CRM Comparison

HelpDesk vs Hiver (2026)

HelpDesk is a standalone ticketing app by LiveChat with its own inbox; Hiver is a help desk that lives inside Gmail so agents never leave Google Workspace. Here's how to pick in 2026.

HelpDesk

Cloud-based ticketing platform by LiveChat that turns multi-channel customer messages into organized, automatable support tickets with built-in AI tools.

Pricing From $29/user/mo (Team); Business $50/user/mo
Our rating 4.2/5
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Hiver

Gmail-native customer service platform that layers shared inboxes, AI agents, and omnichannel support on top of Google Workspace without replacing it.

Pricing Free plan available; paid from $25/user/mo (Growth)
Our rating 4.4/5
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TL;DR

  • Pick HelpDesk if you want a clean, dedicated ticketing app with flat per-seat pricing and free built-in AI assist.
  • Pick Hiver if your team runs on Gmail and you'd rather add help-desk powers to your inbox than move everyone into a new tool.

The core difference: separate app vs inside Gmail

This comparison hinges on one design decision. Hiver refuses to replace your inbox. It turns shared Gmail addresses like support@yourcompany.com into a full help desk — ticket assignment, SLAs, AI agents, live chat, WhatsApp — all rendered inside the Gmail interface your team already opens every morning. There is no new tab, no login switch, no retraining. That's why finance, IT, and HR teams adopt it alongside support.

HelpDesk takes the opposite stance. Built by LiveChat, it's a standalone ticketing workspace that pulls email, web forms, chat, and social into one dedicated queue outside your inbox. Some teams want exactly that separation — a purpose-built control room rather than a busier Gmail. HelpDesk is platform-agnostic, so it fits teams on Outlook, custom domains, or anything else where Hiver's Gmail-native trick would be wasted.

Pricing

Hiver has a real free plan — unlimited users with shared inboxes, live chat, and a knowledge base — then paid tiers from $25/user/mo (Growth). Its AI agents and heavier integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot) sit on the Pro tier at roughly $55–65/user/mo, so the autonomous-resolution story isn't free.

HelpDesk has no free tier. It starts at $29/user/mo (Team) and $50/user/mo (Business), with AI summaries and auto-tagging bundled in at every paid level. For a team that wants to start at zero cost, Hiver is the obvious entry; for a team that will pay regardless and wants a dedicated app, the $29 gap is small.

AI and automation

HelpDesk's AI is an assist layer included by default — summaries, auto-tagging, language detection — designed to make human agents faster without extra charges. Hiver reaches further toward autonomous resolution, with AI agents that deflect repetitive requests (vendor-claimed up to 70%), but that capability is gated behind Pro pricing. If you want cheap assist now, HelpDesk; if you want higher deflection and will pay for the Pro tier, Hiver.

Channels

Hiver's Pro tiers converge email, live chat, voice, WhatsApp, and a customer portal into the Gmail-based inbox. HelpDesk covers email, forms, chat, and social in its own queue, leaning on its LiveChat sibling for real-time chat depth. Hiver's channel breadth is strong but tied to its upper tiers; HelpDesk's is solid and best if you already run LiveChat.

Who should pick what

  • Google Workspace team that dreads new tools → Hiver.
  • Team on Outlook or a custom stack → HelpDesk.
  • Small team wanting to start free → Hiver.
  • Team wanting a dedicated ticketing control room → HelpDesk.
  • Multi-team use (finance, IT, HR) inside Gmail → Hiver.
  • Already using LiveChat for real-time chat → HelpDesk.

Bottom line

If your company lives in Gmail, Hiver's zero-friction, inside-the-inbox model and free plan are hard to beat — provided you'll pay Pro pricing for the AI. If you want a standalone, platform-neutral ticketing app with flat seats and free AI assist, HelpDesk is the cleaner choice. The decision is really about whether you want to leave your inbox.

Try them yourself

Visit HelpDesk Visit Hiver

Frequently asked questions

HelpDesk vs Hiver — which is better?
It comes down to where your team works. Hiver is better for teams already on Google Workspace who want zero learning curve — it runs inside Gmail itself. HelpDesk is better for teams that want a dedicated ticketing workspace separate from their inbox, or that aren't on Gmail and so gain nothing from Hiver's core advantage.
Is HelpDesk cheaper than Hiver?
Hiver is cheaper to start because it has a genuine free plan with unlimited users, then paid tiers from $25/user/mo. HelpDesk has no free tier and starts at $29/user/mo. For a small team wanting to begin at no cost, Hiver wins; for teams that need a standalone ticketing app regardless, HelpDesk's $29 is close but not free.
Does Hiver require Google Workspace?
Effectively yes, to get its value. Hiver's entire advantage is that it works inside Gmail — no login switching, no new interface. Teams not on Google Workspace lose that benefit entirely and would be better served by a standalone tool like HelpDesk, which is platform-independent.
Which has better AI features?
Both offer AI, aimed differently. HelpDesk bundles AI ticket summaries, auto-tagging, and language detection into standard plans at no extra cost. Hiver's AI agents push toward autonomous resolution with vendor-claimed deflection up to 70 percent, but they require the Pro tier at roughly $55–65/user/mo. Hiver aims higher on automation; HelpDesk includes assist features cheaply.
Which is easier to roll out?
Hiver, for Google Workspace teams — most are live in hours because agents already know the Gmail interface. HelpDesk is also quick to configure and needs no specialist, but it introduces a new, separate workspace your team has to adopt rather than layering onto tools they already use daily.