{
 "schema_version": "1.0",
 "id": "zendesk",
 "name": "Zendesk",
 "research_status": "researched",
 "vendor_domain": "zendesk.com",
 "category": "Customer Support",
 "task": "A help desk, tickets or a shared inbox",
 "summary": "Customer service suite: ticketing, messaging, voice, help centre and AI agents.",
 "best_for": "support teams past the point where a shared inbox works, who need routing, a help centre and reporting in one place and have the volume to justify per-agent pricing",
 "skip_if": "you are a small team handling support out of email. The entry tier is email and ticketing only, the features people buy Zendesk for start at $55 a seat, and the Copilot AI is not available below $115. Also skip it if your case volume is low enough that per-resolution AI metering is more admin than benefit",
 "honest_knock": "Three separate multipliers sit on top of the number you first see. The prices shown are annual-billed — month-to-month costs more: €25, €69 and €149 per agent against €19, €55 and €115, read from the Netherlands on 7 October 2026. Copilot, the AI the product is currently sold on, is a $50 per-agent add-on that their own page restricts to Professional and higher: the $19 and $55 tiers cannot have it at any price, and on the $115 Professional seat it is a 43% uplift. And the AI agents that are included are metered by automated resolutions: past the allowance you pay per resolution, so the bill moves with how well the AI works rather than with how many people you hire. App Builder, Action Builder and Voice are metered on consumption alongside it. Price the tier you need with the add-ons you actually want switched on, because the $19 entry and a working configuration are far apart.",
 "pricing": {
  "status": "public",
  "entry_price": "$19",
  "entry_price_terms": "per agent a month, annual billing (US storefront)",
  "from_price_usd_month": 19.0,
  "plans": null,
  "plans_source": null,
  "notes": "(re-verified 2026-08-12, read on their own pricing page from two countries) Per agent per month on annual billing, US storefront: Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115. Suite Enterprise + Copilot is quote-only. The page geo-prices — read from Europe the same three tiers show €19, €55 and €115 — so check which storefront your quote came from. Annual billing carries a stated 20% discount. Read again from the Netherlands on 7 October 2026: the euro tiers are unchanged, and the page now also prints monthly rates of €25, €69 and €149 per agent (a saving of 24%, 20% and 23% on annual), includes 5 automated resolutions per agent a month on the Team tiers and 10 on Professional, and charges €1.50 per extra resolution committed or €2.00 pay-as-you-go. Paid add-ons on top of the seat price: Copilot $50 per agent/month (€50), Workforce Engagement bundle $50 (€50), Contact Center $83 (€82). Copilot can be attached to Professional and higher only. AI agents are included in Suite and Support plans but metered by 'automated resolutions' beyond the plan allowance, and App Builder, Action Builder and Voice are billed on consumption above their own allowances.",
  "verified_at": "2026-10-07",
  "source_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/",
  "schema_offer": null,
  "source_quotes": null
 },
 "free_plan": false,
 "free_plan_evidence": null,
 "cost_traps": [
  {
   "id": "per_seat",
   "label": "Per-seat pricing",
   "evidence": "Read again from the Netherlands on 7 October 2026: the euro tiers are unchanged, and the page now also prints monthly rates of €25, €69 and €149 per agent (a saving of 24%, 20% and 23% on annual), includes 5 automated resolutions per agent a month on the Team tiers and 10 on Professional, and charges €1.50 per extra resolution committed or €2.00 pay-as-you-go.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-07",
   "source_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/"
  },
  {
   "id": "usage_metered",
   "label": "Usage-metered",
   "evidence": "AI agents are included in Suite and Support plans but metered by 'automated resolutions' beyond the plan allowance, and App Builder, Action Builder and Voice are billed on consumption above their own allowances.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-07",
   "source_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/"
  },
  {
   "id": "addons_extra",
   "label": "Key features are paid add-ons",
   "evidence": "Paid add-ons on top of the seat price: Copilot $50 per agent/month (€50), Workforce Engagement bundle $50 (€50), Contact Center $83 (€82).",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-07",
   "source_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/"
  },
  {
   "id": "annual_lock",
   "label": "Annual commitment",
   "evidence": "(re-verified 2026-08-12, read on their own pricing page from two countries) Per agent per month on annual billing, US storefront: Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-07",
   "source_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/"
  }
 ],
 "compare_with": {
  "name": "Freshdesk or Intercom",
  "why": "the usual head-to-heads — compare at the tier that includes the AI you actually want, since that is where the price gap opens"
 },
 "links": {
  "record": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/api/v1/products/zendesk.json",
  "review": "https://zerotouchsupport.com/zendesk-review.html",
  "marketplace": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/marketplace/zendesk/",
  "vendor_site": "https://zendesk.com"
 },
 "purchase": {
  "seller": "the vendor",
  "how": "AIBuilder Marketplace does not sell this software. Sign up, start a trial or buy on the vendor's site.",
  "handoff_url": "https://www.zendesk.com/",
  "affiliate": false,
  "disclosure": "Where purchase.affiliate is true, purchase.handoff_url is an affiliate link: AIBuilder Marketplace may earn a commission at no extra cost to the buyer. Commission never changes what a record says, and products are not ranked by commission. Where it is false the link is the vendor's plain site."
