Zoho Desk3CXZoho Desk vs 3CX

Zoho Desk vs 3CX: $70 against $0 a month

A help desk against a business phone system with live chat: 3CX is $70 a month cheaper for five people. Where Zoho Desk and 3CX 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 Zoho Desk if you already run Zoho CRM or Books and want support in the same suite. Pick 3CX if phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents. For five people, 3CX is $70 a month cheaper than Zoho Desk ($70 a month on Zoho Desk against $0 on 3CX), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only 3CX's figure comes under. Zoho Desk and 3CX both include WhatsApp in the price; only Zoho Desk has email, Instagram and Telegram; only 3CX has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and 3CX cover every channel Sellio ships. For a team of two to ten weighing Zoho Desk against 3CX, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceZoho DeskZoho Desk3CX3CX
Built aroundEmail tickets · part of the Zoho suitePhone calls · a PBX with a chat widget
Entry plan$7/user/mo · Express, yearly$0 · SMB Free: up to 10 users
Chat in the price$40/user/mo · Enterprise, with SalesIQ$0 · live chat on the free tier
AI agentIn the plan · Zia on Professional and upNone for chat · call transcription launching
Copilot for agentsZia · Professional and upNone
Free planYes · 3 agents, email ticketsYes · up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    As a ticket from email, a form or a messaging app, in a queue with blueprints for the process. 3CX has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    3CX3CX

    As a call, or as a chat that rings the same agent queue; there is no ticket behind it. Zoho Desk raises a ticket where 3CX keeps a conversation.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    $7 buys email tickets on Express; WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram start on Standard at $14; live chat needs Enterprise. $70 for five people, against $0 on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    The licence is per system per year, sized by simultaneous calls, not per agent; the free tier covers ten users. $0 for five people, against $70 on Zoho Desk.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    Zia's answer bot and generative AI are included by plan, with a token allowance, rather than metered per conversation. 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat) instead.

    3CX3CX

    No AI agent for chat. Call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    Email and social on every plan; WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and Messenger from Standard; chat on Enterprise. email, Instagram and Telegram are here and not on 3CX.

    3CX3CX

    Voice, live chat, WhatsApp, Messenger and SMS through the phone system; no email queue. website chat is here and not on Zoho Desk.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    The Zoho suite: CRM, SalesIQ, Projects and Books share the account. 3CX is a business phone system with live chat instead.

    3CX3CX

    The phone system itself: extensions, call queues, IVR, recordings and video meetings. Zoho Desk is a help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    A day: connect the mailbox, set departments and a blueprint. 3CX is a day for the phone system.

    3CX3CX

    A day for the phone system; minutes for the chat widget once the PBX is up. Zoho Desk is a day.

Sources: Zoho Desk pricing · 3CX 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 Zoho Desk ticket view: the queue, the ticket with Zia's suggestions and the contact
Zoho DeskZoho Desk. The Zoho Desk ticket view: the queue, the ticket with Zia's suggestions and the contact
The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel
3CX3CX. The 3CX web client: the call queue with a live chat conversation in the same panel

Pricing references: Zoho Desk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13; needs verification); 3CX pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Zoho Desk, 3CX 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.

FeatureZoho DeskZoho Desk3CX3CXSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; AI in the plan
Per system per year, by simultaneous calls
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
3 agents
Up to 10 users, hosted by 3CX
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Enterprise, via SalesIQ
Widget rings the agent queue
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
No email queue
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Standard and up
Through the phone system
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Standard and up
Messenger only
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Standard and up
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams integrations
Internal 3CX chat only
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Zia answer bot
None for chat
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
In the plan, token allowance
No AI agent to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Creates a ticket
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first with blueprints
Calls and chats, no ticket queue
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows and blueprints
Call flows, not support automations
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and dashboards
Call reports
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick Zoho Desk if

  • You already run Zoho CRM or Books and want support in the same suite.
  • Email tickets with WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram at a low seat price.
  • You need email, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which 3CX does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which 3CX does not have.

Pick 3CX if

  • Phone is your main channel and you want chat and WhatsApp to ring the same agents.
  • You want a free tier for a small team that already needs a PBX.
  • Five people cost $70 a month less than on Zoho Desk ($0 against $70), before AI.
  • You need website chat in the price, which Zoho Desk does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • Your team is two to ten people on chat, messaging and email. Weigh workspace pricing against $70 a month on Zoho Desk against $0 on 3CX for five people; the billing units and included features differ.
  • You want a ceiling on AI spend: Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan, 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat), and Sellio stops at the cap you set.
  • You want native Windows and macOS apps and a free plan that never expires beside the paid tiers, which Zoho Desk and 3CX have only in part.

What two, five and ten people pay

Zoho Desk on Standard: $28, $70 and $140 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. 3CX: $0 a month for five (five users on the free tier); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $25 less than Zoho Desk and more than 3CX's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $45 under Zoho Desk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Zoho Desk is a help desk built around email tickets; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Both have a free plan: Zoho Desk's is 3 agents, email tickets, 3CX's is up to 10 users, 3CX-hosted. Zoho Desk and 3CX both include WhatsApp in the price; only Zoho Desk has email, Instagram and Telegram; only 3CX has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and 3CX cover every channel Sellio ships. Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan; 3CX has no AI to bill (none for chat). Zoho Desk has tickets and 3CX does not, and only 3CX ships desktop apps. Zoho Desk is a day; 3CX is a day for the phone system.

What each price leaves out

Zoho Desk: Zia answer bot from Standard; generative AI on Professional and up with a token allowance. 3CX: No AI agent for chat; call transcription and analytics are listed as launching soon. Beside Zoho Desk's in the plan and 3CX's none for chat, 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 these figures were read

Zoho Desk does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Per user per month, billed yearly; monthly costs more. The page could only be read in a local currency, so the dollar figures are Zoho's US list prices from published summaries.), so they are marked unverified here beside 3CX's, and Zoho Desk's pricing page should be checked before you decide.

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
    Zoho DeskZoho DeskAssumed $0$0
    3CX3CXSee 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.

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk · 15-day trial, no card
    3CX3CX · Free tier, no trial clock
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zoho Desk vs 3CX: the questions people ask

Zoho Desk is a help desk built around email tickets; 3CX is a business phone system with live chat built around phone calls. Zoho Desk has tickets and 3CX does not, and only 3CX ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Zoho Desk $7/user/mo (Express, yearly); 3CX $0 (SMB Free: up to 10 users).
  • Chat in the price: Zoho Desk $40/user/mo (Enterprise, with SalesIQ); 3CX $0 (live chat on the free tier).
  • Sellio: all five channels on every paid plan, where Zoho Desk and 3CX each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Zoho Desk and 3CX 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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