Zoho Desk vs LiveAgent
Two of the top three help desks, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- Zoho Desk has 87 points and LiveAgent 79, 8 apart on our help desk software rules.
- Zoho Desk earns more on reports and connections, security and price; LiveAgent earns more on independent testing.
- Cheapest paid plan: Zoho Desk $7/mo, LiveAgent $15/mo.
- Only Zoho Desk meets: custom reports and SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001.
LiveAgent79/100 #2 of 12
Best for: Small teams that want every channel in one tool at a low per-agent price.
Points by group
| Group | Zoho Desk | LiveAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Channels and apps of 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Workflow and SLAs of 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Reports and connections of 18 | 17 | 12 |
| Security of 12 | 6 | 0 |
| Price of 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Independent testing of 20 | 14 | 19 |
| Total | 87 | 79 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | Zoho Desk | LiveAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Support channels (8) | Email, Live chat, Phone, Social media 8 | Email, Live chat, Phone, Social media 8 |
| Mobile apps (2) | iOS, Android 2 | iOS, Android 2 |
| Built-in help centre (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| SLA policies (8) | Yes 8 | Yes 8 |
| Ticket automation rules (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Automatic ticket assignment (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Built-in satisfaction survey (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Custom reports (5) | Yes 5 | Not published 0 |
| Public API (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
| Named integrations (6) | Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Salesforce, HubSpot 5 | Slack, Jira, Shopify, Salesforce, HubSpot 5 |
| AI assistant with public price (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (6) | Yes 6 | Not published 0 |
| Single sign-on (6) | Not published 0 | Not published 0 |
| Free plan (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Cheapest paid plan (10) | $7/mo 10 | $15/mo 8 |
| G2 AI CX evaluation (20) | 145 of 200 14 | 195 of 200 19 |
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk suits small teams that want ticketing, workflows and social channels at $7 per user, or a free start for 3 users. SLA counts rise by edition, with 4 on Standard and 10 per department on Professional. The catch: phone, round-robin and Zia AI need Professional, and the edition comparison lists SAML sign-on only for help-centre customers, not for agents.
LiveAgent
LiveAgent suits small teams that want email, chat, phone and social messages in one queue at a low price. Small business covers ticketing, chat, a knowledge base and automation rules, but SLAs and the call center need Medium, and social channels need Large. The catch: it names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification of its own.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score help desks.