Salesforce Service Cloud alternatives
Salesforce Service Cloud alternatives, each price as its page prints it.
Five helpdesks teams look at instead of Salesforce Service Cloud, one of them ours. For each: who it fits, the price as its own page prints it, and what to check before you move. The prices come with different billing terms and currencies, so we don’t add them up. Read on 10 November 2026.
- In every Axonave plan
- Helpdesk
- CRM
- Live chat
The short answer
Which one to look at first
You want a long-established helpdesk with a large marketplace
Zendesk lists 1,000+ prebuilt apps and integrations, with SLAs, CSAT and a portal on Suite Professional, billed monthly or yearly.
You want a low yearly price per agent
Freshdesk Growth is $19 an agent a month, billed annually, with a customer portal and a knowledge base.
Marketing and sales should share the CRM
HubSpot puts service, sales and marketing on one CRM, with a free tool for up to 2 users and paid tiers by the seat.
Chats, tickets and deals belong together, without an admin
Axonave keeps the helpdesk, WhatsApp, live chat and the deals pipeline on one customer record, in every plan, set up without an implementation project.
The alternatives, one by one
Prices are list prices before tax, as each page printed them on 10 November 2026, in its own currency.
Helpdesk and messaging suite
Zendesk
Teams that want a large app marketplace and a long-established helpdesk, without a platform to build on.
Suite Team $55 an agent a month billed yearly ($69 monthly), Suite Professional $115 ($149). Automated resolutions past those included are $1.50 to $2.00 each.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- 1,000+ prebuilt apps and integrations
- SLAs, CSAT, a customer portal and a help centre in 40+ languages on Suite Professional
- Monthly billing printed on its page
Check before you choose
- No CRM or sales pipeline in any plan on its pricing page
- WhatsApp’s plan isn’t clear on the page: ask Zendesk
- Copilot is $50 an agent a month, billed yearly
Helpdesk, with chat and messaging in Freshdesk Omni
Freshdesk
Teams answering mostly email who want a portal and a knowledge base on the first plan.
Growth $19, Pro $55 an agent a month, billed annually; no monthly price on the page. Freshdesk Omni Growth $29, Pro $79.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- A customer portal and a knowledge base on Growth
- Multiple SLA policies from Pro; SLA management on every Omni plan
- Freddy AI Agent’s first 500 sessions included, once per account
Check before you choose
- Chat and messaging come with Freshdesk Omni, not Freshdesk
- The CRM, Freshsales, is a separate product
- Copilot is $29 an agent a month, on Pro and Enterprise only
Helpdesk on HubSpot’s CRM, beside sales and marketing
HubSpot Service Hub
Companies whose marketing and sales already run on HubSpot.
Starter $7 and $20, Professional $90 and $100, Enterprise $150 a seat a month, in US dollars, the page not saying which of two is which billing option. Onboarding $1,500 on Professional, $3,500 on Enterprise.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- Service, sales and marketing on one CRM
- Free for up to 2 users
- Over 2,000 apps and web services
Check before you choose
- A required one-time onboarding fee on Professional and Enterprise
- AI draws on HubSpot Credits, set by tier
- Which tier has WhatsApp isn’t clear on the page: ask HubSpot
A helpdesk app, and a bundle of Zoho’s apps on one invoice
Zoho Desk and Zoho One
Companies that run, or want to run, most of the business on Zoho.
Zoho Desk: Standard ₹800 and Professional ₹1,400 a user a month, billed annually, in rupees as its US page showed them to us; we don’t convert them. Zoho One: $90 a user a month with annual licensing, before VAT.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- A free plan with 3 users, and a 15-day trial
- Knowledge base articles in over 40 languages on Professional
- 50+ apps on one invoice with Zoho One
Check before you choose
- Live chat on Enterprise is Zoho SalesIQ, another app
- The CRM is a separate app
- SLAs appear only in its FAQ: ask which edition has them
Helpdesk, CRM, live chat, WhatsApp and email in one product
AxonaveOurs
Teams whose cases start on WhatsApp and chat as often as email, whose sales team works the same customers, and who have no admin to build a platform.
