Comparison
FyneDesk vs Zendesk
Zendesk has never offered a free plan. FyneDesk gives your team a complete customer support platform with AI, knowledge base, customer portal, SLA tracking, and reporting — at no cost.
The short version
Zendesk's cheapest plan is $19/agent/month — and that doesn't include knowledge base, customer portal, or SLA tracking. For a complete platform (Suite Growth), it's $89/agent/month. For a 5-person team, that's $445/month before any AI features.
FyneDesk includes ticket management, AI-powered summaries and suggestions, knowledge base, customer portal, email-to-ticket, SLA tracking, dashboard analytics, asset management, and team collaboration — all free for up to 5 agents, forever.
Create Free Account →What Zendesk actually costs
Zendesk is structured in two overlapping product lines that makes pricing confusing by design. The "Support" plans give you ticket management only. The "Suite" plans bundle ticketing, knowledge base, chat, and phone. Neither line has ever had a free tier.
The lowest-priced Support Team plan ($19/agent/mo) lacks knowledge base, customer portal, and SLA management — features most teams consider standard. To unlock those, you need Suite Team at $55/agent/month or Suite Growth at $89/agent/month. Custom reporting requires Suite Professional at $115/agent/month. Role-based access controls and audit logs require Suite Enterprise at $169/agent/month.
Zendesk AI (Copilot) is a separate add-on at $50 per agent per month, available only on Suite Professional or higher. For a 5-agent team fully equipped, that's $845/month.
Pricing at a glance
- All core features included
- AI assistant included
- No credit card required
- No trial, no time limit
What does a 5-agent team actually pay?
| Setup | FyneDesk | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Basic ticketing only | $0/month | $95/month Support Team |
| + Knowledge base + customer portal | $0/month | $275/month Suite Team |
| + SLA tracking + automations | $0/month | $445/month Suite Growth |
| + Custom reports + AI features | $0/month | $825/month Suite Pro + Copilot |
| Annual cost | $0/year | $1,140 — $9,900/year |
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | FyneDesk | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, forever | No free plan |
| Agents on free plan | Up to 5 | N/A |
| Cheapest paid plan | $0 | $19/agent/month (Support Team) |
| Unlimited tickets | Yes, free | Yes, all paid plans |
| Customer portal | Yes, free | Suite Team ($55/agent/mo) |
| Knowledge base | Yes, free | Suite Team ($55/agent/mo) |
| Email-to-ticket | Yes, free | Yes, all paid plans |
| AI ticket summaries | Yes, free | $50/agent/mo add-on |
| AI suggested replies | Yes, free | $50/agent/mo add-on |
| SLA tracking | Yes, free | Suite Growth ($89/agent/mo) |
| Dashboard analytics | Yes, free | Basic on Support Team, Explore on Suite |
| Custom reports | Yes, free | Suite Professional ($115/agent/mo) |
| Teams & assignment | Yes, free | Yes, all paid plans |
| Role-based access | Yes, free | Suite Enterprise ($169/agent/mo) |
| Asset management | Yes, free | Not included |
| Contact/customer CRM | Yes, free | Basic on all plans |
| Audit trail | Yes, free | Suite Enterprise ($169/agent/mo) |
| Multi-tenant data isolation | Yes, row-level security | Yes |
| File attachments | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| Themes & branding | 5 themes + logo, free | Portal branding on Suite Growth+ |
Where Zendesk is stronger
Zendesk is one of the most mature platforms in customer support — built over 15 years and used by thousands of enterprise teams. It has capabilities FyneDesk doesn't match.
- Omnichannel at scale: Zendesk handles email, phone (Talk), live chat, social media, messaging apps (WhatsApp, Messenger), and SMS from a single interface. FyneDesk focuses on email and portal channels.
- Marketplace integrations: Zendesk has 1,300+ apps in their marketplace covering CRMs, billing tools, project management, and more. FyneDesk offers webhooks and REST API on the Pro plan.
- AI automation: Zendesk's Advanced AI includes intent detection, ticket triage, bot deflection, and QA scoring. FyneDesk AI covers summaries, suggested replies, and resolution hints.
- Enterprise workflows: Zendesk supports complex routing rules, business hours by ticket channel, sandbox environments, and dedicated implementation support. FyneDesk is built for straightforward team setups.
- Skills-based routing: Zendesk can route tickets based on agent expertise, language, or workload capacity. FyneDesk uses manual assignment and team-based routing.
If you're running a 50+ agent support operation across phone, chat, and social — Zendesk is likely the right fit. But for small teams doing email-based customer support who need AI, a knowledge base, customer portal, and reporting without paying hundreds per month, FyneDesk covers all of it for free.
Who switches from Zendesk to FyneDesk?
Teams that make the switch typically share a few things in common:
- They outgrew a simple email inbox but can't justify Zendesk's per-agent pricing
- They're a startup or small business where $445-825/month for 5 agents is unsustainable
- They need knowledge base and customer portal but don't want to pay for Suite
- They want AI summaries and reply suggestions without a $50/agent add-on
- They want a modern, clean interface without months of Zendesk configuration
- They need SLA tracking, audit trails, and role-based access — all locked behind Zendesk's higher tiers
Frequently asked questions
No. Zendesk has never offered a permanent free plan. They occasionally run 14-day free trials, but all active use requires a paid subscription. Their cheapest option is the Support Team plan at $19 per agent per month (billed annually), but this plan excludes knowledge base, customer portal, SLA tracking, and AI features — all of which require higher tiers.
For a 5-agent team, costs range from $95/month (Support Team, basic only) to $845/month (Suite Enterprise with AI add-on). A typical setup with knowledge base, customer portal, and SLA tracking on Suite Growth costs $445/month. Adding Zendesk AI Copilot costs an additional $50/agent/month on top of Suite Professional or higher.
Zendesk Support plans ($19-99/agent/mo) cover ticket management but exclude knowledge base (Guide), customer portal, and live chat. Zendesk Suite plans ($55-169/agent/mo) bundle Support with Guide, Chat, Talk, and Sell. To get a full support platform comparable to FyneDesk's free tier, you need at least Suite Growth at $89/agent/month.
Yes. FyneDesk's free plan includes up to 5 agents with unlimited tickets, knowledge base, customer portal, email-to-ticket, AI assistant, dashboard analytics, SLA tracking, asset management, role-based access, audit trails, and more. There is no trial period, no credit card required, and no time limit.
Zendesk has a much larger ecosystem: 1,300+ third-party integrations in their marketplace, native voice/phone support (Talk), live chat (Zendesk Chat), social media ticketing, AI-powered bot automation (Advanced AI), QA tools (Klaus), and enterprise workforce management. Zendesk is built for large organizations running omnichannel support at scale. FyneDesk focuses on providing a complete email-first support platform for small and mid-sized teams.
You can create a FyneDesk account for free in under a minute and run it alongside Zendesk during a transition. FyneDesk supports email-to-ticket (including from existing support email addresses), knowledge base, customer portal, and team management out of the box. For migration assistance, contact support@fynedesk.io.
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