The Zendesk alternative with AI agents included.
Helply gives you the help desk you expect from Zendesk, with AI agents that investigate, resolve and act on every plan. No per-agent Copilot add-on, no surprise resolution bills.
Trusted by 1,400+ companies globally
Why teams look for a Zendesk alternative
Here is what five agents and 1,000 conversations a month cost on Zendesk, line by line, next to Helply.
- Suite Professional5 agents × $115$575
- Copilot add-on5 agents × $50$250
- AI agent resolutionsBilled past the plan allowanceExtra
Yearly list prices, 5 agents and 1,000 conversations a month, with AI resolving about half.
- Plus planUp to 5 agents, 5,000 AI credits$199
- Assist Agent and Support AgentIncluded in the plan$0
- 1,000 extra AI credits$40 per 1,000$40
Billed yearly, AI included. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS and SLAs start on Team at $499 a month.
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Per-agent pricing, then AI on top
Suite Professional is $115 per agent a month, and Copilot adds $50 per agent, billed yearly. Five agents come to $825 a month before any AI resolutions.
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AI that gets pricier as it works
Zendesk includes AI agents on every plan, then bills each automated resolution past your allowance. The better the AI does, the bigger the bill.
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A long list of add-ons
Copilot, quality assurance, workforce management and Contact Center are each sold separately, so the plan price is rarely the price you pay.
Why support teams switch to Helply
See the account behind every ticket
CRM, billing and product data from Stripe, HubSpot and your other tools sit beside every conversation, for your team and the AI.
One inbox for every channel
Email and live chat on every plan. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS, SLAs and round robin from Team, and Microsoft Teams from Pro.
AI agents included on every plan
The Support Agent investigates and resolves, and the Assist Agent drafts replies inside every ticket. No per-agent AI add-on.
Signals from every conversation
Background agents flag knowledge gaps from Team, and churn risk and feature requests from Pro, then alert your team or file the work.
CRM, billing and product data from Stripe, HubSpot and your other tools sit beside every conversation, for your team and the AI.
Email and live chat on every plan. Slack Connect, WhatsApp, SMS, SLAs and round robin from Team, and Microsoft Teams from Pro.
The Support Agent investigates and resolves, and the Assist Agent drafts replies inside every ticket. No per-agent AI add-on.
Background agents flag knowledge gaps from Team, and churn risk and feature requests from Pro, then alert your team or file the work.
Zendesk vs. Helply at a glance
List prices, billed yearly, as published by each company in November 2026.
| Helply | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Plans by team size, with AI credits included | $19 to $115 per agent a month, billed yearly; Enterprise by quote |
| AI for your team | Assist Agent included on every plan | Copilot add-on, $50 per agent |
| AI for customers | Support Agent included; work drawn from a shared monthly credit pool | AI agents on every plan; resolutions past the allowance billed |
| Entry price | $99 a month for up to 2 agents | $19 per agent a month (Support Team) |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 14 days of Suite Professional |
| Five agents, 1,000 conversations a month | $239 a month (Plus + 1,000 credits) | $825+ a month |
Price your own team
Compare Zendesk with Helply for your agents and volume.
Helply vs. Zendesk for your team
A credit is one unit of work the AI does for your team. Summarizing a thread uses 1, and drafting a reply uses 2. Investigating across your tools uses 6, and resolving a conversation end to end uses 10.
One conversation never uses more than 15 credits, however many steps it takes. Spam, notifications and auto-replies, handoffs to a person after an AI attempt, and testing in the Playground don’t use any. Credits are pooled across your whole 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.
Teams that left Zendesk for Helply
Moved fully off Zendesk to Helply.
“Two products, two knowledge bases, and every tool wanted to mash them into one. On top of that, Zendesk charged us for every person who just wanted to read a ticket.”
Jacqueline AntworthDirector of Customer Experience, Proposify
Replaced its Zendesk and GitHub setup with Helply.
“Helply forced us to run support properly. It resolves the deep technical tickets, keeps our docs honest, and remembers every fix, so the whole thing compounds.”
Switch from Zendesk without starting over
Bring your history, let the AI agents learn from it, then move your channels when you’re ready.
Available to every Helply agent, human and AI
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Import from Zendesk
Bring supported conversations, customers and help center articles into Helply. Your team keeps working while it runs.
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Put the AI to work
The Support Agent and Assist Agent learn from your own past answers and articles.
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Switch your channels
Point your email and chat at Helply; Slack Connect channels join on Team and up, which also includes a free migration.
Comparing Zendesk?
Is Helply a good Zendesk alternative for small teams?
Yes. Starter is $99 a month for up to 2 agents and Plus is $199 for up to 5, billed yearly, with the Assist Agent and Support Agent included. On Zendesk, five Suite Professional agents with Copilot list at $825 a month.
Does Helply have Zendesk features like SLAs, macros and a help center?
Yes. Helply is a complete help desk with a shared inbox, views, macros, email, chat, reporting and a help center on your own domain. CSAT starts on Plus; SLAs, escalations, Slack Connect, WhatsApp and SMS on Team; Microsoft Teams on Pro.
Can we bring our Zendesk tickets and Guide articles?
Yes. Helply imports supported tickets, customers, organizations and help center articles from Zendesk. Team plans and up include a free migration.
When is Zendesk the better choice?
Large contact centers that run heavily on Zendesk voice, workforce management and Marketplace apps may want to stay. Teams that want AI agents included in the price tend to switch.
Less than Zendesk for a 5‑agent team, with AI included.
Start a 14-day free trial, import your conversations, and see what AI agents can do with them.
Every plan includes the Assist Agent and Support Agent. 14-day free trial, no credit card. Book a demo →