HubSpot vs Zendesk. Pricing, AI and which to pick.
Both charge per seat and bill their AI agents by resolution. HubSpot is free for up to 2 users; Zendesk has no free plan, a 14-day trial, and starts live chat on Suite Team.
Every price and feature here comes from HubSpot's and Zendesk's own websites, with links. ChatBento, our product, appears as a third column so you can see where a simpler website chatbot fits.
Live chat and help desks
HubSpot
HubSpot's Service Hub is a CRM-based customer service platform with a help desk, ticketing, live chat, a knowledge base and calling. Its chatbot builder is free, and the AI Customer Agent comes with Professional and Enterprise.
- Starts at
- Freeup to 2 users. Paid seats: see their pricing page
- Billing
- Per seat, plus $0.50 per AI resolution
- Free option
- Yes, up to 2 users
Live chat and help desks
Zendesk
Zendesk is a customer service suite with ticketing, messaging and live chat, a help center and voice, with AI agents built in, priced per agent seat.
- Starts at
- $19per agent / mo, billed yearly. Live chat from $55
- Billing
- Per agent seat, plus per automated resolution
- Free option
- No (14-day trial)
HubSpot vs Zendesk, side by side
"Not confirmed" means we couldn't verify it on that company's site, not that it's missing.
| Feature | HubSpot | Zendesk | ChatBentoOur product |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, up to 2 users | No (14-day trial) | Yes, 50 AI messages/mo |
| Lowest paid plan | Not confirmed | $19/agent/mo billed yearly; live chat from $55 | $14/mo (2,000 AI messages) |
| How the AI is billed | Per seat, plus $0.50 per AI resolution | Per agent seat, plus per automated resolution | Flat monthly price, no seats |
| AI answers trained on your website | Customer Agent, Professional and up | Yes | Yes |
| Install with one script tag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hand-off to a human | Yes | Yes, to agents in Zendesk | Yes, by email |
| Live chat inbox for your team | Yes | Yes | No |
| WhatsApp, Messenger and other channels | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Native integrations (CRM, Slack and others) | 2,000+ apps | 1,800+ apps | Not yet |
| Help desk ticketing | Yes | Yes | No |
HubSpot details checked October 30, 2026; Zendesk details checked October 23, 2026. Prices change, so check each company's pricing page before you decide.
Where each one is stronger
HubSpot's strengths
From HubSpot's own site. Check Zendesk's column in the table above for the same rows.
A CRM underneath
Every chat, ticket and call sits on HubSpot's CRM, next to your contacts and deals. ChatBento sends leads to your email.
hubspot.com/pricing/serviceA full service platform
Help desk, ticketing, SLAs, skill-based routing, a knowledge base, calling and feedback surveys, beyond the chat widget.
hubspot.com/pricing/serviceAI that knows the customer
Customer Agent learns from your knowledge base, website, CRM data and past conversations, works across chat, email, WhatsApp and Messenger, and transfers to your team with full context.
hubspot.com/products/artificial-intelligence/ai-customer-service-agentOver 2,000 integrations
HubSpot's marketplace lists more than 2,000 apps, from Jira to Microsoft Teams.
hubspot.com/pricing/service
Zendesk's strengths
From Zendesk's own site. Check HubSpot's column in the table above for the same rows.
A complete help desk
Ticketing, messaging and live chat, a help center and telephony in one suite, with prebuilt analytics dashboards. ChatBento is only the website chatbot.
zendesk.com/pricingEvery channel in one place
Zendesk connects Facebook, Instagram and X, and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Slack, WeChat and LINE. ChatBento runs on your website only.
zendesk.com/pricingAI agents beyond chat
Zendesk AI agents work across messaging, email and voice, support 80+ languages, and can learn from your help center plus sources like Google Drive and PDFs.
zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agentsA large app marketplace
Zendesk lists 1,800+ apps and integrations, 90+ telephony providers, and agent mobile apps for iOS and Android.
zendesk.com/pricing
HubSpot and Zendesk pricing
Each plan as the company lists it, with the fees that come on top.
HubSpot pricing
- Freeup to 2 users, live chat with HubSpot branding$0
- Service Hub Professionalper seat / mo committed annually ($100 otherwise), plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee$90
- Customer Agent (AI)per resolution; needs Professional or Enterprise$0.50
Free for up to 2 users, no credit card required. Checked October 30, 2026 on hubspot.com/pricing/service.
