kitio.aiZendesk vs Hiver
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Zendesk has the lower starting price: about $25 a month, against $35 for Hiver.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Omnichannel ticketing
- Autonomous AI agents
- Agent copilot
- Zendesk QA
- Help center and community
- Gmail and Outlook help desk
- AI Copilot replies
- Email assignment and SLAs
- Internal notes
- Chat and WhatsApp
| Feature | Zendesk | Hiver |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Help desk and AI agents for customer and employee service teams | Help desk that runs inside Gmail and Outlook with AI assistance |
| Category | Customer support | Customer support |
| Pricing model | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starting price | $25/mo | $35/mo |
| Free plan | No, 14-day trial | No, 7-day trial |
| Made by | Zendesk | Hiver |
| Based in | United States | India |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
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Pricing compared
Zendesk has the lower starting price: about $25 a month, against $35 for Hiver.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
4 plans
Support Team
$25/mo
- Per agent
- Email and ticketing
- Ticket routing
- Prebuilt dashboards
Suite Team
$69/mo
- Per agent
- AI agents
- Knowledge base
- Telephony
Suite Professional
$149/mo
- Per agent
- Admin copilot
- App Builder
- Advanced automation
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Custom workflows
- Advanced compliance
- Sandbox
3 plans
Growth
$35/mo
- Per user
- AI agents and AI copilot
- Skills for AI procedures
- Voice support
Pro
$65/mo
- Per user
- Everything in Growth
- Customer portal
- Slack channel support
Elite
$95/mo
- Per user
- Everything in Pro
- AI QA
- AI insights
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Zendesk
- Mature, widely supported ticketing
- Huge app marketplace
- Scales from small teams to enterprise
- Advanced AI costs extra
- Setup can get complex
- Per-agent pricing adds up fast
Hiver
- No new interface to learn
- Good for non-support teams too
- Simple setup
- Tied to Gmail or Outlook
- Less suited to huge volumes
- AI features on higher plans
Which one should you choose?
Choose Zendesk if you want:
- Mature, widely supported ticketing
- Huge app marketplace
- Scales from small teams to enterprise
Watch out: advanced ai costs extra.
Choose Hiver if you want:
- No new interface to learn
- Good for non-support teams too
- Simple setup
Watch out: tied to gmail or outlook.
Zendesk vs Hiver FAQ
What is the difference between Zendesk and Hiver?
Zendesk: Help desk and AI agents for customer and employee service teams. Hiver: Help desk that runs inside Gmail and Outlook with AI assistance. Both are customer support tools.
Is Zendesk or Hiver cheaper?
Zendesk has the lower starting price: about $25 a month, against $35 for Hiver.
Do Zendesk and Hiver have free plans?
Zendesk: No, 14-day trial. Hiver: No, 7-day trial.
Who makes Zendesk?
Zendesk is made by Zendesk, based in United States.
Who makes Hiver?
Hiver is made by Hiver, based in India.
Which should I choose, Zendesk or Hiver?
Choose Zendesk if you value mature, widely supported ticketing and huge app marketplace. Choose Hiver if you value no new interface to learn and good for non-support teams too.