Short answer: Asyntai is the Gorgias alternative we recommend for Shopify stores that primarily want AI chat to handle product, policy and shipping questions — without per-ticket pricing or $1-per-AI-resolution charges. Gorgias Pro at $300/month + $1 per AI resolution costs ~$2,300/month for 2,000 AI conversations; Asyntai Starter at $39/month covers 2,500 messages — roughly 60x cheaper. The other alternatives below — Tidio, Re:amaze, Shopify Inbox, Help Scout, Zendesk, Richpanel — suit different situations (SMB Shopify bundle, multi-channel flat pricing, free Shopify-native, lightweight email helpdesk, enterprise, Shopify-specific helpdesk).
Gorgias is the deepest Shopify-native helpdesk on the market — agents and the AI can issue refunds, edit orders and apply discount codes directly from chat. That depth comes at a cost: per-ticket pricing, overage fees, and a $1-per-AI-resolution agent that also consumes your ticket allowance. This guide compares the 7 alternatives most often considered when leaving Gorgias, with real pricing where each vendor publishes it and an honest "how it differs from Gorgias" breakdown.
Why people leave Gorgias
Per-ticket pricing scales fast
Starter $10/mo (50 tickets), Basic $50/mo (300), Pro $300/mo (2,000), Advanced $750/mo (5,000). Every conversation costs you a ticket — and overages stack on top.
AI Agent is $1 per resolution
The AI Agent is billed at $1.00 per resolved conversation on monthly plans ($0.90 annual) — on top of your base ticket allowance. AI conversations effectively cost twice.
AI conversations count as tickets too
Per Gorgias's pricing page, AI Agent interactions count as helpdesk tickets — so a successful AI resolution both costs $1 and consumes a ticket from your monthly allowance.
Ecommerce-only positioning
Gorgias is built for Shopify (and similar ecommerce platforms). If your support volume is mostly product/policy Q&A rather than order edits and refunds, the helpdesk infrastructure is overkill.
Gorgias pricing as of April 27, 2026, taken directly from Gorgias's public pricing page. Verify current rates before switching — Gorgias updates plans periodically.
Pricing comparison: Asyntai vs Gorgias on AI volume
If your priority is AI handling visitor questions (rather than agents issuing refunds from chat), the per-AI-conversation comparison is striking.
| AI workload | Gorgias (Pro + AI Agent) | Asyntai | Asyntai's edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 AI conversations/mo | $10 (Starter) + $100 (AI) = $110/mo | Free plan ($0/mo, 100 msgs) | Asyntai free vs $110/mo |
| 2,000 AI conversations/mo | $300 (Pro) + ($1 × 2,000) = $2,300/mo | Starter $39/mo (2,500 msgs) | Asyntai ~59x cheaper |
| 5,000 AI conversations/mo | $750 (Advanced) + ($1 × 5,000) = $5,750/mo | Standard $139/mo (15,000 msgs) | Asyntai ~41x cheaper |
| 15,000 AI conversations/mo | $750 + ($1 × 15,000) = $15,750/mo | Standard $139/mo (covers it) | Asyntai ~113x cheaper |
Gorgias pricing from Gorgias's public pricing page (verified April 27, 2026). Comparison is for AI-handled conversations specifically; Gorgias also bills per ticket for human-handled tickets, and AI Agent interactions also count as tickets. Annual plans bring AI Agent down to $0.90 per resolution. Asyntai pricing from our pricing page.
What Asyntai includes that Gorgias doesn't (or charges per-ticket for)
Per-ticket pricing is one piece of the story — the other is what's actually included. From Asyntai's plan structure (verified in our codebase) compared with what Gorgias's pricing page advertises:
Pricing model
- Flat per-message pricing — no per-ticket overages, no per-AI-resolution charges, no double-billing on AI tickets
- Free plan with 100 messages/month — Gorgias Starter is $10/mo for 50 tickets
Messaging channels (Starter and above)
- Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Discord — native channel integrations
- Zapier (6,000+ apps) — push leads, conversations and events to your CRM, email, sheets, anywhere
- REST API for custom integrations
Live conversation control (Standard and above)
- Live monitoring — watch chat conversations in real-time
- Human takeover — take control of any conversation
- Escalation — get notified when visitors ask for a human
- AI Notifications — email alerts when the AI detects scenarios you define (cart abandonment intent, sales opportunities, etc.)
Rich visitor interactions (Standard and above)
- Image vision — visitors upload images for product help, defect reports, etc.