 },
 "provenance": {
  "research": "hand-researched dossier, read on the vendor's own pages",
  "researched_since": "2026-07",
  "method": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/how-we-review/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0. Credit 'AIBuilder Marketplace' with a link to https://aibuildermarketplace.com/atlas/.",
  "note": "A rebuild is not a new measurement: pricing.verified_at is the date that matters."
 },
 "cost": {
  "status": "available",
  "engine": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/agents/#cost",
  "rules": {
   "currency": "USD",
   "unit": "agent",
   "axis": "users",
   "plans": [
    {
     "id": "support-team",
     "name": "Support Team",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 19,
     "monthly_status": "unknown",
     "evidence": "Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115"
    },
    {
     "id": "suite-team",
     "name": "Suite Team",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 55,
     "monthly_status": "unknown",
     "evidence": "Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115"
    },
    {
     "id": "suite-professional",
     "name": "Suite Professional",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 115,
     "monthly_status": "unknown",
     "evidence": "Support Team $19, Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115"
    },
    {
     "id": "suite-enterprise",
     "name": "Suite Enterprise + Copilot",
     "model": "quote",
     "evidence": "Suite Enterprise + Copilot is quote-only"
    }
   ],
   "notes": [
    "US storefront prices; Zendesk geo-prices, and read from Europe the same tiers show in euros. The monthly rate is never printed."
   ],
   "not_computable": [
    "Paid add-ons (Copilot, Workforce Engagement, Contact Center) and AI agents, App Builder, Action Builder and Voice beyond their allowances are charged on top and are not in these totals."
   ],
   "rules_verified_at": "2026-10-07"
  },
  "growth": {
   "annual": {
    "product_id": "zendesk",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "annual",
    "rows": [
     {
      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 19.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 228.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 19.0,
       "suite-team": 55.0,
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       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 38.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 456.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 38.0,
       "suite-team": 110.0,
       "suite-professional": 230.0,
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 57.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 684.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 57.0,
       "suite-team": 165.0,
       "suite-professional": 345.0,
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 95.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 1140.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 95.0,
       "suite-team": 275.0,
       "suite-professional": 575.0,
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 190.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 2280.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 190.0,
       "suite-team": 550.0,
       "suite-professional": 1150.0,
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 285.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 3420.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 285.0,
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     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 380.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 4560.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 380.0,
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     },
     {
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      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
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      "billed": {
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       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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     },
     {
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      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
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      "billed": {
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       "every": "year"
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      "ranges": [],
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       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "support-team",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Support Team",
      "total_month": 1900.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 22800.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": 1900.0,
       "suite-team": 5500.0,
       "suite-professional": 11500.0,
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Paid add-ons (Copilot, Workforce Engagement, Contact Center) and AI agents, App Builder, Action Builder and Voice beyond their allowances are charged on top and are not in these totals."
    ]
   },
   "monthly": {
    "product_id": "zendesk",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "monthly",
    "rows": [
     {
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      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
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       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
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      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
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      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
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      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
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       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
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      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": null,
      "cheapest_plan_name": null,
      "total_month": null,
      "billed": null,
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "support-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-team": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-professional": "price_unknown_on_billing",
       "suite-enterprise": "quote"
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Paid add-ons (Copilot, Workforce Engagement, Contact Center) and AI agents, App Builder, Action Builder and Voice beyond their allowances are charged on top and are not in these totals."
    ]
   }
  }
 },
 "unknowns": [
  "Plan-by-plan prices are not structured in this record yet; pricing.notes has the full text.",
  "Contract terms (cancellation, data export, data location, minimum seats) are not researched as separate fields; pricing.notes mentions them only where the vendor's pricing page does.",
  "Being verified: free trial and refund terms are not yet matched to a verbatim line on the vendor's own pages. Not matched does not mean there is none.",
  "Not tested hands-on by us: what the product does comes from the vendor's pages and our reading of them."
