Zendesk prices each agent, then adds Copilot and resolution charges beyond an allowance. Helply’s Plus plan covers up to 5 human agents, the Assist Agent, and 5,000 AI credits for $199 a month billed yearly. A drafted reply uses 2 credits, and an end-to-end resolution uses 10.
Zendesk charges $25 to $149 per agent a month ($19 to $115 billed yearly), with Suite Enterprise by quote. Copilot is an add-on for Suite Professional and up, at $50 per agent a month on yearly billing. Zendesk includes AI agents on every plan and bills automated resolutions beyond an included allowance.
Helply vs. Zendesk: the quick verdict
Zendesk fits high-volume contact centers that can budget for per-agent licenses plus Copilot and lean on its voice tools and 1,800+ Marketplace apps. Helply fits B2B software teams, ecommerce brands, and marketplaces whose ticket volume grows faster than their hiring. Helply and Zendesk are both complete help desks, and both sell AI agents that take action in other systems.
- Zendesk: $149 per agent a month on Suite Professional ($115 billed yearly), plus $50 per agent a month for Copilot, billed yearly.
- Zendesk AI agents: on every plan, with overage charges for resolutions past the included allowance.
- Helply: Starter costs $99 a month billed yearly for up to 2 agents. Plus is $199 a month, and that price covers up to 5 agents plus 5,000 AI credits.
- The Support Agent, which can resolve tickets, and the Assist Agent, which drafts replies, come with every Helply plan. Team includes 2 Background Agents, and Pro and Growth include the full set.
- Helply Plus is $199 a month billed yearly for up to 5 agents and 5,000 AI credits, or $239 with 1,000 extra credits for about 1,000 conversations a month. Five Zendesk Suite Professional agents with Copilot cost $825 a month billed yearly, before extra resolutions. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS and SLAs start on Team at $499 a month.
Helply vs. Zendesk for your team
AI credits move with your conversations: from 1 per conversation (a summary or triage only) up to 15, the most one conversation can use. Resolving about half end to end is roughly 6.
Helply Plus$239
$199 plan, up to 5 human agents + 1,000 top-up credits ($40), billed annually (15% off)Top-ups at $40 per 1,000 credits, up to 15,000 a month. Assist and Support Agents includedZendesk$825+
$825 for 5 seats ($115 seat + $50 Copilot)Plus resolutions beyond the included allowance$586 a month less on Helply (71% less), $7,032 a year, before Zendesk’s AI charges
Monthly estimates at list price. Helply prices are from our pricing page: 15% less with annual billing, with credit top-ups at $40 per 1,000; competitor prices are the ones cited on this page, billed yearly where they offer it. Taxes, add-ons and discounts aren't included.
Helply vs. Zendesk compared: pricing, AI agents, Copilot, and voice
Helply and Zendesk both cover ticketing, messaging, and AI agents. They differ on how each vendor prices agents and how each charges for AI.
| Capability | Helply | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | A complete help desk built around AI agents; your team can take over any conversation | A help desk priced per agent; AI agents on every plan, Copilot as a paid add-on |
| Pricing | Starter: $99 a month billed yearly for up to 2 agents; Plus: $199 for up to 5 agents and 5,000 AI credits | $25 to $149 per agent a month ($19 to $115 billed yearly); Suite Enterprise + Copilot by quote |
| Free trial | 14 days free, no credit card required | 14 days, no credit card; no free tier |
| AI agents | Support and Assist Agents on every plan; 2 Background Agents on Team and the full set from Pro; their work uses credits | AI agents on every plan take action across systems; Zendesk bills automated resolutions beyond an allowance |
| Agent assist | Assist Agent included on every plan | Copilot add-on for Suite Professional and up, $50 per agent a month billed yearly |
| Customer context | CRM data, Stripe or Chargebee billing, and product data from connected tools, beside the full support history | Customer profile and interaction history in the ticket; more data through custom objects and 1,800+ Marketplace apps |
| Channels | Email, chat, and Slack notifications on every plan; Slack Connect, SMS, WhatsApp, and Discord from Team; Microsoft Teams from Pro; Telegram also supported | Email, messaging, live chat, and social on Suite plans |
| Phone and voice | Supported call information, transcripts, and follow-up in the customer’s support history | Voice on Suite plans, with numbers and minutes billed by usage; Contact Center add-on at $83 per agent a month, billed yearly, plus usage |
| Slack | Manage customer support conversations in Slack Connect channels (Team plan and up) | Slack DMs as a channel, 1:1 only, no threads; @zendesk opens tickets from Slack Connect channels |
| Background work | Background Agents flag churn risk, feature requests, upgrade intent, and knowledge gaps (2 agents on Team, all on Pro and up) | Prebuilt dashboards on every plan; triage through Copilot; QA and WFM as add-ons |
| Team access | Plans priced by human agents, the people who reply: up to 2 on Starter, 5 on Plus, 10 on Team, 25 on Pro, 50 on Growth | A paid license per agent; Suite Professional comes with up to 100 light agents, more as an add-on |
| Best for | Growing B2B and B2C teams that want AI agents on repetitive work and AI credits included in every plan | High-volume contact centers that run on Zendesk workflows, voice, and Marketplace apps |
How Helply runs support differently from Zendesk
Agent assist without a per-agent add-on
The Assist Agent drafts replies beside your team on every plan, while Zendesk charges $50 per agent a month for Copilot, billed yearly. Helply’s Support Agent investigates a billing-configuration bug or a “where’s my order?” question across your connected tools. It can resolve the ticket, or escalate it with the work already done.
