Zendesk vs Intercom vs Deskwoot: Customer Support Software Compared
Deskwoot next to Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Crisp and Chatwoot, feature by feature, with each vendor's prices as listed on October 27, 2026. The short version: Deskwoot costs a fraction of their price, includes AI on every plan and builds almost every feature request customers send, at no extra charge, when it helps all customers.
Why teams pick Deskwoot
The tools your support team uses every day, for a fraction of the price, from a team that keeps building what its customers ask for.
A fraction of the price. Deskwoot Business costs $6.40 per agent a month on annual billing. The middle plans in the pricing table cost $115 at Zendesk, $85 at Intercom, $55 at Freshdesk and $39 at Chatwoot, about 6 to 18 times as much. AI is the same story: from $0.03 per extra conversation on Deskwoot, while Zendesk, Intercom and Freshdesk charge $0.49 to $2.00 per session, outcome or resolution, up to 67 times as much.
We build what customers ask for. Deskwoot builds almost every feature request customers send, at no extra charge, when it helps all customers. The founder reads the requests himself and answers within a day.
Support our customers praise. Our reviews keep coming back to the support: helpful answers, quick fixes and a responsive team. Ask for a person in the chat and we connect you, whatever your plan.
Bring your history along. Deskwoot imports from Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Crisp and Chatwoot. Enter the access details the import asks for, such as an API key, then start it with one click. Your tickets or conversations with their replies and notes, your contacts and your help center come over in the background, plus canned responses, rules and ratings depending on the tool. Your old account stays as it is, a second run adds only what is new, and importing is included in every plan.
No sales call, hosted in the EU. Every price is on the pricing page. Start on the free plan or try the paid features for 7 days without a card, then change seats and plans yourself. Your data stays on servers in the EU on every plan, and you accept the DPA yourself in Settings.
New channels, same inbox. New: Microsoft Teams, Discord and phone calls through 3CX. They come into the same inbox as your chat, email and messengers, on every plan.
Everything in one plan. Unified inbox for 11 channels, Copilot from the Startup plan and the AI bot from $0.03 per conversation. One flat price per agent, no bills per resolution, and optional add-ons listed on the pricing page.
Compare side by side. Full feature and pricing breakdowns per vendor on dedicated pages: Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Crisp, Chatwoot.
What teams say about Deskwoot
Teams on Deskwoot, and teams moving to it, keep coming back to the same points: the price, the support and how fast new features arrive.
“They are tackling a genuine problem in a market dominated by bloated, expensive platforms with often disappointing support. … the speed at which they can develop and deliver new features is remarkable. … The product already represents exceptional value for money, and the level of support we have received throughout our evaluation has been outstanding.”Ali Rees
Tabology
“Their support has been nothing but helpful. My favorite thing about Deskwoot is that they are willing to add new features at no cost if that helps the whole software; they will add them overnight, with no charges needed. This customization and reliability are amazing.”Next Level Funded
“As a small agency we don't need enterprise software at 60 dollars a seat. Deskwoot puts mail, chat and inquiries in one inbox, GDPR-compliant, at a price that doesn't hurt. Set up in an afternoon.”Pixelboot, web agency
Pricing
| Deskwoot | Chatwoot | Zendesk | Intercom | Freshdesk | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes (1 agent) | Yes (2 agents, live chat only) | No | No | No | Yes (2 seats, chat and contact form only) |
| Starting price | $3.20/ | $19/ | $19/ | $29/ | $19/ | $45/ |
| Middle plan | $6.40/ | $39/ | $115/ | $85/ | $55/ | $95/ |
| Top plan | $9.60/ | $99/ | Talk to sales (Suite Enterprise) | $132/ | $89/ | $295/ |
Prices as each vendor listed them on October 27, 2026, in US dollars a month. Zendesk, Intercom and Freshdesk prices are for annual billing. Zendesk's Support Team plan has no live chat or social channels; those start with Suite Team at $55. Intercom's Essential plan costs $19 for new customers. Freshdesk's prices are for its email help desk; Freshdesk Omni, which adds chat and messaging, costs $29, $79 and $119. Crisp and Chatwoot list one price per plan, and Crisp also sells an Enterprise plan with custom pricing.
Channels
| Deskwoot | Chatwoot | Zendesk | Intercom | Freshdesk | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website live chat | Yes | Yes | Yes (Suite plans) | Yes | With Freshdesk Omni | Yes |
| Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | Yes (Suite plans) | Yes | With Freshdesk Omni | Yes (Essentials and up) | |
| Telegram | Yes | Yes | Yes (Suite Professional and up) | Yes | Not listed | Yes |
| LINE | Yes | Yes | Yes (Suite plans) | Not listed | With Freshdesk Omni | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| SMS | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Add-on | With Freshdesk Omni | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| X (Twitter) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Customer chats in Microsoft Teams | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Customer chats in Discord | Yes | Not listed | Not listed | Yes | Not listed | Not listed |
| Phone calls | Yes (with 3CX) | Yes (Business and up) | Yes (Suite plans, numbers and minutes extra) | Yes (billed by use) | Freshcaller, or your own phone system on Omni Pro and up | Yes (Essentials and up) |
Not listed: we did not find it on the vendor's pricing, channel or help pages when we checked on October 27, 2026.
