Best Helpdesk Apps for Shopify: 7 Compared
)
Choosing a Shopify helpdesk looks simple until you price it. One app charges per agent, another per ticket, a third bills AI separately with a monthly minimum. Side by side on sales pages, none of them line up.
The right Shopify helpdesk depends on two things: whether you sell anywhere other than Shopify, and how your ticket volume changes through the year. Peak months matter more than most sellers expect. Across eDesk’s customer data, tickets rise 30% to 70% at peak, and that is when per-ticket pricing shows its real cost. On a per-ticket plan, a bill that looks small in a normal month can more than double in a peak one, as Scenario A below shows.
This guide compares seven apps on the same criteria and two identical store scenarios: eDesk, Gorgias, Freshdesk, Zendesk, Re:amaze, Help Scout and Richpanel. It shows where per-agent and per-ticket pricing cross over, and lists the costs that never appear in a headline price, from marketplace connectors to AI minimums. It also separates Shopify-only stores from stores that sell on Amazon, eBay, Walmart or TikTok Shop as well, because the shortlist changes once a marketplace is involved. If AI is your deciding factor, see our guide to AI support tools compared.
TL;DR
Start with your channels. Shopify-only stores have the widest choice; stores also on marketplaces have fewer native options.
eDesk connects every marketplace natively. It is the only app here listing native Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop integrations alongside Shopify.
Per-agent pricing holds flat at peak. eDesk’s agent-based plans include unlimited tickets, from $45 per agent a month on annual billing; ticket-priced tools rise with volume.
Shopify-only stores have a dedicated eDesk plan. eDesk for Shopify starts at $49 a month on annual billing for 300 tickets, with 100 AI resolutions included.
Price the full invoice. Marketplace connectors, AI tiers, copilot add-ons and ticket overages often sit outside the headline price.
How We Compared
Every app was measured on the same criteria, at annual billing, using only the vendor’s own published information. The criteria: Shopify order actions inside the ticket, native marketplace integrations, pricing model, total monthly cost on two scenarios, AI pricing, Shopify App Store rating, and trial terms.
Support benchmarks come from eDesk’s platform data: a 30-day sample covering roughly 3,500 eDesk customers, 4,935,858 tickets and 27,166,826 orders.
Disclosure: This article is published on edesk.com, and this comparison includes eDesk. We evaluated all platforms using the same criteria and vendors’ own published information. Competitor pricing was verified on 27 October 2026 and eDesk pricing on 5 November 2026, but both may change, so confirm current terms with each vendor before deciding.
Shopify Only or Shopify Plus Marketplaces?
Most of the difference between these apps shows up when you add a second sales channel. Marketplaces carry a large share of the support load: in eDesk’s 30-day ticket data, eBay, website and Amazon messages together made up 78% of all tickets.
To estimate your own volume, start from your orders. eDesk’s all-time data shows about one ticket for every six orders. At that rate, a store doing 3,000 orders a month would see about 500 tickets (Scenario A below), and one doing 18,000 orders about 3,000 tickets (Scenario B). Your own ticket count will always beat an average, so use it where you have it.
One caution: in a 2022 analysis, 96.6% of eDesk customers connected at least one marketplace, so this data skews multichannel, and a Shopify-only store won’t look like the average. That’s why this guide treats the two seller types separately.
Comparison Table
| eDesk | Gorgias | Freshdesk | Zendesk | Re:amaze | Help Scout | Richpanel | |
| Pricing model | Per agent, unlimited tickets | Per ticket volume | Per agent | Per agent | Per member, or flat Starter | Per user | Per seat plus AI minimum |
| Entry price (annual billing) | $45/agent/mo | $10/mo, 50 tickets (monthly only) | $19/agent/mo | $55/agent/mo | $26.10/member/mo, or $59/mo flat | Free (5 users), then $25/user/mo | $99/seat/mo; $299/mo with AI minimum |
| Shopify order actions | Returns, cancellations, adjust orders; Refund and Duplicate | Create, duplicate, edit, refund, cancel | View, refund, cancel unfulfilled | Refunds, cancellations | Manage, modify, create orders | Edit, duplicate, cancel, refund | Discounts, addresses, refunds; draft orders |
| Native marketplaces | Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok Shop | TikTok Shop; others via third-party apps | Third-party app only | Only third-party apps found | None listed | None listed | Amazon |
| AI pricing | $0.99 per outcome | AI tier of 30 to 190 interactions at $0.90 (annual), then $1.50; AI-resolved tickets also count as tickets | 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 | 5 to 10 per agent included, then $1.50 to $2.00 | 5 to 20 per user included, then $0.85 | $0.75 per resolution | About $0.20 per AI-handled conversation, $200/mo minimum |
| Shopify App Store rating | 4.7 (32 reviews) | 4.3 (707) | No listing found | 3.2 (95) | 4.4 (181) | 3.7 (19) | 4.9 (137) |
| Trial | 14 days, no card | 7 days | 14 days, no free plan | 14 days | 14 days, no card | Free plan; 15-day paid trial | 14 days |
Start with the marketplace row; it rules out options fastest. Competitor figures verified 27 October 2026; eDesk figures verified 5 November 2026.
