Ticket costs climb in busy months
Per-agent pricing (Zendesk, Re:amaze, Richpanel) stays steady when volume spikes, as long as your team size does. Cybergine and Re:amaze's flat plan avoid per-ticket charges altogether.
Gorgias is a strong Shopify helpdesk, but it bills by ticket volume and charges separately for each conversation its AI Agent resolves. If that model does not suit your store, here are six alternatives compared honestly, including two free options. Our guide to ecommerce customer service automation explains what to automate and what to keep human.
Pricing and features checked 28 September 2026 on each vendor's own site.
How each tool charges, what its AI costs, and who it suits best.
| Tool | Pricing model | Starting price | AI | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gorgias | By ticket volume | $10/month for 50 tickets; Basic $60/month for 300 | AI Agent, $1.00 per automated interaction | Shopify support teams handling many channels |
| Zendesk | Per agent | $55/agent/month, billed annually | AI agents billed per automated resolution | Larger teams that need a general helpdesk |
| Re:amaze | Per user, or flat | $29/user/month, or $59/month flat for 500 conversations | Some AI resolutions included; $0.85 each after | Small teams wanting a Shopify-friendly helpdesk |
| Richpanel | Per seat | $99/seat/month, no per-ticket fee | $0.20 per AI-handled conversation | High-volume stores automating self-service |
| Tidio | By conversations | Free plan; paid from $24.17/month billed annually | Lyro add-on from $32.50/month | Small stores wanting live chat first |
| Shopify Inbox | Free | Free | Inbox agent included | Storefront-only chat on a budget |
| Cybergine | Flat monthly plans | Free plan; Essentials £29/month | Included in every plan | Catalogue answers on web chat, WhatsApp and SMS |
Prices exclude tax. Check each vendor's pricing page before you decide; they change often.
Per-agent pricing (Zendesk, Re:amaze, Richpanel) stays steady when volume spikes, as long as your team size does. Cybergine and Re:amaze's flat plan avoid per-ticket charges altogether.
Gorgias, Zendesk, Re:amaze and Richpanel all charge per AI resolution or conversation. Shopify Inbox and Cybergine include AI in the plan price, so the bill does not move with automation.
If most questions are about products, sizing and delivery, an AI assistant with human handoff may be enough. Shopify Inbox covers the storefront for free; Cybergine adds WhatsApp and SMS.
It depends on why you are leaving. For a full helpdesk billed per agent instead of per ticket, look at Zendesk, Re:amaze or Richpanel. For cheaper live chat with an AI add-on, Tidio. For free storefront chat, Shopify Inbox. For AI answers from your catalogue on web chat, WhatsApp and SMS at a flat price, Cybergine.
Shopify Inbox is free and includes an AI agent that answers from your catalogue, but it only works in your online store chat widget. Tidio and Cybergine both have free plans with limits: Tidio includes 50 billable conversations, and Cybergine includes the Web Widget with 500 AI replies a month.
Gorgias is built around Shopify and bills by ticket volume, with unlimited agents from its Basic plan. Zendesk is a general omnichannel helpdesk billed per agent, from $55 per agent per month billed annually. As a rule of thumb, per-agent pricing costs less when a few agents handle a lot of tickets, and ticket pricing costs less when many agents share a modest volume.
Gorgias charges $1.00 per automated interaction on monthly billing, or $0.90 on annual billing, on top of the helpdesk plan. An automated interaction is a conversation the AI Agent resolves without a human.
Cybergine is not a full helpdesk. It is an AI assistant that answers shopper questions from your synced Shopify catalogue, with human handoff. The Free plan covers storefront web chat; Essentials (£29/month) adds WhatsApp and SMS, with AI replies included in the flat price.
See how Cybergine stacks up on the features that matter most for ecommerce.
| Feature | Cybergine | Gorgias |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat monthly fee | Ticket-volume tiers plus overages |
| AI pricing | Included in every plan | $1.00 per automated interaction |
| Messaging channels | Web, WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, Telegram (by plan) | Chat, email, SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, voice |
| AI answers from your Shopify catalogue | Yes | Yes, via AI Agent's Shopping Assistant |
| Setup | Guided Shopify setup flow | Full helpdesk: inboxes, rules, macros |
| Product type | AI assistant with human handoff | Ecommerce helpdesk with AI |
Free storefront web chat plus predictable paid tiers vs. ticket tiers with per-interaction AI charges.
Free plan available
Start with the Web Widget at £0/month. Essentials starts at £29/month when you need Web Widget, WhatsApp, and SMS.
Free includes Web Widget and 500 AI replies/month. Paid plans add more channels and higher reply limits.
Start freeFrom $10/month
The $10/month entry plan covers 50 tickets; Basic is $60/month (or $50/month billed annually) for 300 tickets, with overage charges above that. The AI Agent adds $1.00 per automated interaction.
Verify current pricing at gorgias.com/pricing.
Three reasons ecommerce merchants choose Cybergine.
Gorgias bills by ticket volume and adds a charge for each automated interaction. Cybergine's plans include AI replies at a flat monthly price, so automation does not raise the bill.
Cybergine answers product questions from your synced catalogue and hands off to a human when needed. There are no inboxes, rules or macros to configure before it goes live.
Start with storefront web chat on the Free plan. When you need WhatsApp or SMS, Essentials adds those paid channels without moving your assistant into a separate helpdesk project.
AI included, a Free plan, paid plans from Essentials at £29/month, and a guided Shopify setup flow.
Start free