Loading...
Updated today · Independent Analysis
LiveChat vs Zendesk
Capability Overview
Quick VerdictIndependent Analysis
LiveChat and Zendesk are both Customer Support tools. LiveChat starts at $25/mo, Zendesk at $19/mo. Compare features, pricing, and ratings below to find the best fit for your team.
When to Choose LiveChat vs Zendesk
The question that matters: “In what situation will I regret choosing A over B after 3 months?”
Zendesk Unique Strength
AI Reply Drafts That Cut Handle Time by 40 Seconds
Zendesk AI reads the conversation thread and knowledge base to draft a reply, reducing agent handle time on L1 tickets by an average of 40 seconds per interaction.
→ Choose Zendesk if this scenario applies to you. LiveChat doesn't offer a comparable solution.
Zendesk Unique Strength
Ticket Deflection via Contextual Help Center Search
Zendesk's contextual help widget surfaces the most relevant 3 articles based on where the user is in the product before they submit a ticket, deflecting up to 30% of support volume.
→ Choose Zendesk if this scenario applies to you. LiveChat doesn't offer a comparable solution.
Zendesk Unique Strength
SLA Breach Prevention With Automated Escalation
Zendesk's business rules escalate tickets approaching SLA breach thresholds to a senior queue, preventing breaches from surfacing in customer satisfaction reports rather than operational dashboards.
→ Choose Zendesk if this scenario applies to you. LiveChat doesn't offer a comparable solution.
Pricing Comparison & PlansHigh· Verified Jul 2, 2026
Zendesk starts at $19/movs $25/mo
LiveChat Plans
Paid plans only
Starter
$25/user/momonthlyor$228/yrsave 24%
Best for: Small business
- ✓Text Intelligence
- ✓Track up to 100 visitors
- ✓1 recurring campaign
- ✓60-day chat history
- ✓Basic widget customization
View on vendor site
MOST POPULARTeam
$59/user/momonthlyor$588/yrsave 17%
Best for: Full-time support team
- ✓Agent groups
- ✓Advanced reporting
- ✓Copilot AI assistant
- ✓Canned responses
- ✓Customizable pre-chat & post-chat surveys
View on vendor site
Business
$89/user/momonthlyor$948/yrsave 11%
Best for: Customer service department
- ✓Expanded management options
- ✓Advanced reporting and statistics
- ✓Copilot AI assistant
- ✓Canned responses
- ✓Customizable pre-chat & post-chat surveys
View on vendor site
Enterprise
Contact SalesBest for: Global company, global reach
- ✓Dedicated account manager
- ✓Advanced reporting and statistics
- ✓Copilot AI assistant
- ✓Canned responses
- ✓Customizable pre-chat & post-chat surveys
View on vendor site
Zendesk Plans
Paid plans only
Support Team
$19/user/moBest for: Teams that outgrew a shared inbox, need core support essentials
- ✓Email ticketing
- ✓Social media ticketing
- ✓Basic automations
- ✓Prebuilt dashboards
View on vendor site
Suite Team
$55/user/moBest for: Teams ready to unify channels & automate with AI Agents
- ✓Ticketing
- ✓Messaging, chat, and voice support
- ✓Basic reporting and analytics
- ✓AI at Essential tier
View on vendor site
Suite Growth
$89/user/moBest for: This plan adds advanced reporting and AI features
- ✓Multilingual support
- ✓CSAT surveys
- ✓Advanced workflow capabilities
- ✓Ticketing, messaging, chat, and voice support
View on vendor site
MOST POPULARSuite Professional
$115/user/moBest for: Teams optimizing support ops with advanced automation & AI insights
- ✓Advanced reporting and analytics
- ✓Community forums
- ✓Social messaging channels
- ✓Skills-based routing
- ✓HIPAA compliance
View on vendor site
Suite Enterprise
Contact SalesBest for: Teams needing advanced security, governance, proactive AI
- ✓Most advanced features
- ✓Customization options
- ✓Custom roles
- ✓Audit logs
View on vendor site
Capability Breakdown
4 differences found across 15 standardized features
Feature
LiveChat
Zendesk
Knowledge Base
✗
✓
Phone Support
✗
✓
Social Media
