Four things decide it: the pricing model, who actually does the work, whose voice the replies carry, and where your data lives. Price lists change. Those four don’t.
1 · The pricing model
Gorgias prices per ticket ($60–$900 plans by volume, on their public pricing page as of 6 July 2026), and its AI Agent costs $1.00 per resolved conversation on top, with an AI-resolved conversation also consuming a plan ticket, per their billing docs. That’s the structural reason bills surprise people: automation is the thing being metered.
The alternatives split into the same two camps as everything else: per-seat helpdesks (Re:amaze, $29–$69 per team member plus $0.85 per AI resolution) and flat models (Commslayer’s flat helpdesk steps with AI pools included: genuinely the budget option, and proof flat pricing works; Repley’s flat €99/€229/€499 with the AI work included).
2 · Who does the work
A helpdesk, any helpdesk, is a place where people work. If your plan is “hire fewer people,” check whether the tool’s default is suggesting replies for humans to approve, or sending them. Repley’s position is the second: 70%+ of the first line handled automatically, with refunds, complaints and high-value orders always routed to a human.
3 · Whose voice
Generic AI answers are how you lose a customer twice: once for the problem, once for the “sorry for the inconvenience.” Look for per-store tone of voice and replies that cite your actual policies, not a model’s general knowledge.
4 · Where the data lives
If you sell in the EU, ask where tickets and order data are processed. Repley runs EU-hosted (Frankfurt), takes read-only Shopify scopes, sends through your own SMTP, and its AI vendors are contractually barred from training on your data. Whatever you pick, those four answers should be on the vendor’s site, not in a sales call.