# help-desk.reviews > Nine help desks ranked on what they cost with the AI add-ons switched on, from vendor list prices, on a public rubric with no affiliate links. ## How to read this site - Every page has a Markdown twin: append `.md` to the URL (home page: `/{locale}/index.md`) or send `Accept: text/markdown`. - Every price and percentage comes from one product database, so all pages and languages agree. Each figure links to its source. - Scores follow a published rubric (v1.0) that rates list prices and public documentation, not hands-on tests: https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/how-we-review. The order of lists is an editorial decision and does not always follow the score. - Facts last verified: 2026-09-18. - Locales: en-US (https://help-desk.reviews/en-us), en-GB (https://help-desk.reviews/en-gb), de (https://help-desk.reviews/de), es (https://help-desk.reviews/es) ## Best lists - [Best help desk software](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/help-desk-software): We compare Jira Service Management, Help Scout, Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Gorgias, Intercom, Front and Zendesk on true cost with AI on, pricing transparency, AI, access, channels and data protection. - [Best help desk software for small business](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/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. - [Best help desk for ecommerce](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/for-ecommerce): We compare Gorgias, Help Scout, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Intercom, Front and Zendesk for online stores on true cost with AI on, billing model, channels and AI agents. - [Best enterprise help desk software](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/for-enterprise): We compare Jira Service Management, Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Intercom, Front and Zendesk for large teams on true cost with AI on, transparency, data protection and channels. - [Best free help desk software](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/free-help-desk-software): We compare the permanent free plans of Jira Service Management, Help Scout, Zoho Desk and HubSpot Service Hub on user limits, features, AI and the cost of upgrading. - [Best AI help desk software](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/ai-help-desk-software): We compare Jira Service Management, Help Scout, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Intercom and Front on AI pricing, the billing unit, what counts as a resolution and total cost with AI on. - [Best help desk software with EU data residency](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/best/with-eu-data-residency): We compare how Jira Service Management, Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Gorgias, Intercom, Front and Zendesk offer EU hosting, which plans qualify, and what they cost with AI on. ## Reviews - [Zendesk review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/zendesk): What Zendesk costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Freshdesk review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/freshdesk): What Freshdesk costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Zoho Desk review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/zoho-desk): What Zoho Desk costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Help Scout review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/help-scout): What Help Scout costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Front review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/front): What Front costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Intercom review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/intercom): What Intercom costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [HubSpot Service Hub review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/hubspot-service-hub): What HubSpot Service Hub costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Gorgias review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/gorgias): What Gorgias costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. - [Jira Service Management review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/reviews/jira-service-management): What Jira Service Management costs once the AI is switched on, how its plans and billing units work, where your data is hosted, and who it fits. Scored on a published rubric, with every figure sourced. ## Pricing - [Zendesk pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/zendesk): Zendesk's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Freshdesk pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/freshdesk): Freshdesk's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Zoho Desk pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/zoho-desk): Zoho Desk's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Help Scout pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/help-scout): Help Scout's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Front pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/front): Front's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Intercom pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/intercom): Intercom's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [HubSpot Service Hub pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/hubspot-service-hub): HubSpot Service Hub's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Gorgias pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/gorgias): Gorgias's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. - [Jira Service Management pricing explained](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/pricing/jira-service-management): Jira Service Management's published plan prices, what counts as a billable seat or unit, what the AI add-ons cost, and worked examples at 3, 10 and 50 agents. ## Comparisons - [Zendesk vs Freshdesk](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/zendesk-vs-freshdesk): Zendesk and Freshdesk side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Help Scout vs Front](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/help-scout-vs-front): Help Scout and Front side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Zendesk vs Intercom](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/zendesk-vs-intercom): Zendesk and Intercom side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Freshdesk vs Zoho Desk](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/freshdesk-vs-zoho-desk): Freshdesk and Zoho Desk side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Gorgias vs Zendesk](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/gorgias-vs-zendesk): Gorgias and Zendesk side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Jira Service Management vs Zendesk](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/jira-service-management-vs-zendesk): Jira Service Management and Zendesk side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [HubSpot Service Hub vs Zendesk](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/hubspot-service-hub-vs-zendesk): HubSpot Service Hub and Zendesk side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. - [Freshdesk vs Help Scout](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/compare/freshdesk-vs-help-scout): Freshdesk and Help Scout side by side: list prices, the bill with AI switched on at three team sizes, channels, languages, data hosting and compliance, with a pick for each kind of team. ## Alternatives - [The best Zendesk alternatives](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/alternatives/zendesk): The strongest alternatives to Zendesk, each scored on a published rubric, with what each really costs and when switching makes sense. - [The best Freshdesk alternatives](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/alternatives/freshdesk): The strongest alternatives to Freshdesk, each scored on a published rubric, with what each really costs and when switching makes sense. - [The best Intercom alternatives](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/alternatives/intercom): The strongest alternatives to Intercom, each scored on a published rubric, with what each really costs and when switching makes sense. - [The best Help Scout alternatives](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/alternatives/help-scout): The strongest alternatives to Help Scout, each scored on a published rubric, with what each really costs and when switching makes sense. - [The best Jira Service Management alternatives](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/alternatives/jira-service-management): The strongest alternatives to Jira Service Management, each scored on a published rubric, with what each really costs and when switching makes sense. ## Guides - [Help desk vs shared inbox](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/help-desk-vs-shared-inbox): A shared inbox keeps support feeling like email; a ticketing help desk turns every request into a tracked record. What each does, when an inbox is enough, and the signs you have outgrown it. - [What is an AI help desk?](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/what-is-an-ai-help-desk): An AI help desk adds three things to ticketing: help for agents, an AI agent that answers customers, and AI analytics and QA. What each layer does, how vendors price it, and what to ask before you buy. - [Per-seat vs per-resolution pricing](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/per-seat-vs-per-resolution-pricing): Most help desks now bill seats plus AI usage. How the two parts grow with your team, what resolution, outcome and session really mean, and a worked 10-agent comparison using list prices. - [Do you need the AI add-on?](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/do-you-need-the-ai-add-on): A simple way to decide whether a per-agent AI add-on or a per-resolution AI agent pays for itself, based on your ticket volume, team size and agent cost rather than vendor promises. - [Help desk migration checklist](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/help-desk-migration-checklist): An ordered checklist for moving to a new help desk: contract notice, data export, field mapping, attachments, macros, help center redirects, SLAs, email forwarding and a parallel run. - [SLA basics for support teams](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/sla-basics-for-support-teams): What first response time and resolution time measure, how business hours and pause states change the clock, how escalation works, and a starter SLA policy for a small team. - [Help desk software and data protection law in the United States](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/guides/help-desk-software-and-data-protection-law): The rules that apply when a US business puts customer data into a help desk: CCPA service-provider contracts and the state privacy patchwork, HIPAA, call recording, chat-widget wiretap claims, bot disclosure, auto-renewal, PCI DSS and SMS consent. With links to the official texts. ## Tools - [Help desk true-cost calculator](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/tools/true-cost-calculator): Enter agents, tickets and AI resolutions to see what each help desk costs a month: seats, AI add-on and AI usage, from the vendors' own list prices. ## Trust - [How we review](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/how-we-review): Our method in full: where facts come from, how list prices become a true-cost figure, how the six-part rubric turns documents into a score, what the score cannot tell you, and what we have not tested yet. - [Editorial standards](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/editorial-standards): The rules every page on help-desk.reviews follows: sourcing, independence, prices and currencies, language editions, AI use and corrections. - [Changelog](https://help-desk.reviews/en-us/changelog): A dated record of material changes to prices, scores, method and pages on help-desk.reviews.