Chatbase vs Zendesk
We give Chatbase a 2.0 GPA and Zendesk a 2.4, out of 4.0. Zendesk grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Chatbase
Build AI support agents trained on your content, priced by credits
Zendesk
Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChatbaseFair | 2.4GPAZendeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DHobby is $32 a month billed yearly for 700 message credits and 2 members, at the dearer quarter of help desks. What a support team needs, the helpdesk inbox, API and Zendesk links, starts on Standard at $120 for 3 members, and five people need Pro at $400. | DSupport Team is $19 an agent billed yearly, a little under this category's middle, but it's email tickets only. Chat, phone and a help center start on Suite Team at $55 an agent, above the dearest tenth of help desks, and extra AI resolutions are $1.50 to $2 each. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day trial of Hobby, Standard or Pro. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card, and there's no free plan. | CA 14-day free trial of Suite Professional with Copilot, which shows you the top of the range. There's no free plan, and the listing doesn't say whether the trial needs a card. Funded startups can get 6 months free. |
| Features | CIt does the AI agent job fully: trained on your files and site, a choice of AI models, actions in other tools, and voice from Standard. The human side is thinner, a hand-off inbox from Standard, and the listing shows no ticketing or help center. | BTicketing across email, chat, social and phone, AI agents on every plan, help centers in 40+ languages with forums, voice numbers in 75+ countries, an IVR and reports you ask for in plain words. The whole job is covered. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You feed it documents and pages, pick a model, set up actions and channels, and check its answers. That's real setup before customers see it. | B4.5 from 4,219 App Store ratings for the agent app. Prebuilt dashboards and pre-written replies come on every plan, but routing, triggers and automations take setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app with no desktop or phone app, but the agent goes out to websites, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and email, with Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot, Intercom, Shopify and Zapier, and an API from Standard. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X, Slack, WeChat and LINE as channels, and an API. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | building an AI agent from your own docs | support teams handling email, chat and phone |
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: Chatbase and Zendesk. How we grade
Price against what you get
Chatbase starts at $32 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zendesk starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 3.0.
Zendesk scores higher and starts $13 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Chatbase for less, and 1 scores higher than Zendesk 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
- Chatbase starts at $32 per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 billed monthly). Zendesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- Only Zendesk lists iOS and Android apps.
- Zendesk also covers reports, live chat and help center.
At a glance
| Chatbase | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $32 per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 billed monthly) | $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day trial of the Hobby, Standard or Pro plan | 14-day free trial of Suite Professional with the Copilot add-on |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Chatbase Inc. | Zendesk, Inc. |
| Price read from | chatbase.co | zendesk.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Chatbase
- Businesses adding an AI agent to their website or messaging apps
- Support teams that want AI in front of an existing help desk
- Teams that prefer usage-based pricing to per-seat plans
Zendesk
- Support teams handling email, chat and phone in one queue
- Companies that want a public help center tied to their tickets
- Teams planning to hand routine questions to AI agents
Worth knowing
Chatbase
- Every plan includes one AI agent; more cost $300 per agent a year.
- Message credits beyond the monthly allowance cost $40 per 1,000 through auto recharge; those credits do not expire.
- Removing the "Powered by Chatbase" branding costs $1,188 a year.
- Hobby has no API access and no help desk or CRM integrations; those, voice and the helpdesk inbox start on Standard.
Zendesk
- Support Team covers email ticketing only; live chat, voice and a help center start at Suite Team, $55 per agent / month billed annually.
- AI resolutions beyond the included allowance cost $1.50 each on a committed volume or $2.00 each pay-as-you-go.
- Copilot, which adds Auto Assist and suggested first replies, is an add-on at $50 per agent / month billed annually.
- Phone numbers and call minutes are billed as add-ons, and Suite Enterprise is sold only through the sales team.
Key features
Chatbase
- AI agents trained on your content
- Agents learn from uploaded files, websites and, on Pro, past support tickets, and can re-sync their sources automatically from Standard up.
- Choice of AI model
- Every plan can run agents on models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek and others.
- AI actions
- Agents can take actions in other tools, with 5 actions per agent on Hobby, 8 on Standard and 12 on Pro.
- Channels
- Deploy on a website, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Slack and email; voice agents and phone calls start on Standard.
- Helpdesk hand-off
- Standard adds a Chatbase helpdesk inbox for human replies and integrations that pass conversations to Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Gorgias and others.
- Analytics
- Basic conversation analytics on every plan; Pro adds advanced analytics and suggestions for content the agent is missing.
Zendesk
- Ticketing across channels
- Email, messaging, phone and social conversations land in one ticket queue, with routing, pre-written responses, triggers and automations.
- AI agents billed per resolution
- AI agents answer email on every plan and chat wherever messaging is on. Each agent seat includes 5 automated resolutions a month (10 on Suite Professional).
- Messaging and live chat
- Suite plans add chat for websites and apps plus WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, X, Slack, WeChat and LINE as channels.
- Help center
- Suite Team includes one help center in one language. Suite Professional allows up to 5 help centers in 40+ languages, plus community forums.
- Voice
- Phone support in the browser with toll-free or local numbers from 75+ countries. Suite Professional adds an IVR phone tree.
- Reporting
- Prebuilt analytics dashboards on every plan. Suite Professional adds Quick Reports, which builds reports from questions typed in plain language.
Plans
Chatbase
Hobby$32
per month for 700 message credits, billed annually ($40 monthly)
1 AI agent, 2 members, 10 MB of training content, basic analytics and basic integrations such as Shopify, Slack, WhatsApp and WordPress.
Standard$120
per month for 4,000 message credits, billed annually ($150 monthly)
3 members, the Chatbase helpdesk inbox, voice and phone calls, outbound campaigns, API access and links to Zendesk, Salesforce, HubSpot and Zapier.
Pro$400
per month for 15,000 message credits, billed annually ($500 monthly)
5 members, 40 MB of training content, 12 AI actions per agent, advanced analytics, source suggestions and past tickets as a training source.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom usage and billing, SSO, HIPAA eligibility, audit logs, custom roles, white-labeling, SLAs and a success manager. Sold through sales.
Zendesk
Support Team$19
per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
Email ticketing with routing, prebuilt dashboards, pre-written replies and automations. No help center, live chat or phone.
Suite Team$55
per agent / month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
Adds messaging and live chat, telephony, omnichannel routing, a knowledge base and Action Builder, with one help center in one language.
Suite Professional$115
per agent / month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Adds skills-based routing, an IVR phone tree, AI writing tools, Quick Reports and App Builder, and up to 5 help centers in 40+ languages.
Suite Enterprise + CopilotCustom
Adds intelligent triage, Auto Assist, generative AI for voice, approval workflows, a sandbox and custom agent roles. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Chatbase
- Annual discount
20% off with yearly billing
Chatbase's pricing page gives 20% off for yearly billing: Hobby is $32 a month billed yearly against $40 monthly, a saving of $96 a year.
Zendesk
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
Zendesk's pricing page marks annual billing as 20% off: Suite Team is $55 per agent a month billed yearly against $69 billed monthly.
- Startups
Startups: 6 months free, up to 2 years via partners
Funded startups up to Series B and under 10 years old get Suite Professional and Copilot free for 6 months, or 1 to 2 years through VC partners, for up to 50 agents.
