BoldDesk vs Zoho Desk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Zoho Desk: it is first in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zoho Desk grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BoldDesk
Help desk with per-agent pricing or unlimited agents plus AI credits
Zoho Desk
Low-cost ticketing help desk with a free plan for three users
Which one is for you
Pick BoldDesk if
- Fits if you have a support team that wants SLAs and automation rules
- Works for teams moving off another help desk, since migration is free
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there is none
- Pricey if you lean on AI, because credits run out and extra ones cost $40 per 1,000
- Watch out: seats on the AI plans are for named people, and the fair usage policy bars shared logins
- Watch out: on the per-agent plan, SMS and voice need an integration
Pick Zoho Desk if
- Fits if you're a team of up to 3 doing email support and want to pay nothing
- Works for teams already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, since it's 3 users, one support address and email only, with no knowledge base or automation
- Skip it if you want built-in AI replies on a low plan, as they need your own OpenAI key and Zia starts on Professional
- Pricey if lots of people just need to look in, as light agents are $6 a month each on Professional
- Watch out: Express stops at 5 users, and chat, WhatsApp and a public knowledge base start on Standard at $14
- Watch out: phone support starts on Professional at $23 billed yearly, $35 monthly, and IVR needs Enterprise at $40
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABoldDeskFair | 3.4GPAZoho DeskVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$35 an agent a month on annual billing sits between the $29 middle and the $39 where the dearer quarter starts. The AI plans start at $99 a month for 500 credits. | AExpress is $7 a user a month billed yearly ($9 monthly), the lowest start among help desks here and under 60% of the cheaper quarter. Standard, which adds chat and a knowledge base, is $14, still in the cheaper quarter. |
| Free plan and trial | C15-day free trial of the per-agent plan, no card required. No free plan. | BFree for up to 3 users doing email ticketing from one support address, with no cap on tickets in the listing. A tiny team could live on that, but there's no knowledge base, automation or AI. Paid plans have a 15-day trial with no card. |
| Features | CTicketing, automation, SLAs, a knowledge base, reporting and free migration. SMS and voice come through an integration on the per-agent plan. | BTickets from email, social, web forms, chat and WhatsApp, a knowledge base and community forum, AI agents, workflows, Blueprints, phone with IVR and multi-brand help centers. Across the plans, it covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Channels, SLAs and automation rules all need setting up. | A4.7 from 1,636 App Store ratings for the agent app, the top band. Email tickets on the free plan need little setup, and the bigger features can wait until you need them. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with 6 integrations on record. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, tied into Zoho CRM, Analytics, SalesIQ and Cliq, plus Salesforce, Slack, Jira, Zapier and Google Chat. There's no desktop app, so it stops at a B. |
| Best for | a support team wanting a per-agent help desk | ticketing for small teams, free for 3 users |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BoldDesk and Zoho Desk. How we grade
Price against what you get
BoldDesk starts at $35 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Desk starts at $7 a month for each person and scores 3.3.
Zoho Desk scores higher and starts $28 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 18 score higher than BoldDesk for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Desk for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BoldDesk also covers whatsApp messaging and ticketing.
At a glance
| BoldDesk | Zoho Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $35 per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly) | $7 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | Free edition: email ticketing for up to 3 users with one support email address. No knowledge base, automation, SLAs or AI features. |
| Free trial | Free 15-day trial of the per-agent plan, no card required | 15-day free trial of any paid plan, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Syncfusion | Zoho Corporation |
| Price read from | bolddesk.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BoldDesk
- There is no free plan; the per-agent plan has a 15-day trial and the AI plans offer a free trial.
- AI features run on credits: the AI plans include 500 to 2,500 a month and extra credits cost $40 per 1,000.
- Agent seats on the AI plans are for named people, and the vendor's fair usage policy bars shared logins.
- On the per-agent plan SMS and voice come through an integration rather than a built-in channel.
Zoho Desk
- The Free edition stops at 3 users and email only, and Express stops at 5 users.
- A public knowledge base, the chat widget and WhatsApp start on Standard; telephony starts on Professional.
- Generative AI features such as smart replies need your own OpenAI API key; Zia's built-in AI starts on Professional.
- Light agents who only view and comment cost $6 a month each on Professional; Enterprise includes 50.
