Ravenna vs Zendesk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Zendesk grades higher than Ravenna: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ravenna grades higher on value for money. Zendesk grades higher on 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.
Zendesk
Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams
Which one is for you
Pick Ravenna if
- Fits if your team already asks for help in Slack or Teams
- Works for internal support teams that want tickets handled in chat
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a price, as the site has no pricing page
- Not for you if you want a free way to try it, since only a demo is offered
- Too light outside chat tools: no standalone mobile or desktop app is described
- Watch out: SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR are vendor-stated badges
Pick Zendesk if
- Fits if your team answers email, chat and phone and wants one queue for all of it
- Works for funded startups, which can get Suite Professional free for 6 months
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you need live chat or a help center, as both start at $55 an agent billed yearly
- Too light for chat-first teams on the $19 plan, which covers email tickets only
- Skip it if you need a fixed bill, since AI resolutions past the allowance cost $1.50 to $2 each
- Watch out: Copilot is a $50 an agent add-on, and phone numbers and call minutes are billed on top
- Watch out: the listing doesn't say whether the trial needs a card, and Suite Enterprise is sold only through sales
How we grade them
| 1.8GPARavennaWeak | 2.4GPAZendeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published and there is no pricing page, so it sits in the middle by default. | 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 | FNo free plan or trial is listed. The site offers a demo. | 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 | CAgents in team chat, a visual workflow builder, service desk, CoPilot and analytics dashboards. | 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. Agents and workflows have to be built and connected. | 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 | BSlack and Microsoft Teams, with Mattermost, Zoom, Twilio and SendGrid listed. No standalone mobile or desktop app. | 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 | AI help desk that lives in Slack and Teams | 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: Ravenna and Zendesk. How we grade
Where they differ
- Ravenna also covers workflow automation, AI agents and dashboards.
- Zendesk also covers reports, live chat, help center and AI support agent.
At a glance
| Ravenna | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of Suite Professional with the Copilot add-on |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ravenna | Zendesk, Inc. |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | zendesk.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ravenna
- No prices are published; the site offers a demo and an info request, and has no pricing page.
- It runs inside Slack and Microsoft Teams; the pages read describe no standalone mobile or desktop app.
- The site lists SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR as vendor-stated compliance badges.
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
Ravenna
- Agents in team chat
- Agents answer common questions from existing knowledge and handle routine requests in Slack and Microsoft Teams, guided by natural-language instructions.
- Visual workflow builder
- Deterministic workflows on a visual canvas for tasks such as software access requests, onboarding and offboarding, and hardware requests.
- Service desk
- Forms, statuses, assignees, approvers, tasks, categories, SLAs and CSAT, with separate workspaces for IT, HR, finance, legal and other teams.
- CoPilot
- An assistant for support staff that draws on tickets, knowledge, workflows, systems and people.
- Analytics dashboards
- Dashboards that track service desk performance over time and tie it to business outcomes.
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
Ravenna
Pricing could not be confirmed. See ravenna.ai.
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
Ravenna
No public discounts listed.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ravenna or Zendesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ravenna has no price we could confirm, and Zendesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Ravenna or Zendesk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Ravenna nor Zendesk has a free plan. Zendesk has a free trial.
Which platforms do Ravenna and Zendesk run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Zendesk 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.