Tired of feeling lost between Zendesk and Chatbase for your customer support? Juggling confusing pricing plans and too many features can leave you more stressed than supported. Picking the right tool could finally simplify your workflows and boost satisfaction, for both your team and your customers. Don’t worry, this guide will clear up the confusion so you can move forward with confidence. We’ll cover:
Key features each platform brings to the table
Pricing breakdowns and differences you need to know
What real users say, including top pros and cons
Which tool is the best fit for your support goals
Why Ringly.io is the better choice ; )
Built for e-commerce
With experience in both AI and e-commerce, we set out become the best AI phone agent platform for online stores.
Stupid-simple user interface
Super easy to work with, and you can set it up without being tech savvy. If you create a free account you can see it for yourself though!
Quick and easy setup
Our pre-trained AI phone support agent and will have your online store automated in minutes.
Founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Morten Primdahl, and Alexander Aghassipour, Zendesk has become a global leader in customer service software. Headquartered in San Francisco, Zendesk empowers over 100,000 businesses worldwide to deliver seamless support and communication through its cloud-based platform.
Zendesk’s core function is to streamline customer support, sales, and engagement for organizations of all sizes, offering features like help desk ticketing, live chat, analytics, automation, and CRM integrations. Its intuitive tools are trusted by startups and enterprises alike, especially among sales, support, and IT teams.
In the following section, we’ll break down Zendesk’s features, pros and cons, pricing, and user reviews, comparing them with Chatbase and Ringly.io to highlight key differences and strengths.
Zendesk Features
Zendesk Multi-Channel Support unifies customer queries across email, chat, phone, and social media for streamlined management.
Zendesk Ticketing System turns all customer interactions into trackable tickets, optimizing organized issue resolution.
Zendesk Knowledge Base enables businesses to create a searchable help center for customer self-service.
Zendesk Automations & Macros automate repetitive support tasks, improving team efficiency and workflow consistency.
Zendesk Reporting & Analytics offers performance dashboards and reports to monitor support metrics and customer satisfaction.
Zendesk is best suited for established businesses or support teams needing multi-channel management, robust ticketing, and workflow automation at scale.
Zendesk: Key Pros and Cons
Pros
Easy navigation with a user-friendly interface lets teams of all skill levels get started quickly, unlike some more complex alternatives.
Reliable ticketing system organizes high customer volumes efficiently, offering more advanced workflows than many competitors.
Efficient automation tools reduce repetitive tasks and increase agent productivity, an area where other tools may offer less AI assistance.
Versatile customization options allow businesses to tailor workflows and branding, providing broader flexibility than some platforms.
Wide range of integrations with e-commerce, chat, and phone systems makes it suitable for complex, scaling environments where other tools may be less adaptable.
Cons
Higher pricing for essential advanced features means growing teams may face steeper costs than with fixed-fee competitors.
Steep learning curve from a complex feature set can require more setup and training time compared to simpler platforms.
Restricted customization on basic plans limits small teams, unlike solutions with easy low-tier configuration.
Variable customer support quality post-sale leads to slower responses, particularly for non-premium users, while some other tools offer consistent service across plans.
Reported bugs in the admin portal and knowledge base can disrupt workflow, especially for non-technical users; alternative tools may offer more stability and easier setup.
Zendesk best fits established teams or companies needing scalable, customizable support operations. Smaller teams or those seeking predictable pricing and fast onboarding may want to consider simpler, more transparent alternatives.
Founded by Yasser Elsaid, Chatbase is a cutting-edge AI chatbot platform that empowers businesses to create custom chatbots for customer support, lead generation, and user engagement. Launched in the early 2020s, Chatbase leverages advanced AI models like GPT-4 to deliver natural, human-like conversations and supports over 95 languages, making it ideal for global brands.
Chatbase serves a diverse audience including e-commerce, healthcare, and education sectors, offering seamless integrations with platforms like Shopify, Slack, and WordPress. Its powerful analytics provide insights into user engagement, conversation quality, and chatbot performance, helping businesses optimize customer interactions and boost ROI.
