The Best 
Zendesk Alternative
Zendesk is an enterprise support platform built for large companies. Heyo is the simple alternative built for founders and small teams who want to talk with users and build better products.
Heyo vs Zendesk
The Problem with Zendesk
Understanding Zendesk
What Zendesk Does Well
Comprehensive Ticketing System
Full help desk with ticket routing, assignment, priorities, and SLA management. Perfect for managing high support volume at scale.
Advanced Automation & Workflows
Macros, triggers, and automations for common support scenarios. Great for reducing repetitive work in large support teams.
Robust Reporting & Analytics
Detailed reports on agent performance, ticket resolution times, and customer satisfaction. Built for data-driven support management.
Knowledge Base & Help Center
Create comprehensive self-service documentation and FAQs. Reduces support load for common questions.
Enterprise Features
SSO, HIPAA compliance, advanced security, multi-brand support. Built for large organizations with complex requirements.
Where Zendesk Falls Short
Prohibitively Expensive for Small Teams
At $55-115 per agent per month, a small team of 3 pays $1,980-4,140/year. That's 30-65x more expensive than Heyo ($64/year).
Enterprise Complexity
Macros, triggers, workflows, SLAs, routing rules - Zendesk is built for enterprise support teams. For founders who just want to chat with users, it's overwhelming.
Ticket-Focused, Not Conversation-Focused
Zendesk turns every conversation into a ticket to track and close. But the best products are built through real conversations, not support tickets.
Long Setup and Onboarding
Configuring Zendesk takes days to weeks with workflows, automations, and team training. Not great when you just want to start talking with users today.
No Modern Chat Features
No emoji reactions, no threaded replies, no video profiles. Zendesk is built for formal support tickets, not casual conversations.
TL:DR: Zendesk is a powerful enterprise support platform for large companies managing thousands of tickets. Heyo is simple chat for founders who want to talk with users to build better products. If you need enterprise ticketing, get Zendesk. If you just want to chat with users, Heyo is simpler and 95% cheaper.
Zendesk vs Heyo: Which Should You Choose?
Choose Zendesk If:
- You're an enterprise with dedicated support team
- You need complex ticketing workflows and SLAs
- You're managing thousands of support tickets
- You have budget for enterprise software ($2,000-5,000+/year)
- You need advanced reporting and analytics
Choose Heyo If:
- You're a solo founder or small team
- You want simple chat, not complex ticketing
- You want to build better products through user feedback
- You need affordable pricing ($64-120/year)
- You prefer conversations over formal support tickets
💸 Budget Consideration
Zendesk Suite starts at $55/agent/month ($660/year) and goes up to $115/agent ($1,380/year). A 3-person team pays $1,980-4,140/year. Heyo is $9.97/month or $64/year for unlimited team members. That's $64/year vs $2,000-4,000+/year. Perfect for bootstrapped founders who want great chat without enterprise costs.
Heyo is perfect for...
Product Managers
Build better products through direct user feedback
Talk directly with users to gather feedback, understand pain points, and validate features. No bot getting in the way of real insights that help you improve your product.
Bootstrapped Founders
Show there's a real person behind the product
Build trust and loyalty through personal conversations. No enterprise complexity, no expensive per-project pricing. Just simple chat that helps you understand your users and build what they need.
Growth & Sales Teams
Reach out when visitors hit important pages with automated alerts
Set up visitor alerts to get notified when users reach checkout, pricing, or key pages. Start conversations at the perfect moment to understand needs and close deals, no complex workflows needed.
Talking with your users made easy