 ],
 "verification": {
  "price": "read",
  "free_trial": "being_verified",
  "refund": "being_verified"
 },
 "task_evidence": null,
 "open_questions": [
  {
   "question_id": "zendesk:cancellation_terms",
   "key": "cancellation_terms",
   "question": "Can a customer cancel at any time, and what happens to an annual plan that is cancelled mid-term?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "zendesk:data_export",
   "key": "data_export",
   "question": "Which data can a customer export, in which formats, on which plans?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "zendesk:data_location",
   "key": "data_location",
   "question": "Where is customer data stored, and can a customer choose the region?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "zendesk:monthly_billing",
   "key": "monthly_billing",
   "question": "Which plans can be bought month to month, and at what price?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "zendesk:pricing_gap_1",
   "key": "pricing_gap_1",
   "question": "Our price check could not put a number on this part of the cost: Paid add-ons (Copilot, Workforce Engagement, Contact Center) and AI agents, App Builder, Action Builder and Voice beyond their allowances are charged on top and are not in these totals. Can you publish the price or the rule?",
   "status": "open"
  }
 ],
 "vendor_answers": [],
 "agent_channels": {
  "vendor_mcp": null,
  "agent_checkout": {
   "status": "not_found",
   "detail": "No explicit support for purchases by AI agents on the vendor's own pages.",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-07",
   "method": "homepage, /pricing and the pricing page we cite, read as plain HTML (no JavaScript) and searched for explicit support of purchases by AI agents: Agentic Commerce Protocol, Instant Checkout, Agent Payments Protocol, buy in ChatGPT, agentic checkout"
  }
 },
 "task_scope": {
  "scope": "customer_support_helpdesk",
  "label": "Customer-support help desk",
  "why": "Customer service suite: ticketing, messaging, voice, help centre and AI agents.",
  "source": "our dossier",
  "phrases": [
   "help desk",
   "helpdesk",
   "customer support",
   "customer service",
   "support inbox"
  ]
 },
 "feature_evidence": {
  "features": {
   "live_chat": {
    "label": "Live chat",
    "phrases": [
     "live chat",
     "website chat",
     "web chat",
     "chat widget",
     "chat"
    ]
   },
   "shopify_integration": {
    "label": "Shopify integration",
    "phrases": [
     "shopify",
     "shopify integration",
     "works with shopify",
     "shopify orders"
    ]
   },
   "slack_integration": {
    "label": "Slack integration",
    "phrases": [
     "slack",
     "slack integration",
     "works with slack"
    ]
   },
   "ticketing": {
    "label": "Ticketing",
    "phrases": [
     "ticketing",
     "help desk ticketing",
     "helpdesk ticketing",
     "ticketing system",
     "ticket system",
     "support tickets",
     "email ticketing",
     "tickets"
    ]
   }
  },
  "evidence": [
   {
    "feature": "ticketing",
    "plans": [
     "Support Team",
     "Suite Team",
     "Suite Professional",
     "Suite Enterprise + Copilot"
    ],
    "quote": "Email and ticketing system",
    "context": "The Support Team card says 'Email and ticketing system'; the Suite plans are described on zendesk.nl as 'Uitgerust met ticketing, messaging, live chat, helpcenter en spraaksupport' (8 Oct 2026).",
    "source": "https://www.zendesk.com/au/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-07"
   },
   {
    "feature": "shopify_integration",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "Display customer and order details from Shopify",
    "context": "Card 'Shopify for Zendesk' in the Zendesk Marketplace; the listing page does not say who builds it or on which plans it runs.",
    "source": "https://www.zendesk.com/marketplace/apps/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-07"
   },
   {
    "feature": "slack_integration",
    "plans": null,
    "quote": "View, create, and take action on support tickets from any Slack channel",
    "context": "Slack card in the Zendesk Marketplace; no plan is named on the listing page.",
    "source": "https://www.zendesk.com/marketplace/apps/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-07"
   },
   {
    "feature": "live_chat",
    "plans": [
     "Suite Team",
     "Suite Professional",
     "Suite Enterprise + Copilot"
    ],
    "quote": "Uitgerust met ticketing, messaging, live chat, helpcenter en spraaksupport is Zendesk Suite ideaal",
    "context": "Read on zendesk.nl (the pricing page redirects by region); the sentence describes the Suite plans. The Support plans are not described as including chat.",
    "source": "https://www.zendesk.nl/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-08"
   }
  ],
  "note": "From the vendor's own pages, with plan, source and reading date. Documented by the vendor, not tested by us; our own tests are in task_evidence."
 }
}