Honest comparison
Avelto vs Zendesk
Zendesk is a deep ticketing suite with chatbots layered on. Avelto is AI-first, BYOK, and starts free — designed for sales-to-conversion, not just support deflection.
| Feature | Avelto | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| AI auto-reply | AI replies grounded in your knowledge base; per-channel system prompt and BYOK model. | Zendesk AI / Advanced AI — gated to Suite Professional and above as a paid add-on. |
| Multi-language | Auto-detected per visitor (EN, PL, UK, RU first-class; any LLM-supported language usable). | 40+ supported languages in the agent UI; AI bot quality varies by language. |
| Channels covered | Web widget, email, Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord — all in one inbox. | Web, email, WhatsApp, SMS, social — bundled in Suite plans, individual channels on lower tiers. |
| Pricing per conversation | Flat plan, no per-conversation surcharge. BYOK keeps token cost on your own LLM bill.Zendesk plan inclusions change — confirm the live numbers at zendesk.com/pricing. | Per-agent seat pricing; Advanced AI add-on charged per resolved automated conversation. |
| Free tier | Yes — Starter at $0/mo, 100 conversations/month, no credit card. | No free tier; 14-day trial of Suite Professional. |
| Custom domain for widget | Yes on Pro and above — widget loader hosted under your own domain. | Branded subdomain available; fully custom domain on enterprise. |
| GDPR data export | One-click data export and deletion endpoints; full audit log on Business and Enterprise. | Data Subject Access Request support; export tooling in admin centre. |
| White-label widget | Full white-label widget on Pro and above; no Avelto badge. | "Powered by Zendesk" badge removable on enterprise tiers. |
| Self-hostable | Yes — Docker compose + Postgres; same image runs in your cloud. | SaaS-only. |
| BYOK LLM | BYOK on every plan: OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. | Closed model selection; no BYOK in public plans. |
Public-information snapshot — competitor plans and inclusions change. Always confirm specifics on the vendor's pricing page before comparing.
Price snapshot