In-Depth Comparison

Smith.ai vs. Zendesk Chat

Compare features and see how businesses like yours can better capture leads and serve clients with Smith.ai Web Chat.

Smith.ai Web Chat:
The best alternative to Zendesk Chat

Zendesk Chat

costs

Money-back guarantee
14 days
14 day trial
Per chat price
$5-10 per relevant chat
Starting price
$140/month
$55 per agent/month
Setup fee
No
Custom programming done for you
Limited on cheaper plans
Seats for your staff
No seats needed
1</br>More seats with premium plans
Terms of service
Month-to-month
Overage costs
Priced per chat at current plan

capabilities

Staffed by live agents 24/7
Text Answering
New client intake
AI-driven technology
✔ Free
Captures email with every conversation
Captures phone number if desired
Appointment scheduling
Client callbacks
Custom branding
✔ Free
Mobile-optimized
Reporting & analytics
Canned responses & business FAQ
Pre-chat disclaimer
Client portal
View transcript for every chat
White-glove setup
X – you'll have virtual support, but the work will be yours to do

INTEGRATIONS

CRM integration
One permitted with each plan type
Zapier integration
Free
Google Analytics integration
Open API

AI-DRIVEN TECHNOLOGY

Uses conversational AI
No code builder
Train chat with your data
Automated lead qualification
Understands user intent
Smart Q&A database

Outsourced Chat vs. Live Chat Software

Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat

Live chat software

Answers messages w/o extra staff
Yes
No, your team has to do the work
Quick one-time setup
Yes
No, do it youself
Responds immediately 24/7
Yes
Depends on your staffing
Automates lead qualification & intake
Yes
Sometimes
Can handle multiple chats with ease
Yes
Depends on your staffing
Screens spam & sales
Yes
No

Outsourced Chat vs. Chatbot Software

Smith.ai's Outsourced Chat

Chatbot Software

Staffed by live agents
Yes
No
Can provide empathy or emotional intelligence
Yes
No
Can handle complex issues right away
Yes
No
Responds immediately 24/7
Yes
Yes
Can provide a personalized experience
Yes
Yes, with extensive programming
Quick one-time setup
Yes
Depends on goals and software

Take the faster path to growth.
Get Smith.ai today.

Affordable plans for every budget.
Smith.ai Chatbot offers a fully-automated lead capture solution. Zendesk Chat has a lot of competitive features, but lacks the “human” resource.

Today’s users want instant answers. They want omnichannel communication, and they want to be able to reach you in their way and on their time. Using chatbots and live chat are part of your new conversational marketing strategy, which is changing the game when it comes to building your brand and expanding your audience. 

When you engage Zendesk Chat or the Smith.ai Chatbot, you’ll be able to capture and qualify all the best leads without having to lift a finger yourself. Plus, you’ll be providing your audience with the opportunity to find support, book services, and stay engaged. Choosing the right chat tool, of course, is what makes all the difference. 

Who really can say what’s “right” for a brand? We’ve taken the time to create this apples-to-apples comparison of Smith.ai’s own chatbot and the Zendesk Chat service. As you’ll read below, Smith.ai pulls ahead in this arena for its affordable, transparent pricing and the machine learning that manages the chatbot for a totally hands-free customer support solution.

The Zendesk chatbot is only available with Enterprise plans, which means it’s nowhere near free, nor is it accessible to the modern SMB that needs a quality chat tool.

When you enlist the Smith.ai Chatbot, you will get access to real-time reporting and analytics, monitoring, and more. Zendesk Chat only offers those services to premium and enterprise plan members. Zendesk also limits the number of integrations you can use. 

Basically, Zendesk Chat has a decent offering, but it falls short in all the wrong places. The question is, are you going to embrace smart answers and automated workflows, or will you pay for the live chat software and the staff that you need to operate it? 

25% of leads come in after hours, which means you need to rely on someone who’s always there — and that is why the Smith.ai Chatbot wins this round.

Predictable and affordable pricing

We have prices for small to large organizations and everything in between.

Plans starting at

$140
Per month
20
Chats per month
View pricing details
Simple per-chat pricing, not per-hour or per-agent
Easy and predictable month-to-month pricing
No charge for spam or unwanted sales chats
No annual contracts or setup fees
Our agents and AI harmoniously work to meet the rigorous demands of your business.

Trusted by 3,000+ businesses

5.0 stars
4.9 stars
5.0 stars
4.6 stars
Generate more leads with chat
Initially, I was skeptical. But in that first week alone, we got 20 new leads, 3 bought products, and I paid for my entire year of service in that one week.
Jorge Morales
Specialized ECU Repair

END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

Calls, chats & appointments are automatically logged in your systems. Real-time syncing with over 5,000 integrations.
View all integrations

Take the faster path to growth.
Get Smith.ai today.

Affordable plans for every budget.