat, Phone, SMS, WhatsApp, Social messaging |
| Agent interface languages | Not documented · German: Not documented · Spanish: Not documented | Not documented · German: Yes · Spanish: Yes |
| EU data hosting | Yes | Yes |
| UK data hosting | No | Yes |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | Not documented | Yes |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II, GDPR data processing agreement with SCCs and UK addendum | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27018, ISO 27701, ISO 42001, FedRAMP LI-SaaS, PCI DSS, GDPR data processing agreement, HIPAA BAA (Suite Professional and up) |
| Best for | Shopify and other ecommerce brands with many agents and moderate ticket volume | Mid-size and enterprise teams that need phone, messaging and email in one tool |
Choose Gorgias if
- You sell on Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce or Magento and want order actions such as refunds and cancellations inside the help desk and the AI agent.
- You have many agents relative to your ticket volume: Basic, Pro and Advanced each allow up to 500 seats.
- You want a published AI price: the AI Agent costs US$0.90 per automated interaction on annual plans.
- You are leaving Zendesk and want a documented importer that brings over up to 2 years of tickets.
Choose Zendesk if
- You are a B2B, SaaS or IT team, or a store whose ticket volume is high compared with its headcount.
- You need agent-assist AI: Zendesk sells Copilot at US$50 per agent, and Gorgias documents no agent-assist product.
- You need UK data hosting, a HIPAA business associate agreement or ISO 27001, which Zendesk documents and Gorgias does not.
- You want to choose your hosting region: Zendesk's Data Center Location add-on lets you pick, while Gorgias assigns a region by merchant location.
True cost at 3, 10 and 50 agents
| Product | 3 agents · Entry tier · seats only | 3 agents · Entry tier · with AI on | 10 agents · Mid tier · seats only | 10 agents · Mid tier · with AI on | 50 agents · Mid tier · seats only | 50 agents · Mid tier · with AI on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorgias | US$230 | US$365 | US$480 | US$930 | US$3,450 | US$5,700 |
| Zendesk | US$165 | US$368 | US$1,150 | US$2,250 | US$5,750 | US$11,250 |
Gorgias: no seat price, so extra agents cost nothing; the bill is the cheapest option for your ticket volume on annual billing: either the plan whose allowance covers it, or a smaller plan plus that plan's per-ticket overage. Entry starts at Basic and moves up to Pro or Advanced as volume grows, mid starts at Pro, and top is Advanced; above 5,000 tickets the calculator adds US$0.36 per ticket, though Gorgias sells that volume as Enterprise by quote. Starter is left out because it is monthly-only and capped at 3 seats. The calculator always moves you to the covering plan, although paying overage on the smaller plan can be cheaper for a small overshoot. AI interactions are charged at US$0.90 and also counted as tickets; interactions beyond your plan's allowance really cost US$1.50, so heavy AI use is understated. No agent-assist add-on is documented. Zendesk: entry tier is Suite Team, because Support Team is email-only ticketing; mid tier is Suite Professional; there is no top tier because Suite Enterprise + Copilot has no public price. Copilot is not available on Suite Team and costs US$50 for every seat on Suite Professional. AI resolutions use the pricing page's committed rate of US$1.50 after 5 (Suite Team) or 10 (Suite Professional) included resolutions per agent a month; the help centre's newer dollar allowance is not modelled because its per-resolution prices are not public. Help desk true-cost calculator
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Gorgias | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|---|
| True cost with AI on | 30% | 4/5 | 1/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 20% | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| AI, as documented | 15% | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Access and switching | 10% | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Channels and languages | 10% | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Data protection and compliance | 15% | 3/5 | 3/5 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorgias cheaper than Zendesk?
It depends on your tickets per agent. Gorgias charges by ticket volume, from US$50 a month for 300 tickets to US$750 for 5,000 on annual billing, with no seat charge. Zendesk charges per agent, from US$55 per month on Suite Team. A store with many agents and moderate volume will usually pay less at Gorgias; run your numbers in the true cost calculator.
Which has better AI pricing, Gorgias or Zendesk?
Gorgias publishes its AI price: US$0.90 per automated interaction on annual plans, rising to US$1.50 beyond the plan's allowance, and each interaction also counts as a billable ticket. Zendesk charges only for verified resolutions, but its help centre says the per-resolution tier prices are now available only from sales, and Copilot at US$50 must cover every seat. Gorgias sells no agent-assist AI.
Can I migrate from Zendesk to Gorgias?
Yes. Gorgias documents a Zendesk importer that brings over up to 2 years of tickets. Zendesk's contract does not allow seat reductions mid-term and renews unless you give 30 days' notice, so plan the switch around your renewal date. See the help desk migration checklist.
Does Gorgias charge per agent like Zendesk?
No. Gorgias's Basic, Pro and Advanced plans allow up to 500 user seats and charge by billable tickets instead; only Starter is capped, at 3 seats. Zendesk charges for every agent, admin and account owner. See help desks for ecommerce.
Related pages
- Gorgias reviewreview
- Gorgias pricing explainedpricing
- Zendesk reviewreview
- Zendesk pricing explainedpricing
- The best Zendesk alternativesalternatives
Sources
- Gorgias pricing — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- Voice and SMS add-on price tiers (pricing page script) — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- How you're billed for using Gorgias — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Legacy pricing for Helpdesk and AI Agent subscribers — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Voice add-on 101 — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- SMS add-on 101 — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Import data from Zendesk — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Migrate from non-Zendesk providers — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Languages Gorgias can detect — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Set the language AI Agent replies in — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Security and privacy FAQ for Gorgias AI Agent — Gorgias Help Center · 18 September 2026
- Security at Gorgias — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- Data Processing Agreement — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- List of data subprocessors — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- Gorgias AI Agent — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- About Gorgias — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- Gorgias customer stories — Gorgias · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk pricing — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- What counts as an agent license in Zendesk — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Managing light agent seats in your Zendesk account — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Can I buy a Zendesk Copilot license for some agents only? — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolutions for AI agents — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolution tiers — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Managing resolution allowances — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Upgrading from automated resolutions to resolution allowances — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Main Services Agreement — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Agreements and terms: data processing agreement, sub-processor policy, business associate agreement — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About the Data Center Location add-on — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Regional Data Hosting Policy — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk Trust Center — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk AI data use information — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk language support by product — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- What is being removed (updated August 2026) — Zendesk Help · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk completes acquisition of Forethought — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About Zendesk — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk QA — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Fortnum & Mason customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Best Egg customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- 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