One AI credit pool for all your AI work
Every Helply plan includes a monthly pool of AI credits that all its AI agents share, with usage alerts and limits. Plans are priced by human agents, the people on your team who reply to customers: up to 5 on Plus and 10 on Team. Zendesk licenses each agent and bills automated resolutions past an included allowance.
Find churn risk and upgrade intent in your support queue
On Pro and up, Helply’s Background Agents start on their own when the right signals appear. The Churn Agent flags churn risk early, the Revenue Agent spots upgrade intent, and the Knowledge Agent finds gaps in your docs. If something needs attention, they can alert teammates, update systems, create work, or trigger workflows.
Zendesk pricing vs. Helply pricing
Zendesk costs $25 to $149 per agent a month ($19 to $115 billed yearly), plus Copilot and AI resolutions beyond an allowance. Helply’s Starter plan is $99 a month billed yearly for up to 2 agents. The Plus, Team, Pro, and Growth plans cost $199, $499, $999, and $1,999 a month for 5, 10, 25, and 50 agents, with AI credits included.
- Support Team: $25 a month per agent ($19 billed yearly)
- Suite Team: $69 a month per agent ($55 billed yearly)
- Suite Professional: $149 a month per agent ($115 billed yearly)
- Suite Enterprise + Copilot: price by quote from Zendesk Sales
- Zendesk Copilot add-on (Suite Professional and up): $50 per agent a month, billed yearly
- AI agents: on every plan, billed per automated resolution beyond an included allowance. Since May 18, 2026, new accounts get resolution tiers, and Zendesk Sales sets their rates. Zendesk’s pricing page lists $1.50 per committed resolution and $2.00 pay-as-you-go.
- Included automated resolutions: 10 per agent a month on Suite Professional and 5 on Support Team and Suite Team, then $1.50 per committed resolution or $2.00 pay-as-you-go.
- Contact Center add-on: $83 per agent a month, billed yearly, plus usage; it needs a Suite plan and a Premier plan
- Workforce Engagement Bundle (QA and WFM): $50 per agent a month, billed yearly
| Cost line | Helply | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Plan compared | Plus: up to 5 agents and 5,000 AI credits (Starter covers up to 2 agents) | Suite Professional with Copilot, the entry Suite plan for Copilot |
| Price per agent a month | Up to 5 agents included; Team and up add agents at $49 a month each | $115 billed yearly, plus $50 for Copilot |
| Five human agents | Included | $575 a month |
| Agent assist | Assist Agent included | Copilot: $250 a month for five agents |
| AI billing | Credits by effort: drafting a reply costs 2, investigating 6, and resolving a conversation end to end 10 | Per automated resolution, drawn first from an included allowance |
| Doesn’t use credits or allowance | Spam, auto-replies, notifications, Playground tests, the help desk with AI off, and a teammate stepping in after an AI attempt | Assisted escalations and contained resolutions |
| Usage limits | Usage alerts warn you first; on Plus, AI stops at the limit until you top up or change plans | Zendesk bills each automated resolution beyond the plan allowance |
| Who counts as an agent | People on your team who reply to customers; Plus covers up to 5 | Each agent who updates tickets; up to 100 light agents, who view and comment, come with Suite Professional |
| Monthly total | $239 billed yearly: Plus at $199 and 1,000 extra credits ($40) for about 1,000 conversations | $825 billed yearly, before resolutions beyond the allowance |
Helply Plus is $199 a month billed yearly for up to 5 agents and 5,000 AI credits, or $239 with 1,000 extra credits for about 1,000 conversations a month. Five Zendesk Suite Professional agents with Copilot cost $825 a month billed yearly at list price, before resolutions beyond the allowance. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS and SLAs start on Team at $499 a month.
