Toolradar Benchmark
What help desk software really costs for a team of 5, 20 and 50 agents (2026)
Toolradar data: For a team of 20 agents, help desk software costs from $280 a month (Zoho Desk Standard, billed annually) to $1,100 (Hiver Pro), with a median of $520 across 8 tools, on prices confirmed on each vendor's pricing page on November 4, 2026.
Help desk software collects customer requests from email, chat and other channels into tickets that a support team answers and tracks. It is usually sold per agent, the person who answers.
Data as of November 4, 2026. Prices confirmed on vendor pages on November 4, 2026; re-confirmed every few days.
Key findings
- For a team of 5 agents, the cheapest confirmed help desk software is Zoho Desk Express at $35 a month (billed annually); the median of 8 tools is $95 and the highest is Re:amaze Basic at $145.
- For a team of 20 agents, the cheapest confirmed help desk software is Zoho Desk Standard at $280 a month (billed annually); the median of 8 tools is $520 and the highest is Hiver Pro at $1,100.
- For a team of 50 agents, the cheapest confirmed help desk software is Zoho Desk Standard at $700 a month (billed annually); the median of 8 tools is $1,300 and the highest is Hiver Pro at $2,750.
- Billing annually instead of monthly lowers the bill by a median of 20.7% across the 5 tools that publish both prices on the same plan, for a team of 20.
Source: Toolradar benchmark, prices confirmed on each vendor's US pricing page on November 4, 2026.
8
tools compared under the same method
8 left out, reasons below
$95
median monthly cost for 5 agents
$19 per agent, n = 8
$520
median monthly cost for 20 agents
$26 per agent, n = 8
$1,300
median monthly cost for 50 agents
$26 per agent, n = 8
How every row is computed
- For each team size, the cheapest paid plan with a published US price in USD that allows that many users. Plans sold only on quote are not counted.
- Monthly billing and annual billing are computed apart; annual is the yearly total divided by 12. A price with no billing term next to it is not counted, except a price per month on a page that offers no yearly billing at all (no monthly or annual switch, no mention of yearly billing), which is counted as month to month.
- Seat minimums, seat packs and user caps are applied, required add-ons and mandatory vendor fees are added, one-time setup fees are shown apart. A free plan is never the cost; whether it covers the team is shown apart.
- Each price is confirmed on the vendor's live page by two AI checkers from different model families, each quoting the page word for word. A price that is not confirmed is left out; a higher plan left out this way is skipped only when, at its last read price, it costs more than the cheapest confirmed plan.
- Not counted: taxes, usage (AI credits, contacts, tickets, overages), plans capped by usage volume (tickets or conversations a month), discounts shown only in the cart, behind a code or for a limited time, and optional add-ons.
- Rows are ordered by computed cost. No score, no rank of our own; sponsored or paid status never changes inclusion or order.
- A confirmation counts for 14 days: a tool not re-confirmed in that time leaves the tables until it is.
What a team of 5 agents pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per agent | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | $45/mo Express | $35/mo Express, $420/yr | $7 | per-seat price x team size | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Helpwise | $75/mo Standard | $60/mo Standard, $720/yr | $12 | per-seat price x team size | helpwise.ioconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Liveagent | $95/mo Starter | $75/mo Starter, $900/yr | $15 | per-seat price x team size | liveagent.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Freshdesk | not confirmed | $95/mo Growth, $1,140/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | freshworks.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zendesk | not confirmed | $95/mo Support Team, $1,140/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | zendesk.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| HappyFox | $145/mo Basic | $120/mo Basic, $1,440/yr | $24 | per-seat price x team size | happyfox.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Hiver | $175/mo Growth | $125/mo Growth, $1,500/yr | $25 | per-seat price x team size | hiverhq.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Re:amaze | $145/mo Basic | not confirmed | $29 | no annual price confirmed | reamaze.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
What a team of 20 agents pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per agent | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | $400/mo Standard | $280/mo Standard, $3,360/yr | $14 | per-seat price x team size | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Freshdesk | not confirmed | $380/mo Growth, $4,560/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | freshworks.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zendesk | not confirmed | $380/mo Support Team, $4,560/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | zendesk.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Helpwise | $580/mo Premium | $460/mo Premium, $5,520/yr | $23 | per-seat price x team size | helpwise.ioconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Re:amaze | $580/mo Basic | not confirmed | $29 | no annual price confirmed | reamaze.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| HappyFox | $1,380/mo Team | $980/mo Team, $11,760/yr | $49 | per-seat price x team size | happyfox.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Liveagent | $1,180/mo Business | $980/mo Business, $11,760/yr | $49 | per-seat price x team size | liveagent.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Hiver | $1,300/mo Pro | $1,100/mo Pro, $13,200/yr | $55 | per-seat price x team size | hiverhq.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
What a team of 50 agents pays
| Tool | Billed monthly | Billed annually | Per agent | How it was counted | Pricing page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | $1,000/mo Standard | $700/mo Standard, $8,400/yr | $14 | per-seat price x team size | zoho.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Freshdesk | not confirmed | $950/mo Growth, $11,400/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | freshworks.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Zendesk | not confirmed | $950/mo Support Team, $11,400/yr | $19 | no monthly price confirmed | zendesk.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Helpwise | $1,450/mo Premium | $1,150/mo Premium, $13,800/yr | $23 | per-seat price x team size | helpwise.ioconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Re:amaze | $1,450/mo Basic | not confirmed | $29 | no annual price confirmed | reamaze.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| HappyFox | $3,450/mo Team | $2,450/mo Team, $29,400/yr | $49 | per-seat price x team size | happyfox.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Liveagent | $2,950/mo Business | $2,450/mo Business, $29,400/yr | $49 | per-seat price x team size | liveagent.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
| Hiver | $3,250/mo Pro | $2,750/mo Pro, $33,000/yr | $55 | per-seat price x team size | hiverhq.comconfirmed Nov 4, 2026 |
Excluded, and why
- Deskpro: Per-agent prices are shown without saying whether they are billed monthly or yearly, and plans are bought through sales.
