As an ecommerce business, providing exceptional customer service is paramount to driving sales, building brand loyalty, and ensuring long-term success. In the ever-evolving world of eCommerce, having the right customer support software can make all the difference. Two prominent names in this arena are Gorgias and Zendesk, each offering a suite of tools and features designed to streamline customer interactions and enhance the overall experience.
In this comprehensive article, we'll delve into the nuances of these two platforms, exploring their strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for ecommerce businesses of varying sizes and needs.
💡 Our take: We recommend Gorgias over Zendesk for eCommerce companies primarily because it was built specifically for eCommerce businesses and has a best-in-class integration with Shopify. Gorgias is easy to install and ramp up, with an intuitive user interface and better out-of-the-box automation features tailored for eCommerce use cases. While Zendesk is feature-rich, it has a steeper learning curve, requires more development resources for setup and customization, and is not as tightly integrated with eCommerce platforms like Shopify. We think of Zendesk as a clunkier enterprise level tool that hasn't innovated as quickly as Gorgias. Gorgias provides a more seamless and eCommerce-optimized experience compared to the more general-purpose Zendesk solution. There's a ton of nuance which we'll dive into below but that's our high level take.
🏆 Our winner: Gorgias
Founded in 2015, Gorgias (pronounced 'gorgeous') is a relative newcomer to the customer support space, but it has quickly come to dominate among DTC brands. And for good reason. Gorgias was built from the ground up for eCommerce companies. Its integration with Shopify (our recommended eCommerce platform) is the best in the industry, its automations allow agents to quickly work through tickets, and its interface is one of the most user friendly. Many software companies like to say that their tool is ‘plug and play’, but Gorgias is one where that’s actually true.
Founded in 2007, Zendesk has been around the longest of the customer support tools, and has become the 800 pound Gorilla of the customer support world. While it is feature rich, it is less intuitive than a tool like Gorgias and requires more development resources to set up and optimize. Users described Zendesk as a large enterprise tool with lots of tech debt and various functions kluged on. If you happen to be doing business for the government and restricted by FedRAMP approved SaaS, then Zendesk is your only solution right now.
One of the most significant distinctions between Gorgias and Zendesk lies in their primary focus. While Zendesk caters to a wide range of industries, Gorgias has specialized in the ecommerce domain, tailoring its features and integrations to meet the unique challenges faced by online retailers.
Gorgias: Built for Ecommerce
Excellence From its inception, Gorgias has been laser-focused on providing ecommerce businesses with a customer support solution that deeply integrates with popular platforms like Shopify, Magento, and BigCommerce. This tight integration allows support agents to access crucial customer data, order details, and purchase histories seamlessly within the Gorgias interface, enabling them to provide personalized and efficient service.
Key Ecommerce-Centric Features:
Zendesk: The Industry Veteran
While Zendesk may not have been explicitly designed for ecommerce businesses, its longevity and market dominance have earned it a reputation as a versatile and robust customer support solution. With a broad range of features and integrations, Zendesk caters to businesses across various industries, including ecommerce.
Key Features for Ecommerce Businesses:
While Zendesk may not have been designed specifically for ecommerce, its flexibility and scalability make it a suitable option for businesses operating in this space, particularly those with more diverse needs or those looking to expand beyond ecommerce in the future.
In today's interconnected business landscape, the ability to integrate with other tools and services is crucial for maintaining efficient workflows and maximizing productivity. Both Gorgias and Zendesk understand this need and offer a range of integration options to enhance their core functionalities.
Gorgias: Ecommerce-Centric Integrations Staying true to its ecommerce focus, Gorgias offers a wide array of integrations tailored specifically for online retailers.
Key Integrations:
Zendesk: Expansive Integration Capabilities While Gorgias focuses on ecommerce-specific integrations, Zendesk takes a more comprehensive approach, offering a vast ecosystem of integrations to cater to businesses across various industries.
Key Integrations:
While Gorgias' integrations are focused on enhancing the ecommerce experience, Zendesk's expansive integration capabilities make it a versatile choice for businesses operating across multiple industries or those with diverse operational needs.
Gorgias Pricing
Gorgias pricing is based on the number of tickets, not the number of agents or users. Their pricing plans are:
Additional tickets beyond the plan limits cost $25 per 100 tickets. This ticket-based pricing allows your entire team to access Gorgias without paying per user.
Zendesk Pricing
Zendesk pricing is based on the number of agent seats or users. Their main pricing tiers are:
So with Zendesk, you pay per agent regardless of ticket volume. For example, if you have 10 agents, you'd pay $550-$1,690 per month with Zendesk's standard plans.
The key difference is that with Gorgias, you can have an unlimited number of agents on a single plan and only pay for ticket volume. Whereas with Zendesk, your costs scale directly with the number of agents, which can get expensive for larger teams.
For small ecommerce businesses, Gorgias' ticket-based pricing is often more cost-effective. But for larger enterprises, especially outside of ecommerce, Zendesk's per-agent model may make more sense depending on ticket volumes.
Gorgias offers a more user-friendly and intuitive interface tailored specifically for e-commerce businesses, making it easier for support teams to navigate and perform their daily tasks efficiently. Its clean and straightforward design allows for a seamless setup process, even for those without extensive technical expertise. Gorgias seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and Magento, providing a streamlined experience for online retailers. Users generally find Gorgias simple to use and appreciate its e-commerce-centric features, although some may find its integrations limited compared to Zendesk.
On the other hand, Zendesk presents a robust and versatile interface suitable for businesses across various industries. While its design is clean and intuitive, leveraging its full range of features often requires a steeper learning curve, especially for custom integrations and more complex operations. Zendesk boasts a wide range of integration options with popular CRM systems, email platforms, and other business tools, making it a flexible choice for diverse business needs. However, some users note that the initial setup process for advanced functionalities can be challenging and may require technical know-how. Overall, Zendesk's user interface is praised for its flexibility but may require more effort to master compared to the more focused and user-friendly approach of Gorgias for e-commerce businesses.
After thoroughly examining the features, capabilities, pricing, and industry reputation of Gorgias and Zendesk, it's evident that both platforms offer compelling solutions for ecommerce businesses. However, the decision of which platform to choose will depend on several key factors:
We think both Gorgias and Zendesk are solid picks, but we give the edge to Gorgias. It will be easier to set up and get going and is innovating faster on new feature development.
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