Zendesk alternatives
Zendesk alternatives, read on their own pricing pages.
Six products teams look at when they leave Zendesk, one of them ours. For each: who it fits, what 10 people pay for a year, and what to check before you sign. Every number was read on the vendor’s own page on 10 November 2026.
- In every Axonave plan
- Helpdesk
- CRM
- Live chat
The short answer
Which one to look at first
You mostly answer email
Freshdesk Growth is $19 an agent a month, billed yearly, for an email helpdesk with a portal and a knowledge base.
You want one vendor for the whole company
Zoho One puts 50+ apps on one invoice, finance and HR among them.
Your marketing and sales already run on HubSpot
Service Hub sits next to them, with over 2,000 apps in its marketplace.
You have admins to build on it
Salesforce goes furthest when someone shapes it for you, with a sandbox from Service Cloud Advanced.
Messaging is the whole job
respond.io prices the workspace, not the seat: Growth includes 10 users.
Sales and support share the customer on WhatsApp
Axonave puts tickets, chats, leads and deals on one record, with WhatsApp on every plan. That’s why we built it.
The alternatives, one by one
In the order teams usually shortlist them. Prices are list prices before tax, read on 10 November 2026.
Helpdesk; chat and messaging in Freshdesk Omni
Freshdesk
Teams that mostly answer email and want a low seat price, or a multi-channel helpdesk from a large vendor.
Freshdesk Growth $19, Pro $55; Freshdesk Omni Growth $29, Pro $79: an agent a month, billed yearly. No monthly price is shown.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- A low price for an email helpdesk with a customer portal and a knowledge base
- Freshdesk Omni lists SLA management, a portal and a knowledge base on every plan
- A long record, and a CRM (Freshsales) from the same company
Check before you choose
- Freshdesk Growth lists email only; chat and messaging come with Freshdesk Omni
- Freshsales is a separate product with its own plans
- Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions once per account, then $49 per 100
A helpdesk app, or 50+ apps on one invoice
Zoho Desk and Zoho One
Companies that want one vendor for finance, HR and customer service, or already run on Zoho.
Zoho One is US$90 a user a month with annual licensing, before VAT. Zoho Desk’s pricing page showed us rupees only, so no Desk price is quoted.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- Zoho One: 50+ apps, finance, marketing and HR among them
- Zoho Desk Standard lists a live chat widget, WhatsApp and ratings after a ticket closes
- Zoho Desk Professional publishes articles in over 40 languages
Check before you choose
- The helpdesk and the CRM are separate apps under one Zoho account
- SLAs appear only in the Desk page’s FAQ; ask Zoho which edition has them
- Live chat on Enterprise is Zoho SalesIQ, another app
Helpdesk on HubSpot’s CRM, priced by the seat
HubSpot Service Hub
Teams whose marketing and sales already run on HubSpot.
HubSpot prints two seat prices a tier without saying which billing option each is, so none is quoted. Professional needs a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500, Enterprise $3,500. Free for up to 2 users.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- Over 2,000 apps and web services
- Sales Hub lists up to 100 pipelines on Professional and 350 on Enterprise
- Marketing, sales and service from one vendor
Check before you choose
- Service Hub and Sales Hub are priced separately, each by the seat
- WhatsApp, SLAs and surveys are listed, but not tier by tier in a way we could read: ask HubSpot
- AI draws on HubSpot Credits, which vary by tier
Service on the Salesforce platform
Salesforce Service Cloud
Larger organisations with admins to customise it.
Starter Suite $25 a user a month (a starting price; transaction fees apply), Pro Suite $100, Service Cloud Core $195 and Advanced $395, billed yearly. Enhanced Messaging is $75 more a user a month.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- Customisation and automation, with a full sandbox on Advanced
- AgentExchange from Pro Suite, and Slack Business+ with Core
- A long record with enterprise service teams
Check before you choose
- Case management and the help centre start at Core on its cards
- The service pricing page doesn’t name WhatsApp: ask Salesforce
- From Core up, Sales Cloud is a separate licence at the same price
Messaging inbox, priced by the workspace
respond.io
Teams whose whole job is conversations and broadcasts on messaging apps.
Starter $79 a month billed yearly ($99 monthly) with 5 users; Growth $159 ($199) with 10. Extra users $12 and $20 a month.
Where it’s strong, on its own pages
- A low price when messaging is all you need
- Broadcasts and workflows on Growth
- Zapier, Make and a developer API on Growth
Check before you choose
- No ticketing, SLA policies, deal pipeline, surveys or knowledge base on its pricing page
- Growth charges $12 per 100 monthly active contacts past the plan’s allowance
Helpdesk, CRM, live chat, WhatsApp and email in one product
AxonaveOurs
Teams that sell and support on WhatsApp and want tickets, chats and deals on one customer record.
Basic $59 a month with 3 seats, extra seats $19; Pro $199 with 5 seats, extra seats $35. Yearly billing costs 10 months.
