Who wrote this: we make Kerux, one of the tools on this page, so weigh our view of it accordingly. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page. We did not run hands-on benchmarks of every product, so we won't pretend to rank them on quality. We sort by fit instead.
Do you need one yet?
If one person answers a handful of emails a day, a normal inbox is fine. Move when two people touch the same customer, a message slips through, or you can't say how long customers wait. Those are the signs, and team size isn't.
What small teams should care about
- Setup you can do yourself. Ask how email reaches the tool, since forwarding and domain checks can take up to a couple of days.
- A help center. It cuts repeat questions, and every AI feature answers from it.
- A bill that matches a small business. Annual billing, seat minimums and add-ons change the price more than the headline does.
- Free read-only access. The owner who just wants to look shouldn't cost a seat.
A three-person team, worked through
Three agents, with the AI handling 300 answers a month. That is a realistic start for a small team with a decent help center.
- Kerux Growth$156$147 plan + $9 AI · about 3¢ an answer on your own AI key, paid to your provider
- Freshdesk Pro$312$165 plan + $147 AI · $49 per 100 sessions, one-time free 500 used
- Front Professionalfrom $312$195 plan + $117 AI · from $0.39 per conversation
- Gorgias Basic (300 tickets)$350$50 plan + $300 AI · $1.00 per interaction, flat plan price, ticket overage extra
- Help Scout Plus$360$135 plan + $225 AI · $0.75 per AI Answers resolution
- Intercom Advanced$552$255 plan + $297 AI · $0.99 per outcome
- Zendesk Suite Team$615$165 plan + $450 AI · $1.50 per committed resolution, before any included allowance
| Tool, plan | Seats or plan | AI, 300 / mo | Month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerux Growthabout 3¢ an answer on your own AI key, paid to your provider | $147 | $9 | $156 |
| Freshdesk Pro$49 per 100 sessions, one-time free 500 used | $165 | $147 | $312 |
| Front Professionalfrom $0.39 per conversation | $195 | $117 | from $312 |
| Gorgias Basic (300 tickets)$1.00 per interaction, flat plan price, ticket overage extra | $50 | $300 | $350 |
| Help Scout Plus$0.75 per AI Answers resolution | $135 | $225 | $360 |
| Intercom Advanced$0.99 per outcome | $255 | $297 | $552 |
| Zendesk Suite Team$1.50 per committed resolution, before any included allowance | $165 | $450 | $615 |
3 agents on each vendor's middle plan, plus 300 AI answers at the published rate, cheapest first. Annual-billing prices where the vendor lists them. Gorgias prices by ticket volume rather than seats. Kerux's AI line goes to your AI provider, runs 1 to 5¢ an answer by model and ticket length, and is an estimate. Taxes not included. A plan your AI feature requires may differ, so check before you trust a total.
You can pay less than this. These totals use the middle plan on purpose, and the entry plans in the cards below may cover a small team that skips the AI agent altogether.
The options
Help Scout
Best for: the smallest teams, and anyone who wants to start free
There's a genuinely free plan for up to 5 users, which none of the others offer. The free plan is one inbox and one Docs site, so it suits a team with one main address. The everyday AI features, drafting, summarising, tone editing, are included in the seat price, not metered.
Freshdesk
Best for: teams that want a portal and knowledge base at a low seat price
Growth starts at $19/agent/mo billed annually, among the lowest listed seat prices. Every plan comes with 500 free AI sessions to try it, a one-time allowance per account rather than a monthly one.
Zendesk
Best for: small teams that expect to grow a lot, or don't want AI at all
Support Team starts at $19/agent/mo. Cheaper per seat than Kerux's entry plan if you don't need the AI. If you later add its AI agents, they bill per automated resolution, so budget for that on the way in.
Front
Best for: teams of up to ten that live in shared email
It is built around shared inboxes, so teams that live in email keep a familiar way of working. Starter covers one channel type and up to ten seats, and there is a 14-day trial of Professional.
Gorgias
Best for: small online stores
It is built around e-commerce and Shopify support, with order data and actions inside the helpdesk. Gorgias doesn't charge per agent, so adding teammates costs nothing extra; the meter is ticket volume. Basic includes 300 tickets and 3 user seats, so check your monthly ticket count before you pick.
Kerux
Best for: small B2B teams that want an AI agent without a per-answer fee
One flat price per agent, viewers are free, and the AI runs on your own key at a few cents an answer. Set a monthly spend cap and new tickets past it go to your team with a note. The trial runs 30 days with no card, and the first 90 days after you pay are covered by a refund on what you paid us (AI provider charges excluded).
Where it falls short: it is a newer product with no review-site track record or public case studies yet. Channels are email, live chat and forms, so no phone, SMS, WhatsApp or social. SSO is still coming, there is no SOC 2 report of its own, and you have to create an AI key with a provider (the setup guide has the steps).
How to pick in an afternoon
- Count last month's tickets and how many people answered them.
- Write down the channels you must cover.
- Put your numbers in the calculator, or work out two totals by hand.
- Start two trials and send ten real customer questions through each. The one your team reaches for wins.
Thinking about AI first? Here is what each AI tool meters.
Sources: Help Scout pricing (checked 2026-11-05) · Freshdesk pricing (checked 2026-11-05) · Zendesk pricing (checked 2026-11-05) · Front pricing (checked 2026-11-05) · Gorgias pricing (checked 2026-11-05). Kerux figures from our own pricing page. Vendor pricing changes, so confirm on their page before you decide.
More 2027 buying guides
- Best help desk software for 2027: seven tools at published prices
- Best AI customer support software for 2027, and what each one meters
- How much does help desk software cost in 2027?
- Customer support in 2027: six shifts already on the pricing pages
- Best Zendesk alternatives for 2027
- Best Intercom alternatives for 2027
- Best Help Scout alternatives for 2027
- Best Freshdesk alternatives for 2027
Questions people ask
What is the best free customer support software for a small business?
Help Scout's free plan covers up to 5 users with one inbox and one Docs site, which is enough for a very small team that mostly answers email.
When should a small business move off a shared Gmail inbox?
When two people answer the same customer, a message gets missed, or you can't tell how long customers wait. Those are the problems a help desk solves.
How much should a small business budget for support software?
Multiply seats by the plan price, then add your expected AI answers at the vendor's rate. For a three-person team, that often lands from under a couple of hundred dollars to several hundred a month, depending mostly on AI.