Support Stack TCO Report
A support stack can look cheap at checkout and expensive after seats, AI resolutions, add-ons and onboarding are included. Enter your seat count, monthly conversations and channels to rank vendors by modeled 3-year TCO, with every pricing line tied to the vendor's official pricing page and snapshot date.
Lowest modeled TCO
Chatbase
3-year total
$4,680
Modeled monthly
$130/mo
Evidence rows
10
Report summary
3-year TCO leader: Chatbase at $4,680 over 36 months. Ranking uses pure TCO math from official pricing page citations and 2026-Q2 snapshot dates.
10 numeric pricing lines, 7 quote-required lines. Dataset 2026-Q2.
3-year TCO ranking
Sorted by modeled TCO only. Each row cites the vendor official pricing page and snapshot date.
| Rank | Vendor | 3-year TCO | Monthly model | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Chatbase Free; Hobby $40/mo; Per message credit (1–5 credits by model; extra $12/1,000) | $4,680 | $130/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #2 | Freshdesk (Freddy) From $19/agent/mo; $49 per 100 AI sessions (~$0.49/session) | $47,520 | $1,320/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #3 | Tidio (Lyro) Free; paid from $24.17/mo; Lyro AI from $32.50/mo (50 AI conversations) | $59,370 | $1,649/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #4 | HubSpot (Breeze) Service Pro $90/seat/mo (+$1,500 onboarding); $0.50 per resolved conversation (Breeze; since Apr 2026) | $62,700 | $1,700/mo, $1,500 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #5 | Help Scout Free (≤5 users); paid from $25/user/mo; $0.75 per AI Answers resolution | $72,000 | $2,000/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #6 | Kustomer Enterprise $89/seat/mo (annual, 8-seat min); Bots from $0.60/conversation; Copilot $40/user | $91,152 | $2,532/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #7 | Gorgias From $60/mo (300 tickets) + $0.40/extra ticket; $1.00 per automated resolved conversation ($0.90 annual) | $92,160 | $2,560/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
| #8 | Intercom (Fin) From $29/seat/mo; $0.99 per Fin resolution | $94,320 | $2,620/mo, $0 one-time | Official pricing Snapshot 2026-Q2 |
Price-trap findings
Kommunicate publishes a flat tier covering 2,000 units, but this input uses 2,500; confirm overage pricing before ranking it.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
Gorgias publishes a flat tier covering 300 units; this input uses 2,500, and volume beyond the bucket is modeled at the published per-unit rate.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
Salesforce (Agentforce) adds $125/seat required AI add-on at month 1.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
Kustomer adds $40/seat required AI add-on at month 1.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
ManyChat adds $29/mo required AI add-on at month 1.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
LiveChat requires an AI add-on quote before the TCO can be trusted.
Snapshot 2026-Q2 - official pricing page
Migration checklist
Quote-required rows
These rows have an official source snapshot but a missing public unit, add-on or contract floor, so they are not guessed into the ranking.
How it works
- 1Enter support seats, monthly conversations, channels and whether AI automation is needed.
- 2Calculate 3-year TCO from the maintained vendor pricing dataset.
- 3Review price traps: seat minimums, AI usage breakpoints, add-ons and quote-only rows.
- 4Export the PDF, migration checklist and pricing-review reminder.
Why this matters
Vendor pricing pages split the bill across seat floors, usage meters, AI add-ons and one-time fees. This report normalizes those pieces into a single 3-year view, then sorts by modeled TCO only. The output is intentionally boring in the right way: no merchant weighting, no boosted placement, and no pricing line without a vendor source and snapshot date.
Frequently asked questions
How is the TCO ranking calculated?
It adds the modeled monthly plan floor, seat costs, AI usage fees, required add-ons and one-time fees over 36 months, then sorts numeric rows from lowest to highest TCO. Quote-only rows are separated instead of guessed.
What hidden fees does it look for?
It flags seat minimums, per-resolution or per-conversation usage crossing meaningful monthly thresholds, required AI add-ons, onboarding fees, pass-through voice layers and contact-sales gaps.
Are recommendations influenced by vendor payments?
No. The recommendation order is pure TCO math from the source-cited dataset. Existing vendor links stay in their normal places; they do not change the cost ranking.