Costs beyond the seat price: add-ons, allowances and billing rules

Evidence checked from 6 to 13 Oct 2026

The seat price is rarely the whole bill. Vendors also name add-ons, allowances that are charged once you pass them, and billing rules for adding or removing people. This guide lists what each vendor states, plan by plan, so you can ask the right questions before you buy.

Charges and allowances on each plan

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None named and None stated mean the pages we checked do not mention one. They do not mean the plan has no such charge or limit; ask the vendor.

Account-wide billing notes

These notes apply to the whole account rather than one plan.

eDesk

• AI Agent costs $0.99 per outcome, charged once per ticket.
• AI Assist costs $30 per agent a month.
• Translate costs $19 per agent a month; additional fees may apply.
• Feedback costs $99 per account a month.
• eDesk Talk and WhatsApp have their own monthly fees and usage charges, listed in the help centre; the currency is not stated.

Freshdesk

• 500 free AI Agent sessions once per account; more cost $49 per 100 sessions.

Front

• Front requires an onboarding package for contracts over $25k; the package price is not stated in the pages we checked.
• Monthly and yearly subscriptions are paid upfront, and payments are nonrefundable, even if you cancel early.
• All seats in an organization are on one plan; seats are added or removed within that plan.
• Channels per license: Starter 10, Professional 30, Enterprise 50.
• Starter supports only one channel type: Email, Front Chat or SMS.
• Autopilot, the AI agent, is a paid add-on starting at $0.05 per conversation.
• Native WhatsApp on Professional and Enterprise is billed at Meta's WhatsApp costs plus a 20% admin fee.
• Raising the API rate limit costs $200 per month for each extra 100 requests per minute.

Gorgias

• Billable tickets include conversations answered by a human, a Rule or the AI Agent.
• AI Agent interactions also count as Helpdesk tickets. Separate AI Agent charges are not included in Clearcisive cost estimates.
• AI interaction rates disagree between the comparison table and billing FAQ. Confirm AI charges with Gorgias.

Help Scout

• AI Answers is an add-on billed at $0.75 per resolution.

HelpDesk

• HelpDesk's 2024 help article describes Viewers as free, read-only users. Current plan limits for Viewers are not stated.
• Charges follow the agents selected in your subscription. Removing an agent account does not automatically lower the charge.
• Added agent fees are charged immediately and prorated for the days left in the billing cycle.
• Plans are sold on helpdesk.com, which runs on Text. The pricing FAQ names Essential, Growth and Enterprise as HelpDesk plans.
• The Text pricing page states USD only for a generic offer, without naming Essential or Growth. Current-plan currency remains unconfirmed.
• Workflow top-ups are mentioned without a price. Integration providers may charge separately.

HubSpot Service Hub

• Starter, Professional and Enterprise include 500, 3,000 and 5,000 HubSpot Credits; credits reset monthly and unused credits do not roll over.
• Extra HubSpot Credits cost $0.010 each.
• The Customer Agent uses 50 credits to resolve one text-based conversation.
• Purchased seats cannot be reduced until the next renewal date.
• Optional add-ons and limit increases are sold separately; for example, the Sales and Service SMS Add-On is $75 per month.

Intercom

• Fin AI Agent costs $0.99 per outcome on every plan, charged at most once per conversation, and nothing when Fin cannot answer.
• Fin Voice is sold through sales at $1.99 per voice outcome.
• Fin AI Agent used with another helpdesk has no seat costs and a minimum monthly commitment.
• Copilot is an optional add-on: $29 per agent a month on annual billing, or $35 a month on monthly billing.
• Pro is an optional add-on that starts at $100 a month and includes analysis of 500 conversations and 6,000 credits a month; extra credits cost $0.01 each.
• Proactive Support Plus is an optional add-on at $99 a month, which includes 500 messages a month; additional messages are charged per unit.
• WhatsApp, SMS, bulk email and phone are billed by usage on top of seat prices.
• Additional seats and additional usage are always charged at list price; annual discounts do not apply to them.
• All seats in a workspace must be on the same plan.

LiveAgent

• Anyone with their own access to the agent panel counts as an agent. Separate light-user pricing is not stated.
• Agents added during a billing period are billed as a top-up at the same rate.
• Mid-period increases trigger extra payment only at both 10% and $20 above the amount paid; otherwise the difference goes on the next invoice.
• EU invoices use euros converted on the billing day; summaries use dollars.
• Only Enterprise customers can change the billing day through LiveAgent staff.
• Some pricing limits may not yet be enforced. LiveAgent plans to enforce them and will discuss individual increases.

Zendesk Suite

• App Builder, Action Builder and Voice are billed by usage beyond plan allowances.
• The light agent help article also lists Suite Growth and Enterprise Plus, which are not on the current pricing page.

Zoho Desk

• Zoho lists light agents at US$6 a month with no billing period; the price is the same in both billing views.