Frontdesk is the best helpdesk software for ecommerce because it unifies calls, texts, chat, and email on one customer timeline, answers routine questions with AI 24/7, and hands off to a human instantly, free to start.
A helpdesk keeps support organized as your store grows, so questions do not slip through across channels. The right one for ecommerce understands orders, covers every channel a shopper uses, and does not charge you per agent as your team expands. This guide compares nine helpdesk options, starting with the one that includes voice.
How we picked#
- Channel coverage. Strong ecommerce helpdesks span email, chat, SMS, and ideally voice.
- Order context. Tickets are more useful with order and shipping data attached.
- Automation. AI should resolve repetitive questions automatically.
- Unified view. One timeline per customer beats scattered tickets.
- Pricing. Per-seat fees punish growing teams.
Comparison at a glance#
| Tool | Pricing model | Channels | 24/7 | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontdesk | Free | Calls, texts, email | Yes | <30 min | Unified, voice-inclusive helpdesk at a fixed price |
| Gorgias | Per-seat | Email, chat, social | No | Days | Shopify and BigCommerce stores |
| Zendesk | Per-seat | Multichannel | No | Weeks | Growing teams wanting a configurable platform |
| Re:amaze | Per-seat | Chat, email, social | No | Days | Affordable multichannel desk |
| Gladly | Custom | Multichannel | No | Weeks | Larger DTC brands with staffed teams |
| Richpanel | Per-seat | Chat, email | No | Days | Self-service tied to order actions |
| Help Scout | Per-seat | No | Hours | Simple, friendly email support | |
| Freshdesk | Per-agent | Multichannel | No | Days | General-purpose desk with room to grow |
| Intercom | Per-resolution | Chat, email | No | Days | Chat-led support with strong AI |
1. Frontdesk#
Frontdesk works as a helpdesk that unifies phone, text, chat, and email into one timeline per customer. Conversational AI resolves the high-volume questions, order status, returns, shipping, pulling live order data so a WISMO ticket gets a real tracking answer, and a human takes over any thread instantly with the full history. Unlike most helpdesks, it answers voice calls too, so phone questions land in the same place as everything else.
The gap in most ecommerce helpdesks is voice: phone questions get handled in a separate silo, so a customer who emailed and then called has to start over. Frontdesk keeps all four channels on one record, which means the agent who picks up a call already sees the earlier chat. And because pricing is flat with unlimited seats, adding support staff during a holiday rush never raises the bill the way per-seat plans do.
Every interaction syncs to HubSpot, Salesforce, or Pipedrive. Pricing starts free, so adding teammates never raises your bill, and setup runs under 30 minutes.
Best for: ecommerce brands wanting a unified, voice-inclusive helpdesk at a fixed price.
- Pros: voice plus text plus chat plus email, order-aware AI with instant handoff, flat unlimited-seat pricing, CRM sync.
- Cons: SMB and mid-market focus; not a heavy enterprise ITSM platform.
2. Gorgias#
Gorgias is a purpose-built ecommerce helpdesk with deep Shopify integration and order-aware automations. Order and shipping data sit inside every ticket, so WISMO, address-change, and returns questions get answered fast, many automatically.
Voice is secondary, so phone support lives elsewhere, and per-seat or ticket-volume pricing rises during the sale-driven spikes when tickets peak. For text-channel support on Shopify it is hard to beat.
Best for: Shopify and BigCommerce stores.
- Pros: strong ecommerce integrations, automations.
- Cons: per-seat or ticket-volume pricing; voice secondary.
3. Zendesk#
Zendesk is a mature, omnichannel helpdesk used by stores of every size, with AI agents and reporting. A growing team can configure routing, macros, and dashboards to fit complex workflows.
The configurability brings cost and setup complexity, and the better AI sits in higher tiers. For a small store that mainly fields order questions, it is more platform than the job requires.
Best for: growing teams wanting a configurable platform.
