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The best Gorgias alternatives for Shopify stores in 2026

Gorgias is a deep Shopify helpdesk, and for many stores it’s the right choice. Its bill has three parts: tickets, overage and an AI fee for each interaction. Here are the alternatives worth a look, starting with ours, and who each one suits.

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Updated 11 October 2026. Competitor prices checked on each vendor’s own site.

  1. 1. Hobson

    Best for Shopify stores that want AI on every conversation and a flat bill.

    Hobson drafts every reply, a person approves it, and each category sends on its own only after it has a track record. Order actions such as refunds and cancellations are proposed with the reply and run when approved. Plans start at £59 a month for 300 conversations with unlimited seats and no per-resolution fees. It runs in shadow mode on your live Gorgias traffic before you switch. It has no voice, SMS or help centre.

    Hobson vs Gorgias · How switching works

  2. 2. Richpanel

    Best for: Shopify brands that want a self-service portal, a returns add-on and a resolution guarantee.

    Price
    $99 per seat a month billed annually, $119 monthly
    AI fee
    About $0.20 per conversation, bought as credits, with a $200 a month minimum
    Strengths
    A self-service portal and a returns add-on. Hobson has neither. A guarantee of 50% resolution in 30 days or your money back. More time in the market.

    Hobson vs Richpanel

  3. 3. Zendesk

    Best for: Larger teams that need deep customisation, detailed reporting, voice and enterprise compliance.

    Price
    Support Team £20 per agent a month (£15 billed annually). Suite Team £59 (£45 annually)
    AI fee
    £1.30 per automated resolution on a committed volume, US$2.00 pay as you go. 5 included per agent a month on Team, 10 on Professional
    Strengths
    Customisation, workflow depth and reporting. Voice and a wider set of channels. A large marketplace of apps. Enterprise compliance and scale.

    Hobson vs Zendesk

  4. 4. eDesk

    Best for: Sellers on Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces as well as Shopify. eDesk is the better choice there.

    Price
    Essential $45, Growth $99, Professional $129 per agent a month billed annually ($55, $125, $159 monthly)
    AI fee
    $0.99 per outcome
    Strengths
    Amazon, eBay and other marketplaces in one inbox.

  5. 5. Re:amaze

    Best for: Very small stores, where the $59 Starter plan with 500 conversations is hard to beat.

    Price
    Basic $29, Pro $49, Plus $69 per seat a month. Starter $59 flat for 500 conversations with unlimited agents
    AI fee
    $0.85 per resolution after 5, 10 or 20 included per user
    Strengths
    The Starter plan is cheaper than Hobson at small volumes. A longer track record.

  6. 6. Help Scout

    Best for: Small teams that want a simple shared inbox and a public knowledge base, or a free plan.

    Price
    Free for up to 5 users. Standard $25, Plus $45 and Pro $75 per user a month, billed annually
    AI fee
    $0.75 per resolution by Envoy, Help Scout’s AI agent, with an optional spending cap
    Strengths
    A free plan for up to 5 users. Docs, a public knowledge base. Hobson has no help centre. A simple, long-established shared inbox. An optional spending cap on AI resolutions.

    Hobson vs Help Scout

  7. 7. Intercom Fin

    Best for: Teams that want a mature autonomous AI agent and are comfortable with per-outcome billing.

    Price
    Essential $29 per seat a month billed annually ($39 monthly), Advanced $85 ($99), Expert $132 ($139)
    AI fee
    $0.99 per outcome. An outcome includes a resolution, a customer who stops replying after Fin answers, or a completed workflow including a handoff
    Strengths
    Fin is a mature autonomous agent, with procedures for multi-step answers. Voice and a large app ecosystem. A well-known brand with a long track record.

    Hobson vs Intercom Fin

  8. Or keep Gorgias and add an AI layer

    Tools such as Siena AI add AI on top of Gorgias for $750 a month platform fee plus $0.90 per automated ticket. You keep Gorgias’s channels and pay for both. Hobson’s shadow mode lets you see whether one flat bill could replace both before you decide.

Costs side by side

Three example stores on monthly billing at list prices. Each competitor figure counts its seats and its fee for each conversation its AI resolves, on the plan shown. Drafting add-ons are left out, which favours the competitors. US dollar prices are converted at £1 = $1.33. Hobson’s AI drafting pauses at your plan limit, and you’re never billed overage.

Small store

300 conversations, 2 agents, 30% (90) resolved by AI

Hobson Starter
£59
Gorgias Basic plan
≈ £90.23
  • Basic plan, 300 tickets includedUS$60
  • 60 AI Agent interactions × $1.00 (30 included)US$60
Richpanel Per seat
≈ £329
  • 2 seats × $119US$238
  • AI at about $0.20 per conversation ($200 minimum)US$200
Zendesk Suite Team
£222
  • 2 agents × £59£118
  • 80 automated resolutions × £1.30 (10 included)£104
Change the numbers

Growing store

1,000 conversations, 3 agents, 40% (400) resolved by AI

Hobson Growth
£179
Gorgias Basic plan
≈ £414
  • Basic plan, 300 tickets includedUS$60
  • 300 extra tickets × $0.40US$120
  • 370 AI Agent interactions × $1.00 (30 included)US$370
Richpanel Per seat
≈ £419
  • 3 seats × $119US$357
  • AI at about $0.20 per conversation ($200 minimum)US$200
Zendesk Suite Team
£678
  • 3 agents × £59£177
  • 385 automated resolutions × £1.30 (15 included)£501
Change the numbers

Busy store

3,000 conversations, 8 agents, 50% (1,500) resolved by AI

Hobson Scale
£399
Gorgias Pro plan
≈ £1,256
  • Pro plan, 2,000 tickets includedUS$360
  • 1,310 AI Agent interactions × $1.00 (190 included)US$1,310
Richpanel Per seat
≈ £1,167
  • 8 seats × $119US$952
  • AI at about $0.20 per conversation ($200 minimum)US$600
Zendesk Suite Team
£2,370
  • 8 agents × £59£472
  • 1,460 automated resolutions × £1.30 (40 included)£1,898
Change the numbers

Questions

At very small volumes, Re:amaze Starter ($59 flat for 500 conversations) and Help Scout’s free plan are hard to beat, and Gorgias Starter itself is $10 for 50 tickets. From about 1,000 conversations a month, flat-priced tools like Hobson usually cost less than per-seat or per-resolution pricing.

Yes. AI layers such as Siena AI sit on top of Gorgias ($750 a month platform fee plus $0.90 per automated ticket). Hobson can also run alongside Gorgias in shadow mode, so you can compare before deciding to replace either bill.

eDesk. It brings marketplaces and Shopify into one inbox. Hobson is built for Shopify stores and doesn’t connect to Amazon or eBay.

Sources

  1. Gorgias pricing, checked 14 November 2026
  2. Gorgias on the Shopify App Store, checked 14 November 2026
  3. Richpanel pricing (updated 28 July 2026), checked 28 July 2026
  4. Zendesk UK pricing, checked 14 November 2026
  5. eDesk pricing, checked 14 November 2026
  6. Re:amaze pricing, checked 11 October 2026
  7. Help Scout pricing, checked 14 November 2026
  8. Intercom pricing, checked 14 November 2026
  9. Siena AI pricing, checked 11 October 2026

Prices are list prices excluding VAT, voice, SMS and add-ons unless shown, and can change at any time. Check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Gorgias, Richpanel, Zendesk, eDesk, Re:amaze, Help Scout, Intercom Fin and Siena AI are trade marks of their owners. Hobson is not affiliated with them. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@hobson.support and we’ll correct it.

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