Each app is built around a different job, so match the rows to how you sell. eDesk is the only one here with Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop all native, alongside Shopify. eDesk also runs a separate Shopify-only plan, eDesk for Shopify, tiered by ticket volume from $49/mo with AI resolutions bundled in; see the eDesk entry below for detail. Shopify’s free Shopify Inbox handles storefront chat with an opt-in AI agent, but isn’t a ticketing helpdesk.
Start for free with a 14-day eDesk trial and see your Shopify orders inside your own tickets.
What Each App Costs
On the same workload, a small Shopify-only store pays between $38 and $398 a month, and ticket-priced tools jump in peak months. Figures exclude AI beyond what each plan includes.
Assumptions: annual billing; one ticket equals one conversation; peak month is normal volume plus 70% (the top of eDesk’s 30% to 70% peak range); agent counts fit eDesk’s benchmark of 35 to 55 conversations per agent per day.
Scenario A: Shopify-only, 2 agents, 500 tickets (850 at peak)
| App and plan | Normal month | Peak month | Calculation |
| eDesk Essential | $90 | $90 | 2 × $45 |
| Freshdesk Growth | $38 | $38 | 2 × $19 |
| Help Scout Standard | $50 | $50 | 2 × $25 (billing basis not labeled on Help Scout’s page) |
| Re:amaze Basic | $52.20 | $52.20 | 2 × $26.10 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $110 | $110 | 2 × $55 |
| Gorgias Basic | $130 | $290 | $50 base + $40 per 100 tickets over 300 |
| Richpanel | $398 | $398 | 2 × $99 + $200 AI minimum |
Gorgias Basic more than doubles at peak; its Pro plan (300 a month, 2,000 tickets) would hold flat at a higher base. eDesk Essential (90) costs less here than eDesk’s own Shopify-only plan at this volume, eDesk for Shopify Growth ($179/mo, up to 1,000 tickets), but that plan includes 200 AI resolutions, worth $198 at $0.99 each.
Scenario B: Shopify plus Amazon and eBay, 5 agents, 3,000 tickets (5,100 at peak)
| App and plan | Normal month | Peak month | Marketplace coverage |
| eDesk Growth | $495 | $495 | Native; plan covers 5 stores |
| Freshdesk Growth | $95 | $95 | Third-party connector, extra cost (see below) |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $275 | $275 | Third-party connector, extra cost |
| Gorgias Pro | $660 | $1,416 | Third-party connector, extra cost |
| Gorgias Advanced | $750 | $786 | As above |
| Richpanel | $695 | $695 | Amazon only |
Re:amaze and Help Scout list no Amazon or eBay integration, and eDesk for Shopify is Shopify-only, so none of them fits this scenario. Add a connector and the gap narrows: ChannelReply, a common Amazon and eBay connector for Freshdesk, Zendesk and Gorgias, costs $63 to $159 a month on annual billing for 1,000 to 4,000 incoming marketplace messages. That puts Freshdesk at about $158 to $254 and Zendesk at about $338 to $434 before any extra messages.
Where Per-Agent and Per-Ticket Pricing Cross Over
Per-agent pricing holds flat as ticket volume grows; per-ticket pricing rises with every ticket. Using the prices above:
2 agents: Gorgias Basic ($50, then about 0.40 per ticket over 300) costs more than two eDesk Essential seats (90) once you pass about 400 tickets a month.
5 agents: Gorgias Pro ($300, then 0.36 per ticket over 2,000) costs more than fivee Desk Growth seats (495) once you pass about 2,540 tickets a month.
So count both numbers before you compare: how many people need a login, and how many tickets you handle in your busiest month.
Costs Not in the Headline Price
The entry price rarely matches the invoice. These are the extras we found on vendors’ own pricing pages:
| Extra | Who it applies to | Cost (as published) |
| Marketplace connector | Freshdesk, Zendesk, Gorgias (for Amazon, eBay, Walmart) | ChannelReply: $31 to $159 a month on annual billing, plus $0.03 to $0.05 per extra incoming message |
| AI tier | Gorgias | $27 a month (Basic) to $171 a month (Pro) on annual billing, then $1.50 per interaction; AI-resolved tickets also use up the ticket allowance |
| AI minimum | Richpanel | $200 a month |
| AI copilot for agents | Freshdesk (Pro and up), Zendesk (Professional and up) | $29 and $50 per agent a month |
| AI drafting and translation | eDesk | AI Assist $39 and Translate $21 per agent a month |
| Ticket overage | Gorgias | $36 to $40 per extra 100 tickets |
The Seven Apps
1. eDesk
A multichannel eCommerce helpdesk with native Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop integrations alongside Shopify. Every Shopify ticket shows the customer’s order history, and agents can process returns and cancellations or adjust orders without leaving the ticket (see the eDesk Shopify integration). Plans run $45, $99 and $129 per agent a month on annual billing, with unlimited tickets on every agent-based plan and AI Agent included at $0.99 per outcome; see eDesk’s pricing page.
