The best help desks with flat pricing, no per-seat fees (2026)
Flat-priced help desks compared on what 3, 7 and 12 agents cost a month, against per-seat tools like Help Scout, Intercom and Zendesk.
On this page
Helpzen, Crisp, Convot, Gorgias and Tidio price the team, not each agent. Doubling a support team from 6 to 12 agents keeps Helpzen at $49 a month and moves Crisp from $95 to $115 and Convot from $79 to $129, while Help Scout doubles from $150 to $300 (billed annually) and Zendesk Suite Team from $330 to $660.
Disclosure: Convot publishes this list and ranks itself first. We rank on two things together: how little the bill moves when you hire, and how much of a support stack one plan covers. On how little the bill moves from 6 to 12 agents, Helpzen and Crisp beat us, and we say so in their entries. We rank first on the second: one Convot plan includes a changelog, roadmap, status page and scheduling alongside the help center. We did not find those on Helpzen’s site, and Crisp offers its status page only on higher plans. Prices come from each vendor’s public pricing page, checked 30 September 2026.
- What 3, 7 and 12 agents cost
- Which help desks do not charge per agent?
- What a fifth or sixth agent costs
- Six help desks without per-agent pricing, ranked
- What per-seat pricing costs as you hire
- Which flat-priced help desk fits your team
- FAQ
What 3, 7 and 12 agents cost
Monthly list prices for 3, 7 and 12 support agents on eight help desks, each on its cheapest plan that includes a help center or knowledge base, before AI usage. Helpzen is $49 at every size; Zendesk Suite Team is $165, $385 and $660. Freshdesk, Intercom and Zendesk are quoted at annual billing, the rate their pricing pages show; Help Scout at monthly billing; Helpzen, Crisp and Convot at monthly prices.
| Tool | Pricing model | 3 agents | 7 agents | 12 agents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helpzen | Flat, unlimited agents | $49 | $49 | $49 |
| Crisp | Flat per workspace, 10 seats on Essentials | $95 | $95 | $115 |
| Convot | Flat per plan, seats included | $49 | $79 | $129 |
| Freshdesk | Per agent, Growth | $57 | $133 | $228 |
| Chatwoot | Per agent, Startups | $57 | $133 | $228 |
| Help Scout | Per user, Standard | $75 | $175 | $300 |
| Intercom | Per seat, Essential | $87 | $203 | $348 |
| Zendesk | Per agent, Suite Team | $165 | $385 | $660 |
How each figure is built:
| Tool | Unit price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helpzen | Pro $49 a month | Monthly ($39 annual) | Unlimited agents and seats |
| Crisp | Essentials $95 per workspace, 10 seats, extra seat $10 | Monthly | 12 agents is $95 plus 2 x $10 |
| Convot | Starter $49 (3 seats), Growth $79 (7 seats), extra seat $10 | Monthly | 12 agents is Growth $79 plus 5 x $10 |
| Freshdesk | Growth $19 per agent | Annual | Knowledge base and customer portal included |
| Chatwoot | Startups $19 per agent | Cloud plan | Help center included from Startups |
| Help Scout | Standard $25 per user | Annual ($30 monthly) | Docs sites included |
| Intercom | Essential $29 per seat | Annual | Fin AI from $0.99 per resolution on top |
| Zendesk | Suite Team $55 per agent | Annual | AI agents priced per resolution on top |
Gorgias and Tidio price by ticket or conversation volume, and HappyFox quotes its unlimited-agent plans through sales, so none of them fits a per-agent table.
Chat-first tools price per agent too. LiveChat Team is $49 per agent billed annually, or $59 monthly, so 3 agents cost $147 billed annually or $177 billed monthly, before a help center, which LiveChat sells separately as KnowledgeBase from $49 a month. The full breakdown is in Convot vs LiveChat, and every tool’s current seat and AI price is in the help desk pricing index.
Which help desks do not charge per agent?
Helpzen, Crisp, Convot, Gorgias and Tidio do not price per agent, and HappyFox sells unlimited-agent plans by quote. Helpzen is one flat price for unlimited agents. Crisp charges per workspace with 10 seats on Essentials. Convot charges per plan with 3 to 20 seats included. Gorgias charges by ticket volume and says it is never priced per agent. Tidio includes 10 seats and charges by conversation volume.