- Speech to text — voice messages auto-transcribed
- Product cards — AI shows product cards inside the chat (relevant for ecommerce upsell)
- Bookings — visitors book consultations through chat with calendar integration
- Embeds — Calendly, forms, sizing guides in chat responses
- Support Tickets — AI creates tickets for issues that need human follow-up
Real-time data and personalisation (Standard and above)
- Real-Time Data Feed — AI reads live data (stock availability, order status, product info) during the conversation
- User context API — pass user-specific information (order status, account, plan, renewal) to the AI for personalized answers
- Knowledge gaps — AI analyzes conversations to identify what it didn't know
- Daily report — email summaries of chat conversations
Multilingual (built in)
- Automatic per-visitor language detection — international Shopify stores get answers in each visitor's language without per-language setup
- Widget localization in 32 languages
Native platform integrations beyond Shopify
- Official Shopify App, plus WordPress plugin, Moodle plugin, Magento, Joomla, Drupal, OpenCart, WooCommerce — useful if you also run sites outside Shopify
Feature availability per tier from Asyntai's pricing page and codebase (myapp/plan_data.py). Gorgias has its own strong helpdesk feature set (covered in its position below) — this section focuses on what Asyntai includes that isn't part of Gorgias's per-ticket-billed structure.
Quick comparison table
| Tool | Pricing model | Notable for |
|---|---|---|
| Gorgias (the one you're leaving) | Starter $10/mo (50 tickets), Basic $50 (300), Pro $300 (2,000), Advanced $750 (5,000) + AI Agent $1/resolution | What you have today |
| AsyntaiOur pick | Flat per-message: Free (100 msgs), Starter $39/mo (2,500), Standard $139/mo (15,000), Pro $449/mo (50,000) — no per-ticket or per-resolution fees | Dramatically cheaper for AI-handled conversations, multilingual, 30+ platform installs |
| Tidio | Per-seat plans + Lyro AI add-on (~$32.50/mo for 50 AI convos) | SMB Shopify alternative with bundled live chat + AI |
| Re:amaze | Flat per-business pricing on certain plans | Multi-channel helpdesk + chatbot, no per-seat scaling |
| Shopify Inbox | Free with every Shopify plan | Free Shopify-native, basic AI capabilities |
| Help Scout | Per-user plans on helpscout.com | Lightweight email-first helpdesk for smaller teams |
| Zendesk | Per-agent plans on zendesk.com | Enterprise upgrade path with deep customization |
| Richpanel | Paid plans on richpanel.com | Shopify-focused helpdesk alternative to Gorgias |
Pricing as of April 2026 from each vendor's public pricing page. Verify current rates on vendor sites before switching.
The 7 Gorgias alternatives, compared
Asyntai
AI chatbot for Shopify with flat per-message pricing — no per-ticket fees, no per-AI-resolution charges, AI included on every paid plan. Trains on your products, pages and uploaded documents.
Asyntai installs on Shopify in two minutes — either via the official Shopify App with one-click connect, or as a JavaScript snippet in your theme.liquid. The widget trains on your storefront, product catalog and uploaded documents (size guides, shipping policies, FAQs) and automatically answers visitors in their own language. Live monitoring, human takeover and escalation are built in for the moments when a human needs to step in.
How it differs from Gorgias: Gorgias is a full ecommerce helpdesk with deep native order management — agents and AI can issue refunds, edit orders, and apply discount codes directly from chat. Asyntai handles order-status questions and product Q&A but routes refunds and order edits to the Shopify admin. If in-chat order actions are critical, Gorgias is genuinely the deepest tool. If your AI primarily handles shipping, sizing, return-policy and product questions, Asyntai delivers that for a fraction of the per-conversation cost.
Pros
- Dramatically cheaper for AI-handled conversations (~40-110x at typical volumes)
- Flat per-message pricing — no per-ticket or per-AI-resolution fees
- Native channels: Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Discord, Zapier (6,000+ apps)
- Live monitoring + human takeover + escalation built in
- Image vision, speech-to-text, product cards, bookings and embeds in chat
- Real-Time Data Feed + User Context API for order/account-aware answers
- Auto-detects each visitor's language; widget localized in 32 languages
- 30+ native platform plugins (Shopify, plus WordPress, Magento, etc. for multi-platform sellers)
- Free plan with 100 messages/month
Cons
- No native in-chat refund/order-edit actions like Gorgias has
- Not a full helpdesk — no ticketing UI for managing emails alongside chat in one inbox
- Less established brand in the Shopify support ecosystem than Gorgias
- Conversation logs live in the Asyntai dashboard, not a unified helpdesk inbox
Tidio
SMB-focused live chat platform with the Lyro AI agent — popular among smaller Shopify stores that find Gorgias overkill.
