HelpLayerCompare / Zoho Desk
HelpLayer vs Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a per-agent help desk with ticketing, a help center and knowledge base, live chat and Zia AI, part of the Zoho suite. HelpLayer is the help center that keeps itself up to date: when your product changes, it writes the update to the article and its video, for you to approve.
Free plan · no card needed
CHOOSE ZOHO DESK IF
You use Zoho's other apps and want a low-cost help desk with ticketing, telephony and process automation.
CHOOSE HELPLAYER IF
You want a public help center with AI answers in your app, and articles, videos and demos that update when your product changes.
FEATURE BY FEATURE
Where they differ
| Feature | HelpLayer | Zoho Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Help center with AI answers | Free plan, then $29 a month flat (3 team members). AI answers included. | $14 per agent a month (Standard, billed yearly); built-in AI from $23 (Professional) |
| Free plan | Yes: 1 help center, 25 articles | Yes: 3 users, but no public knowledge base |
| Keeps articles up to date | Watches GitHub and web pages, writes the update, you approve it | Turns a resolved ticket into a draft article |
| Narrated video tutorials | Made from the article's steps, made again when they change | Embed a video |
| Click-through demos | Made from the article's steps | No |
| AI answers in your app | Widget, included | A self-service widget; AI answers in it need Enterprise ($40 per agent) |
| Inbox, tickets, live chat | No: questions it can't answer go to your support email | Yes |
| Moving your articles | Paste your help center's address: articles, images and categories come over | CSV, and free migration from Zendesk, Freshdesk and Salesforce |
| Custom domain | Yes | Express and up |
WHAT IT COSTS
A team of 3, answering questions with AI
Zoho Desk Professional
$69 a month
3 agents × $23 = $69built-in Zia AI and the answer bot(no per-answer fee published)
AI answers inside your app's widget need Enterprise: $120 a month for the same.
HelpLayer Pro
$29 a month
3 team members, 3 help centersAI answers in search and in your appvideos and demos included
No ticketing: questions it can't answer go to your support email.
Zoho Desk prices from zoho.com/desk/pricing in US dollars, billed yearly ($35 per agent billed monthly for Professional), October 5, 2026.
WHERE ZOHO DESK IS AHEAD
- Low price per agent, a free plan and a trial without a card.
- Deep ties to Zoho CRM and the rest of the suite, telephony and process automation.
- Several brands, forums and a knowledge base in 40+ languages (Professional).
- Free migration help, and AI without per-resolution fees.
WHERE HELPLAYER IS AHEAD
- Watches your code and pages, and writes the article update itself; you approve it.
- Makes the narrated video and the click-through demo from each article.
- AI answers in your app without an Enterprise plan, at a flat price.
- llms.txt and a public MCP server, so any AI assistant can read your help center.
QUESTIONS
HelpLayer vs Zoho Desk: questions
Can HelpLayer replace Zoho Desk?
It replaces Zoho Desk's knowledge base and the AI answers on it. It doesn't replace ticketing: questions HelpLayer can't answer go to your support email, which can be your Zoho Desk support address.
Does Zoho Desk charge for AI answers?
Zoho doesn't charge per answer: its AI comes with the plan, built in from Professional ($23 per agent a month billed yearly), and AI answers inside your app's widget need Enterprise. HelpLayer includes AI answers, in search and in your app, in the plan.
How does HelpLayer know an article is out of date?
You connect an article to its sources: a GitHub repository or a web page, like your pricing page or changelog. When they change, HelpLayer works out which articles the change touches, writes the update to the text and the video, and waits for your approval.
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Sources, checked October 5, 2026: Zoho Desk pricing · Plan comparison · Zia · Ticket to article · Importing · Migration. Zoho Desk and Zia are trademarks of their owner. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.