Alternatives
Zendesk alternatives for B2B SaaS support teams
For most B2B SaaS support teams that want to leave Zendesk but keep ticketing, a shared inbox, a help center and basic reporting, Freshdesk Growth is the strongest first pick. It is listed at $19 per agent a month billed annually, the same per-agent price as Zendesk Support Team, and it includes a customer portal and knowledge base alongside the shared inbox. Routing rules and multiple SLA policies start one tier up, on Freshdesk Pro at $55 per agent a month billed annually, so price that tier before you commit if your enterprise contracts name response times.
Zendesk is not the wrong choice for every B2B company. Its higher tiers add AI agents, omnichannel messaging, live chat, telephony and an IVR phone tree, and larger SaaS teams often use all of them. The tools below suit teams that want a smaller bill, a simpler inbox, a messenger inside the product, or a queue for internal requests. Before you compare prices, decide which support motions you are replacing, because each tool is strongest at a different one.
Start with the work the desk must do
A B2B support desk usually carries several jobs at once, and migrations often go wrong because the evaluation only tested one of them. Write down the jobs your team runs today and mark which ones are must-haves for the replacement:
- Account-level case management. Paying customers write in through several named contacts, and an engineer may need to see every conversation for one company. Ask whether the tool groups conversations by company, not only by person.
- Contractual SLAs. Enterprise contracts often promise first-response and resolution times. Check which plan includes multiple SLA policies, because that feature is frequently gated behind a higher tier.
- Self-service. A help center with searchable articles reduces ticket volume for common questions. Confirm how many knowledge bases you can run and whether you can publish in more than one language.
- In-product messaging. If customers ask questions from inside your application, a messenger on the product pages changes the support model. Intercom is built around this pattern.
- Escalation to engineering. Bugs and incidents move from support into product and infrastructure teams. Look for a link to your issue tracker and a handoff that carries the ticket context with it.
- Security reviews. Procurement teams ask about single sign-on, audit logs, IP allow-lists and HIPAA support. These controls often sit in the top tier of each product, so price the tier that includes them, not the entry tier.
Once you have that list, most options drop out quickly. A team whose main need is an internal IT queue has a different shortlist from a team whose main need is a public help center with chat.
Comparison of the main alternatives
The table below shows the entry tier for each tool that fits B2B support work, with the billing basis from the vendor's pricing page. Prices are in US dollars and are shown per agent or per user, as each vendor charges them. Zendesk is included as the benchmark.
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (plan, billing) | Key limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | B2B teams that want tickets, a customer portal and a knowledge base at a fixed per-agent price | Growth: $19 per agent a month, billed annually | Intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies start on Pro at $55 per agent a month, billed annually |
| Intercom | Product-led SaaS companies that want in-app chat, help content and ticketing in one place | Essential: $19 per seat a month, billed annually | AI outcomes and messaging are billed on usage on top of seat prices |
| Help Scout | Small teams of up to five people who want a simple shared inbox | Free plan for 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 docs site; Standard: $25 per user a month | The free plan allows one inbox; SSO and SAML start on Pro at $75 per user a month |
| Jira Service Management | Internal IT and engineering request queues linked to Jira work | Pricing on request | Built around internal service desks, so customer-facing chat and help content need other tools |
| Gorgias | Ecommerce brands that need support tied to orders and storefront data | Pricing on request | The commerce focus makes it a weak fit for account-based B2B support |
| Zendesk (benchmark) | Teams that need AI agents, omnichannel routing and telephony in one suite | Support Team: $19 per agent a month, billed yearly; no free plan | Suite Enterprise is sales-assisted; higher tiers cost $55 and $115 per agent a month |
Zendesk's public pricing lists Support Team at $19, Suite Team at $55 and Suite Professional at $115 per agent a month, all billed yearly. The Zendesk pricing page sets out the current terms, including the sales-assisted Suite Enterprise tier.
