Gorgias vs DelightChat (2026): WhatsApp-First vs Shopify-First

At a glance

Pricing: ticket-based premium vs flat WhatsApp-first tiers

The two tools price on different philosophies, and that difference matters more than any single number.

Gorgias bills by ticket volume, not seats — every plan includes unlimited users. On its live pricing page, the published tiers are Starter at $40/mo, Basic at $77/mo (300 tickets), Pro at $471/mo, and Advanced at $1,227/mo, with Enterprise custom above that, all as of capture; annual billing saves roughly 16% (gorgias.com/pricing). Critically, Gorgias's AI Agent is a separate, per-resolution charge — $1.50 per automated interaction, a line item that sits on top of your plan. That per-resolution model is a real, citable line item to budget for, and it is the single biggest source of "my Gorgias bill was higher than expected" feedback. We break the tiers and overages down in Gorgias pricing explained.

DelightChat prices on flat monthly tiers: Startup at $29/mo, Scale at $99/mo, and Growth at $299/mo, all as of capture (delightchat.io/pricing). The important wrinkle is WhatsApp: DelightChat does not mark up Meta's conversation fees — WhatsApp API charges are billed at cost by Meta directly, the first WhatsApp number is included, and each additional number is $25/mo. Its GPT AI Assistant is a paid add-on with a free monthly token allowance. At volume, the flat model pulls ahead: independent comparisons note DelightChat's flat $299 Growth plan undercutting Gorgias's ticket-based tiers plus per-interaction AI billing at higher volume (ringly.io).

The honest read: Gorgias can be cheaper at low volume and more expensive at high volume, and its AI cost is usage-driven; DelightChat is more predictable at scale but you pay Meta separately for WhatsApp traffic. Confirm both against your own volumes before signing — every figure here is as of capture and vendor pricing changes.

Ecommerce and Shopify depth

This is where Gorgias earns its reputation. Its bi-directional Shopify sync is the deepest in the category: when an agent opens a "where's my order?" ticket, the order, tracking, purchase history, and refund controls are right there in the sidebar, and the agent can edit the order, issue a refund, or manage a subscription without leaving the help desk (G2). For a brand where a large share of tickets are genuine Shopify actions rather than questions, that depth compounds into real hours saved each week. If you want the full picture of what Gorgias is and where it sits, see what is Gorgias.

DelightChat integrates with Shopify too — you can see order details and act on common cases — but reviewers are candid that its in-ticket order and refund depth is not at Gorgias's level; its center of gravity is the conversation, not the order object. Where DelightChat pulls its own weight on the commerce side is WhatsApp-native selling: broadcast campaigns, abandoned-cart recovery, COD verification, and order-confirmation flows with upsells, all inside the same inbox. So the Shopify question really becomes: is your ecommerce advantage about acting on orders (Gorgias) or driving revenue through WhatsApp (DelightChat)?

AI and automation

The AI gap is the clearest philosophical split between the two.

Gorgias's AI Agent is autonomous — it is designed to fully resolve routine tickets (order tracking, returns, cancellations, discounts, product questions) end to end, with brands reporting a meaningful share of inquiries handled without a human touching them. That capability is exactly why it is billed per automated interaction. If autonomous deflection is your goal, this is the stronger engine, and we go deep on it in the Gorgias AI Agent explained.

DelightChat's AI is assistive, not autonomous: its GPT-powered assistant drafts and rewrites replies to speed up agents, but it does not resolve tickets on its own, and its rule-based chatbot builder is comparatively basic (G2 reviews). For a smaller team that wants faster human replies rather than hands-off resolution — especially on WhatsApp — that trade is often perfectly acceptable, and it avoids per-resolution costs. But if you are benchmarking self-serve deflection rates, Gorgias is playing a different game. It is worth understanding the broader category of AI agents for customer service before you weigh either.

Channels

Both tools are omnichannel, but their instincts differ. Gorgias unifies email, live chat, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp in one inbox, with Voice and SMS available as paid add-ons — a broad spread tuned for US-DTC brands who lead with email and chat. DelightChat treats WhatsApp as a first-class channel rather than a bolt-on, alongside Instagram (DMs and comments), Facebook, email, and live chat, which is the right shape for markets — India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, LatAm — where WhatsApp is the default customer channel. If WhatsApp is where a real share of your customers already are, DelightChat's design assumes that from the ground up; Gorgias supports it, but it is one channel among many.

