ZendeskJivoChatZendesk vs JivoChat

Zendesk vs JivoChat: $550 or $420 for ten people

A help desk suite against a live chat and messaging: JivoChat is $65 a month cheaper for five people. Where Zendesk and JivoChat split, and a third option for small teams.

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 Zendesk if your support is ticket-first and email-heavy, with SLAs and a queue to manage. Pick JivoChat if you want Telegram, Instagram and Messenger in a chat app that runs on the desktop. For five people, JivoChat is $65 a month cheaper than Zendesk ($275 a month on Zendesk against $210 on JivoChat), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $165 below JivoChat. Zendesk and JivoChat both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only JivoChat has Telegram. Neither Zendesk nor JivoChat includes WhatsApp outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Zendesk against JivoChat, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceZendeskZendeskJivoChatJivoChat
Built aroundTickets and a queue · messaging came laterThe chat widget · messaging apps included
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Support Team: email and tickets$0 · Free: up to 5 agents
Chat in the price$55/agent/mo · Suite Team$28/agent/mo · Basic, yearly
AI agentPer automated resolution · rate quoted, not printed$69/agent/mo · AI Agent add-on
Copilot for agents$50/agent/mo$13/mo · AI Assistant
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · up to 5 agents

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    ZendeskZendesk

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

    JivoChatJivoChat

    As a chat in the widget or a message from Telegram, Instagram or Messenger, in one agent app. Zendesk raises a ticket where JivoChat keeps a conversation.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    ZendeskZendesk

    $19 buys email and tickets. Live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and AI agents start at Suite Team, $55. $275 for five people, against $210 on JivoChat.

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Free covers five agents on basic chat; $28 on Basic adds visitor monitoring and $42 on Professional the chatbot. $210 for five people, against $275 on Zendesk.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    ZendeskZendesk

    AI agents are priced per automated resolution on top of seats, and the rate comes from your quote. JivoChat meters AI ($69/agent/mo) above the seats as well.

    JivoChatJivoChat

    The AI Agent is $69 per agent per month and the AI Assistant $13 a month, both on yearly billing. Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    ZendeskZendesk

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

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Website chat, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, Viber, email and phone; WhatsApp is a $27 module. Telegram is here and not on Zendesk.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    ZendeskZendesk

    A contact center: voice, workforce management, QA, and a marketplace of over a thousand apps. JivoChat is a live chat and messaging instead.

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Callbacks, telephony and video calls; no ticket queue or knowledge base. Zendesk is a help desk suite instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    ZendeskZendesk

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

    JivoChatJivoChat

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

Sources: Zendesk pricing · JivoChat 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 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
The JivoChat agent app: the chat list with channel icons and the visitor's page
JivoChatJivoChat. The JivoChat agent app: the chat list with channel icons and the visitor's page

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 automated resolutions on Zendesk, AI conversations on JivoChat

3000+
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.

JivoChatJivoChat

$210/mo

Chatbot, WhatsApp module.

5 × $42 seats
$210
300 AI conversations × $0
$0
Copilot, 5 × $69
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. JivoChat sells its AI Agent at $69 per agent per month, not per conversation; add that to the seat price. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

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: Zendesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); JivoChat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). 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

Zendesk, JivoChat 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.

FeatureZendeskZendeskJivoChatJivoChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per resolution; add-ons extra
Per agent; AI per agent; WhatsApp module
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
Up to 5 agents
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Suite plans
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Email channel
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Suite plans, plus conversation fees
$27/mo module on Professional
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Suite plans
All plans
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Third-party apps only
All plans
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack notifications and side conversations
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
All plans, trained on the help center
AI Agent add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Per automated resolution, on top of seats
$69 per agent
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Escalates to agents
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

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

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

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 JivoChat does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a project here and an hour on JivoChat.

Pick JivoChat if

  • You want Telegram, Instagram and Messenger in a chat app that runs on the desktop.
  • Five agents on the free plan is enough to start.
  • Five people cost $65 a month less than on Zendesk ($210 against $275), before AI.
  • You need Telegram in the price, which Zendesk does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $275 a month on Zendesk against $210 on JivoChat for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Zendesk meters AI (per automated resolution) above the seats, JivoChat meters AI ($69/agent/mo) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need WhatsApp in the base price, which neither Zendesk nor JivoChat includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Zendesk on Suite Team: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. JivoChat on Professional: $84, $210 and $420 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $230 less than Zendesk and $165 less than JivoChat for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Zendesk and $325 under JivoChat.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue; JivoChat is a live chat and messaging built around the chat widget. Only JivoChat has a free plan (up to 5 agents); Zendesk offers a 14-day trial of Suite Professional. Zendesk and JivoChat both include website chat, email and Instagram in the price; only JivoChat has Telegram. Neither Zendesk nor JivoChat includes WhatsApp outright. Zendesk (per automated resolution) and JivoChat ($69/agent/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Zendesk has tickets and JivoChat does not, and only JivoChat ships desktop apps. Zendesk is a project; JivoChat is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Zendesk: AI agents are billed per automated resolution on top of the seat price; the Copilot add-on is $50 per agent per month. JivoChat: AI Agent $69 per agent per month; AI Assistant $13 a month; WhatsApp module $27 a month. Beside Zendesk's per automated resolution and JivoChat's $69/agent/mo, 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
    ZendeskZendeskAssumed $1.5$720
    JivoChatJivoChatAssumed $0$0
    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.

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

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zendesk vs JivoChat: the questions people ask

Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue; JivoChat is a live chat and messaging built around the chat widget. Zendesk has tickets and JivoChat does not, and only JivoChat ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Zendesk $19/agent/mo (Support Team: email and tickets); JivoChat $0 (Free: up to 5 agents).
  • Chat in the price: Zendesk $55/agent/mo (Suite Team); JivoChat $28/agent/mo (Basic, yearly).
  • Sellio: WhatsApp, which neither Zendesk nor JivoChat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Zendesk and JivoChat 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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