Basic $59 a month with 3 seats, extra seats $19; Pro $199 with 5 seats, extra seats $35. Yearly billing costs 10 months. No contract, no onboarding fee, and no free plan.
Where it’s strong
- SLA policies, a customer portal and surveys on every plan, Basic included
- WhatsApp, live chat and your own mailboxes in the same helpdesk
- A deals pipeline on the same record as the tickets
Check before you choose
- No custom objects or sandbox: it works the way it ships
- New: an API and signed webhooks for tickets, no app marketplace
- Help centre and AI need Pro, or an AI pack on Basic
Prices as printed
Each price as its page prints it.
No year for a team here. Salesforce bills everything from Pro Suite up yearly, Pro Suite with a contract, HubSpot prints two prices a tier without saying which billing option each is, and Zoho Desk’s page showed us rupees, so a total would be our guess. Here is each price as printed, before tax, read on 10 November 2026.
Why there are no bars
We don’t pick one of HubSpot’s two prices for you, convert currencies or guess at Salesforce’s transaction fees. Ask each vendor for the plan you’d buy, for the same team, in one currency, billed the same way.
Service Cloud pricing · Service Hub pricing · Zoho Desk pricing
- Salesforce: Starter Suite $25 a user a month, billed monthly or annually; Pro Suite $100, billed annually with a contract (both “starting price”, transaction fees apply); Service Cloud Core $195, Advanced $395 and Max $550, billed annually; Enhanced Messaging $75 more a user a month; Max includes 2.75M Flex Credits a year for the org.
- Zendesk: Suite Team $55 billed yearly or $69 monthly, Suite Professional $115 or $149, an agent a month; 5 or 10 automated resolutions a seat a month, then $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go.
- Freshdesk: Growth $19 and Pro $55 an agent a month, billed annually; Freddy AI Agent’s first 500 sessions once per account, then $49 per 100.
- HubSpot Service Hub: Starter $7 and $20, Professional $90 and $100, Enterprise $150 a seat a month, in US dollars, the page not saying which of two is which billing option; onboarding $1,500 on Professional, $3,500 on Enterprise; free for up to 2 users.
- Zoho: Zoho Desk Standard ₹800 and Professional ₹1,400 a user a month, billed annually, in rupees as its US page showed them to us; we don’t convert them. Zoho One $90 a user a month with annual licensing, before VAT.
- Axonave: Basic $59 and Pro $199 a month with seats included; yearly billing costs 10 months. Pro includes 2,000,000 AI tokens a month, and an AI pack of 1,000,000 is $20 a month. Meta bills WhatsApp messages to your own account.
- As of November 2026: read on each pricing page on 10 November 2026. List prices before tax; they change, so check before you decide.
What each product lists
What each vendor’s pricing page lists, across its plans; Axonave across Basic and Pro. Salesforce Service Cloud is here for reference. “Not listed” means we couldn’t find it there, not that the product can’t do it.
Case or ticket management
- Axonave
- Every plan
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- From Core
- Zendesk Suite
- Included
- Freshdesk
- Included
- HubSpot Service Hub
- Included
Customer portal or help centre
- Axonave
- Portal every plan; help centre on Pro
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- Self-service help centre from Core; a portal for purchase
- Zendesk Suite
- Suite Professional
- Freshdesk
- Every plan
- HubSpot Service Hub
- Not listed as a row; ask HubSpot
Live chat and WhatsApp
- Axonave
- Every plan
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- Enhanced Messaging, $75 more a user a month; WhatsApp not named
- Zendesk Suite
- Messaging; ask about WhatsApp
- Freshdesk
- Freshdesk Omni
- HubSpot Service Hub
- Chat; ask which tier has WhatsApp
CRM: a deals pipeline
- Axonave
- Included
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- In the Starter and Pro suites; Sales Cloud, separate, from Core
- Zendesk Suite
- Not in any plan
- Freshdesk
- Freshsales, separate
- HubSpot Service Hub
- Sales Hub, by the seat
How AI answers are priced
- Axonave
- 2,000,000 tokens a month on Pro
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- Agentforce on Max, with 2.75M Flex Credits a year
- Zendesk Suite
- Per automated resolution
- Freshdesk
- Per 100 AI Agent sessions
- HubSpot Service Hub
- HubSpot Credits by tier
Billing on the page
- Axonave
- Monthly or yearly
- Salesforce Service Cloud
- Starter monthly or yearly; Pro Suite up yearly, Pro with a contract
- Zendesk Suite
- Monthly and yearly
- Freshdesk
- Billed annually
- HubSpot Service Hub
- Two prices a tier, not tied to a billing option
Competitor information as of 10 November 2026, from their public pages: Service Cloud pricing, zendesk.com/pricing, Freshdesk pricing, Freshdesk Omni pricing, Service Hub pricing. Plans and prices change; check the vendor's site before you decide.