In the following section, we will explore Chatbase’s features, pros and cons, pricing, and user reviews, comparing them with Zendesk and Ringly.io to highlight their respective strengths and weaknesses.
Chatbase Key Features
Chatbase custom AI agent training enables the bot to accurately answer questions by using uploaded documentation, FAQs, and product pages tailored to your business.
Chatbase actionable conversations allow the AI agent to execute tasks such as checking order status, resetting accounts, or escalating issues directly within chat.
Chatbase step-by-step onboarding and guidance provides conversational support, breaking down complex processes for users during tasks like onboarding or troubleshooting.
Chatbase multi-purpose deployment supports use as a knowledge base assistant, live chat fallback, and workflow automation tool in a single platform.
Chatbase escalation to human support passes full conversation context to human agents when issues are too complex for AI, minimizing repetition for customers.
These features are most beneficial for SaaS businesses, e-commerce companies, and support teams seeking efficient, web-based automation and streamlined customer support workflows.
Chatbase: Key Pros and Cons
Pros
Very easy onboarding with no-code setup, enabling non-technical users to launch in minutes—similar simplicity to competitors.
Supports custom data training from uploaded files or URLs, so teams can tailor answers without developer help, matching ease of some alternatives.
Includes a built-in analytics dashboard for tracking chatbot performance and optimizing user experience.
Offers multi-channel integrations such as Slack, WhatsApp, and CRMs, making Chatbase widely adaptable—for some, broader than alternatives.
Focuses on automation for repetitive queries, freeing staff for complex tasks; direct benefit for small teams, much like other leading platforms.
Cons
Many users report slow or unhelpful customer support, where some competitors provide quicker assistance.
Several note stability issues and bugs, which may cause downtime compared to more reliable platforms.
Workflow automation and deep customization features are limited, with alternatives offering greater flexibility for advanced needs.
No multi-language support in base plans, unlike some rivals that serve global teams out-of-the-box.
Pricing is seen as high for feature set, with free plan limits and unclear value, while other providers offer simpler or more scalable tiers.
Chatbase is best for small to mid-size teams needing quick, no-code chatbot deployment. Consider alternatives if you require robust support, advanced automation, or multilingual features.
Pricing - Zendesk vs Chatbase
Note: The pricing information below is accurate at the time of writing and may be subject to change. For the most up-to-date pricing, please visit each company's pricing page.
Zendesk pricing
Product
Plan
Price (per agent/month)
Key Features
Support
Team
$19
Basic ticketing, email & social media support, business rules, AI agents, basic reporting.
Support
Professional
$55
All Team features + business hours, CSAT surveys, SLAs, multilingual support, advanced reporting.
Support
Enterprise
$115
Includes Professional features + skills-based routing, custom roles, sandbox environments.
Sell
Team
$19
Basic CRM features, email integration, single custom sales pipeline.
Sell
Growth
$55
Adds business rules, performance dashboards, multilingual support.
Zendesk Support and Sell are ideal for SMBs needing core help desk or CRM tools. Suite plans cater to growing teams or enterprises seeking unified omnichannel support. Save with annual contracts; contact Zendesk for Enterprise pricing.
Chatbase pricing
Plan
Price (Monthly)
Key Features
Contract Length
Free
$0
1 chatbot, 100 msg credits/mo, 400KB agent size, 1 team member, 10 training links, basic AI
Monthly, no contract
Hobby
$40
1 chatbot, 2,000 msg credits/mo, 33MB agent size, 5 AI actions/agent, unlimited links, all integrations
Monthly or annual; discount for annual (not specified)
Standard
$150
2 chatbots, 12,000 msg credits/mo, 33MB agent size, 10 AI actions/agent, 3 team members, API access, analytics
Monthly or annual; discount for annual (not specified)
Pro
$500
3 chatbots, 40,000 msg credits/mo, 33MB agent size, 15 AI actions/agent, 5+ team members ($25/add), advanced analytics
Monthly or annual; discount for annual (not specified)
Enterprise
Custom
All Pro features plus custom usage, priority support, dedicated manager
Custom
Ringly.io pricing
Ringly.io has simple, usage-based pricing with no hidden fees or long-term commitments. Test drive it risk-free for 14 days, then scale up or down on month-to-month terms—or book a demo for fully tailored enterprise support.
