Gorgias vs HelpDesk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gorgias grades higher than HelpDesk: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Gorgias grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gorgias
Ecommerce help desk priced by tickets, with a paid-per-use AI agent
HelpDesk
Ticketing with an AI agent for email, chat, Messenger and SMS
Which one is for you
Pick Gorgias if
- Fits if you run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and answer a lot of order questions
- Works for teams that would rather pay per ticket than per agent
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't sell online, since it's built around store platforms
- Pricey if you lean on the AI agent, at $0.85 to $1.00 for every automated interaction, from $30 a month for 30
- Too light for busy stores on Starter: 50 tickets, 3 seats, monthly billing only, and no Voice, SMS or AI actions
- Watch out: tickets past your plan cost $0.40 each on Starter and $36 to $40 per 100 above it
- Skip it if you're on BigCommerce or Magento and want the $10 plan: BigCommerce needs Basic at $50, Magento needs Pro at $300
Pick HelpDesk if
- Fits if you answer customers by email, chat, Messenger and SMS from one inbox
- Works for a small team that wants tickets and an AI agent from $19 a user
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you lean on the AI: 10 resolutions a month on Essential, 200 on Growth, and extra 50-packs cost $49.50
- Pricey if you outgrow Essential, as Growth is $79 a user billed yearly ($99 monthly)
- Skip it if you want a free plan or phone apps, since it has neither
- Watch out: multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and HIPAA are on the custom-priced Enterprise plan
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAGorgiasGood | 2.4GPAHelpDeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ABasic is $50 a month billed yearly for 300 tickets and any number of seats, $10 a head for a team of five, just under 60% of what the cheaper quarter of help desks charges. Starter is $10 for one person but only 50 tickets. Extra tickets are $0.40 each. | B$19 per user a month billed yearly is at the edge of the cheapest quarter ($19). Growth is $79 a user, and that is where the 20 custom fields and 10 teams are. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial with no card needed, though the listing doesn't say how long it lasts. There's no free plan, and the cheapest paid one is billed monthly only. | CA 14-day trial with no credit card. There is no free plan. |
| Features | BOne inbox for email, chat, social and help center requests with order details beside each ticket, an AI agent that acts on orders, voice and SMS, and reports that tie support to sales. For a store, that's the whole job. | CEmail, chat, Messenger and SMS in one inbox, with an AI Agent and Copilot. Essential has 3 ticketing rules and 10 AI resolutions a month, which is the gap. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You connect the store, then each channel, and decide what the AI agent is allowed to do with orders. That is a fair bit of setup before the first reply goes out. | CNo store rating on record, and rules, teams and the AI Agent need setting up before they help. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento plus Loop Returns, Yotpo, Recharge and Attentive. No desktop app, and BigCommerce and Magento need higher plans. | BWeb only, with 8 listed integrations. The chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app, but there are no phone or desktop apps. |
| Best for | support desks for Shopify stores | a ticket inbox with AI replies built in |
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: Gorgias and HelpDesk. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gorgias starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. HelpDesk starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Gorgias scores higher and starts $9 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Gorgias for less, and 7 score higher than HelpDesk 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
- Gorgias also covers reports and help center.
- HelpDesk also covers shared inbox, sMS marketing and chatbots.
At a glance
| Gorgias | HelpDesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 50 tickets, billed monthly | $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Gorgias Inc. | Text, Inc. |
| Price read from | gorgias.com | helpdesk.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gorgias
- Starter allows 50 tickets a month and 3 seats, is billed monthly only, and has no Voice or SMS or AI Agent actions.
- Tickets beyond the plan cost $0.40 each on Starter, $40 per 100 on Basic and $36 per 100 on Pro and Advanced.
- AI Agent costs $1.00 per automated interaction on Starter, $0.90 on Basic and Pro and $0.85 on Advanced; adding it starts at $30 a month for 30.
- It is built for ecommerce: the platform links are store platforms, and Magento needs the Pro plan.
HelpDesk
- AI resolutions are capped: 10 a month on Essential and 200 on Growth. Extra packs of 50 resolutions cost $49.50.
