Gorgias vs Zendesk: Which Is Better for Shopify?

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For most Shopify stores, Gorgias is the better choice: it is priced by ticket volume rather than per agent, includes unlimited agents from its Basic plan up, and is built around Shopify order data. Zendesk makes more sense for larger support operations that need built-in telephony, skills-based routing and IVR, and are comfortable paying per agent.

Quick comparison

	Gorgias	Zendesk
Free plan	No (7-day trial)	No (14-day trial)
Starting price	$10/mo (Starter: 50 tickets, 3 agents)	$25/agent/mo ($19 annual), Support Team
What scales the price	Tickets per month	Number of agents
Typical plan for a team	Basic $60/mo: 300 tickets, unlimited agents	Suite Team $69/agent/mo ($55 annual)
AI pricing	$0.90 per resolved conversation on most plans	5–10 automated resolutions per agent included, then $1.50–$2.00 each
AI copilot	Not priced separately on pages we read	Copilot $50/agent/mo (paid yearly)
Phone	Voice add-on billed per ticket	Built-in telephony on Suite plans
Shopify App Store rating*	4.3 (706 reviews)	3.2 (95 reviews)

*As listed on the Shopify App Store in November 2026.

The core difference: tickets vs agents

This is the decision in one line. Gorgias charges for how many tickets you answer. Zendesk charges for how many people answer them.

That means Gorgias gets cheaper relative to Zendesk as your team grows, and Zendesk gets cheaper relative to Gorgias if a small team handles a very large volume.

Gorgias plans (Shopify App Store listing):

Starter: $10/month, 50 tickets, 3 agents, $0.40 per extra ticket
Basic: $60/month or $600/year, 300 tickets, unlimited agents, $40 per extra 100 tickets
Pro: $360/month or $3,600/year, 2,000 tickets, up to 500 agents, $36 per extra 100
Advanced: $900/month or $9,000/year, 5,000 tickets, up to 500 agents, $36 per extra 100

Gorgias's help center says a ticket only becomes billable once your helpdesk sends at least one message in it. Unanswered inbound messages, internal notes and tag changes don't count.

Zendesk plans (official pricing page, per agent per month):

Support Team: $25 monthly or $19 annual. Ticketing only, 5 automated resolutions per agent per month.
Suite Team: $69 monthly or $55 annual. Adds AI agents, knowledge base, messaging, live chat and telephony. 5 automated resolutions per agent.
Suite Professional: $149 monthly or $115 annual. 10 automated resolutions per agent, skills-based routing and IVR phone trees.
Suite Enterprise + Copilot: contact sales.

Shopify integration

Gorgias is built for Shopify stores and shows Shopify order data alongside tickets. Its AI Agent can cancel orders, process returns and modify subscriptions through connected tools, according to Gorgias's own AI Agent pricing article.

Zendesk's Shopify app gives agents customer information while they reply, lets them process refunds and cancellations from the Zendesk Support sidebar, and adds a live chat embed for your storefront. Its listing notes Zendesk may bill external charges separately from your Shopify invoice.

The App Store ratings differ noticeably. Gorgias is 4.3 from 706 reviews. Zendesk is 3.2 from 95 reviews, with 31% of ratings at one star.

AI: how each one charges

Gorgias AI Agent is an add-on on every plan. A Gorgias blog post updated May 2026 says each resolved conversation costs $0.90 on most plans, with Starter from $1. It works on email, chat and SMS. Only conversations the AI resolves on its own are billable; the help center says a conversation counts as automated if no human is needed within 72 hours, and that a fully AI-resolved ticket incurs both a ticket fee and an automation fee.

Zendesk includes a small allowance of automated AI resolutions: 5 per agent per month on Support Team and Suite Team, 10 on Suite Professional. Extra resolutions are $1.50 each on a committed basis or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. Copilot, the agent-assist tool, is a separate $50 per agent per month, paid yearly.

For a store that wants a lot of automated replies, Gorgias's per-resolution rate is lower than Zendesk's overage rate, but remember the Gorgias ticket fee also applies.