- Pros: broad integrations, robust reporting.
- Cons: cost and complexity rise; AI in higher tiers.
4. Re:amaze#
Re:amaze is a multichannel helpdesk for online stores covering chat, email, and social affordably. It pulls several text channels into one inbox with ecommerce integrations for order lookups.
Its AI is assistive rather than autonomous, so agents drive most resolutions, and per-seat pricing grows with the team. Voice is not a focus.
Best for: stores wanting an affordable multichannel desk.
- Pros: multichannel, ecommerce integrations.
- Cons: per-seat pricing; assistive AI.
5. Gladly#
Gladly is a customer-centric service platform that unifies conversations across channels by person. The single customer view helps agents handle repeat buyers without re-gathering context.
It is built for staffed teams and priced at the enterprise tier, so it assumes agents are online to work the queue. Most small and mid-size stores will find it heavier than needed.
Best for: larger DTC brands with staffed teams.
- Pros: unified customer view, multichannel.
- Cons: built for staffed teams; enterprise pricing.
6. Richpanel#
Richpanel pairs a helpdesk with ecommerce self-service for order tracking and returns. Guided flows let shoppers check status or start a return, deflecting the most repetitive tickets.
It centers on text channels, and the self-service flows take effort to set up and tune. Voice is not its strength.
Best for: stores wanting self-service tied to order actions.
- Pros: self-service flows, order-aware.
- Cons: text-channel focus; setup effort.
7. Help Scout#
Help Scout offers a clean, email-first shared inbox with light automation. It is easy to use and keeps email support tidy for a small team.
Its ecommerce and voice features are lighter than dedicated tools, and it is priced per seat. Deep order awareness and phone coverage are not its focus.
Best for: stores wanting simple, friendly email support.
- Pros: easy to use, tidy inbox.
- Cons: lighter ecommerce and voice features; per-seat.
8. Freshdesk#
Freshdesk is a broad helpdesk with multichannel support and automation across many industries. Its tiered plans give a store room to grow into more features.
It is general-purpose rather than ecommerce-specific, so order awareness depends on integrations, and pricing is per agent. A store wanting deep Shopify context will do more configuration.
Best for: stores wanting a general-purpose desk with room to grow.
- Pros: wide features, tiered plans.
- Cons: less ecommerce-specific; per-agent pricing.
9. Intercom#
Intercom combines a helpdesk with messaging and the Fin AI agent. The messenger is polished and the AI resolves a solid share of routine chat and email questions.
The cost stacks per-seat fees with per-resolution charges, so a busy month adds up. Voice is handled separately, so phone support sits outside it.
Best for: stores wanting chat-led support with strong AI.
- Pros: polished messenger, AI agent.
- Cons: per-seat plus per-resolution costs.
How to choose#
Pick by channel mix and team size. For deep Shopify order context in text channels, Gorgias or Richpanel fit; for simple email support, Help Scout; for a configurable platform a growing team can standardize on, Zendesk or Freshdesk. If you want phone answered in the same helpdesk as text, chat, and email, with order-aware AI and flat unlimited-seat pricing, Frontdesk unifies all four free to start.
Frequently asked questions#
What is ecommerce helpdesk software? It organizes customer support across channels into tickets or conversations, often with order data and automation, so questions get tracked and resolved.
Should an ecommerce helpdesk include phone support? Many do not. Frontdesk includes voice alongside text, chat, and email so phone questions are not handled in a separate silo.
Does helpdesk software integrate with Shopify? Several do. Frontdesk syncs interactions to your CRM and answers order questions across channels.
How is helpdesk software priced? Usually per agent or per ticket. Frontdesk is free to start with unlimited seats.
Try Frontdesk#
Frontdesk answers your store's calls, texts, and emails 24/7 so order and shipping questions never wait. Free to start, unlimited seats, setup in under 30 minutes, with a unified inbox and CRM sync. Try it today.