Zendesk Pricing Tiers & Costs
A complete overview of Zendesk pricing tiers, additional costs, value for money, and how to pick the right plan for you. Plus, alternatives to consider and a side-by-side pricing comparison.
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Zendesk is a help desk software with various subscription-based pricing tiers and plans. IT leaders use Zendesk to manage customer support tickets, provide self-service options, and integrate multiple communication channels. Zendesk offers flexible pricing options to suit different business sizes and needs, standing out among competitors. This guide covers all aspects of Zendesk pricing, plans, and costs to help you make an informed purchase decision with confidence.
How Much Does Zendesk Cost?
Zendesk is a help desk software offering various subscription-based pricing tiers and plans. IT leaders use Zendesk to manage customer support tickets, provide self-service options, and integrate multiple communication channels. Zendesk's flexible pricing caters to different business sizes and needs, making it a standout choice among competitors. This guide covers all aspects of Zendesk pricing, plans, and costs to help you make an informed purchase decision with confidence.
Zendesk Plans & Pricing Tiers
Here's an overview of the available Zendesk plans:
| Plan Type | Price | What’s Included? |
|---|---|---|
| Build Your Own Plan | From $19/month | Ticketing, live chat and messaging, help center, voice calls, automation, and AI agents. |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $55/user/month | Ticketing system, multi-channel messaging, help center, automation, AI agents, prebuilt analytics dashboards, predefined responses, custom business rules, online support from the Zendesk team, and digital onboarding and adoption resources. |
| Zendesk Suite Growth | $89/user/month | Everything in the Team plan, plus multiple ticket forms, light agents, service level agreements (SLA), customer satisfaction ratings (CSAT), multilingual support and content, self-service customer portal, and business hours. |
| Zendesk Suite Professional | $115/user/month | Everything in the Growth plan, plus custom and live analytics, side conversations, skills-based routing, integrated community forums, data location options, HIPAA enabled, and access to Sunshine Conversations. |
| Zendesk Suite Enterprise Plus | Upon request | Everything in the Professional plan, plus sandbox, AI-powered content cues, content blocks, custom agent roles, and dynamic, contextual workspaces. |
Let’s break down the available Zendesk plans a bit further:
Zendesk Build Your Own Plan
Smaller teams seeking a foundational customer support system can opt for a ‘build your own’ basic plan with Zendesk. This option includes essential features like a ticketing system, live chat and messaging, voice calls, help center, and basic automation and AI agents. Depending on your business needs, you might find that a pre-built paid plan offers better value.
Zendesk Suite Team Plan
The Zendesk Suite Team Plan is perfect for small businesses and startups seeking a basic customer support system. It includes omnichannel (email, chat, voice, and social) messaging, custom business triggers and automations, and online support from the Zendesk support team. This plan is also eligible for the workforce management and quality assurance add-ons.
Zendesk Suite Growth Plan
The Zendesk Suite Growth Plan is well-suited to growing organizations that need features like multiple ticket forms and service level agreement (SLA) management. It also allows users to track customer satisfaction ratings and enables teams to create multilingual support content in self-service end-user portals.
Zendesk Suite Professional Plan
The Zendesk Suite Professional Plan is ideal for larger businesses looking for more advanced features like internal communication tools and skills-based routing. It can also be set up to be HIPAA compliant, and comes with access to Sunshine Conversations, a tool for building conversational automated responses. This plan is also eligible for the advanced AI add-on.
Zendesk Suite Enterprise Plan
The Zendesk Suite Enterprise Plan is designed for large businesses that need additional customization and advanced tools. It comes with a sandbox environment where your team can test-run new automations before launching them, and allows for custom agent roles. It’s also eligible for the advanced data privacy and protection add-on.
Zendesk Pricing vs. Competitors
Zendesk is a premium-priced help desk software when compared to the pricing plans offered by competitors. That said, it does offer multiple pricing tiers ranging from $19 per month up to $115 per agent, per month, giving decent flexibility for users to select a plan that meets their needs and their budget.
Zendesk suite plans do provide a broad array of features and functionality compared to other help desk solutions. Even if it is pricier than some other options, users will generally get a good value for their money.
Comparison Chart: Zendesk vs. Alternatives
Wondering how Zendesk pricing compares to other help desk software? Here’s a comparison chart that breaks down the costs of other help desk software side-by-side:
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| monday Service | From $26/seat/month (3 seat minimum) | Website |
| Salesforce Service Cloud | From $25/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Freshservice | From $19/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| LiveAgent | From $9/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| SuperOps | From $59/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| NinjaOne | From $20/user/month (billed annually) + $25 base fee per month | Website |
| Guru | From $10/user/month | Website |
| Zoho Desk | From $7/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Syncro | From $129/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Issuetrak | From $26/agent/month | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareAlternatives to Zendesk
Zendesk is a solid help desk software, but there are plenty of other options out there. Depending on your use case, budget, team size, and other factors, you might consider shopping around for a solution that’s better suited to your needs. If you’re looking for alternative help desk software options to Zendesk, here are a few worth checking out:
- Zoho Desk: Offers a comprehensive suite of features at a lower price point, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
- Freshdesk: Known for its user-friendly interface and robust automation capabilities, it also offers a free plan for small teams.
- Help Scout: Focuses on authentic customer communication and provides a simple, cost-effective solution for growing businesses.
- HubSpot Service Hub: Integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM, offering a powerful all-in-one customer service solution.
