How miniDesk compares to the tools you are probably paying for

Six comparisons, each priced from the vendor's own published page, each upfront about where the other product wins. Every figure is dated, sourced, and linked, because a claim about somebody else's prices that you cannot verify is not a comparison.

Alternative

Intercom alternative

Fin bills $0.99 every time it resolves something. Ours is in the plan.Compare Alternative

Zendesk alternative

Per agent, plus add-ons, plus $1.50 to $2.00 for every AI resolution.Compare Alternative

Crisp alternative

The closest on price. The difference is the MCP server and the free plan.Compare Alternative

Freshchat alternative

Free up to 10 agents, then per agent and $49 for every 100 AI sessions.Compare Alternative

tawk.to alternative

Free platform, but the AI agent is a $29 a month add-on billed per message.Compare Alternative

Chatwoot alternative

Open source and free to self-host. Their cloud bills per agent and per AI credit.Compare

The full comparison

Every capability each vendor includes, gates behind a tier, or bills as an add-on. The same table each comparison below draws a single column of.

Which capabilities each support tool includes, and on what terms
Capability	miniDesk	Intercom	Zendesk	Crisp	Freshchat	tawk.to	Chatwoot
Channels
Live chat widget on your site	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Shared email inbox	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Web form, separate from the chat widget	Included	Not available	Included	Included	Not available	Not available	Not available
Every channel on the free plan	Included	Not available	Not available	Included, on a higher plan	Included, on a higher plan	Included	Included, on a higher plan
AI
AI that answers customers on its own	Included	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use
Answers drawn from your own documents	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
Agent-assist copilot in the inbox	Included	Sold as a paid add-on	Included, on a higher plan	Included, on a higher plan	Included, on a higher plan	Included, then billed by use	Included, then billed by use
Developer
REST API	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included	Included
MCP server, published and supported	Included	Included	Not available	Included, on a higher plan	Not available	Not available	Not available
What the price covers
A free plan with the AI on it	Included	Not available	Not available	Not available	Not available	Included	Not available
Unlimited free conversations	Included	Not available	Not available	Included	Included	Included	Included, on a higher plan
Adding a teammate costs nothing	Included	Not available	Not available	Included	Not available	Included	Not available

includedcosts more than the plannot availableChecked against each vendor's own published documentation, September 2026.

Checked against: Intercom pricing, Zendesk pricing, Crisp pricing, Freshchat pricing, tawk.to pricing, Chatwoot pricing

One price. All of customer support.

Start free, no card. When you upgrade, every feature is included, rather than a starting point with a list of add-ons to buy.

Start for free See pricing

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