AI customer support pricing compared across 10 tools (2026)
Per-resolution fees, per-seat add-ons, AI session packs and flat GBP allowances — compared side by side from each vendor's published pricing page.
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Disclosure: Compiled by Threadbox from public vendor pricing pages on · Reviewed by James Brown · Refreshed monthly
Published pricing models and AI unit costs (GBP view)
USD and EUR prices are shown alongside approximate GBP equivalents converted at the 16 October 2026 rate (1 USD = £0.7499, 1 EUR = £0.8439). All figures exclude VAT.
| Vendor | Pricing model | Base plans (GBP view) | AI conversation / resolution cost | Hosting & currency | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Threadbox | Flat monthly conversation allowance (GBP) | Free £0 (50 conv); Starter £29/mo (500); Growth £99/mo (2,000); Business £349/mo (10,000) | £0 per resolution (included in plan; optional overage £3–£6 per 100 conversations) | UK/EU by default · GBP VAT invoices | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Intercom Fin | Per resolved outcome + seat licence (USD) | ≈ £22 ($29)–≈ £99 ($132)/seat/mo billed annually (or Fin standalone with minimum commitment) | ≈ £0.74 ($0.99) per Fin outcome (resolved conversation) | US/EU (plan-dependent) · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Gorgias AI Agent | Monthly ticket tier + per automated interaction (USD) | Starter ≈ £7.50 ($10)/mo (50 tickets) to Advanced ≈ £675 ($900)/mo (5,000 tickets) | ≈ £0.67 ($0.9)–≈ £0.75 ($1) per automated interaction (also counts as a helpdesk ticket) | Not stated on pricing page · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Zendesk AI | Per-agent Suite licence + per automated resolution (GBP) | Support Team £20/agent/mo (£15 annual); Suite Team £59/agent/mo (£45 annual); Suite Pro £115/agent/mo (£89 annual) | Billed per automated resolution above included tier allowance | Regional data locality add-on · GBP on UK site | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Freshdesk + Freddy AI | Per-agent licence + AI session packs & Copilot add-on (GBP) | Growth £15/agent/mo; Pro £39/agent/mo; Enterprise £67/agent/mo (billed annually) | Freddy AI Agent £36 per 100 sessions (after 500 initial); Freddy Copilot £23/agent/mo | Regional data centres · GBP for UK visitors | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Tidio + Lyro AI | Chat plan + separate Lyro AI conversation quota (EUR) | Free €0; Starter ≈ £24 (€29)/mo; Growth from ≈ £50 (€59)/mo; Plus from ≈ £253 (€300)/mo | Lyro AI Agent add-on from ≈ £33 (€39)/mo for 50 Lyro AI conversations | EU hosting · EUR/USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Crisp | Flat per-workspace tier with included AI credit allowance (USD) | Free $0; Mini ≈ £34 ($45)/mo (4 seats); Essentials ≈ £71 ($95)/mo (10 seats); Plus ≈ £221 ($295)/mo (20 seats) | Included credits cover ~90 (Mini), ~450 (Essentials) or ~1,350 (Plus) automated conversations | Not stated on pricing page · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| Chatbase | Monthly message-credit tiers (USD) | Hobby ≈ £30 ($40)/mo; Standard ≈ £112 ($150)/mo; Pro ≈ £375 ($500)/mo | Metered by message credits per response and model selected | Not advertised · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| SiteGPT | Monthly message-volume tiers (USD) | Starter ≈ £44 ($59)/mo (4k msgs); Growth ≈ £97 ($129)/mo (10k msgs); Scale ≈ £322 ($429)/mo (40k msgs) | Metered by monthly message allowance | Not advertised · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
| CustomGPT & Botpress | Query-tier or usage-based platform fees (USD) | CustomGPT ≈ £74 ($99)–≈ £374 ($499)/mo; Botpress Free, Plus ≈ £112 ($150)/mo, Team ≈ £562 ($750)/mo | CustomGPT: 1,000–5,000 queries/mo; Botpress: usage-based AI spend + message add-ons | US/EU cloud · USD billing | Pricing 19 October 2026 |
What AI customer support actually costs a UK team each month
Sticker prices per seat hide the AI usage bill. Here is how the four main pricing models compare on two realistic UK support workloads.
