ZendeskUserlikeZendesk vs Userlike

Zendesk vs Userlike: $275 or $475 for five people

A help desk suite against a customer messaging platform: Zendesk is $200 a month cheaper for five people. Where Zendesk and Userlike 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 Userlike if you are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns. For five people, Zendesk is $200 a month cheaper than Userlike ($275 a month on Zendesk against $475 on Userlike), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $230 below Zendesk. Zendesk and Userlike both include website chat and Instagram in the price; only Zendesk has email; only Userlike has WhatsApp and Telegram. Between them Zendesk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. For a team of two to ten weighing Zendesk against Userlike, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceZendeskZendeskUserlikeUserlike
Built aroundTickets and a queue · messaging came laterThe website messenger · now Lime Connect
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Support Team: email and tickets$0 · Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations
Chat in the price$55/agent/mo · Suite TeamAbout $95/seat/mo · Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly
AI agentPer automated resolution · rate quoted, not printedFrom about $108/mo · AI Agent, 100 conversations
Copilot for agents$50/agent/moAbout $21/seat/mo · AI Copilot
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 1 seat, website only

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. Userlike has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    UserlikeUserlike

    As a message in the website messenger, or from WhatsApp, in one message center. Zendesk raises a ticket where Userlike 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 $475 on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The free plan is one seat on the website; Pro is priced per seat in euros (about $95) with a three-seat minimum. $475 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. Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats as well.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The AI Agent starts around $108 a month for 100 conversations; the AI Copilot is about $21 per seat. 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 is here and not on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Website messenger, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS and email on Pro. WhatsApp and Telegram are 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. Userlike is a customer messaging platform instead.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Live translation, video calls and WhatsApp campaigns; a German company under Lime Technologies. 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. Userlike is an hour.

    UserlikeUserlike

    An hour: paste the messenger, connect WhatsApp through their onboarding. Zendesk is a project.

Sources: Zendesk pricing · Userlike 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 Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat
UserlikeUserlike. The Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat

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

Zendesk, Userlike 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.

FeatureZendeskZendeskUserlikeUserlikeSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per resolution; add-ons extra
Per seat in euros; three-seat minimum
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
None; 14-day trial
1 seat, 200 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
Pro
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Suite plans, plus conversation fees
Pro
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Suite plans
Pro
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Third-party apps only
Pro
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
From about $108 a month
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
Conversations only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Triggers and automations, form-based
Workflows add-on
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Explore; advanced on higher plans
Analytics on Pro
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.
  • Five people cost $200 a month less than on Userlike ($275 against $475), before AI.
  • You need email in the price, which Userlike does not include outright.

Pick Userlike if

  • You are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns.
  • Telegram and Instagram must be in the same inbox.
  • You need WhatsApp and Telegram in the price, which Zendesk does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Zendesk offers a 14-day trial of Suite Professional.

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 $475 on Userlike 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, Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats, and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You need native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Zendesk nor Userlike 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. Userlike: $475 a month for five (5 seats × about $95, billed yearly); 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 $430 less than Userlike 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; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Only Userlike has a free plan (1 seat, website only); Zendesk offers a 14-day trial of Suite Professional. Zendesk and Userlike both include website chat and Instagram in the price; only Zendesk has email; only Userlike has WhatsApp and Telegram. Between them Zendesk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Zendesk (per automated resolution) and Userlike (from about $108/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Zendesk has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Zendesk nor Userlike ships a desktop app. Zendesk is a project; Userlike 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. Userlike: AI Agent from about $108 a month for 100 conversations; AI Copilot about $21 per seat. Beside Zendesk's per automated resolution and Userlike's from about $108/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
    UserlikeUserlikeSee 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
    UserlikeUserlike · 14-day trial of Pro
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zendesk vs Userlike: the questions people ask

Zendesk is a help desk suite built around tickets and a queue; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Zendesk has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Zendesk nor Userlike ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Zendesk $19/agent/mo (Support Team: email and tickets); Userlike $0 (Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Zendesk $55/agent/mo (Suite Team); Userlike About $95/seat/mo (Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly).
  • Sellio puts every channel in one inbox: all five channels on every paid plan, where Zendesk and Userlike each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Zendesk and Userlike 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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