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How we grade
Every product gets a level from 1 to 5 on six criteria. Each level has a written rule, so two editors applying it land on the same grade. The weighted total is out of 100 points and maps to a letter from A+ to F.
What we look at
We read each vendor's pricing page, plan comparison, AI pricing, documentation, security center, data processing agreement and sub-processor list. We record ratings on independent review platforms such as G2 and Capterra with the number of reviews and the date we saw them. Every fact links to its source.
Numbers vendors publish about themselves, such as AI resolution rates or time saved, are shown as claims and never count toward a grade. We have not run these products on our own support queue; grades reflect what is published and what users report.
True cost with AI on · 30%
What does a 10-agent team pay a month once the AI agent and agent assist are switched on?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | $60 or less per agent a month, with every AI price included. |
| 4 | $61–$100 per agent a month. |
| 3 | $101–$150 per agent a month, or any bill that leaves out an AI price the vendor does not publish. |
| 2 | $151–$200 per agent a month. |
| 1 | More than $200 per agent a month, or no bill can be worked out from public prices. |
The bill uses the cheapest plan that includes email and live chat, runs the vendor's own AI agent and can add its agent assist, billed annually where that is offered. It assumes 10 agents, 250 conversations per agent a month and 20% of them resolved by the AI agent, with agent assist bought for every agent. When a vendor does not publish an AI price, or sells no AI agent, the bill leaves it out and the level can be no higher than 3.
Price transparency · 15%
Can a buyer work out the full bill, AI included, before talking to sales?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | Every plan and AI price is public, with limits in numbers, monthly billing available and no minimum commitment. |
| 4 | Plans and AI prices are public, but there is a seat minimum, annual-only billing, or limits that are not stated in numbers. |
| 3 | Seat or plan prices are public, but the AI agent or agent assist is priced by quote or not at all. |
| 2 | Only an entry price is public; the rest is by quote. |
| 1 | No prices published. |
AI agent and assist · 20%
What can the AI do for customers and for agents, going by the vendor's own documentation?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | Level 4 on chat, email and voice, plus testing before launch (simulated conversations) and reporting on what the AI resolved. |
| 4 | An AI agent that also takes actions in other systems (order lookups, refunds, account changes) on chat and email, plus agent assist. |
| 3 | An AI agent that answers from the help center on chat or email, plus agent assist. |
| 2 | Agent assist only (reply drafts, summaries), or a scripted bot. |
| 1 | No AI features. |
Help desk essentials · 15%
Does it cover the channels and workflow a support team needs every day?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | All of level 4 natively (phone and WhatsApp included), plus skills-based routing and a marketplace of 300+ integrations. |
| 4 | Email, live chat, help center, SLAs and automations, plus phone and messaging apps (natively or through a listed partner). |
| 3 | Email, live chat and a help center, with SLAs and automation rules. |
| 2 | Email plus one other channel, with basic rules. |
| 1 | Email only, or a shared inbox without ticket states. |
Security and data · 10%
Can you show an auditor how customer data is handled?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, EU data hosting, a HIPAA BAA and a published statement that customer data does not train shared AI models. |
| 4 | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, plus one of: EU data hosting, a HIPAA BAA, or a published statement that customer data does not train AI models. |
| 3 | SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001, with a data processing agreement. |
| 2 | Security claims without named reports, or no data processing agreement. |
| 1 | Nothing published. |
What users say · 10%
Do independent user reviews back up the vendor's story?
| Level | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | An average of 4.5 or more from 1,000+ reviews on G2 or Capterra, and named customers. |
| 4 | An average of 4.3 or more from 200+ reviews on G2 or Capterra. |
| 3 | An average of 4.0–4.2, or fewer than 200 reviews. |
| 2 | Fewer than 50 independent reviews, or an average below 4.0 out of 5. |
| 1 | Negative independent evidence: breaches, long outages, legal action or widespread complaints. |
From points to a grade
Each level is divided by 5 and multiplied by the criterion's weight. The six results add up to between 20 and 100 points. Ties are ordered by what users say, then by name.
| Points | Grade | Means |
|---|---|---|
| 95–100 | A+ | Exceptional |
| 90–94 | A | Excellent |
| 85–89 | A− | Excellent |
| 80–84 | B+ | Very good |
| 75–79 | B | Good |
| 70–74 | B− | Good |
| 65–69 | C+ | Fair |
| 60–64 | C | Fair |
| 55–59 | C− | Below average |
| 45–54 | D | Poor |
| 0–44 | F | Fail |
Independence
No vendor pays for a grade, a position or a review, and we use no affiliate links. Vendors can send a correction with a public source; we update the page and its date.