Kerux vs. Zendesk, Intercom, Help Scout & Freshdesk
The support tool market's #1 complaint is unpredictable, expensive AI pricing. Here's how Kerux's bring-your-own-key model compares.
| Dimension | Kerux | Intercom | Zendesk | Freshdesk | Help Scout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bring your own AI key | Yes, connect any provider | No | No | No | No |
| AI pricing | Pay your provider directly, cents per ticket | $0.99 per Fin outcome | Billed on outcomes; rate not published | 500 sessions included, then $49 per 100 | Everyday AI included; chatbot $0.75 per resolution |
| Seat pricing | Flat per agent, $29–$79/mo | $29–$132 per seat/mo | $19–$115 per agent/mo, billed yearly | $19–$89 per agent/mo, billed annually | $25–$75 per user/mo, plus a free tier |
| Extra fees on top of seats | None | Per-outcome AI | AI resolutions + Copilot at $50/agent/mo | AI sessions beyond 500 | Only the AI Answers chatbot |
| AI reply control (draft vs auto-send) | Auto-resolves above your confidence threshold; drafts below it | No draft-only mode | , | , | , |
| Bill moves with AI usage | Never, only with agent count | Yes | Yes | After the first 500 sessions | Only if you add the chatbot |
Competitor details are from each vendor's own public pricing pages, re-verified 2026-08-07, and are summarized here for comparison, they're the vendors' figures, not ours, and can change. A ", " means we don't have a verified answer for that vendor rather than a guess. Where a vendor doesn't publish a rate we say so instead of quoting a third-party estimate. Kerux's AI runs on a key you connect and pay your provider for directly.
Kerux vs. Intercom
Intercom's Fin AI charges $0.99 per outcome. A resolution, a procedure handoff or a disqualification. Stacked on top of Intercom's per-seat pricing. To be fair to them, you're charged at most once per conversation and never for an outcome that didn't happen. It's still a bill that grows as the AI gets better at its job. Kerux charges one flat per-agent price; the AI runs on a key you connect and pay your provider directly, cents, not a dollar, per ticket, and drafts wait for your approval below the confidence threshold you set.
Kerux vs. Help Scout
Help Scout has the clean, simple UX we admire most in this market, and credit where it's due: its everyday AI, drafting, summarising, tone editing, is included in the seat price rather than metered. Only its AI Answers chatbot is charged separately, at $0.75 per resolution. It also has a genuinely free tier for up to five users, which nobody else here offers. The difference with Kerux is whose model you use: Help Scout's AI is Help Scout's, priced by them, while Kerux runs on a provider key you own and pay directly.
Kerux vs. Zendesk & Freshdesk
Both meter AI usage on top of per-agent seats. Zendesk bills AI on the "automated resolutions" it delivers, but publishes neither the included allowance nor the overage rate. You need a sales conversation to find out. Third parties quote a figure; we won't repeat one Zendesk doesn't stand behind. Freshdesk is more transparent: the first 500 Freddy AI sessions are included on every plan, then $49 per 100 sessions, and a session covers a 72-hour window rather than a single message. Kerux's bring-your-own-key model sidesteps that structure entirely: your AI spend goes straight to your provider at their rates, and Kerux's own price never moves with how much you use the AI.