AI and automation
| Deskwoot | Chatwoot | Zendesk | Intercom | Freshdesk | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managed AI chatbot | Yes (paid plans) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI price | $0.03 to $0.07 per conversation | $0.02 per AI reply | $1.50 to $2.00 per resolution | $0.99 per outcome | $0.49 per session | About $0.05 to $0.10 per conversation (Crisp's estimate) |
| AI Copilot (reply suggestions) | Yes | Yes | Add-on | 10 free a month, then add-on | Add-on (Pro and up) | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| AI Copilot cost | From Startup, no seat fee (uses your AI conversations) | Uses AI credits | $50/ | $29/ | $29/ | In Essentials and up |
| Live translation | Yes (Business and up) | Yes | Yes | Limited | Add-on (Pro and up) | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| Automation rules | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (Business and up) | Yes | Yes (Advanced and up) | Yes | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| SLA policies | Yes (Enterprise) | Yes (Business and up) | Yes (Suite Professional and up) | Yes (Expert) | Yes | Not listed |
Not listed: we did not find it on the vendor's pricing, channel or help pages when we checked on October 27, 2026.
Up to 67x cheaper AI
Zendesk, Intercom and Freshdesk charge $0.49 to $2.00 for each AI session, outcome or resolution. Deskwoot starts at $0.03 per conversation, with no fee per resolution.
| Tool | Price per AI conversation | Billing unit |
|---|---|---|
| Deskwoot | $0.03 | per conversation |
| Freshdesk | $0.49 | per session |
| Intercom | $0.99 | per outcome |
| Zendesk | $1.50 to $2.00 | per resolution |
Copilot from the Startup plan. Reply suggestions for agents come with the Startup plan and up, with no extra seat fee, and count toward the plan's included AI conversations. Zendesk, Intercom and Freshdesk charge $29 to $50 per agent a month extra on annual billing; Intercom first gives each agent 10 free a month.
Help center and hosting
| Deskwoot | Chatwoot | Zendesk | Intercom | Freshdesk | Crisp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Help center / knowledge base | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (paid plans) | Yes (Suite plans) | Yes | Yes | Yes (Essentials and up) |
| Data hosted in the EU | Yes (every plan) | Cloud runs in the US (other regions through sales) | Yes (Suite Professional and up, on request) | Yes (Advanced and Expert, new workspaces, on a contract) | Yes (picked at signup) | Yes (every plan) |
Integrations
What Deskwoot connects to, and the plan you need for each. The tables above compare the tools; this one shows Deskwoot only.
| For | Integrations | Deskwoot plan |
|---|---|---|
| Orders, refunds and cancels | Shopify, WooCommerce, Stripe | Every plan; Fynn's part on paid plans |
| More shop and order software | Shopware | Every plan; Fynn's part on paid plans |
| Appointments and table bookings | Outlook Calendar, Cliniko, aleno (beta), Tabology (beta), Square Appointments (beta) | Every plan; Fynn books on paid plans |
| Invoices and real estate listings | Lexware Office, Propstack (beta), Justimmo (beta) | Every plan; Fynn's part on paid plans |
| Parcel tracking | Ship24 | Live status on Business and up |
| Team chat and automation | Slack, Zapier, n8n, webhooks | Slack on every plan, Zapier too for sending events; webhooks and n8n on paid plans; the full Zapier and n8n apps on Enterprise |
| For developers | REST API, MCP | Enterprise |
| Tickets | Jira, Linear | Enterprise |
More in Deskwoot
Features the tables above don't compare, with the Deskwoot plan each one needs.
| Feature | Deskwoot plan |
|---|---|
| Train Fynn on your help center, web pages, PDFs and FAQs | Paid plans |
| Chat triggers that open the chat with a message | Every plan |
| Cookieless chat mode | Paid plans |
| Spam filter with block list and quarantine | Every plan |
| Tickets and trackers for the work behind a conversation | Enterprise |
| Custom roles and audit logs | Enterprise |
| iPhone and Android apps | Every plan |
| Telegram alerts for agents | Every plan |
| Virus scan for every file | Add-on, $5 a month per workspace |
| Import from Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Crisp and Chatwoot | Every plan |
What you pay extra for elsewhere
Each of the other tools puts something you need behind a higher plan, an add-on or a fee per use:
Zendesk. Live chat and messaging need a Suite plan, from $55 per agent. Copilot costs $50 per agent on top, every AI resolution past a small allowance costs $1.50 to $2.00, and the top plan is sold only through sales.
Intercom. Every Fin outcome costs $0.99, with no allowance in the plan, and Copilot past 10 free conversations per agent a month costs $29 per agent. X is no longer supported, and LINE is not on its channel pages.
Freshdesk. Chat and messaging are a separate product, Freshdesk Omni, from $29 per agent. Freddy AI costs $0.49 a session once the 500 free ones per account are used up, and Copilot costs $29 per agent, on Pro and up only.
Crisp. You pay per workspace, so even 1 agent pays $45 a month for Mini, and WhatsApp, LINE, SMS or a help center need Essentials at $95. Hugo AI runs on credits, and Crisp publishes no price for use beyond them.
Chatwoot. Automation rules and SLA policies need Business at $39 per agent, Captain AI uses 1 credit for every reply, and Chatwoot Cloud runs in the US. Hosting it yourself means looking after servers, updates and backups.
One case where another tool fits better: software that has to run on your own servers. Chatwoot can do that; Deskwoot always runs for you, in the EU.