7 Best Zendesk Alternatives for Web Design

Intercom has long been a staple in the customer messaging space, offering a robust platform that blends live chat, bots, and customer data into a unified interface. The platform’s UI is built around the concept of “Inbox,” where agents can see all customer interactions across channels, including email, chat, and in‑app messages. Intercom’s bot builder allows designers to craft guided workflows, quick replies, and proactive messages that trigger based on user behavior. The bot can be embedded on any website through a single script tag, and the company provides a wide range of integrations, from Salesforce to Shopify. Intercom’s knowledge base module, called Intercom Articles, lets businesses host help articles that can be surfaced inside the chat window. The platform also offers a feature called Product Tours, which guides users through app features via in‑app overlays—a useful tool for SaaS designers. Pricing for Intercom starts at $39/month for the Essentials plan, which includes basic chat, bots, and the first 2,000 contacts. The Pro plan costs $99/month, adding advanced automation, product tours, and a higher contact limit. For larger teams, the Premium plan is $199/month with unlimited contacts, advanced reporting, and premium integrations. Intercom’s strengths lie in its deep customer data analytics, proactive messaging capabilities, and a mature ecosystem of third‑party integrations. However, the platform can become expensive as contact volumes grow, and the bot builder’s visual workflow editor, while powerful, still requires some technical familiarity.

Freshdesk is a cloud‑based customer support platform that offers a range of features including ticketing, live chat, knowledge base, and automation. The live chat module is lightweight and can be embedded on any website with a single JavaScript snippet. Freshdesk’s chat widget is highly customizable, allowing designers to adjust colors, position, and animations. The platform’s knowledge base, called Freshdesk Knowledge Base (FKB), supports article creation, categorization, and search, which can be surfaced directly within the chat window. Freshdesk also provides an AI assistant called Freddy, which automatically answers common questions and can hand off to a human agent when needed. Freddy’s capabilities include sentiment analysis, intent detection, and auto‑categorization of tickets. The platform integrates with popular e‑commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, enabling chat agents to pull product data and place orders. Pricing for Freshdesk starts with a free tier that includes basic chat and knowledge base features for up to 10 agents. The Standard plan costs $15/month per agent, adding advanced automation and reporting. The Pro plan is $35/month per agent, and the Enterprise plan is $65/month per agent, each adding more advanced AI, analytics, and security features. Freshdesk’s biggest strengths are its comprehensive ticketing system, strong AI automation, and generous free tier, making it an attractive option for small businesses and agencies. However, the chat widget’s customization options are somewhat limited compared to dedicated visual editors.

Help Scout is a customer support platform designed to feel like a personal email inbox. Its chat feature, called “Live Chat,” is a lightweight messaging tool that can be embedded on any website with a single code snippet. The chat widget is minimalistic, focusing on ease of use over flashy customization, but users can still adjust colors and placement. Help Scout’s knowledge base, called Scout Knowledge, allows agents to create help articles that can be surfaced in the chat or accessed via a dedicated help center. The platform also offers a feature called “Scout Insight” that aggregates customer data and provides actionable recommendations. Pricing for Help Scout starts at $20/month for the Standard plan, which includes email, chat, and the knowledge base for up to 10 agents. The Plus plan is $40/month per agent, adding advanced reporting and automation, while the Enterprise plan offers custom pricing for larger teams. Help Scout’s strengths include its clean, email‑style interface, excellent collaboration features, and strong focus on customer experience. Its limitations are the relatively limited customization of the chat widget and the absence of native AI chatbots.

Zoho Desk is part of the Zoho suite, offering a help desk and live chat solution that integrates seamlessly with other Zoho products. The live chat widget can be embedded via a single script and offers basic customization options for color and placement. Zoho Desk’s knowledge base, called Zoho Knowledge Base, supports article creation, categorization, and search, and can be displayed inline with chat conversations. Zoho Desk includes AI features such as Zia, which can auto‑assign tickets, suggest responses, and provide sentiment analysis. The platform also supports multi‑channel support, allowing chat, email, and social media interactions to be managed from a single dashboard. Pricing starts at $14/month for the Standard plan, which includes chat, knowledge base, and AI assistant for up to 10 agents. The Professional plan is $29/month/agent, and the Enterprise plan is $45/month/agent, each adding more advanced features and higher limits. Zoho Desk’s strengths are its tight integration with the Zoho ecosystem, affordable pricing, and AI‑powered automation. However, the chat widget’s visual customization is limited and the UI can feel dated compared to newer competitors.

Tidio is a hybrid live‑chat and chatbot platform that emphasizes ease of use for small businesses and freelancers. The chat widget can be added to any website using a single JavaScript snippet and offers a visual editor for colors, fonts, and positioning, though the editor is less comprehensive than dedicated design tools. Tidio’s chatbot builder uses a drag‑and‑drop interface, allowing designers to create scripted conversations and set up automated replies. The platform integrates with major e‑commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, providing real‑time product information to chat agents. Tidio also offers email automation and basic CRM features, such as tagging and scoring of contacts. Tidio offers a free tier that includes up to 3 chatbots and 250 contacts. Paid plans start at $18/month for the Pro plan, adding unlimited contacts, advanced chatbot features, and priority support. The Premium plan costs $30/month, offering additional integrations and custom branding. Tidio’s biggest strengths are its straightforward pricing and quick setup, making it a good fit for designers working on client sites who need a functional chat solution fast. Its limitations include a relatively small set of AI capabilities and limited support for complex knowledge bases.

LiveChat is a dedicated live‑chat platform that has been a popular choice for e‑commerce and SaaS businesses for years. The chat widget can be added to any website with a single script and offers a range of customization options, including colors, fonts, and positioning, through a UI editor. LiveChat’s chatbot feature, called LiveChat Bot, allows designers to create automated conversations with conditional logic, and the platform supports integration with popular CRMs such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk. The platform also offers a knowledge base integration called LiveChat Knowledge, which allows agents to surface help articles within the chat. LiveChat’s AI capabilities include sentiment analysis and auto‑responses, and the platform can be extended via webhooks and APIs. Pricing starts at $16/month for the Starter plan, which includes two chat agents and basic features. The Standard plan costs $30/month, adding advanced automation and reporting. The Team plan is $70/month and includes unlimited agents, priority support, and advanced integrations. LiveChat’s strengths lie in its robust feature set, strong AI automation, and excellent customer support. Its main drawbacks are the higher price point for larger teams and a user interface that can feel cluttered for new users.