Every flat model moves the cost somewhere else. Crisp’s cost moves with workspaces, Gorgias and Tidio with tickets or conversations, and Convot with apps and seats above the plan. We did not find published limits or a per-unit price for Helpzen’s AI replies.
What a fifth or sixth agent costs
Going from 4 to 6 agents, adding a fifth and sixth rep, costs nothing extra on Helpzen, Crisp Essentials or Tidio, because their plans already include the seats. On Convot, each extra seat on Starter is $10: $59 for 4 agents, $69 for 5 and $79 for 6, the same as the Growth plan, which covers up to 7 agents and 2 apps. On per-seat tools the same two hires add $38 on Freshdesk Growth, $50 on Help Scout Standard, $58 on Intercom Essential and $110 on Zendesk Suite Team.
Six help desks without per-agent pricing, ranked
Six help desks that do not price per agent, ranked on how little the bill moves when you hire and how much of a support stack one plan covers. Convot ranks first on how much of a support stack one plan covers. Helpzen and Crisp beat it on how little the bill moves when you hire.
1. Convot: one plan for the whole support stack
Convot is a flat-priced help desk where one plan covers live chat, a shared inbox, a help center, a changelog, a roadmap, a status page and scheduling, with the Cove AI agent available at $0.20 per resolution.
The Convot inbox, with conversations from every app in one place.
| Convot plan | Price | Apps | Seats included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $49 | 1 | 3 |
| Growth | $79 | 2 | 7 |
| Pro | $149 | 5 | 12 |
| Scale | $299 | Unlimited | 20 |
Extra seats are $10 and extra apps $20. The free Community plan covers 1 app and 3 seats, without the Cove AI agent, for teams under $1,000 in monthly revenue. The $0.20 Cove AI price is published on the pricing page, so you can work out the AI bill from your own volume; Intercom Fin starts at $0.99 per resolution. Cove AI answers from your own docs and hands off to a human when it is not sure.
One Convot plan covers the inbox, knowledge base, changelog, roadmap and scheduling for each app, with Cove AI as a per-resolution add-on. Shown: Sidepanda’s own workspace, Cove AI settings for its Appointo app.
Where others beat Convot: Helpzen is cheaper on seats from the fourth agent, at $49 for unlimited agents against Convot’s $79 for 7 and $129 for 12. Crisp includes 10 seats on Essentials. Convot has no phone, WhatsApp or social channels. See full pricing.
2. Helpzen: unlimited agents for $49 a month
Helpzen is the flattest price in this list: $49 a month, or $39 billed annually, for unlimited agents and seats, with live chat, email, WhatsApp, Slack and Telegram in one inbox, a help center, and AI replies and drafts included. Helpzen also offers a free self-hosted version and a free tier with 2 seats.
Where Helpzen beats Convot: the lowest price at any team size above three agents, and WhatsApp and Telegram channels. We did not find published limits or a per-unit price for Helpzen’s AI replies, so check them for your volume, and we did not find a changelog, roadmap or status page on its site.
3. Crisp: 10 seats per workspace for $95
Crisp charges a flat price per workspace. Crisp Essentials is $95 a month with 10 seats, a knowledge base and about $25 of AI credits, and extra seats are $10. A 12-agent team pays $115. Crisp Mini is $45 with 4 seats but has no knowledge base or AI chatbot.
Crisp pricing page, captured 3 October 2026.
Where Crisp beats Convot: 10 seats at $95, WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS on Essentials, and a free plan. The catch is the workspace: a team with several apps pays per workspace, one per app, with 20% off at three or more workspaces. Moving from Crisp to Convot is a one-click import of conversations, contacts and help articles. Convot vs Crisp.
4. Gorgias: priced by tickets, not agents
Gorgias prices by ticket volume and says its help desk is never priced per agent. Gorgias Basic is $60 a month for 300 tickets, Pro $360 for 2,000, and Advanced $900 for 5,000, with $0.36 to $0.40 per extra ticket. The Gorgias AI Agent is $1.00 per automated interaction billed monthly or $0.90 billed annually, sold in bundles.
Gorgias pricing page, captured 3 October 2026.
Where Gorgias beats Convot: deep ecommerce features for online stores. Gorgias is built for merchants, so its bill follows order and ticket volume, which suits a store more than a software team. Convot vs Gorgias.
