11 Kustomer Alternatives: Which Helpdesk To Choose?

Kustomer is a top-rated customer service software that boasts a simple, single-view interface. Yet, many of their users struggle to navigate their software once tickets start rolling in. Online reviews mention: 

• A buggy experience
• A disjointed and cluttered interface
• Unreliable automation
• Inaccurate revenue reporting

When it comes to maintaining customer relationships, your helpdesk should be reliable. That’s why we’ve put together our top recommendations for Kustomer alternatives that provide users with a navigable interface, more robust automation, and better pricing.

Gorgias: Best Kustomer alternative for ecommerce brands

If you run an online store, Gorgias is the customer service tool and helpdesk software made just for you. 

Serving over 12,000 ecommerce brands and a high user rating of 4.6 on G2, Gorgias is a trusted name in the ecommerce space.

Features: Gorgias has more ecommerce and revenue features than Kustomer

Gorgias caters to ecommerce stores which is apparent in its integration with Shopify and other ecommerce apps, and order management features. Kustomer, on the other hand, is generally made for all industries. This broad focus means ecommerce users are left without essential ecommerce features.

Easily integrate with social media, Shopify, and 100+ apps

Interacting on multiple channels is vital when it comes to running an online store. Gorgias makes it easy by grouping all your conversations, customer data, and other integrations in one view. Without switching tabs, you can: 

• View more customer data from Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento
• Access all social media channel comments and replies
• Speed up your workflow with deeper integrations to ecommerce apps like Klaviyo, Recharge, Recart, and Attentive 

🛍️ Learn more about Gorgias and Shopify.

Manage orders with one click

Gorgias makes it easy to manage orders with one-click actions so that your customers are always updated and satisfied. Within Gorgias, you can:

• Create, edit, and cancel orders 
• Generate unique discount codes
• Issue refunds
• Send proactive notifications (called chat campaigns) to customers to offer support and incentives

“Gorgias helps us satisfy our customers. It has become like a storefront for us. It's where we centralize all customer conversations, greet our customers, answer their questions, fix problems, and get insights to inform our future. We would recommend Gorgias to other ecommerce businesses, as it makes your life easier, and it's an absolute breeze to set up!”

– Loop Earplugs

💰 Learn how Topicals support increased sales by 78% with Gorgias

Automation: Gorgias automation is better streamlined for stores on Shopify and other ecommerce platforms

Gorgias can simplify repetitive customer service tasks with Rules, or customizable automations. Based on your needs, you’ll be able to automate:

• Assigning tickets to the appropriate support agent
• Tagging tickets by category and urgency
• Closing tickets to declutter your inbox and focus on higher-priority tickets

Personalize your automatic responses

To ensure your customers have all the information they need, Gorgias can auto-fill your responses with Macros. Gorgias automatically pulls information from integrated apps (like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce), so your customers are in the know and your workflow is uninterrrupted.

Deliver quick answers with Gorgias’s chat widget and Help Center

If you’re looking to cut down response time, you can use the Gorgias Automation Add-on to power up your live chat widget and Help Center, so customers get a self-service option and the answers they need without waiting on a human agent. 

While Kustomer also includes live chat, users report the customer service software crashing frequently, putting customer satisfaction at risk.

Pricing: Gorgias offers up to 500 users, Kustomer charges per user

Gorgias pricing begins with the Starter plan at $10 for 3 users and 50 billable tickets per month. It includes social media and app integration, support reporting, and self-onboarding resources. The rest of the plans allow up to 500 user seats and increased ticket allowance.

If you deal with a high number of tickets, you may benefit from these add-ons (not included in the Starter plan):

• Automation Add-on
• Voice Add-on
• SMS Add-on

Does Gorgias have a free trial?

Yes, Gorgias has a 7-day free trial.

Does Gorgias offer mobile apps?

Yes, Gorgias is available on the App Store and Google Play Store.

🔢 Check out Gorgias’s pricing here.

Reporting: Gorgias offers detailed analytics on revenue and customer support

Gorgias provides support performance statistics, real-time team statistics, and, most importantly, revenue statistics to enhance your support team’s efforts to grow your customer base. 

Plus, you can generate detailed reports on revenue and buyer behavior when you use Ticket Fields, a feature that allows you to categorize tickets with custom properties. These reports transform your data into tables and charts that provide powerful insights about what matters most to your team.

Integrations: Gorgias integrates with 40% more ecommerce apps than Kustomer

Gorgias helps to streamline your customer support processes with 40% more tools than Kustomer so that you don’t have to go elsewhere to get your tasks done.

Because Gorgias is an omnichannel helpdesk, you can talk to customers via:

• Email
• Chat
• Instagram (DMs, comments, and ad replies)
• Facebook (DMs, comments, and ad replies)
• WhatsApp
• SMS
• Voice
• Help Center
• Contact Form

You can even bolster your support with 100+ apps, like:

• Ecommerce platforms: Shopify, BigCommerce, and Adobe Commerce (Magento)
• Marketing tools: Klaviyo, Attentive, and more
• Reviews and loyalty tools: Yotpo, LoyaltyLion, and more 
• Subscription tools: Recharge, Skio, and more
• Shipping and fulfillment tools: ShibBob, LateShipment.com, and more
• Returns tools: Loop Returns, Returnly, and more

👥 Learn how Gorgias merges your social media messages in one helpdesk.

