Zoho DeskProProfsZoho Desk vs ProProfs

Zoho Desk vs ProProfs: entry plans at $7 and $0

A help desk against a live chat software: Zoho Desk is $30 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 ProProfs if one person answers chat and you want every feature free. For five people, Zoho Desk is $30 a month cheaper than ProProfs ($70 a month on Zoho Desk against $100 on ProProfs), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $25 under Zoho Desk. Zoho Desk and ProProfs share no channel in the base price; only Zoho Desk has email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram; only ProProfs has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and ProProfs cover every channel Sellio ships. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Zoho Desk and ProProfs sell here at one price.

At a glanceZoho DeskZoho DeskProProfsProProfs
Built aroundEmail tickets · part of the Zoho suiteThe chat widget · free for one operator
Entry plan$7/user/mo · Express, yearly$0 · one operator, all features
Chat in the price$40/user/mo · Enterprise, with SalesIQAbout $20/operator/mo · Team plan
AI agentIn the plan · Zia on Professional and up$450/year · 2,500 AI interactions a month
Copilot for agentsZia · Professional and upIn the AI add-on
Free planYes · 3 agents, email ticketsYes · a single operator

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. ProProfs has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    ProProfsProProfs

    As a chat in the widget, greeted by a rule or the AI add-on, with the visitor's page shown. Zoho Desk raises a ticket where ProProfs 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 $100 on ProProfs.

    ProProfsProProfs

    One operator is free with every feature; a team pays per operator, about $20 a month each. $100 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. ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan as well.

    ProProfsProProfs

    AI chat automation is $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month, a flat add-on. Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan as well.

  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, Instagram and Telegram are here and not on ProProfs.

    ProProfsProProfs

    Website chat, with WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger on the team plan; no Telegram. 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. ProProfs is a live chat software instead.

    ProProfsProProfs

    A help desk, a knowledge base and surveys as sibling products; a suite from $499 a month. 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. ProProfs is minutes.

    ProProfsProProfs

    Minutes: paste the widget. Zoho Desk is a day.

Sources: Zoho Desk pricing · ProProfs 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 ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history
ProProfsProProfs. The ProProfs Chat operator view: the chat with the visitor's page and history

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

Zoho Desk, ProProfs 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 DeskProProfsProProfsSellio

Pricing

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

Channels

Website live chat
Enterprise, via SalesIQ
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
All plans
Separate help desk product
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Standard and up
Team plan
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Standard and up
Team plan
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
AI add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
In the plan, token allowance
$450 a year flat
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Creates a ticket
Hands to an operator
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first with blueprints
Separate help desk product
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows and blueprints
Greetings and routing
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and dashboards
Chat 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.
  • Five people cost $30 a month less than on ProProfs ($70 against $100), before AI.
  • You need email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which ProProfs does not include outright.

Pick ProProfs if

  • One person answers chat and you want every feature free.
  • A flat yearly AI add-on beats a per-conversation meter for you.
  • You need website chat in the price, which Zoho Desk does not include outright.
  • You want native desktop apps, which Zoho Desk does not ship.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Zoho Desk or ProProfs who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $70 a month on Zoho Desk against $100 on ProProfs for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan, ProProfs folds AI ($450/year) into the plan; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You want native Windows and macOS apps and a free plan that never expires beside the paid tiers, which Zoho Desk and ProProfs 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. ProProfs: $100 a month for five (5 operators × about $20); 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 $55 less than ProProfs 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; ProProfs is a live chat software built around the chat widget. Both have a free plan: Zoho Desk's is 3 agents, email tickets, ProProfs's is a single operator. Zoho Desk and ProProfs share no channel in the base price; only Zoho Desk has email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram; only ProProfs has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and ProProfs cover every channel Sellio ships. Zoho Desk (in the plan) and ProProfs ($450/year) both fold AI into the plan. Zoho Desk has tickets and ProProfs does not, and only ProProfs ships desktop apps. Zoho Desk is a day; ProProfs is minutes.

What each price leaves out

Zoho Desk: Zia answer bot from Standard; generative AI on Professional and up with a token allowance. ProProfs: AI Chat Automation $450 a year for 2,500 interactions a month. Beside Zoho Desk's in the plan and ProProfs's $450/year, 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 ProProfs's, and Zoho Desk's pricing page should be checked before you decide. ProProfs does not print the figures above in a form a fetch can read (Free for one operator; the team plan is priced per operator and shown after sign-up, so its figure is from published summaries.), so they are marked unverified here beside Zoho Desk's, and ProProfs'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
    ProProfsProProfsSee 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
    ProProfsProProfs · 15-day trial of the team plan
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Zoho Desk vs ProProfs: the questions people ask

Zoho Desk is a help desk built around email tickets; ProProfs is a live chat software built around the chat widget. Zoho Desk has tickets and ProProfs does not, and only ProProfs ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: Zoho Desk $7/user/mo (Express, yearly); ProProfs $0 (one operator, all features).
  • Chat in the price: Zoho Desk $40/user/mo (Enterprise, with SalesIQ); ProProfs About $20/operator/mo (Team plan).
  • Sellio's inbox: all five channels on every paid plan, where Zoho Desk and ProProfs each include only some.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Zoho Desk and ProProfs 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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