- We couldn't confirm the per-seat prices HubSpot shows for Starter, Professional and Enterprise in every region, so check its pricing page. Professional and Enterprise also carry a required one-time onboarding fee ($1,500 and $3,500). Source
- HubSpot counts a Customer Agent resolution when the AI helped and the conversation wasn't handed to a human for 72 hours. Source
Zendesk pricing
- Support Teamper agent / mo, billed yearly ($25 monthly). Email and ticketing, no live chat$19
- Suite Teamper agent / mo, billed yearly ($69 monthly). Adds messaging and live chat$55
- Suite Professionalper agent / mo, billed yearly ($149 monthly)$115
- Suite Enterprisetalk to salesCustom
No free plan; a 14-day free trial of Suite Professional. Checked October 23, 2026 on zendesk.com/pricing.
- Zendesk AI agents are billed by automated resolution. Plans include 5 per agent a month (10 on Suite Professional); more cost US$2.00 each pay-as-you-go, or a lower committed rate (shown only in pounds on its US page, checked October 30, 2026). Source
Which to choose
It comes down to who answers your chats and how you'd rather be billed.
Choose HubSpot if
- You already run sales or marketing in HubSpot and want every chat on the contact's CRM record.
- You need ticketing, SLAs and a knowledge base alongside chat.
- Two people answering live chat for free is all you need, and you don't need AI answers.
- You want the AI agent on email, WhatsApp and Messenger too, and per-resolution pricing suits your volume.
Choose Zendesk if
- Your team works tickets across email, chat, phone and social, and needs one help desk for all of it.
- Several agents answer chats live, so a shared inbox and per-seat pricing make sense for you.
- You want AI agents on email and voice too, not only on your website.
- You rely on integrations from a large marketplace, or on telephony.
Choose ChatBento if
Our product
- You want an AI chatbot on your website that answers from your own pages, Q&As and text, not a full support suite.
- You'd rather pay a flat $14, $30 or $100 a month than per seat or per resolution, or start on the free plan with 50 AI messages a month.
- An email hand-off is enough when a visitor needs a person.
Only need AI answers on your website?
ChatBento reads your site in about a minute and answers visitors from it. Free plan forever, paid plans from $14 a month.
HubSpot vs Zendesk. Questions, answered.
Which is cheaper, HubSpot or Zendesk?
It depends on how you'd use them, because they bill differently. HubSpot is free to start (up to 2 users. Paid seats: see their pricing page), billed as: per seat, plus $0.50 per AI resolution. Zendesk starts at $19 (per agent / mo, billed yearly. Live chat from $55), billed as: per agent seat, plus per automated resolution. Price your own monthly volume on both before you decide.
Do HubSpot and Zendesk have free plans?
HubSpot: Free for up to 2 users, no credit card required. Zendesk: No free plan; a 14-day free trial of Suite Professional.
What is the main difference between HubSpot and Zendesk?
Both charge per seat and bill their AI agents by resolution. HubSpot is free for up to 2 users; Zendesk has no free plan, a 14-day trial, and starts live chat on Suite Team.
Which should I choose, HubSpot or Zendesk?
Choose HubSpot if you already run sales or marketing in HubSpot and want every chat on the contact's CRM record. Choose Zendesk if your team works tickets across email, chat, phone and social, and needs one help desk for all of it.
Do I need a live chat inbox at all?
Only if someone on your team will answer chats in real time. HubSpot and Zendesk both include one. If you mostly want visitors' questions answered from your website, an AI chatbot with an email hand-off does that without a seat for each person.
Is there a simpler, flat-priced alternative to HubSpot and Zendesk?
ChatBento is an AI chatbot for your website that learns from your pages and Q&As, captures leads and hands off to you by email. It has a free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then $14, $30 or $100 a month, with AI answers included and no seats. It has no live chat inbox, ticketing or messaging channels, so it fits when the website chatbot is the job.
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HubSpot and Zendesk are trademarks of their owners; ChatBento is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
Sources: hubspot.com/pricing/service, hubspot.com/products/artificial-intelligence/ai-customer-service-agent, zendesk.com/pricing, zendesk.com/service/ai/ai-agents
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