Intercom: Best CRM-like Kustomer alternative

Intercom is a powerful alternative to Kustomer that combines its CRM capabilities with a helpdesk. However, if you’re simply looking for a support tool, Intercom may be too comprehensive a software solution for you. Intercom seems to be best used by big businesses, especially since it starts at a hefty price of $74 a month.

Features: Intercom is more feature-rich than Kustomer

Intercom’s specialty in AI enhances its features in a way that Kustomer’s features fall short. It shines in automation and live chat capabilities that make them a great tool for businesses that face large ticket volumes daily.

Automation: Intercom’s chatbot is best-in-class

With a GPT-4-powered chatbot, Intercom excels at handling high ticket volumes with responsive AI. Their chatbot can be customized to automate your workflows or collect valuable customer information. 

Bots are available on the Pro and Premium plans, while you only have limited access to bots on the Starter plan.

Pricing: Intercom is much more expensive than Kustomer

Intercom’s pricing starts at $74 a month for the Starter plan under three tiers: Support, Engage, and Convert. Unfortunately, all Starter plans lack social media integration which creates a huge gap between your product and potential customers.

If you’re an enterprise in need of bigger solutions, opt for the Pro and Premium plans. For pricing details, you will need to contact an Intercom agent.

Does Intercom have a free trial?

Yes, Intercom has a 14-day free trial that comes with two user seats.

Reporting: Intercom’s reporting is wide, but not deep

Intercom offers data and reporting solutions that are suitable for general use. Intercom can track customer and website behavior, conversation, and custom data. Since Kustomer lacks analytics on customer behavior, Intercom is the better option. 

Unfortunately, Intercom’s website doesn’t detail the extent to which reporting can be utilized. So, if analytics are important to you, you’re better off with an industry-specific tool like Gorgias that can offer key insights from the get-go. 

Integrations: Intercom lacks out-of-the-box social media integration, unlike Kustomer

Social media outreach is essential to maintain both old and new customer relationships, yet Intercom blocks integration to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram behind higher-tier plans or an add-on fee. 

On the other hand, Intercom can connect to hundreds of apps — unlike Kustomer. App integrations include:

• Zendesk
• Github
• HubSpot
• Salesforce
• MailChimp
• Plus more from the Intercom App Store

Front: Best for client services

If you deal with high-value clients, consider using Front. Front puts collaboration at the forefront with features like a shared inbox and team analytics, so your team is always on the same page. However, if your tickets don’t require internal discussion, you can pass on Front.

🆚 Compare Front and Gorgias.

Features: Front’s features are built around internal collaboration, not ticket management

With Front’s shared inbox, you can send email drafts to your team before sending them to an important client. With Front’s simple messaging/ticket system, customers don’t feel like a number in your inbox. But, while simplicity is useful, the lack of a thorough ticket management system can leave your customers waiting. 

That said, if maintaining strong client relationships in the financial, marketing, and consulting spaces is what you do, Front is the tool for you. Otherwise, if you handle high ticket volumes, an ecommerce-specific tool like Gorgias is your best bet.

Automation: Front is a low-automation tool, built more for high-touch client services

Automation isn’t Front’s primary strength, but you can still automate your workflow with preset rules found in Front’s rule library.

Unfortunately, custom rules aren’t available on either of the lowest plans, Starter and Growth. You will need to pay for the more premium plans, Scale (starts at $59/month) and Premier (starts at $229/month), to access the full scope of automation. 

Chatbot features are also available on all plans, but full functionality can only be found on the Scale and Premier plans.

Pricing: Front is slightly cheaper than Kustomer

Front starts at $19 a month for the Starter plan and is billed for up to 10 seats. Social media integration is only available with third-party apps and automation is limited unless you opt for more premium plans which range from $59 to $229+ a month. 

Reporting: Front’s reporting isn’t as in-depth as Kustomer’s

Front covers the basics when it comes to analytics, including team performance, conversation, tag, and customer experience data. Once you want to gain insight into your team’s progress, however, reporting can’t be accessed on the Starter plan. 

In addition, data is only stored for up to 12 to 24 months unless you have the most expensive plan. On the contrary, Kustomer comes standard with reports and data retention of one year.

Integrations: Front has superior integrations to project management apps

As previously mentioned, Front excels at collaboration, so integration with project management apps like Jira, Asana, and Monday are its strong points. If you’re an online store, you’ll want to be a Shopify store, since Front doesn’t integrate with other ecommerce apps.

Channels and integrations

• Email
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Website forms
• Aircall
• DialPad
• Other messaging platforms via API

8 other Kustomer competitors to consider

There are plenty of tools to help make your customer service process as polished as it can be. Here are 8 other Kustomer alternatives that don’t make it in our top three picks, but may still prove useful to your needs.

Zohodesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, and Hubspot Service Hub: For teams already using one of these CRMs

If your company already uses Zoho, Salesforce, or Hubspot and you need to combine the data between those tools and your helpdesk, it's a good idea to stick with the tool you know best.

