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Capacity vs Forethought

Capacity logo

Capacity

Live Chat

AI-powered customer service automation platform

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Forethought logo

Forethought

Customer Support

AI resolution and ticket triage layered on top of an existing helpdesk

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Capacity two-part pricing, an annual platform fee plus usage, so the bill is not knowable from the tier alone; Forethought forethought needs roughly 20,000 historical tickets and around 2,000 a month to train usefully, so a support team below that volume is not simply a smaller customer, it is ineligible, and the sales process will tell you so late.
  • They diverge on capability: Capacity covers AI chatbot, Forethought covers Solve.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Capacity and Forethought actually diverge.

Attributes where Capacity and Forethought differ
AttributeCapacityForethought
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, Chat widgets, APIWeb
CategoryLive ChatCustomer Support
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Capacity

  • AI chatbot
  • Knowledge management
  • Multi-channel support
  • Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk
  • Slack
  • ServiceNow

Only in Forethought

  • Solve
  • Autoflows
  • Custom Actions
  • Triage
  • Assist
  • Discover
  • AI QA and Insights
  • Solve and Analytics APIs

What people use each for

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

Capacity

  • Knowledge base and helpdesk deflectionnot Forethought
  • AI agents answering across chat, voice, email and SMSnot Forethought
  • Real-time assistance for human agents on a callnot Forethought
  • Automating multi-step support workflowsnot Forethought
  • Regulated support environments needing the HIPAA packagenot Forethought

Forethought

  • A retailer with 40,000 tickets a year in Zendesk wants order status, returns and refunds resolved end to end without an agent, including the API calls into the order system.not Capacity
  • A support operation that already abandoned a rules-based chatbot because the decision trees rotted, and wants resolution logic that does not need rebuilding every time a policy changes.not Capacity
  • A team drowning in triage where tickets sit in a general queue for hours before a human reads them and routes them to the right specialist group.not Capacity
  • A support leader who needs to know which questions have no knowledge article behind them, ranked by the volume of tickets they generate.not Capacity

Where each one falls short

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

Capacity

  • Two-part pricing, an annual platform fee plus usage, so the bill is not knowable from the tier alone
  • AI usage is metered by channel: per response on chat and email, per minute on voice and per message on SMS
  • Agent Assist and conversation intelligence are charged per hour of agent time on top
  • Live chat, agent assist and conversation intelligence require the Pro tier
  • The HIPAA package and advanced workflows are Enterprise only
  • No prices are published for any tier

Forethought

  • Forethought needs roughly 20,000 historical tickets and around 2,000 a month to train usefully, so a support team below that volume is not simply a smaller customer, it is ineligible, and the sales process will tell you so late.
  • Billing is outcome based per resolution on top of a platform fee, so the invoice rises precisely when the product performs, and forecasting a year of spend requires forecasting your own deflection curve.
  • Channels are tier gated: email, voice and Slack agents sit above the entry tier while the Solve API, Analytics API and knowledge gap detection are Enterprise only, and buyers routinely scope a tier that turns out not to include the channel they came for.
  • Ease of setup is the lowest scored dimension in independent reviews, with 30 to 90 day rollouts, no self-serve path and continual configuration effort to keep flows accurate, which means a named internal owner rather than a set-and-forget deployment.
  • Zendesk acquired Forethought in March 2026, so anyone running a multi-helpdesk estate on Salesforce, Freshdesk or Intercom is buying their neutral AI layer from a direct competitor of their helpdesk vendor, and should get contractual commitments on non-Zendesk connector parity.

Pricing, plan by plan

Capacity

On request
  • Starter$125/month
    • AI chatbot
    • Up to 50 articles
  • Professional$300/month
    • Unlimited articles
    • Advanced AI
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Full customization
    • Dedicated support

Forethought

On request
  • Team$undefined/year
    • Solve for chat
    • Triage
    • Standard reporting
  • Professional$undefined/year
    • Adds email, voice and Slack agents
    • Assist for human agents
    • Multibrand add-on available
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Solve API and Analytics API
    • Discover knowledge gap detection
    • Multibrand up to 20 brands

Which should you pick?

Choose Capacity if

  • You need ai chatbot.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Chat widgets, API.
  • You also want knowledge management.
Capacity review

Choose Forethought if

  • You need solve.
  • You also want autoflows.
Forethought review

Questions people ask

Is Capacity or Forethought better?
Neither clearly leads. Capacity starts at On request and Forethought at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Capacity or Forethought?
Capacity starts at On request and Forethought at On request.
Does Capacity or Forethought run on more platforms?
Capacity runs on Web, Mobile, Chat widgets, API. Forethought runs on Web.
What is Capacity best used for?
Capacity is most often used for knowledge base and helpdesk deflection, ai agents answering across chat, voice, email and sms, real-time assistance for human agents on a call, automating multi-step support workflows. Of those, knowledge base and helpdesk deflection and ai agents answering across chat, voice, email and sms are not what Forethought is typically brought in for.
What can Capacity do that Forethought cannot?
Capacity covers AI chatbot, Knowledge management, Multi-channel support, Analytics. Forethought covers Solve, Autoflows, Custom Actions, Triage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Capacity: How much does Capacity cost?

Capacity does not publish pricing on their website. The company uses a tiered platform model with usage-based add-ons, stating customers pay a platform fee plus usage-based pricing for AI Agents. Interested customers must contact their sales team or use the ROI calculator for custom quotes.

Source
Forethought: Does Forethought replace my helpdesk?

No. It installs on top of Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk or Intercom and reads their ticket history. You keep paying for the helpdesk.

Capacity: What is Capacity's pricing model?

Capacity charges a platform fee for three tiers (Core, Pro, Enterprise) plus usage-based fees for Chat Agents (per response), Voice Agents (per minute), Email Agents (per response), SMS Agents (per message), and Agent Assist features (per hour of agent time).

Source
Forethought: Is there a free trial?

No. Forethought runs a Proof of Value programme instead, which is a scoped paid or sales-managed pilot rather than a self-serve trial.

Capacity: What are Capacity's available tiers?

Capacity offers Core tier (essential tools to launch AI support), Pro tier (most popular, with live chat and conversation intelligence), and Enterprise tier (full suite with advanced compliance, HIPAA compliance available). Pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
Forethought: Is it still sold to non-Zendesk customers after the acquisition?

Zendesk says yes. Treat that as a commitment to negotiate rather than a guarantee, and ask for connector parity terms in writing.

Forethought: How is it priced?

Platform access fee plus outcome-based charging per resolution, with usage overages. Nothing is published; every deal is quoted.

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