Tidio bundles live chat, automation flows and the Lyro AI agent in one Shopify App. Strong WooCommerce integration in addition to Shopify. Cheaper entry point than Gorgias.
How it differs from Gorgias: Tidio targets small-to-mid Shopify stores; Gorgias targets serious-volume ecommerce. Tidio doesn't have Gorgias's native order-edit depth.
Pros
- Cheaper entry point than Gorgias
- Free plan available
- Bundled live chat + AI
Cons
- Lyro AI capped at 200 conversations on starter AI plan
- Per-seat pricing scales with team size
Re:amaze
Multi-channel helpdesk + chatbot using flat per-business pricing on certain plans — cheaper than Gorgias's per-ticket model for many stores.
Re:amaze combines email, chat, social DMs and a chatbot under one inbox. Its flat per-business pricing model can be substantially cheaper than Gorgias's per-ticket model when you have multiple agents or unpredictable conversation volume.
How it differs from Gorgias: Re:amaze's flat-pricing tiers avoid the per-ticket overage fees that compound on Gorgias. Less deep Shopify-specific actions than Gorgias, but more predictable monthly bill.
Pros
- Flat per-business pricing on certain plans
- Multi-channel inbox (email, chat, social)
- Predictable monthly bill
Cons
- Less deep Shopify integration than Gorgias
- Chatbot is more rule-based than AI-first
Shopify Inbox
Shopify's own free chat tool, bundled with every Shopify plan.
Shopify Inbox ships free with every Shopify plan. Includes live chat, mobile apps for merchant agents, and a small set of AI-assisted reply suggestions.
How it differs from Gorgias: Shopify Inbox is primarily a live-chat tool with light AI assistance for the human agent. Gorgias is a full helpdesk with autonomous AI Agent on top. Different tiers of capability for different needs.
Pros
- Genuinely free, no separate billing
- Built directly into Shopify admin
Cons
- Not a true AI chatbot — limited automated answers
- No content training on your storefront
- Best as a stopgap, not a Gorgias replacement at scale
Help Scout
Lightweight email-first helpdesk — common choice for smaller stores that find Gorgias overpriced for their volume.
Help Scout focuses on shared email inboxes with light chat features. A natural alternative to Gorgias when most of your support volume is email rather than live chat, and you don't need deep Shopify-native order management.
How it differs from Gorgias: Help Scout is email-first; Gorgias is multi-channel ecommerce-first. Help Scout is significantly cheaper but doesn't have Gorgias's depth of Shopify integration.
Pros
- Predictable per-user pricing
- Strong shared-email-inbox UX
- Cheaper than Gorgias at smaller scales
Cons
- No deep Shopify-native order management
- AI/chatbot capabilities less developed than Gorgias
Zendesk
Enterprise-grade customer service platform with deep customization — common upgrade path for stores that outgrow Gorgias.
Zendesk is the enterprise-tier alternative to Gorgias — deeper feature set, more configurability, more integrations, but more expensive and more complex to set up. Suits stores that have grown past Gorgias's mid-market sweet spot.
How it differs from Gorgias: Zendesk is broader and more enterprise-oriented; Gorgias is narrower and more ecommerce-specific. Zendesk's Shopify integration exists but isn't as deep as Gorgias's native order management.
Pros
- Mature enterprise customer service platform
- Deep customization and integrations
Cons
- Per-agent pricing scales fast
- Setup complexity higher than Gorgias
- Less Shopify-native than Gorgias
Richpanel
Shopify-focused helpdesk built as a direct alternative to Gorgias, with self-service portals for customers.
Richpanel positions itself directly against Gorgias — Shopify-focused helpdesk with similar order management capabilities and an emphasis on customer self-service portals (track orders, request returns, edit orders without an agent).
How it differs from Gorgias: Largely a like-for-like alternative on Shopify-focused helpdesk. Differentiation tends to be on self-service customer portal UX and pricing structure for higher-volume stores.
Pros
- Direct Shopify-helpdesk alternative — minimal feature shock
- Strong customer self-service portal
Cons
- Smaller ecosystem than Gorgias
- Pricing structure also tends to scale per-conversation
How to choose your Gorgias replacement
- Do you actually use in-chat refunds, order edits and discount codes? If yes, this is Gorgias's main moat — Richpanel is the closest like-for-like Shopify helpdesk. If no, you're paying helpdesk prices for what's actually just AI chat — Asyntai delivers that for a fraction of the cost.
