respond.io vs Zendesk
We give respond.io a 2.6 GPA and Zendesk a 2.4, out of 4.0. respond.io grades higher on value for money. Zendesk grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
respond.io
Team inbox for WhatsApp, social chats, email and calls with AI agents
Zendesk
Ticketing, messaging, help center and AI agents for support teams
How we grade them
| 2.6GPArespond.ioGood | 2.4GPAZendeskFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $79 a month for up to 5 users billed annually ($99 monthly), so a team of five pays a price per head inside the cheaper quarter of help desks. One person pays the whole $79. Workflows, AI agents and the API start on Growth at $159, and Meta's WhatsApp fees come on top. | 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 | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, with no credit card needed. A week is short, but it's enough to plug in WhatsApp and see how the inbox feels. | 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 | BThe whole job, with more channels than most: WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, chat, email and SMS in one inbox, calls in the same thread, AI agents, workflows, broadcasts and lifecycle stages. Starter leaves the automation out. | 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 App Store rating on record. Each channel needs connecting, WhatsApp included, then there are workflows, AI agents and lifecycle stages to set up, and a contact tier to keep an eye on. | 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 | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with the full inbox on every plan, plus HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Shopify, Zapier, Make, Calendly and Google Sheets, and a developer API from Growth. No desktop app, which an A needs. | 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 | support and sales over WhatsApp and social chat | 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: respond.io and Zendesk. How we grade
Price against what you get
respond.io starts at $79 a month and scores 2.7 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 $60 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 4 score higher than respond.io 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
- respond.io starts at $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly). Zendesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly).
- respond.io also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
- Zendesk also covers reports, help desk and help center.
At a glance
| respond.io | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $79 per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $19 per agent / month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Growth for 5 users and 1,000 contacts, no credit card needed | 14-day free trial of Suite Professional with the Copilot add-on |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Rocketbots Limited (respond.io) | Zendesk, Inc. |
| Price read from | respond.io | zendesk.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
respond.io
- Consumer businesses that sell and support customers over WhatsApp
- Teams handling leads from Meta and TikTok ads in chat
- Field or hybrid teams who answer chats and calls from their phones
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
respond.io
- WhatsApp fees are charged by Meta on top of the plan, and SMS and VoIP are billed at the provider's rates.
- Contacts past the tier cost $12 per 100 on Growth and $15 per 100 on Advanced; extra AI credits are $15 per 1,000.
- Extra users cost $12, $20 and $24 a month on Starter, Growth and Advanced billed yearly ($15, $25 and $30 monthly).
- Starter has no broadcasts, workflows, AI agents or developer API; those start on Growth.
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
respond.io
- One inbox for messaging channels
- WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, LINE, WeChat, a website chat widget, email (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, SMTP) and SMS through providers, in one shared inbox.
- Calls in the same thread
- WhatsApp Business calls, Messenger calls and VoIP calls sit beside the chats with that contact; recording, transcripts and summaries come from Growth.
- AI agents
- From Growth, AI agents answer questions, qualify leads, follow up and route conversations to people, drawing on AI credits that grow with the contact tier.
- Workflows and broadcasts
- Automations for routing, assignment and follow-ups, and bulk messages to segments of contacts, both from the Growth plan.
- Lifecycle stages and CRM sync
- Track each contact through lifecycle stages; HubSpot sync starts on Growth and Salesforce on Advanced.
- Native mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps with the full inbox, calls, assignments and team activity, included on every plan.
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
respond.io
Starter$79
per month for up to 5 users, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Team and custom inboxes, mobile app, AI Assist and prompts, basic reports and 2FA. The comparison table shows unlimited monthly active contacts and 5,000 AI credits.
Growth$159
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($199 monthly)
10 users. Adds broadcasts, workflows, AI agents, advanced reports, Zapier and Make, and the developer API. The price rises with the contact tier you pick.
Advanced$279
per month for up to 1,000 contacts, billed annually ($349 monthly)
10 users. Adds masked phone numbers and emails, multiple workspaces, webhooks, HTTP requests, SSO and custom channels. Sold through sales; price rises with contacts.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users, more workspaces, higher API rate limits and a custom contact allowance. Priced on request.
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
respond.io
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
respond.io's pricing page says yearly billing saves up to 20%: Starter is $948 a year against $1,188 billed monthly, Growth $1,908 against $2,388.
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.