Where it’s strong
- Tickets, chats, leads and deals on one customer record
- WhatsApp on every plan; Meta bills you directly, and we add nothing per message
- AI that answers only from your published articles: 2,000,000 tokens a month on Pro, no per-answer charge
Check before you choose
- New: an API and signed webhooks, no app marketplace
- Instagram, Messenger and broadcasts are Planned, not built
- Help centre and AI need Pro, or an AI pack on Basic
10 people, one year
What 10 people pay for a year.
List prices from each pricing page on 10 November 2026, billed yearly, before tax, for the same 10 people, cheapest first. Monthly billing is shown where the page prints it. Each line says what it covers, because they don’t cover the same things.
respond.io Growth
$1,908 a year for the workspace with 10 users, enough for the team.
A messaging inbox for the workspace, with broadcasts, workflows and AI agents. No ticketing, SLA policies, deal pipeline or knowledge base on its pricing page.
$1,908a year, billed yearlyor $199 a month, billed monthly
Axonave Basic
$590 a year with 3 seats, plus 7 seats at $190 a year each.
CRM, helpdesk, live chat, WhatsApp and email on one login. No knowledge base or AI until you add an AI pack.
$1,920a year, billed yearlyor $192 a month, billed monthly
Salesforce Starter Suite
Starter Suite $25 a seat a month, billed yearly, × 10 seats.
One CRM suite with sales and service, at a starting price; transaction fees apply. On Salesforce’s cards, case management and the help centre start at Service Cloud Core.
$3,000a year, billed yearlyor $250 a month, billed monthly
Freshdesk Omni Growth
Freshdesk Omni Growth $29 a seat a month, billed yearly, × 10 seats.
A multi-channel helpdesk with SLA management, a customer portal and a knowledge base. The CRM (Freshsales) is a separate product. Freddy AI Copilot isn’t sold on Growth.
$3,480a year, billed yearlyno monthly price shown
Axonave Pro
$1,990 a year with 5 seats, plus 5 seats at $350 a year each.
Everything in Basic, plus the knowledge base, the help centre and the AI, with 2,000,000 AI tokens a month.
$3,740a year, billed yearlyor $374 a month, billed monthly
Zendesk Suite Team
Suite Team $55 a seat a month, billed yearly, × 10 seats.
Where you are today, for reference. Messaging, live chat and email tickets, a help centre in one language, 5 automated resolutions a seat a month. SLAs, CSAT and the portal are on Suite Professional. No CRM.
$6,600a year, billed yearlyor $690 a month, billed monthly
Zoho One
Zoho One $90 a seat a month, billed yearly, × 10 seats.
50+ Zoho apps on one invoice, the helpdesk and a CRM among them, as separate apps. The yearly price is the one its page shows first. Before VAT.
$10,800a year, billed yearlymonthly price not quoted
HubSpot isn’t on the bars
Its pricing page prints two seat prices a tier without saying which billing option each is, so we can’t work out a year for it. What it does print plainly: a one-time onboarding fee of $1,500 on Professional and $3,500 on Enterprise.
- Zendesk: 5 automated resolutions a seat a month on Suite Team, then $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. Copilot is $50 a seat a month, billed yearly.
- Freshdesk Omni: Freddy AI Agent’s first 500 sessions once per account, then $49 per 100. Copilot is $29 a seat on Pro and Enterprise.
- respond.io Growth: $12 per 100 monthly active contacts past the plan’s allowance. Extra users are priced a month, applied as printed.
- Axonave: Pro includes 2,000,000 AI tokens a month; an AI pack of 1,000,000 is $20 a month, on Basic too. 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. “Ask” means the page doesn’t say which plan in a way we could read. “Not listed” means we couldn’t find it there, not that the product can’t do it.