Each new Zendesk agent needs a paid license, plus $50 a month billed yearly if your team runs Copilot. Helply Plus covers up to 5 agents, and Team, Pro and Growth add agents at $49 a month each. Usage alerts warn your team before it reaches the credit limit.
Teams that switched
“The two-knowledge-base problem that broke every other tool just worked, it routed to the right product on its own. And I set it up myself, no engineering ticket.”
- Zendesk replaced across two products and two knowledge bases
- 52% of conversations resolved end-to-end
- 34% drop in ticket volume
“It doesn’t deflect technical questions, it resolves them, and it finally remembers how. We describe a workflow in plain English and it becomes a Skill. Living docs showed us exactly where our documentation was lying to customers, and fixed it.”
- Zendesk + GitHub setup replaced with one platform
- 79% of technical questions resolved end-to-end
- 3x faster responses
Switching from Zendesk
Skip the big-bang migration. Run Helply on part of your queue while the rest stays on Zendesk. Cut over once AI resolution quality and your workflows match what you need.
- Start a 14-day free trial (no card) and point Helply at a slice of your Zendesk queue.
- Connect Zendesk, then pick which supported customer, conversation, and knowledge data comes across.
- Validate your Helply workspace, connect your channels, and switch.
- Tickets and conversation history
- Help center articles
- Customer records
Helply or Zendesk: which should you choose?
- Your workflows depend on some of the 1,800+ apps in the Zendesk Marketplace.
- You run a high-volume contact center and want Zendesk Contact Center at $83 per agent a month, billed yearly, plus usage.
- You’re a qualifying startup with up to 50 agents: Zendesk can be free for 6 months or longer.
- Your ticket volume is outpacing your hiring plan.
- You want one plan price for agents and AI. Plus covers up to 5 agents and 5,000 AI credits for $199 a month billed yearly.
- You want Helply’s Assist Agent on every plan instead of paying $50 per agent a month for Copilot, billed yearly.
- You want Background Agents to flag churn risk, spot upgrade intent, group feature requests, and find knowledge gaps. Pro and up include all of them.
Frequently asked questions
How is Helply different from Zendesk?
Helply builds its help desk around AI agents, and every plan includes the Support and Assist Agents. Zendesk charges per agent, sells Copilot as an add-on, and bills AI resolutions past an allowance.
Can Helply replace Zendesk?
Yes. Helply includes ticketing, a knowledge base, workflows, reporting, and the Support and Assist Agents. The Team plan adds SLAs and Background Agents.
How much does Zendesk cost?
Zendesk costs $25 to $149 per agent monthly ($19 to $115 billed yearly). Copilot costs $50 more per agent, billed yearly, from Suite Professional up.
Why is Zendesk so expensive?
Zendesk prices by the agent seat, so your bill rises with each agent. It charges extra for Copilot and for AI resolutions past an allowance.
Is there a free version of Zendesk?
Zendesk has no free tier. It offers a 14-day free trial, and qualifying startups can get it free for 6 months or longer.
How does Zendesk charge for AI agents?
Zendesk includes AI agents on every plan and bills automated resolutions beyond an allowance. Since May 18, 2026, Zendesk Sales sets resolution-tier rates.
What are the different types of Zendesk agents?
Zendesk has paid agents, who update tickets, and light agents, who view tickets and add private comments. Suite Professional bundles up to 100 light agents.
How does Helply’s pricing work?
Helply plans start at $99 a month billed yearly (Starter, up to 2 human agents and 2,500 AI credits). Plus is $199 for up to 5 agents, Team $499 for 10, Pro $999 for 25 and Growth $1,999 for 50. Monthly billing costs about 17% more.
Does Helply charge per agent like Zendesk?
Helply prices plans by human agents, the people on your team who reply to customers. Each plan covers a set number: up to 2 on Starter, 5 on Plus, 10 on Team, 25 on Pro and 50 on Growth. Team, Pro and Growth add agents at $49 a month each.
Is Helply cheaper than Zendesk for a five-person team?
Against Zendesk Suite Professional with Copilot, yes. Five agents there cost $825 a month billed yearly, before extra resolutions; Helply Plus is $199 a month billed yearly, or $239 with 1,000 extra credits. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS and SLAs start on Team at $499 a month. Zendesk Support Team and Suite Team cost less per agent: $19 and $55 billed yearly.
Can I run Helply alongside Zendesk before switching?
Yes. Run Helply on part of your Zendesk queue during the 14-day trial, then bring your history across and cut over.
Does Helply support Slack Connect and Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Slack Connect channels, WhatsApp, Discord, and SMS start on Team, and Microsoft Teams starts on Pro. Helply also covers email, chat, Telegram, and phone.
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