MissiveZendeskMissive vs Zendesk

Missive vs Zendesk: team inbox and chat or help desk suite

A team inbox and chat against a help desk suite: Missive is $155 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Missive if you want the team's chat and the customer's email in the same window. Pick Zendesk if your support is ticket-first and email-heavy, with SLAs and a queue to manage. For five people, Missive is $155 a month cheaper than Zendesk ($120 a month on Missive against $275 on Zendesk), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $75 under Missive. Missive and Zendesk both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Missive has WhatsApp. Neither Missive nor Zendesk includes Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Missive and Zendesk sell here at one price.

At a glanceMissiveMissiveZendeskZendesk
Built aroundShared email with team chat · one app for bothTickets and a queue · messaging came later
Entry plan$14/user/mo · Starter: up to 5 users$19/agent/mo · Support Team: email and tickets
Chat in the price$14/user/mo · live chat widget on every plan$55/agent/mo · Suite Team
AI agentYour own key or credits · no per-conversation meterPer automated resolution · rate quoted, not printed
Copilot for agentsIncluded · with your AI key$50/agent/mo
Free planNone · 30-day trialNone · 14-day trial

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    MissiveMissive

    As an email or a message in a shared conversation that teammates chat about in the same thread. Zendesk raises a ticket where Missive keeps a conversation.

    ZendeskZendesk

    As a ticket. Every channel, chat included, becomes a ticket with a status, a priority and an SLA clock. Missive has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    MissiveMissive

    $14 buys the inbox for up to five users on Starter; rules and integrations start on Productive at $24. $120 for five people, against $275 on Zendesk.

    ZendeskZendesk

    $19 buys email and tickets. Live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and AI agents start at Suite Team, $55. $275 for five people, against $120 on Missive.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    MissiveMissive

    AI runs on your own OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini key, or on Missive credits; nothing is metered per conversation. Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats instead.

    ZendeskZendesk

    AI agents are priced per automated resolution on top of seats, and the rate comes from your quote. Missive folds AI (your own key or credits) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    MissiveMissive

    Email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger; no Telegram. WhatsApp is here and not on Zendesk.

    ZendeskZendesk

    Email, chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and voice on Suite plans; WhatsApp conversation fees still apply. Missive adds WhatsApp, which Zendesk lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    MissiveMissive

    Team chat, tasks and calendars in the same app; native desktop apps. Zendesk is a help desk suite instead.

    ZendeskZendesk

    A contact center: voice, workforce management, QA, and a marketplace of over a thousand apps. Missive is a team inbox and chat instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    MissiveMissive

    An hour: connect the mailboxes and install the desktop app. Zendesk is a project.

    ZendeskZendesk

    A project. Queue, SLAs, routing and macros are set up before the first ticket is answered. Missive is an hour.

Sources: Missive pricing · Zendesk pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Missive app: the shared conversation with the team's chat beside the email
MissiveMissive. The Missive app: the shared conversation with the team's chat beside the email
The Zendesk Agent Workspace: a ticket view with the customer, the thread and the fields
ZendeskZendesk. The Zendesk Agent Workspace: a ticket view with the customer, the thread and the fields

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 AI conversations on Missive, automated resolutions on Zendesk

3000+
MissiveMissive

$120/mo

Rules, integrations, analytics.

5 × $24 seats
$120
300 AI conversations × $0
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. Missive runs AI on your own provider key or credits; no per-conversation rate is printed. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

ZendeskZendesk

$725/mo

Adds messaging, live chat, voice and AI agents.

5 × $55 seats
$275
300 automated resolutions × $1.5
$450
Copilot, 5 × $50
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. Zendesk's pricing page says AI agents are priced per automated resolution and does not print the rate. $1.50 is the figure Zendesk has quoted publicly; change it to what your quote says. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: Missive pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Zendesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

Missive, Zendesk and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureMissiveMissiveZendeskZendeskSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; AI on your key
Per agent; AI per resolution; add-ons extra
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 30-day trial
None; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
Suite plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
All plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
All plans
Suite plans, plus conversation fees
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
All plans
Suite plans
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not offered
Third-party apps only
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Team chat is built in
Slack notifications and side conversations
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Drafts and rules with your key
All plans, trained on the help center
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Your own key or credits
Per automated resolution, on top of seats
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
No autonomous agent
Escalates to agents
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Conversations and tasks
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Rules on Productive and up
Triggers and automations, form-based
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Productive and up
Explore; advanced on higher plans
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Windows and macOS apps
Browser and mobile only
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Missive if

  • You want the team's chat and the customer's email in the same window.
  • Bringing your own AI key is better than a vendor's meter.
  • Five people cost $155 a month less than on Zendesk ($120 against $275), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp in the price, which Zendesk does not include outright.

Pick Zendesk if

  • Your support is ticket-first and email-heavy, with SLAs and a queue to manage.
  • You need phone support and a contact center in the same tool.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Missive does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a project here and an hour on Missive.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Missive or Zendesk who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $120 a month on Missive against $275 on Zendesk for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Missive folds AI (your own key or credits) into the plan, Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and a free plan with no trial clock, which neither Missive nor Zendesk includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Missive on Productive: $48, $120 and $240 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Zendesk on Suite Team: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $75 less than Missive and $230 less than Zendesk for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $145 under Missive and $455 under Zendesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Missive is a team inbox and chat built around shared email with team chat; Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue. Neither has a free plan: Missive offers a 30-day trial, no card, Zendesk a 14-day trial of Suite Professional. Missive and Zendesk both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only Missive has WhatsApp. Neither Missive nor Zendesk includes Telegram outright. Missive folds AI (your own key or credits) into the plan; Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats. Zendesk has tickets and Missive does not, and only Missive ships desktop apps. Missive is an hour; Zendesk is a project.

What each price leaves out

Missive: AI on your own key or Missive credits; no per-conversation price. Zendesk: AI agents are billed per automated resolution on top of the seat price; the Copilot add-on is $50 per agent per month. Beside Missive's your own key or credits and Zendesk's per automated resolution, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    MissiveMissiveAssumed $0$0
    ZendeskZendeskAssumed $1.5$720
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    MissiveMissive · 30-day trial, no card
    ZendeskZendesk · 14-day trial of Suite Professional
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Missive vs Zendesk: the questions people ask

Missive is a team inbox and chat built around shared email with team chat; Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue. Zendesk has tickets and Missive does not, and only Missive ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Missive $14/user/mo (Starter: up to 5 users); Zendesk $19/agent/mo (Support Team: email and tickets).
  • Chat in the price: Missive $14/user/mo (live chat widget on every plan); Zendesk $55/agent/mo (Suite Team).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: Telegram, which neither Missive nor Zendesk has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Missive and Zendesk rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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