What the plans cost at realistic team sizes
The table below multiplies each listed per-agent price by the number of seats. For annual-billing plans, the monthly figure is the list price and the yearly figure is that price multiplied by twelve. For Help Scout, which lists monthly prices only, the yearly figure is the monthly price multiplied by twelve. These are planning figures from list prices, not quotes. Add usage charges such as Intercom AI outcomes or Help Scout AI Answers resolutions on top of them. Jira Service Management and Gorgias do not publish a fixed price, so they do not appear in this table.
| Plan (billing) | 5 agents | 15 agents | 30 agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk Growth ($19, annual) | $95 a month, $1,140 a year | $285 a month, $3,420 a year | $570 a month, $6,840 a year |
| Freshdesk Pro ($55, annual) | $275 a month, $3,300 a year | $825 a month, $9,900 a year | $1,650 a month, $19,800 a year |
| Intercom Essential ($19 per seat, annual) | $95 a month, $1,140 a year | $285 a month, $3,420 a year | $570 a month, $6,840 a year |
| Intercom Advanced ($85 per seat, annual) | $425 a month, $5,100 a year | $1,275 a month, $15,300 a year | $2,550 a month, $30,600 a year |
| Help Scout Standard ($25 per user, monthly) | $125 a month, $1,500 a year | $375 a month, $4,500 a year | $750 a month, $9,000 a year |
| Help Scout Pro ($75 per user, monthly) | $375 a month, $4,500 a year | $1,125 a month, $13,500 a year | $2,250 a month, $27,000 a year |
| Zendesk Support Team ($19, annual, benchmark) | $95 a month, $1,140 a year | $285 a month, $3,420 a year | $570 a month, $6,840 a year |
| Zendesk Suite Professional ($115, annual, benchmark) | $575 a month, $6,900 a year | $1,725 a month, $20,700 a year | $3,450 a month, $41,400 a year |
Two points change the picture more than the list price. First, a team of five that needs only one inbox and one docs site can run on the Help Scout free plan, which removes the software cost entirely at that size. Second, Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team are listed at the same $19 per agent, so the decision depends on which features each plan includes at that price. Freshdesk Growth lists a customer portal, knowledge base, analytics and reporting, threads and tasks, and roles and permissions alongside ticketing and the shared inbox. Zendesk Support Team lists email and ticketing, ticket routing, prebuilt analytics dashboards, and automations and triggers.
Seat count is the variable to pin down first. Only agents who work through conversations need a paid seat on most of these plans. Read-only stakeholders, such as account managers who want to see a company's tickets, should be checked against each vendor's collaborator or Lite seat terms before you assume they cost the full price.
Decision table: which tool fits which need
Use this table as a shortlist filter, not a final answer. Each row names the single requirement that should drive the first cut.
| If you need | Start with | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Ticketing, a portal and a knowledge base at $19 per agent | Freshdesk Growth | It is listed at $19 per agent a month billed annually and includes the customer portal and knowledge base with the shared inbox |
| Intelligent routing and several SLA policies for enterprise accounts | Freshdesk Pro | Intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies and multilingual helpdesk support are listed on this tier at $55 per agent a month billed annually |
| Live chat inside the product, with help content | Intercom Essential or Advanced | The Messenger, shared inbox and help center are included from Essential; the workflow builder and round robin assignment start at Advanced |
| A shared inbox for five people on a zero software budget | Help Scout free plan | The plan lists 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 docs site |
| SSO and SAML on a small team | Help Scout Pro | SSO and SAML are listed on Pro at $75 per user a month, along with unlimited workflows and unlimited SLA policies |
| Internal IT or engineering requests tied to Jira | Jira Service Management | It is designed for internal service workflows connected to Atlassian products; pricing is on request |
| Support conversations linked to orders and storefront data | Gorgias | Its commerce focus suits ecommerce brands; pricing is on request |
Freshdesk: the default pick for a Zendesk-sized ticket workload
Freshdesk suits B2B teams that want a familiar ticket desk without the top-tier price of Zendesk Suite. Growth covers what a SaaS support team uses every day: a shared inbox, a customer portal, a knowledge base, analytics and reporting, threads and tasks, and roles and permissions. It also includes Freddy AI Agent, with the first 500 sessions listed as included. Beyond that allowance, check the pricing page for session charges before you rely on AI deflection in your budget.
