Best Sierra alternatives (2026)

What sets it apart AI agents are metered by outcome ("automated resolutions"): the customer pays only for requests the bot resolves without human escalation, rather than paying a flat per-seat AI fee

Best for Support teams from small businesses to enterprises that want email, chat, phone, and messaging unified in one ticketing system with AI automation and reporting · Pricing model Per-agent monthly subscription billed yearly: Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115, and Suite Enterprise via sales. AI agents are included and billed separately by automated resolution (consumption-based). A 14-day free trial is offered; there is no permanent free tier. Optional add-ons include Copilot ($50/agent/mo).

Zendesk is a service platform that consolidates email, chat, phone, messaging, and a help center into one ticketing and routing system, with AI agents that handle customer requests alongside human staff. Its distinguishing feature is billing: AI agents are included across plans but metered by "automated resolutions," so customers pay only for requests the bot closes without escalating to a person. Seat pricing runs from $19 per agent monthly on the Support Team plan up to $115 on Suite Professional, with a 14-day trial and no permanent free tier. It suits support teams from small businesses through enterprises that want multiple channels, automation, and analytics under a single vendor.

Sources Zendesk official pricing page · Zendesk homepage · Richpanel - Zendesk Pricing in 2026

What sets it apart AI is unbundled from seat pricing and metered by consumption: Freddy AI Agent automation is billed per 100 sessions after an included allowance, and Freddy AI Copilot is a separate per-agent add-on, so AI cost scales independently of headcount

Best for Solo, SMB, and enterprise teams running email and ticket-based customer support who want built-in AI assistance (summaries, sentiment, drafted replies) and optional autonomous AI agents layered onto a per-agent helpdesk · Pricing model Per-agent subscription with three paid tiers billed annually: Growth $19, Pro $55, and Enterprise $89 per agent/month (monthly billing costs more). A 14-day trial grants Enterprise access. AI is priced separately: Freddy AI Agent includes 500 sessions on Pro/Enterprise then $49 per 100 additional sessions, and Freddy AI Copilot is a per-agent add-on. A Free program (Freshdesk email-only, not Omni) offers ticketing, knowledge base, and reports for up to 2 agents for 6 months.

Freshdesk is the helpdesk product in the Freshworks suite, organized around email and ticket-based support with a knowledge base and pre-built reporting. Its Freddy AI layer works inside the agent view, generating ticket summaries, flagging customer sentiment, translating messages, and drafting replies, alongside a no-code builder for AI agents that resolve common requests without a human handoff. One structural detail shapes the cost: seats start at $19 per agent per month billed annually, but AI agent automation is metered as consumption-based sessions ($49 per 100 after an included allowance) and Copilot is a separate per-agent add-on. It fits solo operators through enterprise support teams, though the no-cost option is a six-month program for up to two agents rather than a standing free tier.

Sources Freshworks - Freshdesk product page · Freshworks - Freshdesk pricing · Freshworks - Freddy AI Copilot for helpdesk · Freshdesk Support - Understanding Freshdesk pricing plans

What sets it apart Pricing scales by monthly ticket volume rather than per agent seat, and the AI Agent is charged only when it fully resolves a conversation, on top of native Shopify order and customer context inside the inbox

Best for Shopify and direct-to-consumer ecommerce brands, from solo/SMB operators up to larger retailers, that want support tooling integrated with their store's order and customer data · Pricing model Ticket-volume-based subscription starting at $10/month (Starter), scaling by monthly tickets rather than per agent. The AI Agent is billed per resolved conversation (about $0.90 per resolution on annual plans, $1.00 on Starter/monthly), with resolution allocations included per tier and overages beyond them. No standing free plan; a free trial is offered.

Built specifically for ecommerce, Gorgias is a customer support helpdesk that consolidates email, live chat, SMS, and social messaging into one inbox and surfaces Shopify order and customer data next to each conversation. Its AI Agent resolves routine pre- and post-sale questions and is billed per resolved conversation, matching a subscription that is priced by monthly ticket volume rather than per agent and starts at $10 a month. The fit is clearest for Shopify and other direct-to-consumer brands, from solo operators to larger retailers, that want support tooling wired into store data rather than a general-purpose help desk.

Sources Gorgias homepage · Gorgias pricing page · Gorgias AI Agent pricing (vendor blog) · Gorgias About us

What sets it apart AI Answers is priced by usage at $0.75 per resolved conversation, decoupled from per-seat plans, and answers from the team's own Docs knowledge base

Best for Small and midsize support teams that want a shared inbox across email, chat, and social without the overhead of a heavy ticketing platform · Pricing model Per-seat subscription: Standard $25/user/mo, Plus $45/user/mo, Pro $75/user/mo, with a free plan for up to 5 users (1 inbox, 1 Docs site) and a 15-day trial on Standard/Plus. AI Answers is a separate usage-based add-on at $0.75 per resolution, with 3 months free for new accounts.

