Alternatives
Zendesk alternatives for Shopify stores
Updated by the SayMaya team
The short answer
The main Zendesk alternatives for Shopify stores are SayMaya, Gorgias and Re:amaze. Pick SayMaya for storefront AI chat with live Shopify answers, a team inbox and one flat price billed through Shopify. Pick Gorgias or Re:amaze for a Shopify-focused helpdesk across email, SMS and social. Zendesk fits large teams that need an enterprise service suite.
What is Zendesk?
Zendesk is a customer service suite for messaging, phone, chat, email and social. On zendesk.com, Support Team costs $19 per agent a month billed annually, and Suite plans start at $55 (Suite Team) and $115 (Suite Professional) per agent a month billed annually. AI agents are included in every Suite and Support plan and priced per automated resolution. Its Shopify app shows order data in tickets and processes refunds and cancellations from the sidebar.
Why do Shopify stores look for a Zendesk alternative?
Usually because of how it is priced and what it is built around, not because it lacks features. Common reasons to compare:
- Pricing is per agent, so the bill grows with the team as well as with volume
- AI agents are billed per automated resolution past the plan allowance
- Charges may be billed by Zendesk separately from your Shopify invoice
- You need storefront chat for a Shopify store, not a full service suite
Which Zendesk alternatives are worth a look?
Each of these covers part of what stores use it for, with a different center of gravity:
- SayMaya: AI chat that answers from your live Shopify data, plus a team inbox. AI included in every plan, from free to $299 a month, no overage charges
- Gorgias: a helpdesk for email, chat, SMS, social and voice, priced by ticket volume from $10 a month
- Re:amaze: a helpdesk for email, chat, social, SMS and calls, priced per staff user from $29 a month
- Shopify Inbox: Shopify's free chat app with an AI Inbox agent and desktop and mobile apps for your team
How does SayMaya's AI differ from Zendesk?
SayMaya's AI reads your products, prices, stock, store policies and active discounts at the moment a shopper asks, and shares order status only after the shopper gives a matching order number and email. It answers and hands off; refunds, cancellations and order edits stay with your team, and the chat moves to your shared inbox with an email notice when a person is needed. Zendesk's AI agents work across messaging, email and voice, and can translate replies into 80+ languages.
When is Zendesk the better choice?
Stay with Zendesk, or pick it, if any of these are true:
- You run a large support team across phone, email, messaging and social
- You need AI agents on email and voice as well as chat
- Your shoppers write in many languages
- You already run the rest of your company's service on Zendesk
How do you switch from Zendesk to SayMaya?
Three steps, no code, and you can start on the free plan:
- Install from the Shopify App Store. Approve the app in your Shopify admin. Your team inbox is created for you, with one-click sign-in from the app.
- Switch on the chat in your theme editor. SayMaya is a theme app embed. Turn it on, save, and the chat button appears on your storefront. No code edits, no theme files to change.
- Choose what the AI may use. In Settings, pick the data the assistant can answer from: products, inventory, orders, policies and discounts. Change it any time.
- Turn off your old chat widget in the theme editor so shoppers see one chat button
