Zendesk pricing explained
Is Zendesk worth your money? Why does Zendesk cost businesses more than they realize?
Jun 20, 20243 MINS READ
What is Zendesk?
Zendesk is a cloud-based customer service platform that facilitates customer interactions across various channels, including email, phone, chat, social media, and self-service portals. While Zendesk offers a variety of tools to help businesses manage their customer support operations, its pricing structure can be confusing and expensive, potentially making it a less worthwhile investment.
Businesses using Zendesk may pay a high price for the platform's plans, which often require additional paid add-ons for essential features on top of an already costly base plan. Moreover, although Zendesk provides tools for creating a knowledge base and enhancing customer engagement, these features may only partially meet some business needs.
As of 2024, Zendesk's user interface remains outdated and clunky, relying heavily on marketplace and custom apps that can add further costs and lead to a subpar user experience. Despite Zendesk's claims of effectively supporting customer operations and offering plans suitable for various needs, the platform charges up to $89 per agent for basic features like a self-service customer portal. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to thoroughly assess Zendesk's costs and features to determine if it aligns with their requirements.
First, we will provide an overview of Zendesk's pricing, and then we'll explain why Freshdesk is a superior option that offers better value for your investment.
How much does Zendesk cost in 2024?
Zendesk has three different offerings: Zendesk for service, Zendesk for sales, and a 3-tier basic plan for support. With multiple pricing plans and different offerings under each category, it’s very difficult to pick and choose according to your unique business requirements. If you’re looking for customer support software, here’s what Zendesk offers: Zendesk Suite - It has four plans
Suite Team - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Growth - US$ 89 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Professional - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Enterprise - pricing unavailable
Zendesk Sell - It has three plans
Sell Team - US$ 19 per agent/month billed annually
Sell Growth - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Sell Professional - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
Zendesk basic plans
Support Team - US$ 19 per agent/month billed annually
Support Professional - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Support Enterprise - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
Looking for a more powerful yet cost-effective omnichannel customer service solution? Try Freshdesk Omni.
Why is Freshdesk more cost-effective than Zendesk?
Freshdesk offers transparent pricing, and all the features are natively built into the product, unlike Zendesk, where a lot of features are available as add-ons and expensive third-party integrations. This reliance on partners and third parties can result in increased ownership costs. Here are some highlights that make Freshdesk a more cost-effective option:
Criteria | Freshdesk | Zendesk |
Free plan | Yes, upto 2 agents | No |
Lowest plan | $15/agent/month billed annually | $55/agent/month billed annually |
Highest plan | $79/agent/month billed annually | $115/agent/month billed annually * |
Customer support | 24/7 mail support is available for all plans. Phone and chat support are available for all the paid plans | 24/7 support is offered only as an add-on for all plans |
Ticket assignment & routing | Available out of the box, can route tickets based on agent workload, skill, or round-robin | Need to create and manage macros every single time for basic ticket routing |
Total cost of ownership | Low. Transparent pricing | Hidden costs on API consumption, storage, security, and marketplace apps for basic helpdesk workflows |
Agent load balancing | Available out of the box | Third-party app needed for round-robin assignment. That adds extra cost to your existing plan |
Ease of customization | Easy to customize. Faster change management | Complex to customize. Nightmare for admins to customize and manage workflows. Can incur additional costs |
*To talk to sales to understand the Enterprise plan
Looking for a more powerful yet cost-effective omnichannel customer service solution? Try Freshdesk Omni.
Freshdesk Omni vs Zendesk - pricing comparison
Product/ Plan | Freshdesk Omni | Zendesk Suite |
Team | – | $55 |
Growth | $29 | $89 |
Pro | $69 | $115 |
Enterprise | $109 | “Talk to Sales” (Suite Enterprise) |
Free trial available? | 14-day free trial | 14 days free trial |
* All prices in USD
Should you pay for Zendesk or Freshdesk?
While Zendesk ticks multiple boxes when you’re comparing help desk software, it doesn’t do a great job of providing an intuitive and easy-to-use platform. On the other hand, Freshdesk is a purpose-built solution that works right out of the box, lets you get up and running in weeks, and gets you a mature, scalable product that will fit in your current needs. It also allows you to grow and scale, without requiring you to switch platforms. Here’s why you should choose Freshdesk over Zendesk.
Transparent pricing
Our feature-rich customer service software is available at affordable rates and transparent pricing plans. We won't bog you down with pricey add-ons and enhancements for basic support functionalities. Absolutely no hidden costs.
Faster time-to-value
Being extremely intuitive and easy to configure, Freshdesk has a shorter implementation cycle, and you can start realizing value in weeks. Configuration and onboarding support is offered from the start to set you up for success with Freshdesk.
Scalable automation
Freshdesk automation, with features like Thank You detector and quick actions, speeds up tasks 3X over Zendesk. AI-powered automations are easy to set up without consultants, reducing repetitive work and letting agents focus on critical issues.
Native AI capabilities
Freshdesk’s built-in AI is easy to deploy and train, improving ticketing and agent productivity. AI-powered chatbots and bot workflows can be built easily on Freshdesk, without any expensive third-party integrations or dependence on developers.
Easy-to-use interface
Unlike Zendesk, Freshdesk has a more intuitive UI that both support agents and admins find easier to navigate and use. Onboard agents faster and set up the Freshdesk ticketing system effortlessly with 35% fewer rules than Zendesk.
Customer expectations for support constantly evolve, increasing the demand for service and the necessity for digital customer support. If you are looking to enhance customer service operations and scale productivity with the help of generative AI, your customer service solution should unify data and channels while avoiding IT complexities and controlling costs.
The Freshdesk Omni is an AI-powered, all-in-one omnichannel customer service solution that addresses these key objectives:
Customer retention: Seamless communication across channels to ensure consistent and personalized interactions, fostering enduring connections with customers and enhancing loyalty and retention.
Agent productivity: A unified workspace, streamlined workflows, and AI-driven tools to empower agents to handle inquiries across multiple channels efficiently, reducing response times and improving productivity.
Smart decision-making: Advanced analytics and real-time insights to equip leaders with actionable intelligence to make informed decisions fast, driving continuous improvement in service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Simplified operations and cost control: Consolidating support tools with a powerful, unified platform to streamline operations, remove IT complexity, and control costs.
Frequently asked questions
What Zendesk pricing will really cost you, and is it worth it?
Zendesk has different plans in various categories
Zendesk Suite - It has four plans
Suite Team - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Growth - US$ 89 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Professional - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
Suite Enterprise - pricing unavailable
Zendesk Sell - It has three plans
Sell Team - US$ 19 per agent/month billed annually
Sell Growth - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Sell Professional - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
Zendesk basic plans
Support Team - US$ 19 per agent/month billed annually
Support Professional - US$ 55 per agent/month billed annually
Support Enterprise - US$ 115 per agent/month billed annually
With so much confusion and hidden costs in the pricing plan, it’s better to look for a superior support desk such as Freshdesk that offers better value for money. Book a free demo to learn more about Freshdesk.
How long is the Zendesk free trial?
Zendesk offers a free trial of 14 days, after which you will need to purchase a plan to continue using Zendesk products and features. Whereas Freshdesk offers a 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan and provides expert-led product assistance during the trial period, making the overall customer experience much better.
Is Zendesk pricing better or Freshdesk pricing?
Freshdesk offers better pricing and value than Zendesk. Freshdesk starts at $15/month per agent when billed annually, whereas Zendesk Suite’s Team plan starts at $55/month per agent per month, billed annually. See full pricing here.
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