Help Scout is customer service software built around a shared inbox that pulls email, live chat, and messages from social and Shopify into one queue, with assignments, private notes, and collision detection to keep agents from replying over each other. Its AI Answers add-on runs a chatbot that draws on the team's Docs knowledge base to respond to customer questions, and it is billed by usage at $0.75 per resolution instead of by seat. Core plans are priced per user, starting at $25 a month on the Standard tier, alongside a free plan for up to five users. The product fits small and midsize support teams that want a lighter setup than a full ticketing system.

Sources Help Scout homepage · Help Scout pricing page · Help Scout shared inbox page · Help Scout Free Plan docs

What sets it apart Lyro, its AI agent, answers questions from the business's own support content without a separate training step, and AI conversations are metered and billed independently of the seat-based live-chat plans

Best for Small and medium businesses and ecommerce stores that want AI question-deflection combined with human live chat and a shared inbox, with no-code setup on Shopify, WordPress, or Wix · Pricing model Freemium plus seat-based subscription. A free tier exists; paid plans begin at $29/mo (Starter) and $59/mo (Growth), with Plus around $749/mo and a custom-priced Premium tier. Lyro AI conversations and Flows are billed separately as metered add-ons, so the effective monthly cost rises with AI usage beyond the base plan.

Built for small and medium businesses and ecommerce stores, Tidio combines live chat, a rule-based chatbot it calls Flows, a shared help-desk inbox, and an AI agent named Lyro. Lyro answers routine customer questions by drawing on a company's own FAQ and support content, and it works across the website widget and connected channels such as email, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. Pricing splits the product in two: seat-based plans start at $29 per month above a free tier, while Lyro's AI conversations are metered and billed as a separate allowance. It fits teams that want AI question deflection alongside human live chat in one low-setup tool rather than a standalone enterprise support suite.

Sources Tidio - Lyro, the conversational AI agent (help doc) · Tidio - homepage · Tidio - Pricing · eesel AI - Lyro AI pricing breakdown (2025)

What sets it apart Hugo AI is billed by resolved conversation through a USD-denominated credit pool layered on top of a flat per-workspace subscription (roughly $0.05 to $0.10 per handled conversation), and by default it stops and hands off to a human once the included credits run out

Best for Solopreneurs and small-to-midsize support teams that want an omnichannel shared inbox with optional, usage-metered AI automation rather than per-agent AI seat pricing · Pricing model Flat per-workspace subscription with a free tier (2 seats, $0) and paid tiers Mini ($45/mo, 4 seats), Essentials ($95/mo, 10 seats), and Plus ($295/mo, 20+ seats); each paid tier bundles a monthly Hugo AI credit allotment ($5/$25/$75), extra seats are $10/mo, and Hugo usage beyond included credits requires opt-in pay-as-you-go.

Crisp bundles a shared team inbox with live chat, email, and social channels such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, alongside a knowledge base and a lightweight support CRM. Its Hugo AI agent trains on a company's own content and can handle a conversation from first reply through resolution, but it is metered separately from the subscription: each plan carries a flat per-workspace price plus a monthly allotment of usage credits, and once those credits are spent Hugo escalates to a human operator by default. Paid tiers start at $45 per month for four seats and run to $295, with extra seats at $10 each. The flat, per-workspace pricing suits solo operators and small support teams weighing AI automation against per-agent cost.

Sources Crisp - homepage (product overview) · Crisp - Pricing · Crisp Knowledge Base - How Hugo AI pricing and billing works

What sets it apart A graduated automation path: Copilot drafts replies that agents approve before sending, and proven response patterns can be promoted to the Autopilot tier for hands-off resolution, keeping a human in the loop until the team opts out

Best for SMB and mid-market customer support and operations teams that want a collaborative shared inbox unifying email, chat, SMS, and social channels, with optional AI drafting on top · Pricing model Per-seat subscription billed annually. Three tiers: Starter $25/seat/mo (single channel, up to 10 seats), Professional $65/seat/mo (omnichannel, up to 50 seats), Enterprise $105/seat/mo (most AI features included except Autopilot). AI features such as Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are paid add-ons on Starter and Professional. No free tier.

Built around shared inboxes, Front routes email, chat, SMS, and social messages into one workspace where agents assign, comment on, and reply to customer conversations together. Its Copilot assistant drafts replies from a team's past conversations and help content, then hands them to an agent for review before sending; a separate Autopilot tier automates responses once a team chooses to trust them. Pricing is per seat, running from a $25/month Starter plan capped at ten seats to a $105/month Enterprise plan, with most AI features sold as add-ons below the top tier. The product targets SMB and mid-market support and operations teams that want internal collaboration layered over customer messaging.

Sources Front - homepage (product overview) · Front - Copilot AI Assistant product page · Front - Pricing · Hiver - Front Pricing 2026 breakdown