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Most buyers should pick Zendesk AI.
Pick Zendesk AI if you need ticketing, routing, analytics and broader service workflows—and can pay $55 per agent monthly, billed annually, for AI Agents. Pick LiveChat if website chat, visitor monitoring and sales-focused AI matter more: its $19 annual Essential plan includes one AI Agent but caps it at 10 monthly resolutions. Neither has a free plan. LiveChat offers a 14-day trial; Zendesk's trial terms aren't listed here. Monthly prices for both are unpublished.
01Side by side
| Zendesk AI | LiveChat | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $19; AI Agents start on Suite Team at $55 | $19 Essential; 10 AI resolutions monthly |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | No free plan listed |
| Best for | Ticketing-heavy, omnichannel service teams | Website chat, lead qualification, sales |
| Core strength | Ticketing, routing, analytics, human-agent support | Visitor monitoring and AI-assisted live chat |
| Ease-of-use score | 6.5/10 | 7/10 |
| Published API allowance | Not listed on the vendor's site | 10,000 calls/month on Essential |
| Team/seat costs | $19 per agent/month, billed annually | $19 per user/month, billed annually |
| Support | Plan-specific support details not listed | Enterprise includes account team and Product Expert support |
Zendesk AI Choose Zendesk AI if
- Choose Zendesk AI if ticketing and routing are central to support.
- Choose Zendesk AI if you need service workflows beyond website chat.
- Choose Zendesk AI if $55 per agent yearly-billed pricing fits your AI budget.
LiveChat Choose LiveChat if
- Choose LiveChat if you want AI in the $19 Essential plan.
- Choose LiveChat if visitor monitoring and lead qualification matter.
- Choose LiveChat if a 14-day trial is useful before switching.
02Pricing compared
Zendesk Support Team starts at $19 per agent per month, billed annually, but it does not list AI Agents among its included features. The first listed Zendesk plan with AI Agents is Suite Team at $55 per agent per month, billed annually. Suite Professional is $115; the Enterprise + Copilot price is not published.
LiveChat Essential also starts at $19 per user per month, billed annually. It includes one AI Agent, capped at 10 AI resolutions a month. Growth costs $79 per user monthly on annual billing and includes 10 AI Agents and 200 monthly resolutions. Enterprise pricing is custom. LiveChat sells extra resolution packages for $49.50 per 50; an extra 100,000 API calls costs $29.50.
Neither has a free plan. LiveChat lists a 14-day trial; Zendesk trial terms and both products’ monthly-billing prices are not published. Compare per-agent with per-user pricing cautiously.
03Features and depth
Zendesk covers a wider service operation: its listed tools include ticketing, routing, analytics, automations, and, on Suite Team, messaging and live chat alongside AI Agents. The product description also lists AI learning from interactions and resolutions, a Copilot for service teams, automated quality scoring, and reporting. That breadth suits teams that need to manage more than website chats, but AI Agents start at the $55 Suite Team plan, not the $19 Support Team plan.
LiveChat centers on website conversations and sales activity. Its AI Agent can answer questions, recommend products, and handle conversations when teams are busy or offline. Teams can monitor visitor activity, take over chats, qualify leads, and save requests as tickets with chat summaries. Its reporting compares revenue, orders, and conversion rates attributed to AI and human agents.
The practical distinction: Zendesk emphasizes service workflows across channels; LiveChat emphasizes live visitor conversations and chat-linked sales. Check LiveChat’s resolution and visitor caps against expected usage before choosing a plan.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither product’s published materials publish setup time, training requirements, or a detailed learning curve, so we can’t call either one easier to implement. The scope is different: Zendesk lists ticketing, routing, automations, reporting, and omnichannel support, while LiveChat focuses on website chat, visitor monitoring, AI handoffs, and chat-related tickets.
The provided ease-of-use scores are 6.5 for Zendesk and 7 for LiveChat. Those scores favor LiveChat slightly, but they don’t explain how they were measured or predict how either product will fit a particular team. If your team needs broader service workflows, assess Zendesk’s additional features; if it mainly needs website chat, LiveChat’s narrower focus may be a closer match. Confirm onboarding details with each vendor.
Questions people ask
Which is cheaper for AI support, Zendesk AI or LiveChat?
LiveChat’s Essential plan is $19 per user per month with annual billing and includes one AI Agent, limited to 10 monthly AI resolutions. Zendesk’s listed $19 Support Team plan does not include AI Agents; its Suite Team plan with AI Agents is $55 per agent per month, billed annually.
Does Zendesk or LiveChat have a free plan or trial?
Neither product lists a free plan in the published pricing information. LiveChat offers a 14-day trial. Zendesk’s trial terms are not published on the vendor's site, so check with Zendesk for current availability and conditions.
How many AI resolutions are included with LiveChat?
LiveChat Essential includes 10 AI resolutions per month, and Growth includes 200 per month. The Enterprise plan lists flexible usage limits rather than a fixed number. LiveChat also lists an add-on package of 50 extra AI resolutions for $49.50.
Should I choose Zendesk AI or LiveChat for website chat?
LiveChat is the more directly chat-focused option: it lists website visitor monitoring, live chat, AI handoffs, lead qualification, and chat-linked reporting. Zendesk also includes live chat, but its listed features cover broader ticketing and service workflows. Choose based on whether chat or wider service operations are the priority.