✗
✓
SLA Management
✗
✓
Total (raw)
15
15
LiveChat Features
- •Live Chat Widget
- •Ticketing System
- •AI Chatbot
- •Chat Archives
- •Visitor Tracking
- •File Sharing
- •Canned Responses
- •Chat Transfer
- •Reporting
- •Mobile App
- •API Access
- •Integrations
- •CSAT Surveys
- •Proactive Chat
- •Team Management
Zendesk Features
- •Ticketing System
- •Live Chat
- •Help Center
- •Voice Support
- •AI Chatbots
- •Analytics
- •Automation
- •Macros
- •SLA Management
- •Multi-channel
- •API Access
- •Reporting
- •Collaboration Tools
- •Customer Portal
- •Mobile SDK
Strengths & Limitations
Evaluative strengths and weaknesses: not feature lists
Pros
- +Rich chat widgets with eye-catchers and custom branding
- +Built-in ticketing system to manage issues after chats end
- +Detailed performance reports and agent dashboards
- +Excellent, full-featured mobile apps for iOS and Android
- +Chat supervision tools for real-time agent monitoring
Cons
- −AI and automation features are restricted to higher-tier plans
- −Per-agent pricing becomes costly for large support teams
- −No built-in knowledge base feature; requires integration
- −Limited social media channel integrations (mostly via API)
- −Starter plan lacks basic reporting and ticketing features
Pros
- +Industry-leading customer service platform
- +Comprehensive feature set
- +Strong analytics and reporting
- +Excellent third-party integrations
Cons
- −The ability to communicate on the Zendesk ticket through the actual user software, so TOPs, would have been helpful.
- −I'm going to piggyback on what I said regarding Freshdesk concerning what could be better in Zendesk: incorporate more AI.
- −There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier.
- −I don't have any suggestions on how Zendesk can be improved.
- −Sometimes, the calls do not record, and your conversation is cut midway.
At a Glance
User Rating
4.4/5vs4.3/5
LiveChat
▲
Zendesk
Starting Price
$25/movs$19/mo
LiveChat
▲
Zendesk
Feature Count
15 featuresvs15 features
LiveChat
Zendesk
User Base
37vs100
LiveChat
Zendesk
▲
LiveChat · Price & Data SyncLast verified: July 2, 2026 · CE-CUST-2026W26-E4A1D5 · ✓ Pricing updated May 30, 2026
Zendesk · Price & Data SyncLast verified: July 2, 2026 · CE-CUSTOM-2026W23-A11806 · ✓ Pricing updated May 28, 2026
Recent Price History
LiveChat
LiveChat raised "Starter" from $20/mo to $25/mo (+25%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
LiveChat
LiveChat raised "Team" from $41/mo to $59/mo (+44%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
LiveChat
LiveChat raised "Business" from $59/mo to $89/mo (+51%)
Price change · May 30, 2026
Zendesk
Zendesk updated "Suite Enterprise" from $169/mo to Custom
Price change · May 28, 2026
Zendesk
Zendesk removed the "Suite Enterprise Plus" plan
Plan removed · May 28, 2026
Zendesk
Zendesk added a new "Support Team" plan at $19/user/mo
Plan added · May 28, 2026
LiveChat
LiveChat added a new "Enterprise" plan
Plan added · May 21, 2026
Zendesk
Zendesk added a new "Suite Enterprise Plus" plan
Plan added · May 21, 2026
Zendesk
Zendesk added a new "Suite Enterprise" plan at $169/mo
Plan added · May 21, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Comparisons
LiveChatfrom $25/mo
Zendeskfrom $19/moSources & Data Trail · LiveChat
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-07-02)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.4/5 · 806 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.6/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
Sources & Data Trail · Zendesk
- 1.Official Pricing Page·Source of verified tiers(Checked: 2026-07-02)
- 2.Official Website·Official vendor website
- 3.G2·G2 verified reviews · 4.3/5 · 6,936 reviews
- 4.Capterra·Capterra verified reviews · 4.4/5
- 5.TrustRadius·TrustRadius verified reviews
- 6.PeerSpot·PeerSpot enterprise peer reviews