- Gorgias: Priced by the number of tickets a month (50 to 5,000), never per agent.
- Groove: The pricing page now sells Helply AI credit blocks with unlimited users: cost depends on AI usage, not agents.
- Help Scout: Its pricing page shows per-user prices without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually, so a team total cannot be stated.
- Intercom: Its pricing page shows per-user prices without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually, so a team total cannot be stated.
- Jira Service Management: The per-agent price depends on team size and the page prints one example price for an unstated team size.
- Kayako: Priced at $1 per ticket its AI resolves; the full platform has no published per-agent price.
- Zammad: Hosted plans are priced in euros only; no US dollar price on the page.
What each price leaves out
Plans, add-ons and usage charges not in the figures, tool by tool
- Freshdesk: Freddy AI Agent sessions beyond the first 500: $49 per 100 sessions (usage); Freddy AI Copilot add-on, optional, $29 per agent a month; Day passes, connector app tasks and MCP actions: usage
- HappyFox: Enterprise Pro: price on request; Unlimited-agent plans: flat, from $1,999 a month billed annually, with a ticket allowance; Two-year plans (paid up front) not counted; AI, chatbot, workflows and other add-on products: separate pricing, optional
- Helpwise: Enterprise: price on request; Add-ons, optional: 3 extra inboxes $49, chatbot $10 a user, cloud phone $5 a user
- Hiver: Voice add-on, optional, $30 per voice seat a month plus $0.03 a minute over the pool; Hiver in Gmail: separate product with its own plans, not counted
- Liveagent: Special offer prices until Nov 22, 2026: not counted, regular prices used; AI: billed by your own AI provider at their prices (usage); Extra knowledge base, optional, $19 a month
- Re:amaze: Starter: $59 a month flat, unlimited users but capped at 500 conversations a month; AI agent resolutions beyond those included: $0.85 each (usage); not confirmed on this read, left out: Basic (annual billing), Pro (annual billing), Plus (annual billing)
- Zendesk: Suite Enterprise + Copilot: price on request; AI agent resolutions beyond the plan allowance: $1.50 to $2.00 each (usage); Optional add-ons, per agent a month billed yearly: Copilot $50, Contact Center $83; not confirmed on this read, left out: Support Team (monthly billing), Suite Team (monthly billing), Suite Professional (monthly billing)
- Zoho Desk: Light agents, optional, $6 per light agent a month
Questions
How much does help desk software cost for a team of 5?
Across 8 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 5 agents costs from $35 a month (Zoho Desk Express, billed annually) to $145 (Re:amaze Basic), median $95 a month, or $19 per agent. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
How much does help desk software cost for a team of 20?
Across 8 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 20 agents costs from $280 a month (Zoho Desk Standard, billed annually) to $1,100 (Hiver Pro), median $520 a month, or $26 per agent. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
How much does help desk software cost for a team of 50?
Across 8 tools whose prices Toolradar confirmed on the vendor's pricing page (November 4, 2026), the cheapest paid plan for 50 agents costs from $700 a month (Zoho Desk Standard, billed annually) to $2,750 (Hiver Pro), median $1,300 a month, or $26 per agent. Taxes, usage and optional add-ons are not included.
Which help desk software tools were left out of this benchmark?
8 tools were left out: Deskpro (Per-agent prices are shown without saying whether they are billed monthly or yearly, and plans are bought through sales); Gorgias (Priced by the number of tickets a month (50 to 5,000), never per agent); Groove (The pricing page now sells Helply AI credit blocks with unlimited users: cost depends on AI usage, not agents); Help Scout (Its pricing page shows per-user prices without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually, so a team total cannot be stated); Intercom (Its pricing page shows per-user prices without saying whether they are billed monthly or annually, so a team total cannot be stated); Jira Service Management (The per-agent price depends on team size and the page prints one example price for an unstated team size); Kayako (Priced at $1 per ticket its AI resolves; the full platform has no published per-agent price); Zammad (Hosted plans are priced in euros only; no US dollar price on the page).
About this benchmark
Why it exists. A vendor's page tells you its own price per agent. This page applies one method to every tool, under the same conditions, so the totals can be compared: seat minimums, seat packs, user caps and required fees are applied the same way for all.
Independence. Toolradar sells advertising, including sponsored placements on some pages. Sponsored or paid status never changes which tools are included here or their order: inclusion is the list of tools considered (all shown, in the tables or under Excluded) and order is the computed cost. There is no score or rank of our own on this page. See how we rate.
Related. Best help desk software tools · Help desk software statistics · All benchmarks
Reuse. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. Cite this: Toolradar, “What help desk software really costs for a team of 5, 20 and 50 agents”, prices confirmed November 4, 2026, toolradar.com/benchmarks/help-desk-software-cost. Machine-readable: JSON, CSV.