Help desk software pricing: what 6 help desks cost your team

Frequently asked questions

How much does help desk software cost for a small team?

For five agents with email and live chat on annual billing, a month costs $75 on LiveAgent Starter, $100 on HubSpot Service Hub Starter (its monthly price; HubSpot shows no regular annual price), $125 on Help Scout Standard, $145 on Freshdesk Omni Growth, $200 on Zoho Desk Enterprise (its first plan with chat for any website visitor) and $275 on Zendesk Suite Team, at each vendor's list price per agent, checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026. Phone calls and AI answers change the order: the calculator above counts them for your team.

What is the cheapest help desk software?

Free: Help Scout for up to 5 users and Zoho Desk for up to 3, both email only, and HubSpot Service Hub for up to 2 users with live chat. Paid, per agent a month on annual billing: for email only, Zoho Desk Express at $7 (up to 5 users); with live chat, LiveAgent Starter at $15 (up to 5 agents); with live chat, phone, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, LiveAgent Team at $29 (up to 15 agents), against $44 on Freshdesk Omni Growth with voice and $55 on Zendesk Suite Team. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

What is the cheapest help desk for 10 agents?

For 10 agents with email and live chat on annual billing, a month costs $200 on HubSpot Service Hub Starter (its monthly price), $250 on Help Scout Standard, $290 on LiveAgent Team (LiveAgent Starter allows up to 5 agents), $290 on Freshdesk Omni Growth, $400 on Zoho Desk Enterprise and $550 on Zendesk Suite Team. With phone, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp too, LiveAgent Team stays at $290, Freshdesk Omni Growth with its voice add-on costs $440 and Zendesk Suite Team $550 plus call minutes; Help Scout and Zoho Desk need another phone tool, and HubSpot Service Hub has no Instagram messages. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

Is Zendesk more expensive than Freshdesk?

Yes, once you need chat or social media. For email only, Zendesk Support Team costs $19 and Freshdesk Growth $19 per agent a month on annual billing. Live chat, Instagram and WhatsApp cost $55 per agent on Zendesk Suite Team and $29 on Freshdesk Omni Growth. Calls are part of Zendesk Suite, with numbers and minutes on top; Freshdesk Omni adds them for $15 per agent. AI answers: Zendesk includes 5 per agent a month and charges $1.50 for each one above that on a commitment ($2 pay as you go); Freshdesk gives 500 once, then $49 per 100. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

What does Freshdesk cost?

Freshdesk, for email and Facebook, costs $19 per agent a month on Growth, $55 on Pro and $89 on Enterprise, on annual billing ($23, $66 and $107 on monthly billing). Live chat, Instagram and WhatsApp need Freshdesk Omni: $29 on Growth, $79 on Pro and $119 on Enterprise, with calls as a voice add-on from $15 per agent. AI agent sessions: 500 free once per account, then $49 per 100. List prices checked November 7, 2026.

Which Zendesk plan includes live chat?

Suite Team, at $55 per agent a month on annual billing ($69 on monthly billing), is Zendesk's first plan with live chat, messaging, social media and calls. Support Team ($19) covers email tickets only. Suite Professional ($115) adds a phone menu (IVR) and includes 10 automated resolutions per agent a month instead of 5. List prices checked November 7, 2026; our Zendesk pricing article covers its add-ons and AI fees in detail.

What does help desk software pricing include?

A price per agent a month, billed annually or monthly, for the channels and features of a plan. On top come, depending on the vendor: AI answers billed per resolution, session or credit (in LiveAgent, your own AI provider's fees), add-ons such as voice, one-time onboarding (HubSpot Service Hub Professional $1,500), phone numbers and call minutes, Meta's WhatsApp message fees and taxes. The calculator above counts the plan, add-ons, one-time fees and AI answers for your team; minutes, WhatsApp fees and taxes are left out.

How does LiveAgent compare with Zoho Desk on price?

Zoho Desk costs less for email and Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp messages: Zoho Desk Standard is $14 per agent a month on annual billing, LiveAgent Team $29. Website chat for any visitor costs $15 on LiveAgent Starter (up to 5 agents) and $40 on Zoho Desk Enterprise; Zoho Desk Standard chats only with logged-in customers. Calls are built into LiveAgent from Team; Zoho Desk connects to a phone provider such as Zoho Voice, billed separately. For AI, LiveAgent charges nothing and you pay your AI provider; Zoho Desk includes up to 30,000,000 tokens a month of its own model. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

What is the cheapest help desk with live chat?

Free: HubSpot Service Hub's free plan includes live chat for up to 2 users. Paid, per agent a month on annual billing: LiveAgent Starter at $15 for up to 5 agents, then HubSpot Service Hub Starter at $20 (its monthly price), Help Scout Standard at $25, Freshdesk Omni Growth at $29, Zoho Desk Enterprise at $40 and Zendesk Suite Team at $55. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

Which help desks include phone calls?

LiveAgent includes a call center from the Team plan ($29 per agent a month on annual billing). Zendesk has calling from Suite Team ($55), with numbers and minutes billed on top. Freshdesk needs Freshdesk Omni and its voice add-on ($15 per agent on Growth), HubSpot Service Hub takes calls in the help desk from Professional ($90). Help Scout and Zoho Desk connect to another phone tool, such as Aircall or Zoho Voice, which bills separately. List prices checked October 30, 2026 to November 7, 2026.

What does an AI agent cost in a help desk?

Each vendor bills AI answers differently. Zendesk includes 5 automated resolutions per agent a month and charges $1.50 for each one above that on a commitment, $2 pay as you go; Help Scout charges $0.75 per resolution; Freshdesk gives 500 AI sessions once per account, then $49 per 100; HubSpot uses 50 credits per resolution from Professional, at $0.01 a credit above the plan's monthly credits. Zoho Desk's AI agents run on your own AI key or on Zoho's model with up to 30,000,000 free tokens a month; chatbots in WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger need Zoho Desk Enterprise. LiveAgent charges nothing for AI: you pay your own AI provider, and an AI chat in LiveAgent's own support cost a median of $0.11 in October 2026.

Why are call minutes and WhatsApp fees not in the totals?

Every vendor bills phone numbers, call minutes and Meta's WhatsApp message fees on top of the plan, or through the phone provider you connect, and they depend on your countries and call volume. On Zendesk, for example, a US local number costs $1 a month and an inbound call about $0.012 a minute. The totals compare what differs between the plans: agents, add-ons and AI answers.

Where do these prices come from?

From each vendor's own pricing page and help articles, checked from a US address, with the date shown next to every vendor. They are regular list prices: offers and discounts for new customers are left out, LiveAgent's too. We recheck them every month.