Where Zendesk is stronger

Telephony and IVR: built into Suite plans, with IVR phone trees on Suite Professional. Gorgias offers Voice as an add-on billed per voice ticket.
Routing: skills-based routing on Suite Professional.
Breadth: a knowledge base, messaging, live chat and phone in one suite, which suits companies that support more than an online store.

Where Gorgias is stronger

Pricing that ignores headcount: unlimited agents from Basic up, so seasonal or part-time staff cost nothing extra.
Low entry: $10/month to start, versus at least $25 per agent at Zendesk.
Shopify focus and ratings: a higher App Store rating from far more reviews.

Cost examples

Published prices only, billed monthly unless noted.

Small store: 300 tickets a month, 3 agents.

Gorgias Basic: $60/month.
Zendesk Support Team: 3 × $25 = $75/month ($57 annual), ticketing only.
Zendesk Suite Team (for chat and AI agents): 3 × $69 = $207/month ($165 annual).

Growing brand: 2,000 tickets a month, 8 agents, 200 AI resolutions.

Gorgias Pro: $360/month, plus 200 × $0.90 = $180 in AI fees. About $540/month.
Zendesk Suite Team: 8 × $69 = $552/month. Includes 40 automated resolutions (5 × 8); the other 160 cost $240 at $1.50 or $320 at $2.00. About $792–$872/month.

Where Zendesk can win: a two-person team answering 2,000 tickets a month pays 2 × $69 = $138/month on Suite Team, versus $360 for Gorgias Pro. Per-agent pricing favors small, high-volume teams.

What to check during the trial

Gorgias gives you 7 days and Zendesk 14, so plan the trial before you start:

Count your real tickets. Look at last month's support volume, then map it to Gorgias's ticket tiers and to the number of Zendesk agents you need. Remember Gorgias only bills tickets your team replies to.
Try your top three order requests. Run a "where is my order?", a refund and a cancellation through each tool's Shopify connection and see how many clicks each takes.
Estimate AI volume. Decide how many conversations you expect the AI to resolve each month, then price them at $0.90 on Gorgias or at $1.50–$2.00 beyond the included allowance on Zendesk.
Check phone needs. If phone support matters, compare Zendesk's built-in telephony with the cost of Gorgias's Voice add-on for your call volume.

Choose Gorgias if / choose Zendesk if

Choose Gorgias if:

You sell mainly through Shopify and most tickets are about orders.
Your team is growing or has seasonal helpers.
You want AI resolutions at $0.90 each without a per-agent allowance.

Choose Zendesk if:

You need built-in telephony, IVR or skills-based routing.
A small team handles a large ticket volume, so per-agent pricing is cheaper.
You support customers beyond a single online store and want one general platform.

Which one should you choose?

Most Shopify stores: Gorgias.
Phone-heavy or enterprise support teams: Zendesk Suite Professional.
Neither quite fits: see our Gorgias alternatives and best helpdesk for Shopify posts.

Common questions

Is Gorgias cheaper than Zendesk? For teams of more than a couple of agents, usually yes, because Gorgias charges by ticket and includes unlimited agents from Basic up. For one or two agents handling many tickets, Zendesk's per-agent pricing can cost less.

Does Zendesk work with Shopify? Yes. Its Shopify app shows customer information while you reply and lets agents process refunds and cancellations from the sidebar. It is rated 3.2 on the Shopify App Store as listed in November 2026.

Which has better AI pricing? Gorgias lists $0.90 per resolved conversation on most plans. Zendesk includes 5–10 automated resolutions per agent per month and charges $1.50–$2.00 for each extra one, plus $50 per agent for Copilot if you want it.

Can I try both for free? Gorgias has a 7-day free trial and Zendesk a 14-day free trial. Neither has a permanent free plan.

How we put this together

We did not test Gorgias or Zendesk hands-on. Facts and prices come from their own pages, read in November 2026: Gorgias's Shopify App Store listing, its billing help article and its AI Agent pricing blog post; Zendesk's pricing page and Shopify App Store listing. Prices change and depend on your ticket volume and team size, so confirm them before you sign up.

Gorgias vs Zendesk: Which Helpdesk Is Better for Shopify Stores?