- There is no free plan; the 14-day trial is the only free access.
- Per-user pricing means Growth costs $79 per user / month when billed yearly, $99 billed monthly.
- The pages describe a browser-based product and list no desktop or phone apps; the chat widget can be embedded in your own mobile app.
Key features
Gorgias
- One inbox with order data
- Email, chat, social and help center requests arrive in one inbox, with the customer's store orders shown beside each ticket.
- AI Agent
- Answers shoppers' questions and, from Basic up, can cancel orders or apply discounts. Each automated interaction costs between $0.85 and $1.00 by plan.
- Ecommerce platform links
- Connects to Shopify and Shopify Plus and WooCommerce on every plan, BigCommerce from Basic and Magento from Pro.
- Help center
- A help center is one of the channels on every plan; the custom plan allows unlimited help centers.
- Voice and SMS
- Phone and text support can be added to any plan from Basic up, priced in tiers by call and text volume.
- Revenue attribution
- Pro and Advanced add reports that tie support conversations to sales, alongside the support and automation statistics on every plan.
HelpDesk
- One inbox for four channels
- Email, website chat, Messenger and SMS land in the same inbox as tickets, with statuses, priorities and automated assignment.
- AI Agent
- An AI Agent runs conversations using the knowledge, tone and skills you give it. One resolution is counted when it directly solves a customer question.
- AI Copilot for agents
- Reply suggestions and AI text edits for human agents, plus ticket summaries, tag suggestions and similar-ticket suggestions on higher plans.
- Selling through Shopify
- Every plan lists selling through Shopify, and the pricing page describes an AI sales skill with a live Shopify catalog and cart recovery campaigns.
- Rules and routing
- Ticketing rules and automated assignment sort incoming tickets, with 3 rules on Essential and 10 on Growth.
- Teams and reports
- Growth adds up to 10 teams, chat supervision and takeover, agent activity and performance reports.
Plans
Gorgias
Starter$10
per month for 50 tickets, billed monthly only
50 tickets a month and 3 user seats, with email, chat, social and help center channels and Shopify or WooCommerce. Extra tickets cost $0.40 each.
Basic$50
per month for 300 tickets, billed annually ($60 monthly)
300 tickets a month and 500 seats, adding BigCommerce, Voice and SMS add-ons and AI Agent actions. Extra tickets cost $40 per 100.
Pro$300
per month for 2,000 tickets, billed annually ($360 monthly)
2,000 tickets a month, adding Magento, revenue attribution and 1:1 onboarding. Extra tickets cost $36 per 100.
Advanced$750
per month for 5,000 tickets, billed annually ($900 monthly)
5,000 tickets a month with a dedicated success manager, white-glove onboarding and an SLA. Sold through a call with sales.
Custom planCustom
For more than 5,000 conversations a month: SAML SSO, audit logs, unlimited help centers, a custom DPA or MSA and a solutions architect.
HelpDesk
Essential$19
per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly)
Inbox and tickets, 3 ticketing rules, 1 AI Agent with 10 AI resolutions a month, and AI Copilot with 5 reply suggestions per user a month.
Growth$79
per user / month, billed yearly ($99 billed monthly)
20 custom fields, 10 ticketing rules, up to 10 teams, 10 AI Agents with 200 AI resolutions a month, ticket summaries, chat supervision and 30 proactive campaigns.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom AI Agents, multiple brands, custom roles, SSO and audit logs, HIPAA compliance and a dedicated account manager. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Gorgias
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
Gorgias lists Basic at $50 a month billed annually ($600 a year) against $60 billed monthly, with the same cut on Pro and Advanced. Starter is monthly only.
HelpDesk
- Annual discount
Save up to 24% by billing yearly
The pricing page shows yearly billing at $19 and $79 per user against $25 and $99 billed monthly, and says paying yearly saves up to 24%.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gorgias or HelpDesk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Gorgias starts at $10 per month for 50 tickets, billed monthly, and HelpDesk starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Gorgias or HelpDesk?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Gorgias nor HelpDesk has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Gorgias and HelpDesk run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Gorgias lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.