Zoho DeskUserlikeZoho Desk vs Userlike

Zoho Desk vs Userlike: help desk or customer messaging

A help desk against a customer messaging platform: Zoho Desk is $405 a month cheaper for five people. Where Zoho Desk 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 Zoho Desk if you already run Zoho CRM or Books and want support in the same suite. Pick Userlike if you are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns. For five people, Zoho Desk is $405 a month cheaper than Userlike ($70 a month on Zoho Desk against $475 on Userlike), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45, comes in $25 below Zoho Desk. Zoho Desk and Userlike both include WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price; only Zoho Desk has email; only Userlike has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. For a team of two to ten weighing Zoho Desk against Userlike, the third option below puts chat and tickets at one workspace price.

At a glanceZoho DeskZoho DeskUserlikeUserlike
Built aroundEmail tickets · part of the Zoho suiteThe website messenger · now Lime Connect
Entry plan$7/user/mo · Express, yearly$0 · Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations
Chat in the price$40/user/mo · Enterprise, with SalesIQAbout $95/seat/mo · Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly
AI agentIn the plan · Zia on Professional and upFrom about $108/mo · AI Agent, 100 conversations
Copilot for agentsZia · Professional and upAbout $21/seat/mo · AI Copilot
Free planYes · 3 agents, email ticketsYes · 1 seat, website only

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. Userlike has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    UserlikeUserlike

    As a message in the website messenger, or from WhatsApp, in one message center. Zoho Desk raises a ticket where Userlike 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 $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 $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. Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats instead.

    UserlikeUserlike

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

    UserlikeUserlike

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

    UserlikeUserlike

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

    UserlikeUserlike

    An hour: paste the messenger, connect WhatsApp through their onboarding. Zoho Desk is a day.

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

Zoho Desk, 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.

FeatureZoho DeskZoho DeskUserlikeUserlikeSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per user; AI in the plan
Per seat in euros; three-seat minimum
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
3 agents
1 seat, 200 conversations
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
Pro
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Standard and up
Pro
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Standard and up
Pro
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Standard and up
Pro
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 Agent add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
In the plan, token allowance
From about $108 a month
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Creates a ticket
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first with blueprints
Conversations only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Workflows and blueprints
Workflows add-on
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and dashboards
Analytics on Pro
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.
  • Five people cost $405 a month less than on Userlike ($70 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 website chat in the price, which Zoho Desk does not include outright.
  • Time to the first reply is an hour here and a day on Zoho Desk.

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 $475 on Userlike 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, 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 Zoho Desk nor Userlike 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. 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, $25 less than Zoho Desk and $430 less than Userlike 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; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Both have a free plan: Zoho Desk's is 3 agents, email tickets, Userlike's is 1 seat, website only. Zoho Desk and Userlike both include WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price; only Zoho Desk has email; only Userlike has website chat. Between them Zoho Desk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Zoho Desk folds AI (in the plan) into the plan; Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats. Zoho Desk has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Zoho Desk nor Userlike ships a desktop app. Zoho Desk is a day; Userlike is an hour.

What each price leaves out

Zoho Desk: Zia answer bot from Standard; generative AI on Professional and up with a token allowance. Userlike: AI Agent from about $108 a month for 100 conversations; AI Copilot about $21 per seat. Beside Zoho Desk's in the plan 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 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 Userlike'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
    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.

    Zoho DeskZoho Desk · 15-day trial, no card
    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

Zoho Desk vs Userlike: the questions people ask

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

  • Entry plan: Zoho Desk $7/user/mo (Express, yearly); Userlike $0 (Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Zoho Desk $40/user/mo (Enterprise, with SalesIQ); Userlike About $95/seat/mo (Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly).
  • Sellio: all five channels on every paid plan, where Zoho Desk and Userlike each include only some.

Sellio's side of the Zoho Desk 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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