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Live Chat & Chatbots · head to head

Amazon Lex vs Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

Amazon Lex logo

Amazon Lex

Live Chat & Chatbots

AWS conversational AI service

From
$0.00075/per text request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zendesk Sunshine Conversations logo

Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

Live Chat & Chatbots

Omnichannel messaging and customer engagement platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amazon Lex pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit); Zendesk Sunshine Conversations cannot be purchased standalone; requires expensive Zendesk Suite Professional or higher plans
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition, Zendesk Sunshine Conversations covers Live chat.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon Lex and Zendesk Sunshine Conversations actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon Lex and Zendesk Sunshine Conversations differ
AttributeAmazon LexZendesk Sunshine Conversations
Starting price$0.00075/per text requestOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
PlatformsWeb, AWS CloudWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20062015

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Live Chat & Chatbots).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon Lex

  • Speech recognition
  • Natural language understanding
  • Voice and text
  • Lambda integration
  • AWS services
  • Lambda
  • DynamoDB
  • SNS

Only in Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

  • Live chat
  • SMS messaging
  • Facebook Messenger
  • WhatsApp integration
  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk Support
  • Slack
  • API

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon Lex

  • Building conversational chatbots leveraging Alexa deep learning enginenot Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
  • Voice and text-based NLU applications requiring automatic speech recognitionnot Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
  • Custom conversational interfaces integrated into existing applicationsnot Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

  • Customer engagementnot Amazon Lex
  • Lead generationnot Amazon Lex
  • Customer supportnot Amazon Lex
  • Sales automationnot Amazon Lex

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon Lex

  • Pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit)
  • Speech requests cost $0.004 each, text requests $0.00075 each, training costs $0.50 per minute
  • Variable costs can accumulate quickly for high-volume applications

Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

  • Cannot be purchased standalone; requires expensive Zendesk Suite Professional or higher plans
  • Low included monthly active users (1,000 MAU) and notifications (1,000) necessitate paid add-ons for most businesses
  • Custom implementations require developer resources for webhooks and API configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon Lex

$0.00075/per text request

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon Lex review.

Zendesk Sunshine Conversations

On request
  • Team$19/month
    • Chat + messaging
    • Basic features
    • Limited agents
  • Growth$49/month
    • Omnichannel
    • Advanced automation
    • Routing
  • Professional$99/month
    • All features
    • Custom workflows
    • Premium support

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon Lex if

  • You need speech recognition.
  • You work on Web, AWS Cloud.
  • You also want natural language understanding.
Amazon Lex review

Choose Zendesk Sunshine Conversations if

  • You need live chat.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want sms messaging.
Zendesk Sunshine Conversations review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon Lex or Zendesk Sunshine Conversations better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon Lex starts at $0.00075/per text request and Zendesk Sunshine Conversations at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon Lex or Zendesk Sunshine Conversations?
Amazon Lex starts at $0.00075/per text request and Zendesk Sunshine Conversations at On request.
Does Amazon Lex or Zendesk Sunshine Conversations run on more platforms?
Amazon Lex runs on Web, AWS Cloud. Zendesk Sunshine Conversations runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Amazon Lex best used for?
Amazon Lex is most often used for building conversational chatbots leveraging alexa deep learning engine, voice and text-based nlu applications requiring automatic speech recognition, custom conversational interfaces integrated into existing applications. Of those, building conversational chatbots leveraging alexa deep learning engine and voice and text-based nlu applications requiring automatic speech recognition are not what Zendesk Sunshine Conversations is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon Lex do that Zendesk Sunshine Conversations cannot?
Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition, Natural language understanding, Voice and text, Lambda integration. Zendesk Sunshine Conversations covers Live chat, SMS messaging, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp integration. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zendesk Sunshine Conversations: Can I buy Zendesk Sunshine Conversations standalone?

No. Sunshine Conversations is only available with Zendesk Suite Professional, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus plans. It cannot be purchased as a standalone product.

Source
Zendesk Sunshine Conversations: What messaging channels does Sunshine Conversations support?

Sunshine Conversations connects 15+ messaging channels including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS, and provides a Web Widget for on-site chat.

Source
Zendesk Sunshine Conversations: What are the usage limits on Zendesk Sunshine Conversations?

The base includes 1,000 Monthly Active Users and 1,000 notifications per month. Additional usage requires $50 add-ons for each 2,500 MAU pack or $50 for each 25,000 notification pack.

Source
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Related pages

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