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TL;DR
- Best for Shopify and ecommerce brands: Try Gorgias →
- Best for large, multi-channel support teams: Try Zendesk →
- Best value all-rounder: Try Freshdesk →
- Best simple shared inbox for small teams: Try Help Scout →
Most helpdesks can answer an email. The difference for an online store is what happens next: can the agent see the customer's order, refund it, edit the shipping address, or let AI answer "where is my order?" without a human? That is where ecommerce-focused tools pull ahead.
Comparison Table
| Helpdesk | Best for | Pricing model | Shopify depth | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Try Gorgias → | Shopify and DTC brands | Per ticket volume, not per agent | Native, order actions in ticket | $10/mo Starter (verified Oct 2026) |
| Try Zendesk → | Large support operations | Per agent | Via app integration | Check current pricing |
| Try Freshdesk → | Growing teams on a budget | Per agent | Via app integration | Check current pricing |
| Try Help Scout → | Small teams, email-first support | Check current model | Via integration | Check current pricing |
What a Shopify store needs from a helpdesk
- Order context in every ticket. Agents should see orders, fulfilment status and past purchases without switching tabs.
- Actions, not just data. Refund, cancel, duplicate or edit an order from the ticket.
- Automation for repetitive questions. Order status, returns and shipping questions make up a big share of ecommerce tickets.
- All channels in one inbox. Email, chat, social comments and DMs, SMS and voice.
- Pricing that survives Black Friday. Seasonal spikes in tickets or temporary agents can change your bill a lot.
Gorgias
Try Gorgias → is built specifically for ecommerce. It says it powers customer conversations for 40% of Shopify brands, and it supports Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento and WooCommerce, including multi-store setups.
Key features: a helpdesk covering email, live chat, SMS, voice, social, contact forms and TikTok Shop; an AI Agent that resolves questions and handles actions such as returns and order tracking; a Shopping Assistant for pre-sales chat; Flows, Rules and Quick Responses; and a large list of integrations including Klaviyo, Yotpo, Recharge and Smile.
Pricing (verified on gorgias.com/pricing, October 2026):
| Plan | Annual billing | Monthly billing | Tickets/month included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | n/a | $10/mo | 50 |
| Basic | $50/mo | $60/mo | 300 |
| Pro | $300/mo | $360/mo | 2,000 |
| Advanced | $750/mo | $900/mo | 5,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 5,000+ |
Overage is listed at $0.40 per ticket on Starter and Basic, and $0.36 on Pro and Advanced. AI Agent interactions are $0.90 each on annual plans or $1.00 monthly, and each automated interaction also counts as a helpdesk ticket. Voice and SMS are add-ons. Newsletters, spam and auto-responders are filtered out and not billed.
Pros
- Deepest Shopify integration of the four
- Not priced per agent, which helps seasonal teams
- AI Agent designed around ecommerce questions
- 7-day trial with no payment details
Cons
- Costs grow with ticket volume, so a viral sale can raise your bill
- AI Agent fees are on top of the plan
- Less suited to non-ecommerce businesses
Best for: Shopify and DTC brands that want support to also drive sales.
Zendesk
Try Zendesk → is one of the most established customer service platforms. It handles tickets, messaging, voice and a help center, and scales to very large teams with detailed workflows, reporting and AI features.
Pricing: per-agent plans with AI add-ons. Check current pricing on Zendesk's site.
Pros
- Very mature ticketing, workflows and reporting
- Strong help center and knowledge base
- Scales to large and global teams
Cons
- Per-agent pricing gets expensive for big or seasonal teams
- Setup and administration take more effort
- Shopify features depend on marketplace apps
Best for: brands with large support teams, multiple product lines, or support beyond ecommerce.
Freshdesk
Try Freshdesk →, from Freshworks, is a full-featured helpdesk that is often chosen as a lower-cost alternative to Zendesk. It offers ticketing, automations, a knowledge base and AI assistance (Freddy AI), plus omnichannel options.
Pricing: per-agent tiers, historically including a free option for small teams. Check current pricing on the Freshworks site.
Pros
- Good feature depth for the price
- Easy to get started
- Part of a wider Freshworks suite (CRM, chat)
Cons
- Ecommerce actions are less native than Gorgias
- Advanced AI and omnichannel features sit on higher tiers
Best for: growing teams that want a capable helpdesk without enterprise complexity.
Help Scout
Try Help Scout → feels like a shared email inbox rather than a ticketing system. Customers get personal-looking replies, and your team gets collision detection, saved replies, a knowledge base and live chat.
Pricing: check current pricing on Help Scout's site.
Pros
- Very easy for small teams to adopt
- Customer-friendly, email-like experience
- Clean knowledge base and chat widget
Cons
- Fewer ecommerce-specific automations
- Less suited to very high volumes
Best for: small brands where a few people answer email and want to keep support personal.
How to choose
- Mostly order questions, and you run on Shopify: pick Try Gorgias →. Order actions and AI answers for "where is my order?" will save the most time.
- Big team, many channels, complex workflows: pick Try Zendesk →.
- Want broad features at a lower cost: pick Try Freshdesk →.
- Two or three people answering email: pick Try Help Scout →.
Run the numbers. Take last month's ticket count and agent count. For Gorgias, compare your volume to the plan allowances above and add expected AI interactions. For per-agent tools, multiply the plan price by every seat you need, including seasonal help. The cheaper option on paper often changes once you include Black Friday and Q4.