Pro is the tier to read closely if your enterprise accounts have contractual response times. It adds multilingual helpdesk support, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies and external collaborators, which lets a partner agency work inside specific tickets without a full seat. Enterprise, listed at $89 per agent a month billed annually, adds skill-based routing, a sandbox for testing automations, audit logs, allowed domains and IP whitelisting. Those are the controls a security review usually asks about.
Where Freshdesk falls short: it has no ongoing free plan, only a 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan. Routing and SLA policies are not part of Growth, so a team that depends on them should price Pro from the start rather than discover the gap during the migration. Current prices and inclusions are on the Freshdesk pricing page.
Intercom: support that starts inside the product
Intercom is the strongest option when customers ask most of their questions while they are using your app. Essential, listed at $19 per seat a month billed annually, includes Messenger live chat, a shared inbox with ticketing, prebuilt reports, a public help center and basic automation. Advanced, at $85 per seat a month billed annually, adds a workflow automation builder, multiple team inboxes, round robin assignment and 20 free Lite seats. Expert, at $132 per seat a month billed annually, adds SSO, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand Messenger and Help Center, and 50 free Lite seats. HIPAA support on Expert matters if your customers include healthcare organizations that share regulated data.
Where Intercom falls short: its pricing combines per-seat subscriptions with usage-based charges for AI outcomes and messaging. A team that expects heavy chat volume should model those charges before comparing the seat price to Zendesk. Intercom offers a 14-day trial with no credit card required, but no ongoing free plan is listed. The Intercom pricing page shows the current seat prices and the usage terms.
Help Scout: a simple shared inbox that grows with you
Help Scout is a sensible starting point for a very small support team that wants email-based support without a heavy admin setup. The free plan includes 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 docs site. Standard, at $25 per user a month, adds multiple inboxes, live chat and SMS, and multiple knowledge bases. Plus, at $45 per user a month, adds internal teams and group conversations by company, which helps when several people from one customer account write in together. Pro, at $75 per user a month, adds unlimited workflows, unlimited SLA policies, multiple routing types and SSO and SAML.
Where Help Scout falls short: its prices are per user, and the step from Standard to Plus is large for a team that needs only company grouping. AI Answers is billed per resolution. The trial includes three months of free AI Answers resolutions, so estimate your resolution volume for the period after that allowance ends. The Help Scout pricing page sets out the current tiers and trial terms.
Jira Service Management: internal requests, not customer chat
Jira Service Management fits a B2B company whose service queue is internal, such as IT requests, access provisioning or engineering work that must link to delivery tickets. Its value is the connection between a service request and the development backlog. Its limitation is the fit for customers. If your main job is answering paying customers through a help center and live chat, you will need additional tools alongside it. Pricing for Jira Service Management is on request through the product page.
Gorgias: support tied to orders
Gorgias is built for ecommerce brands. Its value is support conversations linked to orders, customers and storefront data. For a B2B SaaS team without a storefront, most of that context does not apply, so the tool is a poor fit. It belongs on this list only if your support includes order-style questions, such as subscriptions bought through a merchant platform. Pricing is on request from the Gorgias website.
How to choose
- Count the people who answer tickets. Start with agents who handle conversations, since they are the seats that drive the bill. Price stakeholders separately, using each vendor's collaborator or Lite seat terms.
- Count the inboxes and queues. The Help Scout free plan allows one inbox. If you run separate queues for billing, technical and enterprise accounts, check how each plan handles multiple inboxes or team inboxes before you assume a tier fits.
- Map your enterprise requirements. Write down whether you need SSO, audit logs, IP allow-lists, HIPAA support or contractual SLAs. Then find the lowest tier that includes all of them. That is usually the tier you should price.