eDesk for Shopify: for sellers on Shopify only, eDesk also runs a separate, ticket-tiered product. Plans are $49 (300 tickets, 100 AI resolutions), $179 (1,000, 200) and $379 (2,000, 300) a month on annual billing, with extra AI resolutions at $0.99; see the eDesk for Shopify plans page. Stores that add a marketplace can move to the agent-based plans above.
In practice: every channel lands in one To do list, with a countdown to each marketplace’s response deadline. A Shopify ticket shows the order, tracking and delivery details beside the message, with Refund and Duplicate on the order panel. An eBay item-not-received case opens with eBay’s own options (refund, share tracking, message the buyer) inside the ticket.
Where it fits: Shopify sellers also on marketplaces, on the agent-based plans; Shopify-only sellers who want AI bundled into a ticket-tiered plan, on eDesk for Shopify. Shopify-only stores with sharp seasonal peaks can use the agent-based plans, which carry unlimited tickets.
2. Gorgias
Built around Shopify. Agents can create, duplicate, edit, refund and cancel orders in the ticket. Pricing runs by ticket volume, from $10 a month for 50 tickets up to $9,000 a year for 5,000, with extra tickets at $36 to $40 per 100 and unlimited agents on Basic. AI Agent is optional: on Basic it adds $27 a month (annual) for 30 automated interactions, then $1.50 each, and each AI-resolved ticket also counts toward the ticket allowance. TikTok Shop is native; Amazon, eBay and Walmart need third-party apps.
3. Freshdesk
A general-purpose helpdesk whose Shopify app lets agents view orders, issue refunds and cancel unshipped orders. Plans run $19, $55 and $89 per agent a month (annual), each with 500 AI sessions included. There’s no free plan.
4. Zendesk
A customer service suite built for multi-department support, with customization, routing and reporting across teams. Its Shopify sidebar app handles refunds and cancellations. Suite Team is $55 per agent a month (annual), Professional $115.
5. Re:amaze
Chat-first, with live chat, social and a help center in one. Agents can manage, modify and create Shopify orders. Plans run from $26.10 per member a month (annual), or $59 flat for up to 500 conversations.
6. Help Scout
An email-style shared inbox with a knowledge base. Its Shopify app lets agents edit, duplicate, cancel and refund orders. A free plan covers 5 users and 100 contacts a month; paid plans start at $25 per user.
7. Richpanel
Focused on self-service and AI. Agents can update discounts, addresses and refunds and create draft orders, and Amazon is listed natively. Seats are $99 a month (annual) plus a $200 AI minimum, at about $0.20 per AI-handled conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much does a Shopify helpdesk cost?
It depends on how the app charges. In Scenario A (2 agents, 500 tickets), monthly costs ran from $38 to $398 in a normal month. eDesk starts at $45 per agent a month with unlimited tickets, and eDesk for Shopify starts at $49 a month for 300 tickets with 100 AI resolutions, both on annual billing.
2. Can agents edit Shopify orders inside the ticket?
In most of these apps, yes. In eDesk, agents can process returns and cancellations and adjust orders without leaving the ticket; the comparison table lists what each app supports. Test any tool on a live order during a trial, since vendor wording and real behavior can differ.
3. When does per-ticket pricing cost more than per-agent pricing?
When ticket volume is high for the team size. With 2 agents, Gorgias Basic costs more than two eDesk Essential seats above about 400 tickets a month, and with 5 agents, Gorgias Pro costs more than five eDesk Growth seats above about 2,540. eDesk’s agent-based plans include unlimited tickets, so peak months cost the same as normal ones.
4. Is eDesk for Shopify priced per ticket?
Yes. Annual plans of $49, $179 and $379 a month cover 300, 1,000 and 2,000 tickets, with 100, 200 and 300 AI resolutions included.
5. Which Shopify helpdesks connect natively to Amazon and eBay?
Only eDesk lists native Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop integrations. Richpanel lists Amazon. Gorgias lists TikTok Shop and reaches the rest through third-party apps such as ChannelReply, which starts at $31 a month on annual billing.
Where to Start
List every channel your customers message you on, estimate tickets from your orders, price your busiest month including connectors and AI, and test a real order in a trial before you commit. Book a Free Demo to see eDesk running on your own Shopify and marketplace orders.
Author:
)