Eight tools, one person, one table
Per seat, per month, annual billing, plus any usage charges. Verified 2026-08-22.
| Tool | Seat | Usage charges | Year one, one person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moorline | $9 | None | $108 |
| Missive | $14 | None on the entry tier | $168 |
| Zendesk | $19 | Advanced AI add-on around $50 per agent per month | $228 |
| Freshdesk | $19 | None on the entry tier | $228 |
| Help Scout | $25 | AI Answers billed separately at about $0.75 per resolution | $300 |
| Front | $25 | AI add-ons around $20 per seat, Autopilot around $0.89 per resolved case | $300 |
| Intercom | $29 | About $0.99 per Fin AI resolution, plus per-message channel fees | $348 |
| A plain mailbox | Free | None | $0 |
Year-one figures are the entry tier only. Every tool except Moorline and the mailbox rises when you add rules, a second mailbox or AI, which is where most of the real spending happens.
The three models, and who each one is fair to
Per seat
Fair when the product’s value scales with headcount, which for a support platform it genuinely does: routing, roles, collision detection and per-agent reporting are worth more as the team grows. At one seat you are buying the coordination layer and nothing else, because the underlying job, reading and answering mail, is something your mail client already does for free.
Per resolution
Intercom charges around $0.99 per Fin AI resolution and Help Scout around $0.75 per AI Answer. Against a support salary this is straightforwardly good economics. For a one-person business there is no salary being displaced, so it converts a predictable cost into a variable one, and the variable is the number of customers you are trying to have more of.
Worth doing the arithmetic on your own volume rather than the headline seat price. At 150 conversations a month with half AI-resolved, Intercom Essential is nearer $103 than $29.
Flat
One number, every month, whatever happens. It is only honest for a product that has decided who it is for, because a flat price cannot subsidise a large customer with a small one. Moorline is $9 a month because it is built for one person and will not grow into a team tool.
The costs that are not on the pricing page
- The tier you will actually be on.Entry tiers routinely omit rules, integrations and API access. Front’s advertised $25 is $65 for most buyers; Missive’s $14 is $24 the moment you want rules.
- AI as a separate line.Zendesk’s Advanced AI add-on is around $50 per agent per month, roughly tripling a $19 ticketing seat.
- Migration, in both directions. Tools that host your mailbox hold your history. Getting in is free and getting out is an export and a re-point of your address.
- Setup time. Zendesk is measured in days rather than minutes. That is a real cost even though no invoice records it.
Questions people actually ask
Why is help desk software priced per seat?
Because its value genuinely scales with headcount for the customers it was designed for. A support department with forty agents gets more out of routing, roles and reporting than one with four, and per-seat pricing tracks that. The model only breaks at one seat, where you pay a coordination price with nobody to coordinate with.
What is per-resolution pricing?
A charge each time an AI agent resolves a conversation, typically around $0.99 at Intercom and $0.75 at Help Scout. It aligns cost with value for a large support operation. For a small product it converts a fixed cost into a variable one with no ceiling, and it prices the exact thing you are trying to grow.
What is the cheapest way to run support for one person?
A plain mailbox, at zero. Among tools, Freshdesk is free for 1 to 2 agents for six months, Missive is $14 a user, and Moorline is $9 a month flat. The rest start at $19 to $29 per seat before add-ons.
Do annual plans actually save money?
Typically 15 to 25 percent against the monthly rate, which is real. It is also a twelve-month commitment to a tool you may be choosing before you know your volume. For a first support tool, paying monthly for a quarter and then committing usually costs less than committing early and migrating.
All figures read from each vendor’s own pricing page on 2026-08-22.