How to choose a helpdesk after Salesforce Service Cloud
Five questions that settle most of it, whichever products are on your list.
Who will run it?
A platform you shape needs someone to shape it. If nobody on the team will own custom objects, flows and permissions, pick a product that works the way it ships.
Which plan has what you use today?
SLA policies, a customer portal, surveys and chat sit on different plans with each vendor. Price the plan that has all of them, not the first one on the page.
Is WhatsApp part of the helpdesk?
With some vendors messaging is a plan feature; with others it’s an add-on, a separate product or a partner app. Ask each one how WhatsApp is billed and which plan has it.
Does sales move too?
If Sales Cloud stays, decide where the customer record lives and what you’ll connect. If sales moves with support, check that deals sit on the same record as the tickets.
What moves, and what you rebuild
Contacts, cases and articles move as files. Flows, assignment rules, SLA milestones and macros usually have to be set up again.
Where the others are stronger than Axonave
A roundup written by one of the products in it should say this plainly, Salesforce included.
A platform you can shape
Salesforce lists greater customisation and automation on Pro Suite and a full sandbox on Advanced, with access to AgentExchange. Teams with admins to build on it go further than Axonave, which works the way it ships.
Marketplaces and a long enterprise record
HubSpot lists over 2,000 apps and web services and Zendesk 1,000+ prebuilt apps and integrations; Salesforce and Zendesk have run large service teams for years. Axonave is new, with an API and signed webhooks for tickets instead of a marketplace.
A free plan, and a help centre in more languages
HubSpot is free for up to 2 users and Zoho Desk for 3; Zendesk lists 40+ help-centre languages and Zoho Desk Professional over 40. Axonave has no free plan, and its help centre and AI work in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese.
Salesforce Service Cloud alternatives: questions
What are the main alternatives to Salesforce Service Cloud?
Zendesk for a long-established helpdesk and a large marketplace, Freshdesk for a low yearly price per agent with a portal on its first plan, HubSpot Service Hub if marketing and sales already run on HubSpot, Zoho Desk and Zoho One if the rest of the company runs on Zoho, and Axonave when cases start on WhatsApp and chat and sales works the same customers.
Why doesn’t this page add up a year for each?
Salesforce bills most editions yearly, some with a contract and transaction fees it doesn’t price on the page; HubSpot prints two prices a tier without saying which billing option each is; and Zoho Desk’s page showed us rupees. We print each price as it appears and don’t convert or guess.
Should we just stay on Salesforce?
If you have admins who build on it, use Sales Cloud and rely on its apps, staying may suit you. Look elsewhere when the team mostly answers WhatsApp, chat and email and nobody wants to run a platform to do it.
Does Salesforce Service Cloud do WhatsApp?
Its pricing page lists Enhanced Messaging as an add-on and doesn’t name WhatsApp, so ask Salesforce which channels and plans it covers. In Axonave, WhatsApp on Meta’s official Cloud API is in every plan.
Can we move from Salesforce to Axonave?
Yes, without a one-click importer. Export contacts and cases as CSV files and import them with a preview, connect your own mailboxes, and import your articles as files or by crawling your help centre.
How current is this page?
Every competitor price was read on its vendor’s own pricing page on 10 November 2026, and read again on 11 November 2026 with nothing changed. Prices change, so check the vendor’s page before you decide.
Can we try Axonave first?
Yes. Try Pro free for 14 days. No card needed.
Bring your Salesforce cases to a 30-minute demo.
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