Helpdesk with SLA policies
- Axonave
- Included
- Zendesk Suite
- SLAs on Professional
- Freshdesk
- On Pro, and every Omni plan
- Zoho
- Ask Zoho which edition
- HubSpot
- Listed; ask which tier
- Salesforce
- Cases from Core; ask about SLAs
- respond.io
- Not listed
CRM: leads and a deals pipeline
- Axonave
- Included
- Zendesk Suite
- Not in any plan
- Freshdesk
- Freshsales, separate
- Zoho
- A separate app, in Zoho One
- HubSpot
- Sales Hub, by the seat
- Salesforce
- In the Suites; Sales Cloud from Core
- respond.io
- Lifecycle, no pipeline listed
Live chat and WhatsApp
- Axonave
- Every plan
- Zendesk Suite
- Messaging on both Suites; ask about WhatsApp
- Freshdesk
- In Freshdesk Omni
- Zoho
- From Desk Standard
- HubSpot
- Chat; ask which tier has WhatsApp
- Salesforce
- Chat on Pro Suite; ask about WhatsApp
- respond.io
- Included
Surveys after a chat or ticket
- Axonave
- Every plan
- Zendesk Suite
- CSAT on Professional
- Freshdesk
- Not listed
- Zoho
- Ratings from Desk Standard
- HubSpot
- Listed; ask which tier
- Salesforce
- Bought separately
- respond.io
- Not listed
Help centre and knowledge base
- Axonave
- Pro, or Basic with an AI pack
- Zendesk Suite
- Included
- Freshdesk
- Included
- Zoho
- Included
- HubSpot
- Listed; ask which tier
- Salesforce
- Help centre from Core
- respond.io
- Not listed
How AI answers are priced
- Axonave
- 2,000,000 tokens a month on Pro
- Zendesk Suite
- Per automated resolution
- Freshdesk
- Per 100 AI Agent sessions
- Zoho
- Zia on Professional
- HubSpot
- HubSpot Credits by tier
- Salesforce
- AI agent from Advanced
- respond.io
- AI credits by plan
Apps and integrations
- Axonave
- API and webhooks
- Zendesk Suite
- 1,000+ apps
- Freshdesk
- Shown on Omni’s page
- Zoho
- 50+ apps in Zoho One
- HubSpot
- Over 2,000 apps
- Salesforce
- AgentExchange
- respond.io
- Zapier, Make and an API
Prices on the page
- Axonave
- Monthly or yearly, US dollars
- Zendesk Suite
- Monthly and yearly
- Freshdesk
- Yearly only
- Zoho
- Zoho One in dollars; Desk in rupees
- HubSpot
- Two prices a tier, unlabelled
- Salesforce
- Monthly on Starter Suite only
- respond.io
- By the workspace
Competitor information as of 10 November 2026, from their public pages: zendesk.com/pricing, Freshdesk pricing, Freshdesk Omni pricing, Zoho Desk pricing, Zoho One pricing, Service Hub pricing, Sales Hub pricing, Service Cloud pricing, respond.io/pricing. Plans and prices change; check the vendor's site before you decide.
How to choose a helpdesk to replace Zendesk
Five questions that settle most of it, whichever products are on your list.
Which channels will you answer next year?
List them: email, website chat, WhatsApp, social messages. Then check which plan has each, not which product.
Does sales work the same customers?
If a support chat can turn into a sale, decide whether the deal should sit on the same record, or in a second product you connect.
What does the same team pay for a year?
Price your real head count on the plan you’d buy, billed yearly, with the AI add-ons you’d switch on. Seat prices alone hide most of the difference.
How is AI counted?
Some vendors count each automated resolution, others each session, credit or token, and each grows differently as more customers ask. Work out a busy month, not a quiet one.
What moves, and what doesn’t?
Contacts, tickets and articles usually move as files. Ticket history, macros and automations often have to be rebuilt. Ask before you sign.
Where the others are stronger than Axonave
A roundup written by one of the products in it should say this plainly.
Marketplaces and a long record
Zendesk lists 1,000+ apps, HubSpot over 2,000, and Salesforce has AgentExchange. Each has served support teams for years. Axonave is new, with an API and signed webhooks instead of a marketplace.
A lower price for one job
For 10 people billed yearly, respond.io Growth is $1,908 for messaging alone, a little under Axonave Basic at $1,920. For one or two agents answering email, Freshdesk Growth at $19 an agent a month costs less than Basic, which comes with 3 seats.
More channels and campaigns today
Zendesk lists social channels on both Suite plans, and respond.io Growth lists broadcasts. Instagram, Messenger and broadcasts are Planned for Axonave, not built yet.
Zendesk alternatives: questions
What’s a good alternative to Zendesk?
It depends on the job. Freshdesk for email at a low seat price, Zoho One for one vendor across the company, HubSpot if your sales and marketing already run there, Salesforce if you have admins to build on it, respond.io for messaging alone, and Axonave if sales and support share the customer on WhatsApp.
Is there a Zendesk alternative with a CRM built in?
Axonave has the CRM and the helpdesk in every plan. Salesforce’s Starter and Pro Suites are one CRM suite with sales and service. HubSpot, Freshworks and Zoho sell the CRM as a separate hub, product or app. Zendesk’s pricing page lists no CRM in any plan.
What does each cost for 10 people?
Billed yearly, from the pricing pages on 10 November 2026: respond.io Growth $1,908, Axonave Basic $1,920, Salesforce Starter Suite $3,000, Freshdesk Omni Growth $3,480, Axonave Pro $3,740, Zendesk Suite Team $6,600 and Zoho One $10,800. Each covers different things, so compare what you need, not only the total.
Do those prices include AI?
Mostly not in full. Zendesk counts automated resolutions past the ones included, Freshdesk counts AI Agent sessions, respond.io and HubSpot use credits. Axonave Pro includes 2,000,000 AI tokens a month, and an AI pack adds 1,000,000 for $20 a month.
Can we move from Zendesk to Axonave?
Yes, without a one-click importer. Export contacts, accounts and tickets as CSV files and import them with a preview, connect your own mailboxes and WhatsApp number, and import your articles as files or by crawling your help centre.
How current is this page?
Every competitor number was read on its vendor’s own pricing page on 10 November 2026. 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 Zendesk tickets to a 30-minute demo.
We reply within one business day by email or WhatsApp.