Key features
BoldDesk
- Omnichannel ticketing
- Email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and web forms feed one ticket queue, with mobile apps and an SDK.
- Automation and SLAs
- Workflow automation, round-robin and skill routing, SLA reminders and escalations, business hours and ticket macros.
- AI agents on credits
- A response agent, a background agent and an assist agent run on AI credits, which the per-agent plan sells at $40 per 1,000.
- Knowledge base
- A public or private multilingual knowledge base with article approval and versioning, and an embeddable widget.
- Reporting
- Dashboards for SLA performance, agent and team activity and CSAT, with scheduled reports and custom dashboards.
- Free migration
- The vendor offers free migration and onboarding from other help desks, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Zoho Desk
- Multichannel ticketing
- Email, social posts, web forms and, from Standard, chat and messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and LINE all become tickets.
- Knowledge base and help center
- A public knowledge base and community forum from Standard, a help center in 40+ languages on Professional and one per brand on Enterprise.
- AI agents and Zia
- AI agents run on Zoho's model or your own key with up to 30M free tokens a month. Zia's built-in AI starts on Professional.
- Automation
- Workflows and escalation rules from Express, with Blueprints for step-by-step processes and round-robin assignment on Professional.
- Phone and IVR
- Professional connects telephony providers for inbound and outbound calls; Enterprise adds a multi-level IVR.
- Zoho app links
- Ties into Zoho CRM, Analytics, Projects, SalesIQ and Cliq, plus Salesforce, Slack, Jira and Zapier.
Plans
BoldDesk
Enterprise (per agent)$35
per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly)
Every help desk feature, unlimited tickets and up to 10 brands; AI is a separate credit add-on.
Scale AI$99
per month for 500 AI credits, billed annually ($116 billed monthly)
Unlimited human agents, an email AI agent, ticketing, knowledge base and workflow automation.
Momentum AI$499
per month for 1,000 AI credits, billed annually ($587 billed monthly)
Adds an AI agent on chat, WhatsApp, social and SMS, auto-assignment, multiple SLAs and CSAT surveys.
Enterprise AI$999
per month for 2,500 AI credits, billed annually ($1,175 monthly)
Adds multi-brand help desk, HIPAA compliance, ticket approvals, agent shifts and custom dashboards.
Zoho Desk
Free$0
Email ticketing for up to 3 users with one support email address.
Express$7
per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)
Up to 5 users. Email, Instagram, Facebook and X tickets, web forms, AI agents, workflows, escalations and contact management.
Standard$14
per user / month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
Unlimited users. Adds a live chat widget, WhatsApp and other messaging apps, an answer bot, a public knowledge base, a community forum and custom reports.
Professional$23
per user / month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Adds phone support through telephony providers, Zia AI, Blueprints, departments, round-robin assignment, a help center in 40+ languages and webhooks.
Enterprise$40
per user / month, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)
Adds Zoho SalesIQ live chat, guided conversations, skill-based assignment, IVR, multi-brand help centers, custom modules, a sandbox and 50 free light agents.
Ways to pay less
BoldDesk
- Annual discount
15% off with yearly billing
Yearly billing saves 15% on the AI plans ($99, $499 and $999 against $116, $587 and $1,175 monthly) and about 13% on the per-agent plan.
- Other savings
Free migration and contract cover
For teams moving from Zendesk, Freshdesk or another help desk, BoldDesk migrates the data free and covers up to 6 months of remaining contract fees.
Zoho Desk
- Annual discount
Save up to 34% with yearly billing
Zoho Desk's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 34%: Professional is $23 per user a month billed annually against $35 billed monthly.
- Nonprofit
Special pricing for nonprofits
The pricing FAQ says Zoho offers special pricing to nonprofit organizations. The discount is not stated on the page.
- Education
Special pricing for educational institutions
The pricing FAQ says Zoho offers special pricing to educational institutions. The discount is not stated on the page.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BoldDesk or Zoho Desk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zoho Desk is cheaper to start with: $7 a month for each person, against $35 a month for each person for BoldDesk. BoldDesk starts at $35 per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly), and Zoho Desk starts at $7 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, BoldDesk or Zoho Desk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Zoho Desk has a free plan. BoldDesk does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.