The short answer
- Choose Zoho Desk if you already run Zoho CRM or Zoho One, or you have one to three agents and the free plan is enough.
- Choose Colliedesk if you have 4 to 10 agents, want AI without moving up a plan tier, and want your data in an open database you can self-host. Colliedesk is alpha; read the status table first.
Price, side by side
Zoho showed us prices in euros, per user per month, billed annually, on 16 October 2026. Your region may show another currency.
| Zoho Desk | Colliedesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free (3 users), Express €7 (max 5 users), Standard €14, Professional €23, Enterprise €40 per user per month | Cloud Team: $49 per workspace per month, or $490 per year, up to 10 agents, 100 GB of attachments. Team 25: $99 per month, or $990 per year, up to 25 agents, 250 GB. No per-agent fees. Founding customers: $100 per year, locked for life. |
| AI | Zia on Professional and Enterprise; Express AI agents with your own key or Zoho's LLM | Included (coming after beta). LLM cost +30% on our key, or bring your own key. |
| Free option | Free plan for 3 users; 15-day trial | Self-host free, every feature. Cloud: 14-day free trial, no card. |
| Source code | Proprietary | Open source, AGPL-3.0. Self-host or use Cloud. |
What five agents pay
| Team | Zoho Desk Professional (with Zia) | Colliedesk Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 5 agents | 5 × €23 = €115 per month | $49 per month + AI usage |
| 10 agents | 10 × €23 = €230 per month | $49 per month + AI usage |
Leaving: what Zoho Desk gives you
- Only the primary contact can create and download a backup.
- The backup is a ZIP of CSV files per module, up to 10 million records; a custom backup covers up to 31 days.
- Attachments are not in the file. It holds secure download links; you fetch each file separately.
- The file stays available for 7 days.
Your data lives in PostgreSQL. Self-hosted, you can take a database dump at any time.
What Colliedesk does today
| Capability | Colliedesk |
|---|---|
| Shared inbox: replies, private notes, status, priority, assignee, tags, search, bulk actions | Available now (alpha) |
| Email channel (inbound and outbound, threading) | Available now (alpha) |
| Freshdesk importer with reconcile report | Available now (alpha) |
| Saved replies, attachments, live updates and browser notifications | Available now (alpha) |
| Passwordless sign-in, revocable sessions, isolated workspaces, full export | Available now (alpha) |
| One-command install and published container image | Available now |
| Colliedesk Cloud with a 14-day free trial, then Team or Founding | Available now (alpha) |
| Cc on replies, new conversation from the inbox, contact history | Beta (0.1.0) |
| Upgrade guide, upgrades tested on real data | Beta (0.1.0) |
| AI draft replies, triage, auto-answer with a human in the loop | Coming after beta |
| Knowledge base and public help center | Coming after beta |
| Automations, macros, SLA, business hours, CSAT and reports | Coming later |
| Zendesk and Help Scout importers, live chat widget | Coming later |
Sources
Read on 16 October 2026. Prices change; check the vendor page before you decide.
- Zoho Desk pricing: zoho.com/desk/pricing
- Express plan: zoho.com/desk/express
- Backups: help.zoho.com, backing up your help desk data
Questions people ask
Is Zoho Desk cheaper than Colliedesk?
For very small teams, yes. Zoho Desk has a free plan for 3 users and Express from €7 per user per month (up to 5 users). From 4 agents on Standard (€14 per user, billed annually, read on 16 October 2026), the per-user bill passes Colliedesk's flat $49 per workspace.
Which Zoho Desk plan has Zia AI?
Zoho's pricing page lists Zia on Professional and Enterprise. Express uses AI agents with your own model key or Zoho's LLM.
Can I export everything from Zoho Desk?
Zoho Desk backups are a ZIP of CSV files per module, up to 10 million records, created and downloaded only by the primary contact. Attachments are not in the file: it holds secure download links, so you fetch the files separately. The backup file is available for 7 days.