Zendesk vs Gorgias
A general helpdesk against one built specifically for ecommerce. For a Shopify store the specialist usually wins.
The specialist advantage
Gorgias is built around the order. Order data, refunds, cancellations and subscription actions sit inside the ticket natively rather than through an app, and its automation is written for ecommerce questions.
Zendesk is more capable in general and needs an integration to reach the same place. For a store, that integration is doing the most important job in the product.
Pricing models differ: Gorgias has historically priced on ticket volume rather than agents, which suits seasonal stores with fluctuating staffing.
Where they differ
| Zendesk | Gorgias | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for ecommerce | ||
| Order data in the ticket | Via integration | Native |
| Refunds and cancellations from the ticket | ||
| Pricing model | Per agent | Volume-based |
| General-purpose depth | Higher | Narrower |
| Suits non-ecommerce support |
Which one fits your store
Choose Zendesk if
- You support more than a store: SaaS, services, B2B alongside retail.
- You need complex routing, multi-brand or deep reporting.
- Per-agent pricing suits your staffing better than volume pricing.
Choose Gorgias if
- You are a Shopify store and most tickets are order questions.
- Seasonal volume swings make per-agent pricing awkward.
- You want ecommerce automation without building it.
The call
A Shopify-first store with order-heavy support: Gorgias. A business where ecommerce is one part of a wider support operation: Zendesk.
Both carry the same warning. Ecommerce queues have the highest duplicate rates anywhere, because impatient customers chase orders across every channel you offer, often from a guest checkout email that matches nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gorgias only for Shopify?+
It supports other platforms, and its deepest integration and biggest user base are Shopify.
Why do ecommerce queues duplicate so much?+
Impatience plus channels plus guest checkout. One customer chases an order by email, chat and social, sometimes from different addresses.
The problem neither one solves
Between 8% and 20% of the tickets in whichever you choose will be duplicates. Ticket Merger finds and merges them on Zendesk and Freshdesk, with Freshservice and HubSpot coming soon.
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