These CRMs are certainly strong and effective, but there is a learning curve to integrate them into your tech stack. Some companies even hire specialized administrators to get this job done. If all you need is a standalone helpdesk solution, it’s best to avoid these tool suites.

Zoho Desk pricing

Zoho Desk starts at $14 per user per month with the Starter plan and goes up to the Enterprise plan at $40 per user per month.

Zoho Desk has a 15-day free trial. 

Salesforce Service Cloud pricing

Salesforce Service Cloud starts at $25 per user per month for up to 10 users and scales up to enterprise plans starting at $150 per user per month. You can also get the full Salesforce CRM, not just the helpdesk, for $300 per user per month. 

Salesforce Service Cloud has a 30-day free trial. 

Hubspot Service Hub pricing

Hubspot Service Hub starts at $50 per month for 2 users with the Starter CRM Suite and scales up to enterprise-level plans starting at $500 for 5 users. 

Hubspot Service Hub has a 14-day free trial.

Freshdesk: Best Kustomer alternative with a free plan

If you’re a small business without a dedicated support team, Freshdesk’s free plan is a fine choice. At no cost, you have access to:

• Email ticketing
• Knowledge base creation
• Automated actions upon ticket creation
• Embeddable contact forms and solution articles
• A basic Facebook channel

Naturally, features on Freshdesk’s free plan can instantly feel limiting as soon as your business grows. In this case, opting for alternatives that don’t charge based on how big your support team gets, like Gorgias, may be more suited for you.

Freshdesk pricing

Depending on your business needs, you can choose between various Freshdesk products:

• Support Desk: A ticketing solution that starts at $0 per user per month with the Growth plan and scales up to the Enterprise plan at $79 per user per month.
• Contact Center: A call center software that starts at $0 per user per month with the Growth plan and scales up to the Enterprise plan at $69 per user per month.
• Omnichannel Suite: An AI-powered helpdesk solution that starts at $29 per user per month and scales up to $99 per month for the enterprise plan.
• Customer Success: A customer analytics software that starts at $79 per user per month with the Estate plan and scales up to the enterprise plan at $129 per user per month.

Freshdesk also has a 21-day free trial.

🆚 Compare Freshdesk and Gorgias.

Zendesk: Best for non-ecommerce enterprise companies

Zendesk is one of the top customer service software used by a wide range of industries. Both a support and sales tool, you can use Zendesk as your company or customer support helpdesk. On the downside, ecommerce stores may find Zendesk limiting due to its lack of social media integration and user-based pricing which could limit your support team’s size.

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If you have an online business or a large support team, there are more affordable pricing plans out there, such as Gorgias, which specializes in ecommerce support.

Zendesk pricing

Zendesk starts at $49 per user per month for the Suite Team plan and scales up to the Suite Professional at $150 per user per month. 

Zendesk has a 14-day free trial.

🆚 Compare Zendesk and Gorgias.

Kayako: Best for customer activity tracking

Knowing your customer’s behavior is the key to driving revenue-generating decisions. Kayako makes it easy to consolidate every customer’s activity in one place with SingleView™. From their browsing activity to their payment methods, you get a unified view of customer information.

Kayako is a cloud-based service and plans are based on user seats. It’s important to note that Kayako's pricing may be considered relatively higher compared to other customer support software options in the market. As alternatives to Kayako, consider Freshdesk or Help Scout.

Kayako pricing

Kayako starts at $15 per user per month for the Inbox plan and goes up to the Scale plan at $60 per user per month.

Kayako has a 14-day free trial.

HappyFox: Best for IT support teams

HappyFox is all about getting you connected with remote support integrations, so you can jump right into someone else's system to fix things up. It's super handy, especially for field technicians who need those specialized features.

HappyFox also comes equipped with a set of tools to help you stay on top of your tickets and make sure you're managing and responding to them. But some users who have used HappyFox have mentioned a few hiccups. They've experienced more system outages than they'd like and found the ease-of-use aspect a bit tricky. 

HappyFox pricing

HappyFox’s pricing starts at $29 per agent per month with the Mighty plan and scales up to enterprise-level plans starting at $69 per agent per month. If you have a large support team, you can get the Unlimited plan starting at $1,149 per month.

HappyFox has a 14-day free trial.

Gladly: Best for non-automation companies (with large budgets)

Unlike most helpdesks in the market, Gladly believes in putting less emphasis on automation and more on personalization. If your business doesn't have a high volume of support interactions each month, Gladly might be your best choice. 

However, in industries like ecommerce, automation can enhance customer communication. When customers have common inquiries about their orders, they often value a quick response over a personal touch. It's hard for your team to add that personal touch if they're spending their time copy-pasting order statuses all day long.

If you encounter a high number of tickets per day, a service desk tool with automation is essential. 

Gladly pricing

Gladly starts at $150 per agent per month for the Hero plan and scales up to the Super Hero plan which starts at $180 per user per month, both with a minimum of 10 seats. 

Gladly does not have a free trial.

🆚 Compare Gladly and Gorgias.