LiveAgent vs Zoho Desk Pricing (2026)
Compare / LiveAgent vs Zoho Desk
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Team size
25 seats

LiveAgent vs Zoho Desk

Help Desk/Support pricing comparison · 2026

LiveAgent pricing ranges from $15–$85/agent/month, while Zoho Desk ranges from $0–$40/user/month. Zoho Desk is typically 60% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.

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See pricing on each vendor's site
Above-the-fold path — each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit LiveAgent pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Zoho pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
Compare
2 products · Help Desk/Support
Side-by-side · live
LiveAgent
LiveAgent pricing starts at $19/agent/month ($15/agent/month on annual billing) for the Sm
verified 5w ago
$420 $250K
View pricing →
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk software from Zoho Corporation, part of the comprehen
verified 22d ago
$420 $250K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Zoho saves $250K vs LiveAgent · 25 seats
Cheapest $420
Spread 100%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Medium
$11K/yr
year 1 license · $35/seat
Standard
$4.2K/yr
year 1 license · $14/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$250K/yr
Vendr · n=5 · limited data
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$420/yr
Vendr · n=35
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 15 sourced facts
10 hidden-cost · 3 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence High confidence
Sources 12 sourced facts
8 hidden-cost · 2 contract · Vendr median · 1 review platform
Last verified 3w ago
Confidence High confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
4 documented
  • No Refunds on Annual Prepaid Plans
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Auto-Renewal Lock-In with Junk-Mail Renewal Notices
    5-10% of license costs
    2 sources
  • Slow Technical Support Causing Extended Downtime
    5-20% of license costs
    3 sources
  • VoIP and Call Center Feature Unreliability
    5-15% of license costs
    3 sources
5 documented
  • Unexpected Auto-Renewal Charges
    $35-$450/year
    2 sources
  • Premium Phone Support Add-On
    5-15% of license costs
    2 sources
  • WhatsApp Conversation-Based Pricing
    5-20% of license costs
    1 source
  • Duplicate Billing and Billing Errors
    10-100% of license costs
    1 source
  • Zoho One Requires Full Licenses for All Users
    $37-$45/user/month
    1 source
REF · 04

Contract terms

The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.

LiveAgent
Zoho
Auto-renewal
Yes
Yes
Cancellation
—
—
Commitment
—
Annual (based on user reports of annual billing)
Price escalation
No published schedule; no source evidence of mid-contract price increases
Users report significant mid-contract and renewal price increases — one user reported a 48% increase at renewal with no negotiation
Can downgrade
No
—
Based on 5 verified sources (Vendr · TrustRadius · BBB)
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Trustpilot
2.3out of 5 (23)
Best for
Small teams managing basic help desk operations
Watch out
No refunds on annual plans, even for same-day agent removal requests
Trustpilot
1.5out of 5 (24)
Best for
Tiny teams testing help desk software
Watch out
Very poor customer support with slow response times and inability to resolve critical issues
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
Visit LiveAgent pricing
Discount programs →
Visit Zoho pricing
Free plan limits → Discount programs →
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Help Desk/Support

LiveAgent

$15–$85
/agent/month
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Help Desk/Support

Zoho Desk

$0–$40
/user/month
5 plans · Free tier
Full pricing breakdown →

LiveAgent and Zoho Desk both operate in the help desk/support category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan LiveAgent Zoho Desk
Small $19 /agent/month Free /user/month
Medium $35 /agent/month $7 /user/month
Large $59 /agent/month $14 /user/month
Enterprise $85 /agent/month $23 /user/month
Enterprise — $40 /user/month

Cost at Scale

Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.

LiveAgent

4 scenarios
$45/month
Small Team Setup
$145/month
Growing Business
$690/month
Enterprise Support
See all 4 scenarios →

Zoho Desk

3 scenarios
$0/month (free tier with basic features)
Solo / Getting Started
$23/month
Growing Business
$40/month
Enterprise Setup

Market Intelligence

LiveAgent

Median annual cost
$250,000
Based on
5 deals

Zoho Desk

Median annual cost
$420
Based on
35 deals

What Users Say

LiveAgent

Trustpilot
2.3out of 5 (23)
Top complaints
  • No refunds on annual plans, even for same-day agent removal requests
  • Support only via email with 2–4 day response times; no phone or live chat for technical issues
  • VoIP and call center features are unreliable — missed notifications, dropped calls, poor audio quality

Zoho Desk

Trustpilot
1.5out of 5 (24)
Top complaints
  • Very poor customer support with slow response times and inability to resolve critical issues
  • Auto-renewal charges that are difficult to cancel and strict no-refund policy
  • Significant and unexpected price increases at renewal

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

LiveAgent 4 hidden costs

high
No Refunds on Annual Prepaid Plans 5-15% of license costs
medium
Auto-Renewal Lock-In with Junk-Mail Renewal Notices 5-10% of license costs
high
Slow Technical Support Causing Extended Downtime 5-20% of license costs
medium
VoIP and Call Center Feature Unreliability 5-15% of license costs
See all LiveAgent hidden costs →

Zoho Desk 6 hidden costs

high
Unexpected Auto-Renewal Charges $35-$450/year
high
Premium Phone Support Add-On 5-15% of license costs
medium
WhatsApp Conversation-Based Pricing 5-20% of license costs
high
Duplicate Billing and Billing Errors 10-100% of license costs
high
Zoho One Requires Full Licenses for All Users $37-$45/user/month
See all Zoho Desk hidden costs →

Contract Terms

Term LiveAgent Zoho Desk
Auto-renewal Yes Yes
Cancellation — —
Minimum commitment — Annual (based on user reports of annual billing)
Price escalation No published schedule; no source evidence of mid-contract price increases Users report significant mid-contract and renewal price increases — one user reported a 48% increase at renewal with no negotiation
Can downgrade No —

Continue researching

LiveAgent

Zoho Desk

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