| Option | How the monthly bill is calculated | Estimated monthly total (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Threadbox Starter | £29/month flat (includes 500 conversations; add Growth at £99/mo for 5 seats & WhatsApp) | £29–£99 / mo |
| Intercom Essential + Fin | 3 seats × $29 ($87) + 500 Fin outcomes × $0.99 ($495) = $582/mo | ≈ £436 / mo |
| Gorgias Basic/Pro + AI Agent | Pro plan ($300/mo annual for 2,000 tickets) + 310 extra AI interactions × $0.90 ($279) = $579/mo | ≈ £434 / mo |
| Freshdesk Pro + Freddy AI | 3 seats × £39 (£117) + Freddy AI session packs (£180 for 500 sessions after initial pack) = £297/mo | £297 / mo |
| Option | How the monthly bill is calculated | Estimated monthly total (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Threadbox Growth | £99/month flat (includes 2,000 conversations, 5 seats, WhatsApp, email, web & API actions) | £99 / mo |
| Intercom Essential + Fin | 5 seats × $29 ($145) + 1,500 Fin outcomes × $0.99 ($1,485) = $1,630/mo | ≈ £1,222 / mo |
| Gorgias Pro + AI Agent | Pro ($300/mo annual) + 1,310 AI interactions beyond 190 included × $0.90 ($1,179) = $1,479/mo | ≈ £1,109 / mo |
| Freshdesk Pro + Freddy AI + Copilot | 5 seats × £39 (£195) + 5 Copilot × £23 (£115) + 15 × 100 AI sessions × £36 (£540) = £850/mo | £850 / mo |
What to check in the small print before you sign an annual contract
- Double-counting tickets and AI resolutions: On some e-commerce helpdesks (such as Gorgias), an AI-resolved conversation charges both an AI Agent interaction fee ($0.90–$1.00) and consumes one of your monthly helpdesk tickets.
- Per-message credits vs 24-hour conversations: Tools that meter by message credit deduct quota for every single reply. If a customer exchanges six messages to track an order and ask about returns, a conversation-based plan like Threadbox counts 1 conversation; a message-credit tool counts 6 messages.
- Seat licences for occasional collaborators: Finance, warehouse or depot staff who only need to read a thread and leave an internal note should not require a £50+/month seat. In Threadbox, Viewer and Contributor roles are always free.
- Foreign-exchange and VAT admin: Paying in USD or EUR adds card FX fees and complicates VAT recovery for UK finance teams. Threadbox bills in GBP and issues proper UK VAT invoices. Read our billing & refund terms.
Individual vendor breakdowns
Click any vendor below for its full plan list, feature comparison table and migration steps:
Hobby: $40/month · Standard: $150/month · Pro: $500/month · Enterprise: Custom
Essential: $29/seat/month · Advanced: $85/seat/month · Expert: $132/seat/month · Fin on another helpdesk: $0.99/outcome
Support Team: £20/agent/month · Suite Team: £59/agent/month · Suite Professional: £115/agent/month · Automated resolutions: Per resolution
Free: €0/month · Starter: €29/month · Growth: €59/month · Plus: €300/month · Lyro AI Agent: €39/month
Free: $0/month · Plus: $150/month · Team: $750/month · Custom: Custom
Voiceflow charges per editor seat plus AI credits; higher tiers unlock more integrations.
Starter: $59/month · Growth: $129/month · Scale: $429/month
Standard: $99/month · Premium: $499/month · Enterprise: Custom
Growth: £15/agent/month · Pro: £39/agent/month · Enterprise: £67/agent/month · Freddy AI Agent: £36 per 100 sessions · Freddy AI Copilot: £23/agent/month
Starter: $10/month · Basic: $60/month · Pro: $360/month · Advanced: $900/month · AI Agent: $1/automated interaction
Free: $0/month · Mini: $45/workspace/month · Essentials: $95/workspace/month · Plus: $295/workspace/month
AI support pricing questions
Per-resolution (or per-outcome) pricing charges around $0.90–$1.00 every time the AI resolves a conversation without a human. Per-conversation pricing (used by Threadbox) gives you a monthly allowance of conversations where the AI replies at least once in a 24-hour window, regardless of how many messages are exchanged or whether it escalates. Per-credit pricing deducts points for every individual AI message, so a 6-message chat uses 6× as much quota.
Related pricing & comparison guides
- Threadbox pricing & calculatorFree (50 conv/mo), Starter (£29), Growth (£99) and Business (£349).Read more
- Intercom Fin alternative (UK)Worked cost comparison between Fin's $0.99 outcomes and flat GBP plans.Read more
- Gorgias alternative (UK)Compare Gorgias ticket + AI interaction fees with flat GBP plans for Shopify.Read more
- Freshdesk alternative (UK)Compare Freddy AI session packs and Copilot seats with built-in AI.Read more
- AI customer service UK hubComplete buyer's guide and market map for UK businesses.Read more
- UK GDPR AI chatbot checklistData residency, Article 28 DPA and compliance checklist.Read more