- Price the usage, not only the seats. If a tool bills AI resolutions, outcomes or messaging on usage, estimate monthly volume and add that cost to the seat price before comparing vendors.
- Test the handoff to engineering. Create a ticket that needs an engineer, send it to your issue tracker and confirm that the context arrives intact.
For most B2B teams, the decision comes down to two questions. First, do customers reach you mainly by email or inside the product? Second, do your enterprise contracts require routing and SLA features on a particular tier? Email-first teams with a modest budget usually shortlist Freshdesk and Help Scout. Product-first teams usually shortlist Intercom. Teams with internal request queues add Jira Service Management, and teams whose support is tied to orders add Gorgias.
Migration checklist before you switch
Moving off Zendesk takes longer than buying the new tool, because the risk sits in history, rules and links. Use the checklist below to plan the move, and confirm each point with the vendor during the trial.
| Area | What to confirm before cutover |
|---|---|
| Ticket history | Can closed tickets, attachments, contacts, tags and timestamps import, and do the timestamps still support your reporting? |
| Account links | Do tickets link to company records in your CRM, and does the new tool keep that link through a sync or a custom field? |
| Routing and SLAs | Which queues, priority rules and SLA timers must be rebuilt, and which plan includes them? |
| Macros and automations | Export every trigger and macro, rebuild the most-used ones first and retire the rest. |
| Help center | Can articles, search, permissions and localized versions move, and can old article URLs redirect to the new location? |
| Integrations | Which links to chat tools, billing systems, product tools and the engineering tracker must work on day one? |
| Agent seats | How many agents need full seats, and how many need read-only or collaborator access? |
| Parallel run | Can the old desk stay open in read-only mode for an agreed period after the new desk goes live? |
A practical sequence works for most teams. First, export the ticket history and test an import with a few hundred records. Second, rebuild routing and SLA rules in a pilot queue for one product area, and let it handle real tickets. Third, move the help center and set redirects so that links in your documentation and emails keep working. Fourth, switch the enterprise queue last, once the pilot has run cleanly and the escalation path to engineering has been checked. Keep Zendesk read-only for the agreed period so that you can answer questions about older cases without losing context.
Related reading
For more on the tools that sit next to a support desk, read customer support tools and customer portal tools. For other replacement options, see the alternatives hub.
Frequently asked questions
Which Zendesk alternative has the lowest per-agent price?
Among paid per-agent plans, Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team are both listed at $19 per agent a month billed annually, and Intercom Essential is listed at $19 per seat a month billed annually. For a team of five that needs one inbox, the Help Scout free plan lists 5 users and 1 inbox at no software cost.
Does Freshdesk have a free plan?
No ongoing free plan is listed on the Freshdesk pricing page. Freshdesk offers a 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan, which lets you test the full feature set before you choose a paid tier.
Does Intercom charge extra for AI?
Yes. Intercom combines per-seat subscriptions with usage-based charges for AI outcomes and messaging. Estimate your expected conversation volume before you compare its seat price with Zendesk.
Can I move my Zendesk ticket history?
It depends on the vendor's import tools and on the data you need to keep. Check whether closed tickets, attachments, contacts, tags and timestamps import, and confirm that your reporting still works on the imported history. The migration checklist above lists the questions to ask.
Is Jira Service Management a customer support desk?
It is built for internal service requests, such as IT and engineering queues connected to Jira work. If your main need is answering paying customers, pair it with a help center and a chat tool, or choose a customer-facing desk such as Freshdesk, Intercom or Help Scout.
Why is there no price for Gorgias or Jira Service Management?
Neither vendor publishes a fixed per-agent price on the pages used for this comparison, so the table shows pricing on request. Use the links in the comparison table to ask for a quote based on your team size.
Which tools include single sign-on?
Help Scout lists SSO and SAML on the Pro plan at $75 per user a month. Intercom lists SSO on the Expert tier, and Freshdesk lists SSO-related controls such as audit logs and IP whitelisting on Enterprise. Check the current pricing pages before you commit, because included features can change between plan versions.