"Game changer for me" – Anonymous (Verified User) Zendesk helps you organize your ticketing system and is one of the best in the industry... The intuitive interface, role management, and customization and automation of responses via macro are the features that made Zendesk a game changer for me...
"No way to get support" – Anonymous (Verified User) The service before the sale was exceptional. However, we found out too late that the service we purchased is not the service we were shown... There is no way to get support for the product. Everything costs extra...
Chatbase User Reviews
"Very user friendly" – Anonymous (Business Owner) It seamlessly integrates with my chatbot without requiring any coding skills... I only had to provide my website link to Chatbase and it took care of scanning it completely; very easy to implement...
"Bait-and-switch tactic" – Reddit user (Unverified) This amounts to a bait-and-switch tactic: a high-quality chatbot is offered at a certain price but swapped out with an inferior product capable of reproducing past interactions... Many users complain about platform limitations when it comes to AI actions and refund experiences...
Summary & Key Differences
Zendesk is ideal for businesses needing robust ticketing and automation, with users praising its organization but noting costly support. Chatbase stands out for quick chatbot integration and ease of use, though it receives some criticism over AI accuracy and refund policies.
What users are saying about Ringly.io:
Ringly.io is known for its simplicity, and a focus on e-commerce, with features like abandoned cart recovery and order status lookups. It has a 4.8 star rating from 12 reviews on Product Hunt and other platforms.
"it stands out significantly ahead" - Bertrand, Director. We are at the initial stage of testing and have made only a few calls so far. Consequently, I have rated the product with four stars for now. However, I must express that the product has shown significant promise. When compared to competitors, it stands out significantly ahead.
"This is such a great product" - Jim Miranda, Founder. This is such a great product. I have been with you for less than a week and already closed 3 deals with it."
"It really sounds like a human" - Laix, Founder. Tried Ringly.io today and the quality of the phone calls surprises me! It really sounds like a human, and it reacts really fast. Will need to deploy it in action to see the full capabilities.
Bigger teams who want every support channel covered. Zendesk brings together email, chat, phone, and even social messages, so it’s great if you have lots of customers reaching out from everywhere.
Companies with complex support or sales needs. If you want powerful ticketing, automation, and deep analytics, Zendesk has the tools and integrations for you.
Established companies ready to invest more for customization and scale. It’s best for businesses who can handle setup, training, and higher pricing for advanced features.
Teams with IT resources. Zendesk sometimes needs more setup and training, so it helps if you have some tech support in-house.
Who Chatbase is best for…
Small to midsize businesses who want a chatbot fast. Chatbase is user-friendly and easy to launch, even if you don’t know how to code.
Companies who want to automate basic questions on their site or in apps. If you’re looking for a plug-and-play chatbot trained on your FAQs or docs, Chatbase fits.
Startups looking for a simple way to add chat automation and lead capture. Its free plan is good for testing or low-volume use.
Teams on a budget who don’t need advanced customization. Chatbase is quick to set up, but if you need complex automations or deep integrations, you may hit limits fast.
Who Ringly.io is best for…
Businesses of any size who want to automate voice support and boost sales. Ringly.io gives you full-featured AI phone agents that sound real, handle support, recover lost carts, and answer order questions—all on autopilot.
E-commerce teams looking for a human-sounding phone agent that can close deals, answer questions, and save lost orders, 24/7—even with no coding needed.
Startups, small shops, or big brands who want easy pricing with no surprises. Ringly.io offers simple monthly plans with usage-based pricing, free trials, and you can cancel anytime.
