Gorgias alternatives: support helpdesks for online stores, side by side
Short answer: The main Gorgias alternatives are Zendesk for growing support teams, Intercom for brands that want a strong AI agent, Re:amaze for Shopify stores that want per-seat pricing with AI included, Tidio for small stores that want a free plan, and Text by LiveChat for live chat on a budget. Gorgias charges by ticket volume, from $10 a month for 50 tickets as of October 2026. Most alternatives charge per agent instead, so the cheaper choice depends on how many tickets and agents you have.
You're trying to work out what a Gorgias plan will really cost once the AI fees are added on top of the ticket count.
I'm Ranjit, and I run Blur Studio: 15+ years building software, 120 apps taken live, and clients who have gone on to raise $10M+. I build AI systems and processes that help businesses do a lot more with a lot less time. I also work differently from most of what else is out there, more on that further down this page. Say hello.
Why do people look for a Gorgias alternative?
Gorgias prices its helpdesk by the number of tickets each month. A ticket is one customer conversation. Gorgias says its helpdesk is "never priced per agent." Here are the plans from its Shopify App Store listing.
| Gorgias plan | Monthly price | Yearly price | Tickets a month | Extra tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $10 | Not listed | 50 | $0.40 each |
| Basic | $60 | $600 | 300 | $40 per 100 |
| Pro | $360 | $3,600 | 2,000 | $36 per 100 |
| Advanced | $900 | $9,000 | 5,000 | $36 per 100 |
Starter allows 3 agents. Basic has unlimited agents, and Pro and Advanced allow up to 500.
So the reasons stores compare are usually about cost and fit.
- Busy months cost more: Your bill rises with your ticket count. A sale or a shipping delay can push you into overage fees.
- AI is billed on top: Gorgias says its AI Agent is on every plan and you "pay only when it resolves a conversation." That fee comes on top of the ticket plan.
- Phone and texts are extra: Gorgias sells voice and SMS as add-ons that scale with your call and text volume.
- Small teams with many tickets: A team of 2 or 3 agents that handles a lot of tickets may pay less with a per-agent helpdesk.
Gorgias works well for stores with many agents and steady volume, since extra agents add no cost.
What are the best Gorgias alternatives?
Blur Studio (best value)
A ready-built, well-tested core with a different pricing model: no per-seat fees, and it covers almost all the features you'd actually need, usually working out to the best value for money. On top of that, Blur Studio builds owned customizations, meaning you can ask for it to be modified to your exact specifications, and you own those modifications outright. Learn more over a quick call with me, Ranjit.
- Best for: Businesses that need software that works without barriers, no unnecessary fees and options to customize it to their needs.
Zendesk
Zendesk is a general helpdesk for support teams of any type. Support Team costs $19 per agent a month billed yearly, or $25 monthly. Suite Team costs $55 yearly or $69 monthly. Suite Professional costs $115 yearly or $149 monthly. Suite Team includes 5 automated resolutions per agent each month. Extra ones cost $1.50 each on a commitment, or $2.00 pay as you go.
- Best for: Stores whose support team is growing and needs strong reporting.
Intercom
Intercom combines a helpdesk with its Fin AI Agent. Essential is listed at $19 per seat a month, which Intercom marks as a 35% discount for new customers from $29. Advanced costs $85 per seat and Expert costs $132. Fin costs from $0.99 per outcome, and Intercom says Fin needs no seats.
- Best for: Brands that want an AI agent to answer most chats and emails.
Re:amaze
Re:amaze is a helpdesk with chat, email, social and FAQ pages. Basic costs $26 per team member a month billed yearly, or $29 monthly. Pro costs $44 yearly or $49 monthly and adds SMS and voice channels. Plus costs $62 yearly or $69 monthly. Each plan includes AI resolutions per user each month, from 5 on Basic to 20 on Plus. Extra resolutions cost $0.85 each. Re:amaze also lists a Shopify integration.
- Best for: Shopify stores with a small team that want AI built in.
Tidio
Tidio is a live chat tool with an AI agent called Lyro. Its free plan includes 10 seats and 50 billable conversations a month. Paid plans start from $24.17 a month for Starter, with 100 conversations. Growth starts from $49.17 a month. Lyro on its own starts from $32.50 a month for 50 conversations.
- Best for: Small stores that mostly need website chat and a simple AI agent.
Text by LiveChat
Text is a new product from the team behind LiveChat. LiveChat now sells Text plans to new customers, and current LiveChat customers keep their plan and price. Essential costs $19 per user a month billed yearly, or $25 monthly. It includes live chat, ticketing, Shopify selling and 10 AI resolutions a month. Growth costs $79 yearly or $99 monthly, with 200 AI resolutions. Extra AI resolutions cost $49.50 per 50.
- Best for: Teams that want fast live chat with a shared inbox.
How do Gorgias alternatives compare?
| Helpdesk | How you pay | Entry price | Free plan | AI agent cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorgias | Per ticket | $10 a month for 50 tickets | No, 7-day trial | Per resolution, on top |
| Zendesk | Per agent | $19 a month, yearly | No, 14-day trial | 5 per agent on Suite, then $1.50 to $2.00 |
| Intercom | Per seat | $19 with new-customer offer | No, free trial | From $0.99 per outcome |
| Re:amaze | Per team member | $26 a month, yearly | No, 14-day trial | 5 to 20 per user, then $0.85 |
| Tidio | Per plan | From $24.17 a month | Yes, 50 conversations | Lyro from $32.50 a month |
| Text by LiveChat | Per user | $19 a month, yearly | No, 14-day trial | 10 or 200 included, then $49.50 per 50 |
What does this look like for a real store?
