Guide
How much does help desk software cost in 2026?
Real prices for a 3, 5 and 10-person team, plus the AI fees, extra inboxes and plan jumps that don’t show up on the pricing page headline.
In this guide
The two ways help desks charge
Per person (per seat or per agent). Most help desks, including Help Scout, Zendesk, Freshdesk and Front, charge a monthly fee for every person on your team. It looks cheap for one person and grows with every hire.
Per company. A flat monthly price for your company’s plan, covering a set number of people. HallaHelps works this way: one price for up to 3, 6, 10 or 25 people.
What a small team pays per month
Entry plans that include a shared inbox and email support, billed yearly (most vendors show the yearly price on their pricing page; paying month to month costs more).
| Help desk (plan) | Pricing | 3 people | 5 people | 10 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HallaHelps (Starter / Growth / Team) | Per company | $32.50 | $57.50 | $82.50 |
| Help Scout (Standard) | $25 per user | $75 | $125 | $250 |
| Zendesk (Support Team) | $19 per agent | $57 | $95 | $190 |
| Zendesk (Suite Team) | $55 per agent | $165 | $275 | $550 |
| Freshdesk (Growth) | $19 per agent | $57 | $95 | $190 |
| Front (Starter, max 10 seats) | $25 per seat | $75 | $125 | $250 |
HallaHelps billed monthly: $39 (Starter, up to 3 people), $69 (Growth, up to 6), $99 (Team, up to 10). Competitor prices are list prices from public pricing pages and pricing reviews, checked October 2026. Prices change, so check each vendor before you buy.
The costs that aren’t in the headline
AI
AI is where bills get hard to predict. Many help desks charge for it separately, per person or per conversation:
- Help Scout: AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution.
- Zendesk: Copilot at $50 per agent per month; automated resolutions beyond the included amount at $1.50 to $2.00 each.
- Freshdesk: Freddy Copilot at $29 per agent per month (Pro or Enterprise only); AI agent sessions at $49 per 100.
- Front: Copilot at $20 per seat per month; Autopilot billed per conversation.
HallaHelps Pro (AI translation in 33 languages, AI rewrite, advanced reports and AI insights) is one price for your company: from $29 a month, with daily AI limits by plan, or bring your own AI key for no HallaHelps limits.
Extra inboxes
Want sales@ and billing@ as well as support@? Some tools charge per extra inbox (Help Scout lists additional inboxes at $10 per month each). HallaHelps plans include 1 to 5 mailboxes.
Plan jumps
Watch for caps that force an upgrade: Front’s Starter plan stops at 10 seats, and many features (advanced reports, SSO, custom roles) sit on higher plans that cost two to three times as much per person.
Free plans
Free plans exist, but read the limits. Help Scout’s free plan covers up to 5 users and 1 inbox, with a monthly contact limit. Freshdesk’s free option is now limited to 1 to 2 agents for six months.
How to choose
- Price your team in a year, not today. If you’ll go from 3 to 6 people, per-person pricing doubles; a per-company plan may not change at all.
- Add AI to the math if you’ll use it, at the per-person or per-conversation price.
- Count your addresses. One support@ or several?
- Try it with real email for a week. Most offer a free trial; HallaHelps gives you 14 days with every feature, no card.
Compare side by side on our help desk comparison, or start a free trial.
Try HallaHelps free for 14 days
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