Anyone who wants to set up and see value fast. Ringly.io’s onboarding is fast, so you’ll get up and running without headaches or a long learning curve.
Bottom line: While Zendesk and Chatbase are strong for chat or multichannel support, Ringly.io is the best choice for most businesses who want voice automation, easy setup, and pricing that scales as you grow. Whether you’re starting out, growing fast, or running a big team, Ringly.io adapts to your needs and helps you automate customer service like a pro.
Why Ringly.io is a Better Choice
Highly Rated: 4.8/5
Founded in 2024 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by Maurizio Isendoorn and Ruben Boonzaaijer, Ringly.io is revolutionizing e-commerce customer service with AI phone agents. Designed for online businesses, Ringly handles customer calls on autopilot—solving support issues, recovering abandoned carts, and even boosting sales—at just 20% of the cost of human agents.
With 2,300+ customers, Ringly.io is the go-to solution for e-commerce stores looking to scale without scaling their support team. With award-winning technology (BubbleCon 2024's "Most Innovative App"), Ringly.io transforms your phone system into a revenue-driving powerhouse—without the headaches of traditional call centers.
Features that make Ringly.io the #1 alternative to Zendesk and Chatbase:
No-code setup, instant results – Ringly.io is ready to go in minutes. Just add your website, docs, or text—no engineering required—and your AI phone agent instantly understands your business. It even updates automatically as your website changes.
AI-powered sales & support – Ringly.io does both inbound and outbound calls. Recover 35%+ of abandoned carts with automated follow-up calls, provide real-time order tracking from Shopify, and convert more customers with personalized AI-driven conversations—not just reactive support.
Advanced analytics for smarter decisions – Ringly.io gives you real-time call data, customer intent tracking, and performance reports—helping you optimize support and sales strategies.
Scalable pricing without enterprise contracts – Ringly.io offers transparent, scalable pricing—pay for what you use, no locked-in contracts.
Conclusion: Zendesk vs Chatbase vs Ringly.io
Choosing the right customer support and automation platform can make a huge difference in your business’s efficiency, customer happiness, and bottom line. After comparing Zendesk, Chatbase, and Ringly.io, it’s clear each has strengths—but your perfect fit depends on your goals, team size, and growth plans.
Zendesk: Best for larger businesses needing robust multichannel support, advanced ticketing, and deep customization. Great for established teams with technical resources—but higher costs, steeper learning curve, and variable support quality can be barriers for smaller teams.
Chatbase: Best for small to mid-size teams who need a fast, no-code chatbot solution for basic queries or lead capture. Easy to implement and friendly for non-technical users, but you may outgrow it quickly if you need advanced automations, extensive integrations, or reliable support.
Ringly.io: Ideal for any business—especially e-commerce—looking to automate phone-based customer service and sales without sacrificing quality. With instant setup, real human-like voice agents, actionable analytics, and usage-based pricing, Ringly.io offers rapid value and flexibility as you scale.
Summary: Zendesk excels at complex, multichannel support for big teams. Chatbase gets you a web chatbot quickly if you just want to automate FAQs. But if you’re in e-commerce or want to supercharge your phone channel, Ringly.io is the best choice—thanks to instant AI voice automation, abandoned cart recovery, order status lookups, and transparent pricing.
When should you choose each?
Pick Zendesk if you run a large enterprise with advanced support structures and IT resources, and need multichannel coverage—including tickets, chat, and phone.
Pick Chatbase if you just want fast, lightweight chatbot automation for your website or app, and your support needs are simple.
Pick Ringly.io if you want to automate voice support, recover lost sales, and serve your customers faster—especially if you sell online. Ringly.io gives you an instant boost in both service and sales, with zero learning curve.
In short: For modern e-commerce teams wanting to automate, scale up, and boost revenue with real AI phone agents—Ringly.io stands out as the smartest and most future-ready choice today.
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