Zoho DeskFacebook ChatZoho Desk vs Facebook Chat

Zoho Desk vs Facebook Chat: five seats for $70 or $0

A help desk against a Meta Business Suite inbox: Facebook Chat is $70 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 Zoho Desk if you already run Zoho CRM or Books and want support in the same suite. Pick Facebook Chat if customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget. For five people, Facebook Chat is $70 a month cheaper than Zoho Desk ($70 a month on Zoho Desk against $0 on Facebook Chat), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only Facebook Chat's figure comes under. Zoho Desk and Facebook Chat both include Instagram in the price; only Zoho Desk has email, WhatsApp and Telegram. Neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat includes website chat outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Zoho Desk and Facebook Chat sell here at one price.

At a glanceZoho DeskZoho DeskFacebook ChatFacebook Chat
Built aroundEmail tickets · part of the Zoho suiteMessenger and Instagram DMs · free with a Page
Entry plan$7/user/mo · Express, yearly$0 · with a Facebook Page
Chat in the price$40/user/mo · Enterprise, with SalesIQNone · the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024
AI agentIn the plan · Zia on Professional and upNone to buy · instant replies and FAQs
Copilot for agentsZia · Professional and upMeta AI drafts · for some businesses
Free planYes · 3 agents, email ticketsYes · the whole inbox is free

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. Facebook Chat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    As a Messenger or Instagram message in the Business Suite inbox, with the customer's profile beside it. Zoho Desk raises a ticket where Facebook Chat 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 Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    There are no seats and no price; anyone with a Page role can answer. $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. Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy) instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    No AI agent to buy. Instant replies, away messages and FAQs are rules; Meta AI drafts replies for some businesses. 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, WhatsApp and Telegram are here and not on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments; WhatsApp lives in its own app, and the website plugin is gone. Zoho Desk adds email, WhatsApp and Telegram, which Facebook Chat lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk

    The Zoho suite: CRM, SalesIQ, Projects and Books share the account. Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Posting, scheduling and ads for the Page; nothing beyond Meta's own channels. 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. Facebook Chat is none.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    None: it is already there when you have a Page. Zoho Desk is a day.

Sources: Zoho Desk pricing · Facebook Chat 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 Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list
Facebook ChatFacebook Chat. The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list

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

Zoho Desk, Facebook Chat 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 DeskFacebook ChatFacebook ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; AI in the plan
Free
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
3 agents
The whole product
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Enterprise, via SalesIQ
Website Chat Plugin retired in 2024
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Not offered
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Standard and up
Separate WhatsApp Business app
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Standard and up
DMs and comments
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
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Zia answer bot
Rules, not an AI agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
In the plan, token allowance
No AI 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
Labels and done state only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows and blueprints
Instant replies, away messages, FAQs
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and dashboards
Page insights
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile
Browser and mobile
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, WhatsApp and Telegram in the price, which Facebook Chat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Facebook Chat does not have.

Pick Facebook Chat if

  • Customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget.
  • One or two people answer and you do not need assignment or tickets.
  • Five people cost $70 a month less than on Zoho Desk ($0 against $70), before AI.
  • Time to the first reply is none here and a day on Zoho Desk.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Zoho Desk or Facebook Chat who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $70 a month on Zoho Desk against $0 on Facebook Chat for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan, Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat includes.

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. Facebook Chat: $0 a month for five (free for anyone with a Page role); 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 Facebook Chat'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; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Both have a free plan: Zoho Desk's is 3 agents, email tickets, Facebook Chat's is the whole inbox is free. Zoho Desk and Facebook Chat both include Instagram in the price; only Zoho Desk has email, WhatsApp and Telegram. Neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat includes website chat outright. Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan; Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy). Zoho Desk has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app. Zoho Desk is a day; Facebook Chat is none.

What each price leaves out

Zoho Desk: Zia answer bot from Standard; generative AI on Professional and up with a token allowance. Facebook Chat: No AI agent; instant replies and FAQs are rule-based. Beside Zoho Desk's in the plan and Facebook Chat's none to buy, 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 Facebook Chat'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
    Facebook ChatFacebook ChatSee 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
    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zoho Desk vs Facebook Chat: the questions people ask

Zoho Desk is a help desk built around email tickets; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Zoho Desk has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Zoho Desk $7/user/mo (Express, yearly); Facebook Chat $0 (with a Facebook Page).
  • Chat in the price: Zoho Desk $40/user/mo (Enterprise, with SalesIQ); Facebook Chat None (the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024).
  • Sellio's inbox: website chat, which neither Zoho Desk nor Facebook Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Zoho Desk and Facebook Chat 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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