- How much AI conversation volume do you have? At 100 conversations/month: Asyntai Free vs Gorgias Starter ($10) + AI ($100) = $110. At 2,000 conversations/month: Asyntai Starter ($39) vs Gorgias Pro + AI = $2,300 (~59x cheaper).
- How big is your support team? Per-user tools (Help Scout, Zendesk) scale with team size. Flat-pricing tools (Asyntai, Re:amaze) don't.
- Do you sell on multiple platforms (not just Shopify)? Gorgias is Shopify-native. Asyntai works on Shopify, WordPress, Moodle, Magento, Drupal, OpenCart, WooCommerce — useful if you have multi-platform sites.
- Do you serve international customers? Asyntai auto-detects each visitor's language. Gorgias supports multiple languages but doesn't have automatic per-visitor detection in the same way.
- How predictable do you need the bill to be? Per-ticket + per-resolution + overages (Gorgias) make month-to-month costs hard to forecast. Flat per-message (Asyntai) or flat per-business (Re:amaze) make budgeting trivial.
How to migrate from Gorgias
- Pick your replacement and create an account. Test it for a few days before fully switching.
- Re-train the new chatbot on your content. Asyntai trains on your Shopify storefront, product catalog and uploaded documents in minutes.
- Install the new chatbot in parallel with Gorgias. Run both for a day or two to compare before removing Gorgias.
- Remove the Gorgias app from your Shopify admin. Settings → Apps and sales channels → uninstall.
- Test in a private/incognito window to confirm the new widget loads and the old one is gone.
- Cancel your Gorgias subscription before any contract notice period. Annual contracts often have notice requirements — give yourself plenty of time before your renewal date. Export ticket history before cancelling if you want to keep it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Gorgias alternative in 2026?
Asyntai is our recommendation for Shopify stores that primarily want AI chat to handle product, policy and shipping questions — without per-ticket pricing or $1-per-AI-resolution charges. The other alternatives compared above (Tidio, Re:amaze, Shopify Inbox, Help Scout, Zendesk, Richpanel) suit different situations.
Why do people switch away from Gorgias?
Per-ticket pricing scales fast (Pro is $300/mo for 2,000 tickets), AI Agent is billed at $1 per resolution on top, AI conversations also count as tickets so they're effectively double-billed, and the ecommerce-only positioning is overkill if your support is mostly product Q&A rather than order edits.
Is there a cheaper Gorgias alternative?
Yes — significantly. For 2,000 AI conversations a month, Gorgias Pro plus AI Agent costs ~$2,300/month; Asyntai Starter handles the same workload for $39/month — roughly 59x cheaper. Shopify Inbox is free, Tidio's free plan is also low-cost, and Asyntai's free plan covers 100 messages.
Is there a free Gorgias alternative?
Yes — Shopify Inbox is fully free with every Shopify plan (limited AI), Asyntai includes a free plan with 100 messages per month and no branding fees, and Tidio's free plan covers 50 live chat conversations and 100 chatbot triggers.
Do I lose Shopify order management features by leaving Gorgias?
Partially. Gorgias has the deepest native Shopify order management — agents and AI can issue refunds, edit orders and apply discount codes from chat. Most alternatives, including Asyntai, handle order-status questions and product Q&A but route refunds/edits back to Shopify admin. If in-chat order actions are critical, Gorgias is the deepest tool. Otherwise you don't need that depth.
Can I migrate from Gorgias easily?
Yes, technically — install the replacement in parallel with Gorgias, test, then uninstall the Gorgias Shopify App. The harder part is the contract: annual Gorgias contracts often have notice-period requirements, so plan to cancel before your renewal date.
Conclusion
If you're leaving Gorgias because of per-ticket pricing, $1-per-AI-resolution AI billing or the ecommerce-only positioning, Asyntai is the alternative we recommend for Shopify stores that primarily want AI chat. Roughly 40-110x cheaper than Gorgias for AI-handled conversations at typical volumes, flat monthly pricing with no per-ticket or per-resolution fees, automatic per-visitor language detection, free plan for 100 messages per month, and 2-minute install via the Shopify App or theme.liquid snippet.
If you genuinely need Gorgias's deep Shopify order management — agents and AI issuing refunds, editing orders and applying discount codes directly from chat — then a Shopify-helpdesk-first alternative (Richpanel, Re:amaze) is a closer match than Asyntai. The right choice depends on whether what you valued in Gorgias was AI chat or the helpdesk-with-order-actions infrastructure around it.