Ease and onboarding

DelightChat leans into a low-friction start: a 14-day free trial with no credit card, a 1:1 onboarding call, and help getting your WhatsApp green-tick verification, which is a genuine pain point brands appreciate having handled. It scores 4.6 on G2 and 4.7 on Capterra, with reviewers repeatedly praising responsive support (G2).

Gorgias is also well-rated at 4.6 on G2, and users consistently praise how quickly the Shopify integration pays off — but the same reviews flag that automation setup can feel complex and ticket-based pricing can be unpredictable (Capterra). For most Shopify brands the ramp is smooth; the complexity shows up when you start building rules and tuning the AI Agent. Our Gorgias review covers the day-to-day experience in more detail.

Honest pros and cons

Gorgias — pros: deepest Shopify bi-directional sync (edit orders, refund, manage subscriptions in-ticket); genuinely autonomous AI Agent for hands-off resolution; unlimited users on every plan; broad channel coverage including TikTok, Voice, and SMS. Gorgias — cons: ticket-based pricing plus per-resolution AI billing can get expensive and hard to predict at volume; automation setup has a learning curve; some ticket-management rough edges (merged tickets can't be unmerged).

DelightChat — pros: first-class WhatsApp inbox with broadcast, abandoned-cart, and COD flows; WhatsApp API billed at Meta cost with no markup; flat, predictable pricing that wins at higher volume; strong onboarding and support; excellent fit for global DTC. DelightChat — cons: lighter in-ticket Shopify depth than Gorgias; AI is assistive rather than autonomous and the chatbot builder is basic; fewer e-commerce integrations beyond Shopify; less suited to brands whose support is dominated by complex order actions.

Which should you choose?

• Pick Gorgias if you are a US-focused Shopify DTC brand, a large share of your tickets are real order actions (refunds, edits, subscriptions), and you want autonomous AI resolution — and you can budget for ticket-plus-per-resolution pricing. Compare it against the wider field in best Gorgias alternatives.
• Pick DelightChat if WhatsApp and Instagram are where your customers actually message you, you sell across global markets, you want WhatsApp marketing and support in one predictable-cost inbox, and assistive AI is enough.
• It's close if you're a mid-size brand on Shopify with a growing WhatsApp audience — in that case, weigh how much of your workload is order-acting (leans Gorgias) versus conversation-and-campaigns (leans DelightChat).

Whichever help desk you pick, add the AI layer on top

One point worth making plainly: this is a help-desk-versus-help-desk decision, and you should choose the inbox that fits your channels and Shopify workload. Macha is not a competitor to either — it is the AI agent layer that runs on top of the help desk you already run, reading and writing the same tickets, drafting grounded replies, and calling your systems through a custom tool so an agent can look up an order or process a return. Credits are consumed per AI action, not per resolution — see the pricing breakdown.

FAQ

Is DelightChat cheaper than Gorgias? It depends on volume. At low ticket counts Gorgias's Starter can be the cheaper entry, but DelightChat's flat tiers (Startup $29, Scale $99, Growth $299/mo, as of capture) tend to win at higher volume, where Gorgias's ticket-based plans plus per-interaction AI billing add up. Note DelightChat's WhatsApp traffic is billed separately by Meta at cost. Confirm both against your own numbers.

Which is better for WhatsApp support? DelightChat. It treats WhatsApp as a first-class channel with broadcast, abandoned-cart, and order-confirmation flows in the same inbox, and bills Meta's WhatsApp fees at cost. Gorgias supports WhatsApp, but it is one channel among many rather than the core design.

Which has deeper Shopify integration? Gorgias. Its bi-directional Shopify sync lets agents edit orders, issue refunds, and manage subscriptions without leaving the ticket. DelightChat connects to Shopify but its in-ticket order depth is lighter.

Does DelightChat have an autonomous AI agent like Gorgias? No. DelightChat's GPT assistant drafts and rewrites replies to help agents, but it does not resolve tickets on its own. Gorgias's AI Agent is autonomous and billed per automated interaction.

Can I add AI on top of either without replacing my help desk? Yes. An AI agent layer like Macha connects to your existing help desk and runs on top of it, so you keep Gorgias or DelightChat as your system of record while the agent drafts grounded replies and takes actions on the same tickets.

Ready to add an agent layer to whichever help desk you choose? Start a free trial of Macha and connect it in minutes.