Say your store has 3 agents and gets 1,500 tickets a month. On Gorgias, Pro covers 2,000 tickets for $360 a month. Basic would cost $60 plus $480 in extra tickets. On Zendesk Suite Team, 3 agents cost $165 a month at the yearly price. On Re:amaze Pro, 3 team members cost $132 a month at the yearly price. These figures leave out AI fees, which depend on how many chats the AI closes.
Now say you have 15 agents. Gorgias stays at $360 a month, while 15 Zendesk Suite Team seats cost $825. So run the numbers with your own ticket count and team size.
What is a good Tidio alternative?
Stores often outgrow Tidio when chat turns into email, returns and social messages. Re:amaze and Gorgias both handle chat, email and social in one inbox. If you want a stronger AI agent, Intercom's Fin is priced per outcome. If you only need chat, Text by LiveChat Essential costs $19 per user a month billed yearly.
What is a good LiveChat alternative?
Current LiveChat customers keep their plans, so you do not have to move. If you want more than chat, Re:amaze adds email inboxes, social channels and FAQ pages in one plan. Tidio is the lowest-cost pick for very small teams, since its free plan includes 50 conversations a month.
What is a good Intercom alternative?
Intercom's Advanced and Expert seats cost $85 and $132 a month. Teams that want lower seat prices often compare Zendesk Suite Team at $55 billed yearly, or Re:amaze Pro at $44 billed yearly. Stores with a large team may pay less on Gorgias, since its plans do not charge per agent.
How should you test an AI support agent?
Most of these tools now sell AI that answers customers. Test it before you trust it.
- Feed it your real policies: Load your shipping, returns and sizing pages first. The AI can only answer from what you give it.
- Read 50 conversations: Check every answer for wrong order details, made-up policies or a bad tone.
- Set a clear handoff: Make sure the AI passes refunds, angry customers and order changes to a person.
- Track the cost per answer: Compare the AI fee with what a human reply costs your team.
My guide to the AI customer service agent goes deeper on setup.
When does a custom support tool make sense?
For most stores, one of the helpdesks above is the right buy. Pick one, connect it to your store and train its AI on your policies. A custom tool makes sense in a few cases.
- Your data sits in many systems: For example, orders in Shopify, stock in a warehouse system and returns in another app. A custom AI agent can check all three before it answers.
- Your rules are your own: Some brands offer swaps, store credit or warranty steps that a standard AI agent cannot follow well.
- Your volume is high: Per-resolution fees add up at tens of thousands of chats a month. An agent you own may cost less over time.
- You want one view of each customer: Support, orders and reviews can live on one screen for your team.
A custom agent can also work inside the helpdesk you already use. It answers the questions it can and leaves the rest for your team. My guide to AI for e-commerce stores shows other places AI helps.
How does Blur Studio build AI support for stores?
I start by reading a sample of your real tickets. Which questions come up most? Which ones need data from your store, your warehouse or your carrier? If a ready-made helpdesk fits, I will tell you which one and how to set up its AI. If your questions need data from several systems, I build an AI agent connected to them. It can look up orders, start returns and pass hard cases to your team. You keep the code and the accounts, and I can keep tuning the agent after launch.
Need something completely custom?
Everything above is a path to get it running quick and cheap. But sometimes the honest answer is that none of those quite fit, and what you actually need is something custom that you own, built uniquely for your business from the ground up, with AI thoughtfully designed into the parts of it that your processes actually benefit from. An asset that grows in value, not a generic, one-size-fits-all boilerplate that's an expense with a lock-in. This is a complete bespoke build, and it's something I do very well. Get in touch to know more.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest Gorgias alternative?
Tidio has a free plan with 50 conversations a month, as of October 2026. Among paid helpdesks, Zendesk Support Team and Text by LiveChat Essential both cost $19 per agent a month billed yearly. The cheapest choice depends on your ticket count and team size.
Is Gorgias cheaper than Zendesk?
It depends on your team. Gorgias charges by ticket and does not charge per agent, so a large team with steady volume can pay less. A small team with many tickets often pays less on Zendesk, which costs from $19 per agent a month billed yearly as of October 2026.
Does Gorgias charge for AI?
Yes, it does. Gorgias says its AI Agent is on every plan and you pay when it resolves a conversation. That fee is on top of your ticket plan.
Which Gorgias alternative works with Shopify?
Re:amaze lists a Shopify integration on its pricing page, and Text by LiveChat includes Shopify selling on its Essential plan. Check each vendor's app listing for what the link does before you switch.
Can I move my ticket history from Gorgias?
Ask your new helpdesk whether it imports Gorgias tickets and how far back. Keep your Gorgias account open until the import is done and checked.
Does Gorgias really charge twice for the same resolved ticket?
Yes, and it catches a lot of stores by surprise. A ticket the AI resolves counts against both your ticket-plan limit and your AI resolution limit, billed separately. Gorgias' AI Agent runs about $0.90 to $1.00 per resolution on top of the ticket plan, so a $360 Pro plan running at 50% automation can land closer to $960 a month once both fees are added up. Model this before you buy, not after your first invoice.
What is the real difference between Gorgias' per-ticket pricing and Zendesk's per-agent pricing?
Per-ticket pricing suits a small team that handles a high volume of simple questions, since you are not paying for extra seats. Per-agent pricing suits a larger team with fewer tickets each, since your bill does not spike with a busy sales period. Run your actual ticket count and team size through both models before deciding.
Roughly what does this cost?
As a broad reference, fixes and finishes start at around $1,500, and new builds start higher, always a fixed price agreed in writing before I start, never an hourly rate. My AI app cost guide explains what actually drives a quote up or down.
Is my project too small for this?
No. Most of the owners I work with have no tech team at all, that is the whole point. If the smarter move is a cheap software subscription instead of custom software, I will tell you that on the first call, even though it means I do not get paid.