Comparisons
Coasting compared with the others
Every page below names when the other product is the right choice, dates and links the prices it quotes, and lists what Coasting cannot do yet. If you are in a hurry: we are a small shared inbox with AI answers at a flat price, and we are not trying to be more than that.
What a helpdesk costs for a team of three
Cheapest paid plan, three people, per month. Prices are the ones on each comparison page, with the date we checked them - follow the link and check us.
| Helpdesk | 3 agents / month | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Coasting | $0 | Free plan covers 3 agents and 50 AI answers a month. $29 flat when you outgrow it. |
| Gorgias | $10 | Priced per ticket, not per agent, and each AI resolution costs about $1 on top. $10/mo for 50 tickets - checked 11 September 2026 |
| Tidio | $24.17 | Flat, and their free plan gives more seats than ours. AI is a paid add-on. Starter, $24.17 a month billed yearly - 100 conversations - checked 26 September 2026 |
| Coasting (paid) | $29 | Flat, up to 5 agents, 500 AI answers included. |
| Crisp | $45 | Flat like us. The real question is AI volume, not per-agent fees. Mini, $45 a month for 4 seats - checked 14 September 2026 |
| Freshdesk | $57 | 3 x $19, billed yearly. Their forever-free plan ended. Growth, $19 per agent a month billed yearly - checked 14 September 2026 |
| Zendesk | $57 | 3 x $19 for email only. Chat and a help centre need Suite Team at $55 an agent, so $165. AI resolutions past the allowance are $1.50 to $2.00 each. Support Team, $19 per agent a month - checked 9 October 2026 |
| Help Scout | $75 | 3 x $25, plus $0.75 for each AI resolution. Standard, $25 per user a month - checked 18 September 2026 |
Zoho Desk is not in this table: it is priced per user, but we have not verified a per-user figure, and a table is exactly where an unchecked number gets quoted back at us. Read the Zoho comparison.
Coasting vs Help Scout
They charge $0.75 per AI resolution on top of $25 a user. Ours are included.
Coasting vs Freshdesk
Their forever-free plan ended; the current free program is 2 agents for 6 months.
Coasting vs Zendesk
Per agent, plus $1.50 to $2.00 per AI resolution past a small allowance. Ours is $29 flat.
Coasting vs Crisp
Flat-priced like us, so this one is about AI volume and how much product you need.
Coasting vs Gorgias
Built for online stores, priced per ticket. We do not connect to store data.
Coasting vs Tidio
Their free plan gives more seats than ours. Their AI is a paid add-on; ours is the plan.
Coasting vs Zoho Desk
Cheap per agent, and their cheaper plans want your own OpenAI key for AI.
A shared support@ inbox, or a helpdesk?
When a shared inbox is still the right answer, and what changes when you move.
Coasting vs Front
Per seat, and the cheapest plan carries one channel type, against one flat price for email and chat.
A shared Gmail inbox, or Coasting?
Google's own Collaborative Inbox can assign and close emails. When it is enough, and when it is not.
Coasting vs Missive
A team email app priced per user, with AI on Productive and up, against one flat price with AI answers included.
Coasting vs Intercom (now Fin)
Per seat plus $0.99 per AI outcome, against one flat price.
Self-host FreeScout, build your own, or pay for one?
When running it yourself is the better call, and what you take on if you do.
Moving from any of them
We load your CSV export in for free, and say plainly what cannot come across.