12 Min
Zendesk starts at $55/agent. Central starts free.
Stop paying for ticketing, help centers, and enterprise reporting. Start with the platform that answers your messages.
Never miss another call.
You wanted chat. You're buying a suite.
Zendesk used to offer standalone chat. That product no longer exists. Today, live chat is bundled into the Zendesk Suite, starting at $55/agent/month. You get ticketing, a help center, SLA management, and a full enterprise support stack alongside it. If your business needs all of that, Zendesk is a serious platform.
If you need your messages answered, leads qualified, and appointments booked across every platform your customers use, you are paying for a lot of infrastructure you will never use. Central does the front desk job without the suite.
Suite pricing. Per-resolution AI fees. No appointment booking.
Zendesk's entry point for live chat is $55/agent/month on the Suite Team plan, billed annually. Advanced AI is an additional $50/agent/month. The AI pricing model charges per automated resolution, similar to Intercom's Fin, making costs variable and hard to predict at volume. Appointment booking is not available. The Suite Team plan is also limited: one help center only, no SLAs, no skills-based routing.
What this means in practice:
Live chat entry price is $55/agent/month (Suite Team, annual); monthly billing is $69/agent
Advanced AI is an additional $50/agent/month on top of suite costs
AI pricing is per automated resolution; variable and hard to forecast at scale
No appointment booking in chat
Suite Team limitations: one help center, no SLAs, no skills-based routing
You cannot buy just the chat; the full suite is required
Front desk only. No suite required.
Central handles your front desk without the enterprise overhead. Every platform covered. Appointments booked. AI included. Flat monthly rate.
Every message that comes in becomes an outcome delivered.
What this means in practice:
Web chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, email, X, Discord, Telegram, and LinkedIn in one inbox
AI qualifies intent and routes accordingly, included on every plan
Appointments confirmed inside the chat, no helpdesk required
Flat monthly pricing. No per-agent compounding. No per-resolution AI fees.
What each product actually does
Feature
Chat as standalone product
Pricing model
Entry price for live chat
Advanced AI
AI pricing model
Appointment booking in chat
Platforms covered
Unified inbox
Lead qualification
Knowledgebase training
Free trial
Built for service SMBs
Live in minutes
Zendesk
— (Suite required, from $55/agent/month)
Per agent per month + per-resolution AI fees
$55/agent/month (Suite Team, annual)
$50/agent/month add-on
Per automated resolution (variable)
—
Web, email, social (suite-dependent)
✓ (suite)
✓
✓
✓ 14 days
Enterprise support and ticketing
— (implementation required)
Central
✓ Standalone
Flat monthly rate
Starts free; flat monthly rate
✓ Included
✓ Included in flat plan
✓
Web, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, SMS, email, X, Discord, Telegram, LinkedIn
✓
✓
✓
✓ 10 days
✓
✓
Live today. No suite. No per-agent math.
Paste your URL, connect your social platforms, and Central starts handling conversations. No enterprise implementation. No ticketing system to configure. Most businesses are live the same day they sign up.
Don't take our word for it
"I looked at Zendesk for live chat and quickly realized I'd be buying an entire enterprise support suite to get a chat widget. $55 per agent per month before AI costs, with variable resolution fees on top. Central covered every platform we use, went live the same day, and costs a fraction of what Zendesk quoted just for the entry plan."
Olivia Parker
HR Manager, Elevate Solutions
"I looked at Zendesk for live chat and quickly realized I'd be buying an entire enterprise support suite to get a chat widget. $55 per agent per month before AI costs, with variable resolution fees on top. Central covered every platform we use, went live the same day, and costs a fraction of what Zendesk quoted just for the entry plan."
Olivia Parker
HR Manager, Elevate Solutions
"I looked at Zendesk for live chat and quickly realized I'd be buying an entire enterprise support suite to get a chat widget. $55 per agent per month before AI costs, with variable resolution fees on top. Central covered every platform we use, went live the same day, and costs a fraction of what Zendesk quoted just for the entry plan."
Olivia Parker
HR Manager, Elevate Solutions