Customer Service tools in 2026, compared by price

We track 15 customer service tools. The list below is ordered by what it costs to start, cheapest first. Tools that cannot be put on that scale — usage-based pricing, a free tier, or a price we could not verify — come last, and each one says which case it is. The cheapest verified entry point is LiveChat at $19/user/mo.

How to choose a helpdesk

Helpdesk pricing is per agent — the person answering tickets, not the person asking. Two details complicate it. First, what counts as an agent: some plans count anyone who can view a ticket. Second, the newer wave of AI resolution fees, charged per automated answer on top of the seat.

Channel coverage is where plans differ quietly: chat, phone, social and email are often split across tiers, and a missing channel usually means a second subscription. The verified prices here are starting points; support teams tend to land on the tier above what they first budgeted.

Before you commit, check:

How the vendor counts an agent, and whether read-only viewers count
Per-resolution or per-conversation AI charges, if any
Which channels are included at each tier
Ticket volume limits, if any are stated

No vendor has paid for a position on this page. Price is not quality: the cheapest tool here is not the best one for your team, it is only the cheapest. We do not publish a quality score because we do not have one we can stand behind. How we score tools.

LiveChat
Online customer service software.
From $19/user/mo billed annuallyverified
Intercom
AI customer service.
Modern UI: The most stylish and modern interface for both agents and users.
From $29/user/moverified
Zendesk
Customer support hub.
Omnichannel Support: Agents respond to every channel from one single screen.
From $50/user/moverified
Chatwoot
Open-source multi-channel support inbox with cloud and self-hosted plans.
Self-hosting path: Community code outside the enterprise directory is MIT-licensed.
Free tier availablenot a monthly price
Crisp
Live chat and shared inbox.
Flat pricing instead of per agent
Free tier availablenot a monthly price
Freshdesk
Help desk and ticketing.
Usable free tier for very small teams
Free tier availablenot a monthly price
Front
Shared inbox for customer conversations.
Internal discussion attached to real emails
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
Gladly
People-centred customer service platform.
Customer-centred rather than ticket-centred
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
Gorgias
Ecommerce helpdesk with order actions and usage-based ticket billing.
Shopify context: Customer profiles and order history appear alongside supported tickets.
Usage-based pricingnot a monthly price
Help Scout
Shared inbox and help centre.
Customers never see ticket numbers
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
Kayako
English software company.
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
LivePerson
American software company.
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
OTRS
Service management software.
Open source with a self-hosted option
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price
Tidio
Live chat with chatbots for small stores.
Quick to install on a store
Free tier availablenot a monthly price
UserVoice
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company.
Customer voting surfaces real demand
Pricing not verifiednot a monthly price

Head-to-head comparisons

Two customer service tools side by side, on price and on the features we actually checked.

Looking to switch?

What each of these costs to replace, with the closest tools that do the same job.