ZendeskSmartsuppZendesk vs Smartsupp

Zendesk vs Smartsupp: help desk suite or live chat and chatbot

A help desk suite against a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce: Smartsupp is $192 a month cheaper for five people. Where Zendesk and Smartsupp 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 Smartsupp if you are a small European store and want chat, Messenger and WhatsApp in one package. For five people, Smartsupp is $192 a month cheaper than Zendesk ($275 a month on Zendesk against $83 on Smartsupp), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $38 below Smartsupp. Zendesk and Smartsupp both include website chat in the price; only Zendesk has email and Instagram; only Smartsupp has WhatsApp. Neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp includes Telegram outright. For a team of two to ten weighing Zendesk against Smartsupp, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceZendeskZendeskSmartsuppSmartsupp
Built aroundTickets and a queue · messaging came laterChat with visitor recordings · packages, not seats
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Support Team: email and tickets$17/mo · Solo: 1 agent, yearly
Chat in the price$55/agent/mo · Suite Team$0 · Free: 1 agent, 25 conversations
AI agentPer automated resolution · rate quoted, not printed$16 per 100 conversations · Mira AI, yearly
Copilot for agents$50/agent/moIncluded · AI reply assistant on paid plans
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 1 agent, 25 conversations a month

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. Smartsupp has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    As a chat in the widget, with a recording of the visitor's session you can replay. Zendesk raises a ticket where Smartsupp 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 $83 on Smartsupp.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Packages, not seats: Solo is one agent at $17, Plus three at $25, Expert five or more at $83. $83 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. Smartsupp meters AI ($16 per 100 conversations) above the seats as well.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Mira, the AI agent, is $16 per 100 conversations a month on yearly billing, bought in packs. 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. email and Instagram are here and not on Smartsupp.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Website chat, Messenger and WhatsApp on every plan, email on paid plans; no Instagram or Telegram. WhatsApp 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. Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce instead.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Visitor recordings, automated messages and a Shoptet and Shopify presence in Europe. 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. Smartsupp is minutes.

    SmartsuppSmartsupp

    Minutes: paste the widget or install the ecommerce app. Zendesk is a project.

Sources: Zendesk pricing · Smartsupp 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 Smartsupp dashboard: the chat with the visitor's session recording beside it
SmartsuppSmartsupp. The Smartsupp dashboard: the chat with the visitor's session recording beside it

Pricing references: Zendesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Smartsupp pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Zendesk, Smartsupp 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.

FeatureZendeskZendeskSmartsuppSmartsuppSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per resolution; add-ons extra
Packages with agents included
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
1 agent, 25 conversations
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
Paid plans
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Suite plans, plus conversation fees
All plans
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Suite plans
Not offered
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Third-party apps only
Not offered
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
Mira
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
Per automated resolution, on top of seats
$16 per 100 conversations
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
Automated messages; workflows on Plus
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Explore; advanced on higher plans
Chat statistics
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Browser and mobile
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 email and Instagram in the price, which Smartsupp does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Smartsupp does not have.

Pick Smartsupp if

  • You are a small European store and want chat, Messenger and WhatsApp in one package.
  • Session recordings beside the chat help you sell.
  • Five people cost $192 a month less than on Zendesk ($83 against $275), before AI.
  • You need WhatsApp 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 $83 on Smartsupp 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, Smartsupp meters AI ($16 per 100 conversations) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp 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. Smartsupp: $83 a month for five ($83 for the package with five agents); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $230 less than Zendesk and $38 less than Smartsupp for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Zendesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue; Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce built around chat with visitor recordings. Only Smartsupp has a free plan (1 agent, 25 conversations a month); Zendesk offers a 14-day trial of Suite Professional. Zendesk and Smartsupp both include website chat in the price; only Zendesk has email and Instagram; only Smartsupp has WhatsApp. Neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp includes Telegram outright. Zendesk (per automated resolution) and Smartsupp ($16 per 100 conversations) both meter AI above the seats. Zendesk has tickets and Smartsupp does not, and neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp ships a desktop app. Zendesk is a project; Smartsupp is minutes.

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. Smartsupp: Mira AI $16 per 100 conversations a month on yearly billing; AI reply assistant included on paid plans. Beside Zendesk's per automated resolution and Smartsupp's $16 per 100 conversations, 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
    SmartsuppSmartsuppSee vendorNot quoted
    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
    SmartsuppSmartsupp · 14-day trial of the paid plans
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zendesk vs Smartsupp: the questions people ask

Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue; Smartsupp is a live chat and chatbot for ecommerce built around chat with visitor recordings. Zendesk has tickets and Smartsupp does not, and neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Zendesk $19/agent/mo (Support Team: email and tickets); Smartsupp $17/mo (Solo: 1 agent, yearly).
  • Chat in the price: Zendesk $55/agent/mo (Suite Team); Smartsupp $0 (Free: 1 agent, 25 conversations).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: Telegram, which neither Zendesk nor Smartsupp has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Zendesk and Smartsupp on the same rows.

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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