5. Tidio: 10 seats, priced by conversations
Tidio includes 10 seats on its Free, Starter and Growth plans and charges by conversation volume: Tidio Starter is $29 a month billed monthly, or $24.17 billed annually, for 100 billable conversations. Tidio’s Lyro AI includes 50 free conversations once, then costs $39 a month for 50 billed monthly, or $32.50 billed annually.
Tidio pricing page, captured 3 October 2026.
Where Tidio beats Convot: 10 seats from the free plan and a low entry price for chat. Tidio does not include a built-in help center, so a knowledge base lives elsewhere. Convot vs Tidio.
6. HappyFox: unlimited-agent plans by quote
HappyFox sells unlimited-agent plans with a flat annual fee and a yearly ticket allowance, and says they suit teams above about 20 to 25 agents. HappyFox does not publish those prices; you get them from sales.
HappyFox pricing page, captured 3 October 2026.
Where HappyFox beats Convot: a flat plan designed for larger teams. For a small team, an unpublished price is hard to compare.
What per-seat pricing costs as you hire
Per-seat pricing grows in a straight line with every hire, so doubling the team doubles the bill. Moving from 6 to 12 agents takes Help Scout Standard from $150 to $300 a month billed annually, Intercom Essential from $174 to $348, Zendesk Suite Team from $330 to $660, and Freshdesk Growth and Chatwoot Startups from $114 to $228, before AI usage.
Per-seat tools are still the right call for some teams. Help Scout has a free plan for up to 5 users with one inbox and one Docs site. Freshdesk Growth at $19 per agent is cheap for one or two agents. Zendesk and Intercom add depth that flat-priced tools do not match. Convot vs Help Scout, Convot vs Freshdesk, Convot vs Intercom, Convot vs Zendesk.
AI pricing sits on top of seats. Convot publishes $0.20 per AI resolution, Help Scout $0.75 and Intercom Fin from $0.99. Zendesk does not publish its rate; third-party estimates put it near $1.50. Gorgias charges $1.00 per automated interaction billed monthly or $0.90 billed annually, sold in bundles. Crisp bundles AI credits into each plan and Freshdesk charges per session, so those are not directly comparable. To see what AI adds at your volume, use the AI support cost calculator.
Which flat-priced help desk fits your team
For a growing SaaS support team, the choice depends on where you want the cost to move as you hire.
- You want the lowest flat price for one product and a large team: Helpzen.
- You want one plan for support, help center, changelog, roadmap and status, across one or several apps: Convot.
- You need 10 seats and WhatsApp for one website: Crisp Essentials.
- You run an online store: Gorgias.
- You are hiring past 20 agents and want a flat annual contract: HappyFox.
If you support more than one app, see the best help desks for teams running more than one app. If you are also paying for a separate changelog or status page, see the best help desks with a built-in changelog and status page. For a general comparison, see the best help desk software for small teams. If you are still under $1,000 in monthly revenue, start with the best free help desks for startups.
FAQ
Which help desk has no per-seat fees?
Helpzen, Crisp, Convot, Gorgias and Tidio do not charge per agent. Helpzen is a flat $49 a month for unlimited agents, Crisp charges per workspace with 10 seats on Essentials, Convot per plan with seats included, Gorgias by tickets, and Tidio by conversations.
Which help desk lets me add a fifth or sixth agent without paying more?
Helpzen, Crisp Essentials and Tidio include enough seats that a fifth and sixth agent cost nothing extra. On Convot each extra seat is $10, so 4 to 6 agents goes from $59 to $79 a month, the price of the Growth plan for up to 7 agents. Per-seat tools add $19 to $55 per agent.
What does a help desk cost for 12 agents?
On list prices checked 30 September 2026, 12 agents cost $49 a month on Helpzen, $115 on Crisp Essentials, $129 on Convot, $228 on Freshdesk Growth, $300 on Help Scout Standard billed annually, $348 on Intercom Essential and $660 on Zendesk Suite Team, before AI usage.
Is flat pricing always cheaper?
Flat pricing is not always cheaper. It is cheaper as the team grows, but it moves the cost somewhere else: workspaces on Crisp, tickets on Gorgias, conversations on Tidio, apps and extra seats on Convot. For 1 or 2 agents, Freshdesk Growth at $19 or $38 a month, or Help Scout’s free plan for up to 5 users, can cost less.
About the author
Tarang Agarwal is the founder of Convot. Convot is built by Sidepanda, a small studio that runs several apps of its own, including Appointo, Depo and Panda Bundle, and supports all of them from one Convot inbox on one plan.
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