Support software costs

Budget for the support setup your team would actually buy over its full billing term. Start with the required plan and paid roles, then add AI or channel usage, add-ons, storage and one-off setup costs from the proposal.

Build one cost brief

Give each provider the same assumptions: people who need customer-reply access, channels, typical and busy-month case volumes, intended AI use, required history and attachments, and the proposed billing term. Ask for an itemised quote in its billing currency. For an Australian purchase, confirm the currency and whether GST is included.

Calculate a typical month and a busy month, then total the charges across the commitment. Keep fixed charges separate from estimates. An annual seat commitment may continue even if a person stops using the account.

Show the arithmetic behind each term total: multiply fixed monthly charges by the number of billed months, then add quoted packs, usage and one-off items on the dates they are expected to apply. Keep the provider’s displayed unit rate beside each result so a reviewer can distinguish a quoted charge from an estimate.

Do not convert the displayed examples into Australian-dollar comparisons without a confirmed exchange-rate basis. Zendesk’s example is in pounds, and Help Scout specifies US dollars; the Freshdesk and Intercom excerpts use dollar signs but do not identify a currency.

Cost brief checklist

Check the billing model behind each proposal

Zendesk’s public plans are primarily priced per agent. Support Team lists email ticketing; Suite Team adds messaging, live chat and a knowledge base. Storage allowances depend on the plan and seat count. Price the edition that covers the required channels.

Freshdesk publishes per-agent plans and separate Freddy AI Agent session packs. Its initial 500 complimentary sessions are a one-time allocation for eligible new accounts, not a recurring monthly allowance. Confirm whether the proposed AI feature is in Freshdesk or Freshdesk Omni and what happens after the allocation is used.

Help Scout documents both user-based and contact-based accounts. The first bills team users; the second counts qualifying people helped in a monthly cycle and uses recent contact volume to determine the tier. Establish the billing model of the account being offered before comparing it with a seat price.

Intercom combines paid seats with charges for Fin outcomes. Fin used with another helpdesk is priced per outcome, with no seats required. Include the arrangement relevant to the proposal.

A price page is a starting point, not a complete term quote. Zendesk’s published prices are shown as paid yearly, Freshdesk’s listed per-agent prices are billed annually, and Intercom’s page presents per-seat monthly prices alongside outcome charges.

Record the billing frequency and any minimum commitment stated in the proposal rather than assuming the displayed monthly figure is the invoice amount.

Keep channel charges distinct from seats and AI usage. Intercom says live chat, support email, in-app chats, banners and tooltips are included with its plans, while email campaigns, SMS, WhatsApp and Phone are pay-as-you-go. Ask for the rates and expected quantities for any of those paid channels your proposed setup needs.

Billing models at a glance

Use published prices as worked examples

Zendesk’s published page lists Support Team at £15 per agent per month and Suite Team at £45 per agent per month, both paid yearly. As a simple 12-month seat calculation, that is £180 or £540 per agent respectively, before any applicable usage charges or add-ons. These are UK-pound figures, not an Australian quote.

Freshdesk lists Growth at $19 per agent per month and Pro at $55, billed annually. Multiplying by 12 gives $228 or $660 per agent for a year at those displayed rates; confirm the quote currency and applicable charges before using either figure in an Australian budget.

Freshdesk’s listed additional AI Agent sessions cost $49 per pack of 100. The billable unit is a session: a Chat AI Agent session covers interactions within 24 hours, while an Email AI Agent session spans 72 hours from the customer’s first email. Use the session definition that applies to the offered feature when estimating its allowance and excess.

Intercom’s page lists Essential from $29 per seat per month and Fin from $0.99 per outcome. Treat those as separate lines in a worked estimate, not as one combined seat rate. The page also describes some channels as pay-as-you-go, so request the channel charges relevant to the proposed support mix.

Help Scout states that amounts in its billing documentation are in US dollars. Its account-specific plan details and the differing user-based and contact-based models mean a public figure alone cannot establish the cost for a particular account. Check the account’s actual plan and billing basis when preparing a comparable quote.

Published list-price examples

Decide from the full-term figure

For every variable line, record the provider’s billable unit, the workload count used and the quoted rate or pack. Ask whether a spending limit is available and what customers see if it stops a feature.

Have the support owner confirm the proposed workflow and the billing owner confirm the commitment and effective dates. Revisit the estimate when staffing, channels or AI exposure change.

Full-term decision steps