How to choose a helpdesk or shared inbox
Shared inbox, ticketing helpdesk or live chat? A plain-English guide to picking customer support software for a small team.
Desk research from official provider pages, updated 2026-10-11. Not hands-on tested. No supplier paid for or reviewed this content. Plans and prices change — confirm with each provider.
Match the tool to your volume and channels
A handful of people answering email may be best served by a shared inbox. Higher volumes across email, chat and phone usually need a ticketing helpdesk with routing and service levels.
Website chat tools are often priced by conversations rather than seats, so costs follow customer volume.
Watch for usage-based AI charges
Several providers now charge AI features per resolution or per conversation on top of seat prices. These are hard to estimate in advance, so our cost estimator leaves them out and says so.
Plan the knowledge base
Moving help-centre articles and past tickets is often the slowest part of a switch. Ask what the provider migrates for you and what it costs.
Tools mentioned
- Help Scout
- Standard: US$25.00 per user/month, billing period not confirmed
- Plus: US$45.00 per user/month, billing period not confirmed
- Pro: US$75.00 per user/month, billing period not confirmed
Shown in USD as served — not converted. VAT not stated · Free plan: not verified · Source, checked 2026-10-11
The page has a monthly/annual switch (annual shown as 16% cheaper); which view these prices came from was not confirmed.
AI Answers is charged per resolution — not included in estimates.
- Freshdesk
- Growth: US$19.00 per user/month, billed annually
- Pro: US$55.00 per user/month, billed annually
- Enterprise: US$89.00 per user/month, billed annually
Shown in USD as served — not converted. VAT not stated · Free plan: not verified · Source, checked 2026-10-11
Prices are per agent per month, billed annually.
- Zendesk
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Front
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Tidio
- Starter (100 conversations): US$24.17/month, billed annually
- Growth (from 250 conversations): US$49.17/month, billed annually
Shown in USD as served — not converted. VAT not stated · Free plan: yes · Source, checked 2026-10-11
Shown with “2 months free”, i.e. annual billing.
Growth is a “starts at” price that rises with conversation volume.
- Zoho Desk
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
Switching checklist
- Count monthly conversations by channel
- Export past tickets and help articles
- Decide which history you really need to migrate
- Confirm CRM and team chat integrations on your plan
- Check AI pricing (per resolution/conversation)
- Set up saved replies and test routing before go-live