Gorgias vs DelightChat (2026): Which Help Desk Fits a Shopify or WhatsApp-First Brand?

Pick Gorgias if most of your tickets are Shopify order actions and you want an AI Agent that resolves them on its own; pick DelightChat if your customers message on WhatsApp and Instagram, since its plans are flat at $29, $99 or $299 a month with Meta's WhatsApp fees passed through at cost. Gorgias prices by ticket volume instead: $10 to $900 a month for the help desk, with AI Agent interactions billed on top (both pricing pages, checked 24 September 2026).

How do Gorgias and DelightChat compare at a glance?

Which is cheaper, Gorgias or DelightChat?

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

Gorgias bills by ticket volume, not per agent. Its help desk plans cost $10 (Starter, 50 tickets), $60 (Basic, 300 tickets), $360 (Pro, 2,000 tickets) and $900 (Advanced, 5,000 tickets) a month billed monthly, or $50, $300 and $750 on annual billing for Basic, Pro and Advanced, about 17% less. Tickets past the allowance cost $0.40 or $0.36 each. Seats are not unlimited, as older reviews say: Starter includes 3 and the other plans 500 (gorgias.com/pricing, 24 September 2026).

Toggle the AI Agent on and the page shows combined prices of Starter $40, Basic $77, Pro $471 and Advanced $1,227 a month, the last three at annual rates, with bundles of 30, 30, 190 and 530 automated interactions. Past the bundle, each automated interaction costs $1.50. Gorgias's billing docs also count an AI-handled conversation as a help desk ticket, so it draws on both allowances. That usage-driven line is the 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 with 5 team members, Scale at $99/mo with 20, and Growth at $299/mo with 50 (delightchat.io/pricing, 24 September 2026). The wrinkle is WhatsApp: DelightChat does not mark up Meta's conversation fees, which are billed at cost on top of the plan. The first WhatsApp API number is included and each additional number is $25/mo. The AI Assistant includes 10K free tokens a month, then costs $1 per 100K tokens. Annual plans are 30% off, but you activate that through the sales team. At volume, the flat model pulls ahead: independent comparisons note DelightChat's $299 Growth plan undercutting Gorgias's ticket tiers plus per-interaction AI billing (ringly.io).

The honest read: Gorgias can be cheaper at very low volume ($10 for 50 tickets) and more expensive at high volume, and its AI cost moves with usage. DelightChat is more predictable at scale, but you pay Meta separately for WhatsApp traffic. Run both against your own ticket and message volumes before signing.

Which has deeper Shopify integration?

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 sit 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 Shopify actions rather than questions, that depth adds up to hours saved each week. For the full picture of what Gorgias is, see what is Gorgias.

DelightChat integrates with Shopify too: agents can view and modify order data while replying. Reviewers are candid that its refund and subscription depth is not at Gorgias's level, because its center of gravity is the conversation, not the order object. Where DelightChat pulls its weight on the commerce side is WhatsApp-native selling: broadcast campaigns, abandoned-cart recovery, COD verification and order notifications, all inside the same inbox. So the Shopify question becomes: is your ecommerce advantage about acting on orders (Gorgias) or driving revenue through WhatsApp (DelightChat)?

Does DelightChat have an AI agent like Gorgias?

No, and that is the clearest split between the two.

Gorgias's AI Agent is autonomous. It is built to resolve routine tickets (order tracking, returns, cancellations, discounts, product questions) end to end, and it is on every plan. Gorgias itself reports that its AI Agent resolves up to 60% of conversations, a vendor figure. That capability is 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. Its own site describes "AI that drafts and refines responses in seconds", and its automation is keyword-triggered rules rather than an agent that resolves tickets alone (G2 reviews). For a smaller team that wants faster human replies, especially on WhatsApp, that trade is often fine, and the token pricing is cheap. If you are benchmarking self-serve deflection rates, Gorgias is playing a different game. It helps to understand the broader category of AI agents for customer service before you weigh either.

Which is better for WhatsApp and social 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 as paid add-ons, a spread tuned for US DTC brands that lead with email and chat. DelightChat treats WhatsApp as a first-class channel, alongside Instagram DMs and comments, Facebook, Messenger, email and live chat. That is the right shape for markets such as India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and LatAm, where WhatsApp is the default customer channel. If a real share of your customers already message you on WhatsApp, DelightChat's design assumes that from the start; Gorgias supports it as one channel among many.

Which is easier to set up?

DelightChat leans into a low-friction start: a 14-day free trial with no credit card, a 1:1 onboarding call, and help with WhatsApp Business API setup at no setup cost. It says it serves 1,000+ D2C brands, and reviewers repeatedly praise its responsive support (G2).

Gorgias 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 hard to predict (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.

What are the pros and cons of each?

Gorgias pros: deepest Shopify bi-directional sync (edit orders, refund, manage subscriptions in the ticket); an autonomous AI Agent on every plan; 500 seats from Basic up; broad channel coverage including TikTok, voice and SMS. Gorgias cons: ticket-based pricing plus per-interaction AI billing can get expensive and hard to predict at volume; Starter caps you at 3 seats and 50 tickets; 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; onboarding call on the trial; good fit for global DTC. DelightChat cons: lighter refund and subscription depth than Gorgias; AI drafts replies but does not resolve tickets; fewer ecommerce 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, with a budget for ticket-plus-per-interaction pricing. Compare it against the wider field in best Gorgias alternatives.
• Pick DelightChat if WhatsApp and Instagram are where your customers message you, you sell across global markets, you want WhatsApp marketing and support in one predictable-cost inbox, and AI drafting is enough.
• It's close if you're a mid-size Shopify brand with a growing WhatsApp audience. Weigh how much of your workload is order-acting (leans Gorgias) versus conversation and campaigns (leans DelightChat).

Can you add an AI agent on top of either help desk?

This is a help-desk-versus-help-desk decision, so choose the inbox that fits your channels and Shopify workload. Macha is not a competitor to either: it is an AI agent layer that runs on top of Zendesk, Freshdesk, Gorgias, Front, HubSpot or Intercom, 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. With this pair, that means Gorgias; DelightChat is not one of the help desks Macha connects to. Macha bills per ticket, from $299 a month for up to 750 tickets, one conversation charged once however many messages it takes, never per resolution. Setup and monitoring by the Macha team are included.

FAQ

Is DelightChat cheaper than Gorgias? It depends on volume. At very low ticket counts Gorgias's $10 Starter (50 tickets) is the cheaper entry, but DelightChat's flat tiers (Startup $29, Scale $99, Growth $299 a month) tend to win at higher volume, where Gorgias's ticket plans plus $1.50 per automated interaction past the AI bundle add up. DelightChat's WhatsApp traffic is billed separately by Meta at cost. Check 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 COD flows in the same inbox, and passes Meta's WhatsApp fees through at cost. Gorgias supports WhatsApp, but as 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 lets agents view and modify orders while replying, but its refund and subscription depth is lighter.

Does DelightChat have an autonomous AI agent like Gorgias? No. DelightChat's AI Assistant drafts and refines replies for agents (10K free tokens a month, then $1 per 100K), 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? On Gorgias, yes. Macha connects to Gorgias and the other help desks it supports and runs on top, so Gorgias stays your system of record while the agent drafts grounded replies and takes actions on the same tickets. Macha does not connect to DelightChat.

Do Gorgias and DelightChat offer free trials? Yes. DelightChat offers 14 days with no credit card and a 1:1 onboarding call. Gorgias offers a free trial with no credit card required.

Running Gorgias and want an agent layer on it? Start a free trial of Macha with $50 of free usage and no credit card.