Gorgias
The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.
A help desk for online stores: the order, the refund button and the customer history sit inside the ticket, so support answers without leaving the reply.
Build the sidebar, not the help desk. THE INSIGHT - The help desk is commodity. The value is the customer's order history beside the reply STACK - Whatever inbox you already use, plus a small service reading your store database THE SIDEBAR - Look the customer up by email; show last five orders, status, and total spent - A refund button that calls your store API, with a confirmation and a note written back to the ticket SAFETY, BECAUSE THIS SPENDS MONEY - Every action is logged with actor, ticket and amount before it is attempted - Idempotency keys, so a double click cannot refund twice - A cap above which a second person must approve MACROS - A template that fills the reply and performs the action in one step, defined as data Include the lookup, the refund handler and the audit log.
What you lose
- Refunds, cancellations and order lookups performed from inside the ticket, which is most of the time saved
- Deep integration with store platforms, maintained as their APIs change
- Macros that combine a reply with a store action in one click
If you would rather not build
- Your store admin in a second tab, which is free
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
FreeScout
$0A light help desk with a module system for custom sidebars.
freescout-help-desk/freescoutfree · open source
Chatwoot
$0Supports custom dashboard apps in the conversation sidebar.
chatwoot/chatwootfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
28/100
Verdict no at 28. The sidebar is buildable and worth building; a full commerce help desk with macros and maintained integrations is not.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about Gorgias
answered from the record above
Is Gorgias free?
No — the plan we track is $10 a month. Starter at around $10/month billed monthly for a low ticket volume; higher tiers are priced per ticket.
Can you replace Gorgias by building your own?
KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 28 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does Gorgias cost?
$10 a month on Starter — $120 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing Gorgias?
Refunds, cancellations and order lookups performed from inside the ticket, which is most of the time saved; Deep integration with store platforms, maintained as their APIs change; Macros that combine a reply with a store action in one click. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Gorgias?
Yes: FreeScout, Chatwoot. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
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