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Zendesk vs. Kustomer

Although Meta has spun off Kustomer, Kustomer’s future is still uncertain. With limited resources to support your business, switch now to a trusted and reliable company like Zendesk.

Zendesk vs. Kustomer: A comparison guide

Last updated January 22, 2024

Your agents might be the rockstars of customer service, but it’s hard to create a catchy tune with broken instruments. As Meta begins to divest Kustomer, you need a reliable customer service solution that boosts your team's performance instead of limiting its success. Switching to Zendesk gives your agents the tools to harmonize the customer experience and produce memorable interactions that build a loyal fan base.

Zendesk helps your teams stay in sync to deliver a level of service that makes customers sing your praises. Understanding the difference between Zendesk vs. Kustomer and what sets Zendesk apart is, as The Jackson 5 said, “as easy as 1, 2, 3.”

Why switch to Zendesk? GIF
  1. Trust: Delivering a great customer experience is key to growing and retaining revenue. Zendesk is trusted by more than 130,000 businesses and has a proven track record of success.
  2. Scalability: Customer service teams need to support more use cases than ever before—like new products, customer segments, and communication channels—and Zendesk offers a complete solution that can scale to any and all use cases.
  3. Agility: As businesses move and evolve quickly, they need a flexible solution to keep pace. Zendesk is agile and built to absorb planned and unplanned initiatives.

Switch from Kustomer to Zendesk

More in this guide:

At-a-glance comparison: Zendesk vs. Kustomer

Want to see how Zendesk and Kustomer match up? Our comparison chart provides a side-by-side view of the features the two customer service solutions offer.

FeaturesZendeskKustomer

Omnichannel customer service

  • Natively includes all channels, including voice
  • All channels integrated into one widget to deliver rich conversational experiences
  • No native voice and SMS
  • Widget only supports knowledge base and chat (with no voice call back)

Self-service

  • Robust self-service options
  • Gartner score for knowledge management: 4.4
  • Limited self-service options
  • Gartner score for knowledge management: 3.5

AI and machine learning

  • Pre-trained CX models
  • Works out of the box
  • GDPR protected
  • Requires manual training models

Frictionless agent experience

  • Customizable agent workspace layout
  • Contextual
  • Multiple app locations
  • No option to customize the agent workspace layout
  • Workspace not adaptable
  • One app location

Conversation and case management

  • Easy to reference previous conversations relevant to the current interaction
  • Side conversations that you can segment and tie back to the original conversation
  • Ability to create parent-child support cases
  • Granular individual and group SLA measurements
  • One long-threaded UI
  • No equivalent of side conversations
  • No ability to create parent-child or problem-incident support cases
  • Limited SLA measurements

Reporting and analytics

  • Native analytics tool
  • Custom metrics and reports
  • Real-time omnichannel dashboards
  • Weak native reporting
  • Poor customization ability

Integrations

  • 1,300+ apps and integrations
  • Fewer than 100 pre-built apps and integrations

Ease of deployment

  • Fast and easy, low to no-code implementation
  • Complicated implementation process requiring code for most deployments

Business agility and scalability

  • Easy to use
  • Primarily point-and-click configuration
  • Complicated to change
  • Some point-and-click configuration

Designated customer success and support programs

  • Trusted by 130,000+ businesses
  • Strategic investment in customer success and support programs
  • Deep customer community & partner ecosystem
  • Robust help center documentation & training / certification options
  • Limited support & success resources
  • Small customer community with limited events / networking
  • Light help center & self service training materials
  • Parent company divesting

Security

  • 4 data center locations
  • HIPAA enabled
  • FedRAMP authorized
  • Advanced encryption options (manual, automatic)
  • Sandbox data is replicated
  • 2 data center locations
  • No HIPAA support starting in 2023
  • No fedramp authorization
  • No advanced encryption options
  • Sandbox data is not replicated

Zendesk vs. Kustomer: Features comparison

The best customer service solutions have features that help your team make customers the star of the show. Let’s cut the lights and draw back the curtains to compare the features. Which platform will take center stage?


Pricing plans: Kustomer vs. Zendesk

With similar prices, you should pick software that offers what you need—like Zendesk.

Zendesk vs. Kustomer: Paid plans

CostZendeskKustomer

Monthly pricing

  • Support Team: $19 per agent/month
  • Support Professional: $55 per agent/month
  • Support Enterprise: $115 per agent/month
  • Professional: $29 per user/month
  • Business: $49 per user/month
  • Enterprise: $89 per user/month
  • Ultimate: $139 per user/month

Implementation & Ongoing Administration

  • Fast, easy setup & ongoing changes
  • Works right out of the box
  • Self-service resources for easy deployment
  • Broad community of Zendesk knowledge
  • Less reliant on technical / developer resources
  • Cobbled setup experience
  • Coding roadblocks
  • Complex system that requires extra training
  • Requires reliance on small Kustomer professional services team

Customer service software can have costs beyond the monthly subscription price. You must account for any hidden implementation costs, maintenance costs, additional support and staffing costs due to a lack of self-service options or automation, and more.

Zendesk deploys quickly and easily and works out of the box. The ease of use and intuitive interface can reduce the learning curve so your agents get up and running fast. Case management, self-service options, robust reporting and analytics tools, and a wealth of apps and integrations help keep teams organized and efficient to deliver customer-centric solutions—something you’ll be happy to notice on your bottom line.

Because of the complex nature of Kustomer’s deployment process and the hidden costs associated with it, the total cost of ownership (TCO) can be much more than that of Zendesk. Keeping staff on-site to maintain and eliminate software bugs can cause your TCO to skyrocket.

Customer stories about using Zendesk vs. Kustomer

Here’s what customers are saying about their real-life experiences.

  • Boxycharm

    A customer-centric beauty product subscription service

    “We’ve migrated our social media channels into Zendesk to create an omnichannel view of our customers. We improved our first response time and ensured that we resolved 100 percent of our private social media tickets.”

    —Anna Skidmore, VP of BFA care

    Read the story.

  • Rain

    A forward-thinking lender and early-wage access provider

    “We used Kustomer for, I want to say, four or five months before we realized it just wasn’t going to cut it.”

    —Anastasia Parris, marketing operations manager

    Read the story.

  • Pair Eyewear

    An innovative, customizable eyewear company

    “We explored other CX solutions [including Kustomer], but none of them had the in-depth reporting and insights, automated features, and community support that Zendesk offers.”

    —Ben Segal, senior director of CX

    Read the story.

Frequently asked questions

Here are a few FAQs to help you understand the difference between Kustomer vs. Zendesk.

Ready to try Zendesk?

Zendesk makes switching platforms a seamless process, but we get it—it’s a big decision. If you want to take Zendesk for a spin, sign up for our free trial so you can check out the full Zendesk experience without obligation. Give Zendesk a try for free.

Explore how Zendesk compares with the competition

There are plenty of options to choose from when deciding on customer service software. Learn how Zendesk stacks up against the competition so you can make the right decision.

Deliver better CX with Zendesk