Customerly vs Zendesk
Last updated October 2026
Looking for a European alternative to Zendesk? Here's how Customerly compares, on EU hosting, GDPR and what it does.
Our pick for a European buyer: Customerly. We weight data residency, GDPR and EU jurisdiction above everything else — that is the constraint this directory exists to solve.
What it is
AI-powered live chat and helpdesk for customer support teams
Cloud-based customer service software with ticketing and messaging.
Headquarters
🇮🇪 IE
🇺🇸 US · 2007
EU data residency
Yes, for all customers
Available on some plansEU data residency available on Enterprise and Enterprise Plus plans.
DSGVO / GDPR
Yes
Yes
Certifications
No
ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II
Price from
€19/user/mo
$19/mo
Free plan
No
No
Open Source
No
No
Integrations
Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Zapier, WordPress, MailMunch +3
Slack, Salesforce, Shopify, Mailchimp, Jira +3
Where each one wins
Customerly
Strengths
- +Intuitive interface and quick setup for chat widget and core features
- +All-in-one platform combining live chat, email campaigns, automation, help center, and surveys
- +Customizable workflows for drip campaigns and automated onboarding
- +Responsive and helpful customer support, including during free trials
- +Cost-effective alternative to enterprise tools like Intercom for smaller teams
Limitations
- −Notification reliability issues, including missed mentions in tickets
- −Pricing scales steeply with additional seats or contact limits
- −AI feature requires extra cost and training effort
Zendesk
Strengths
- +Highly customizable workflows
- +Strong reporting and analytics
- +Extensive integration ecosystem
- +Reliable uptime and performance
Limitations
- −Steep learning curve for new users
- −Higher cost for advanced features
- −Complex setup for large teams
- −Limited free plan functionality
Data residency & compliance
Customerly
Zendesk
EU data residency
Yes, for all customers
Available on some plansEU data residency available on Enterprise and Enterprise Plus plans.
Transfer mechanism
Not required — data stays in the EU
Standard Contractual Clauses
Certifications
No
ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II
Pricing
Customerly
- Core $19 / €16 per seat / monthBilled monthly or annually · Annual billing includes 2 months free · Basic AI and inbox features
- Growth $69 / €59 per seat / monthCustom-domain Help Center · NPS surveys · Advanced workflows and automation
- Ultimate $99 / €84 per seat / monthMulti-language Help Center · CSAT surveys · Team analytics and reports
- AI Companion add-on €19 / $19 per seat / monthReply assistance · Conversation summaries · Help-center article drafting
- Extra AI conversations $0.50 / €0.45 (on demand) or $0.45 / €0.45 (pre-purchased) per conversationPay-as-you-go · Bulk discounts available
- Extra interactions $0.99 per 1,000 interactionsPay-as-you-go
Prices vary by billing cycle (monthly vs. annual). Annual billing includes 2 months free. AI add-ons and extra interactions are billed separately.
Zendesk
- Suite Team $19 per agent/monthBasic ticketing · Email and chat support · Billed annually
- Suite Growth $49 per agent/monthAdvanced reporting · Automated workflows · Billed annually
- Suite Professional $99 per agent/monthCustomizable dashboards · Multi-language support · Billed annually
- Suite Enterprise On request per agent/monthEU data residency · Advanced security features · Custom SLA policies
Pricing varies by region and plan. Enterprise plans require a custom quote.
Features
Customerly
- AI support and automation
- Aura AI assistant for customer conversations, AI Missions for guided tasks, Auto-escalation to human agents, Multi-language AI capabilities
- Inbox and customer channels
- Shared inbox for live chat and email, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp support, Conversation assignment, tags, and states, Snoozing and contact notes
- Help Center and self-service
- Customer-facing Help Center, "Find an answer" feature in live chat, Custom-domain Help Center (Growth plan), Multi-language Help Center (Ultimate plan)
- Engagement and workflows
- Visual workflows and chatflows, Automated customer communications, Customer surveys, NPS surveys (Growth plan)
- Customer data and reporting
- Contact attributes, events, and lists for filtering and targeting, Team analytics and reports (Ultimate plan)
Zendesk
- Ticketing and Workflows
- Automated ticket routing, Custom ticket fields, SLA management, Macros and shortcuts
- AI and Automation
- AI-powered bots for customer queries, Automated responses, Answer Bot for self-service, Macro suggestions
- Reporting and Analytics
- Custom dashboards, Pre-built reports, Real-time analytics, Customer satisfaction (CSAT) tracking
- Integrations and Extensions
- Pre-built apps and integrations, Zendesk Marketplace, API access, Webhooks
- Security and Compliance
- Role-based permissions, Two-factor authentication (2FA), Data encryption in transit and at rest, GDPR compliance tools