Comparisons
Zendesk vs Freshdesk vs Zoho Desk vs SautiDesk: pricing in KES
10 November 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer
On 10 November 2026, five people on yearly billing cost about KES 35,700 a month on Zendesk Suite Team or Freshdesk Pro and KES 10,350 on Zoho Desk Professional, at KES 129.93 to the dollar. SautiDesk Basic is KES 5,000 for the same five, with calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat included.
Zendesk, Freshdesk and Zoho Desk all charge per agent per month, and the price depends on the plan and on whether you pay yearly or monthly. Zendesk and Freshdesk price in US dollars. Zoho Desk publishes a Kenya shilling price list. For five people with phone and WhatsApp on the plan, the monthly bill on yearly billing is about KES 35,700 on Zendesk Suite Team, KES 10,350 on Zoho Desk Professional and KES 5,000 on SautiDesk Basic, before numbers and call time.
Per-agent prices side by side
Every competitor price below is from the vendor’s own pricing page, read on 10 November 2026, excluding tax. Dollar prices are shown as published. Where a shilling figure follows a dollar price it uses KES 129.93 to the US dollar, the rate on exchangerate-api.com on 10 November 2026, so it moves with the exchange rate. Zoho’s shilling prices are Zoho’s own list for Kenya.
| Plan | Paid yearly | Paid monthly | Phone and WhatsApp on the plan, per the vendor’s page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Support Team | $19 (about KES 2,469) | $25 (about KES 3,248) | Email and ticketing only |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $55 (about KES 7,146) | $69 (about KES 8,965) | Telephony and messaging. WhatsApp and text messages: “Additional fees apply” |
| Zendesk Suite Professional | $115 (about KES 14,942) | $149 (about KES 19,360) | Adds IVR phone tree and skills-based routing |
| Freshdesk Growth | $19 (about KES 2,469) | $23 (about KES 2,988) | Described as service over email |
| Freshdesk Pro | $55 (about KES 7,146) | $66 (about KES 8,575) | No phone or WhatsApp line on the page |
| Freshdesk Enterprise | $89 (about KES 11,564) | $107 (about KES 13,903) | No phone or WhatsApp line on the page |
| Zoho Desk Professional | KES 2,070 ($23) | KES 3,150 ($35) | Telephony through providers you connect, and a toll-free number |
| Zoho Desk Enterprise | KES 3,600 ($40) | KES 4,500 ($50) | Builds on Professional |
| SautiDesk Basic | KES 1,000 a month | KES 1,000 a month | Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat |
| SautiDesk Pro | KES 3,000 a month | KES 3,000 a month | Everything in Basic, plus reports, live floor and campaigns |
Zendesk Suite Enterprise has no published price, only “Talk to Sales”, so it is not in the table. SautiDesk has one price per person a month, paid from a prepaid balance by M-Pesa or card, so there is no yearly price to choose.
A worked month for five people
Multiply the per-agent price by five. The table uses the plan on each product that lists phone (Freshdesk Pro is the closest match), plus the next plan up, and shows yearly and monthly billing. Zendesk and Freshdesk are converted at KES 129.93 to the US dollar, the rate on 10 November 2026.
| Plan | Paid yearly | Paid monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Zendesk Suite Team | $275 (about KES 35,731) | $345 (about KES 44,826) |
| Zendesk Suite Professional | $575 (about KES 74,710) | $745 (about KES 96,799) |
| Freshdesk Pro | $275 (about KES 35,731) | $330 (about KES 42,877) |
| Zoho Desk Professional | KES 10,350 | KES 15,750 |
| Zoho Desk Enterprise | KES 18,000 | KES 22,500 |
| SautiDesk Basic | KES 5,000 | KES 5,000 |
| SautiDesk Pro | KES 15,000 | KES 15,000 |
Add the phone number to the SautiDesk lines: one number is KES 500 a month, so five people on Basic are KES 5,500 and on Pro KES 15,500. Incoming calls are free and outgoing calls are KES 0.05 per second, so a ten-minute outgoing call is 600 seconds, or KES 30. Those rates are published on the pricing page.
On the other three, the phone side is a separate line. Zendesk marks text messages and WhatsApp “Additional fees apply”. Zoho Desk Professional lists telephony as an integration with providers you connect. Freshdesk’s pricing page lists no phone or WhatsApp line at all.
What each product charges beyond the plan
- Zendesk: Copilot is $50 per agent a month, Workforce Engagement Bundle $50, Contact Center $83, all paid yearly. For five agents Copilot alone is $250 a month, about KES 32,483.
- Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month, extra AI Agent sessions are $49 per 100, and day passes are $2, $7 or $12 depending on the plan. For five agents Copilot is $145 a month, about KES 18,840.
- Zoho Desk: the price list says applicable local taxes will be charged on top of the plan price.
- SautiDesk: the usage rates are the whole list. Numbers are KES 500 a month, outgoing calls KES 0.05 per second, SMS from a custom sender ID KES 0.30, email KES 0.04. There is no SautiDesk charge per WhatsApp message, and Meta’s own charges are covered in WhatsApp Business API pricing in Kenya.
How the bills grow with the team
Every product here multiplies by the number of agents, so the gap between them widens as the team grows. Here is the same arithmetic at 5, 10 and 20 people on yearly billing.
| People | Zendesk Suite Team | Zoho Desk Professional | SautiDesk Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $275 (about KES 35,731) | KES 10,350 | KES 5,000 |
| 10 | $550 (about KES 71,462) | KES 20,700 | KES 10,000 |
| 20 | $1,100 (about KES 142,924) | KES 41,400 | KES 20,000 |
One ticket per customer, with the phone built in
SautiDesk is a help desk and call centre in one product. Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat become one ticket per customer, a missed call opens a ticket with an owner, and agents answer calls in the browser with a headset on a Kenyan business number you pick inside the product. Pro adds the live floor view, listening in on calls, reports by agent, channel and disposition, and calling campaigns.
For the Zendesk plans in more detail, read Zendesk pricing explained, and for what to move to, Zendesk alternatives.
Start on SautiDesk
- Pick Basic at KES 1,000 per person a month, or Pro at KES 3,000 if you want reports, the live floor view and campaigns.
- Add your people. Each person is one seat, billed by the month.
- Choose a Kenyan number for calls and SMS at KES 500 a month.
- Connect your WhatsApp Business number and your support email address.
- Top up your balance by M-Pesa or card, then answer your first call in the browser.
Calls, WhatsApp, SMS, email and web chat are on both plans. See the full list on the pricing page and start with the plan that fits your team today.