- Intercom: Excels in building authentic relationships with customers through multi-channel support and in-depth knowledge base capabilities.
- Gorgias: Tailored for e-commerce businesses, it integrates well with platforms like Shopify and offers unique features like social media sentiment analysis.
How to Choose the Right Zendesk Plan
When choosing a Zendesk plan, it's important to weigh the added value and potential drawbacks of each option. Long lists of features can be overwhelming and confusing, so consider these key factors as you evaluate your choices:
Zendesk Scalability and Team Size
You’ll want to assess whether Zendesk’s pricing plans will scale with your team. Consider whether limitations on team members, ticket numbers, or access permissions will be in conflict with your team’s growth trajectory. Since Zendesk does offer multiple plans with increasing levels of complexity and customization, it’s generally a pretty scalable solution.
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Industry-Specific Zendesk Features
Some teams in niche industries might be looking for specific features to best suit the needs of their support professionals. Consider whether your team needs any industry-specific tools in your help desk. Zendesk offers tailored features for various industries, such as retail, financial services, and healthcare.
For instance, retail teams can use AI agents to handle common inquiries, reducing operational costs and saving agents' time. Financial services benefit from compliance features that ensure regulatory adherence. These advanced features, like the Advanced AI add-on, provide intelligent triage and sentiment analysis.
Zendesk Integration Capabilities
Integration with your existing tech stack is essential, so be sure to consider whether Zendesk will connect with your other apps and tools. Zendesk integrates natively with Salesforce, Slack, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Google Analytics, Shopify, Mailchimp, WordPress, HubSpot, Zoom, and dozens of other tools. It also integrates with the rest of the Zendesk product suite, including Chat, Talk, Explore, Guide, Gather, Sunshine, and Sell.
For custom integrations, Zendesk provides a robust API that allows developers to create tailored solutions. Additionally, Zendesk supports Zapier integration, enabling connections with thousands of other applications without coding.
Zendesk Security Safeguards
When choosing a Zendesk plan, it's important to consider the security features included to protect your data. Zendesk offers various security measures across its plans. All plans benefit from encryption in transit and at rest, SSO and 2FA authentication, agent device management, and IP restrictions.
The Professional plan is enabled for HIPAA compliance, and the Enterprise plan takes security to another level with add-ons for access logs, advanced encryption, advanced data retention policies, and advanced redaction.
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Zendesk Pricing FAQs
Here are answers to a few common questions about Zendesk pricing:
What additional costs should I anticipate with Zendesk?
In addition to the base subscription costs, Zendesk offers several paid add-ons to expand the help desk’s functionality. Some add-ons are only available at certain pricing tiers. Here are some of the add-ons you might opt in to at an additional cost:
- Workforce Management: Uses AI to optimize agent scheduling through real-time reporting on team capacities and performance. Available for the Team and higher plans.
- Quality Assurance: Uses AI to detect issues, knowledge gaps, and coaching opportunities in customer interactions across all agents. Helps teams proactively improve the customer experience and customer engagement. Available for the Team and higher plans.
- Advanced AI: Identifies common customer issues, routes tickets, and provides actionable recommendations to improve workflows, develop knowledge base content, and more. Available for Professional and Enterprise plans.
Advanced Data Privacy and Protection: Ensures the secure management of data, privacy, and risks with easy-to-implement security controls. Available for Professional and Enterprise plans.
Are there any discounts or promotions available for Zendesk?
Zendesk offers discounts for annual subscriptions. By opting for an annual plan, you can save compared to the monthly subscription rate. For instance, the Zendesk Suite Team plan costs $55 per agent per month when billed annually, compared to $69 when billed monthly. Similar discounts apply to other plans.
How often does Zendesk change its pricing structure?
Zendesk does not frequently change its pricing structure. The most recent change occurred on July 12, 2023, which resulted in an average 16% increase in pricing overall, though specific increases varied by plan.
Prior to this, prices had remained largely unchanged since the company’s launch in 2007. The recent adjustments are part of an ongoing effort to align pricing with the value provided to customers.
Can existing customers lock in their current pricing?
Existing customers on annual plans can lock in their current pricing until the end of their contract term. Upon renewal, they will be subject to the new pricing. Customers on monthly plans will transition to the new pricing at their next billing cycle.
What payment options are available for Zendesk subscriptions?
Zendesk subscriptions can be paid monthly or annually. Annual payments offer a discount compared to monthly payments. Payments can typically be made via major credit cards, and some plans may offer invoicing options.
How does Zendesk handle pricing for additional agents added mid-cycle?
When additional agents are added to a Zendesk plan mid-cycle, the cost is typically prorated based on the remaining time in the billing cycle. This ensures that customers only pay for the time the additional agents are active within the cycle.
Is Zendesk Good Value?
In my opinion, Zendesk offers substantial value for businesses seeking a reliable help desk solution. The pricing is relatively high, but warranted given the extensive functionality and support options available. The interface is intuitive, making onboarding straightforward even for non-technical users.
Zendesk's wide range of integrations with other software like Salesforce and Slack enhances its utility across various environments. Industries such as e-commerce, tech startups, and customer service-centric businesses will find Zendesk particularly beneficial due to its scalability and customization options.Verdict: Zendesk is a valuable investment for businesses that prioritize efficient customer support and seamless integration with other tools.
Want to learn more about Zendesk? Check out their site for additional information.
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