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Customer Support · head to head

Forethought vs Gorgias

Forethought logo

Forethought

Customer Support

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

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Gorgias logo

Gorgias

Live Chat

E-commerce helpdesk built for Shopify

From
$10/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Gorgias no published pricing; customers must sign up or contact sales
  • They diverge on capability: Forethought covers Solve, Gorgias covers Omnichannel inbox.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Forethought and Gorgias actually diverge.

Attributes where Forethought and Gorgias differ
AttributeForethoughtGorgias
Starting priceOn request$10/month
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
PlatformsWebWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryCustomer SupportLive Chat
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: 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 Forethought

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

Only in Gorgias

  • Omnichannel inbox
  • Order management
  • Macros
  • Automation
  • Revenue tracking
  • Self-service
  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce

What people use each for

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

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 Gorgias
  • 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 Gorgias
  • 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 Gorgias
  • A support leader who needs to know which questions have no knowledge article behind them, ranked by the volume of tickets they generate.not Gorgias

Gorgias

  • Customer helpdesk automationnot Forethought
  • Omnichannel customer supportnot Forethought
  • AI-powered conversation resolutionnot Forethought

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Gorgias

  • No published pricing; customers must sign up or contact sales
  • Ticket volume limits range from 50 to 5,000 per month depending on plan
  • Pricing model not transparent; described as scaling with volume

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Gorgias

$10/month
  • Starter$10/month
    • 50 tickets/month
    • 3 user seats
    • Email & social
  • Basic$60/month
    • 300 tickets/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Phone support
  • Pro$360/month
    • 2000 tickets/month
    • Advanced automation
    • Revenue statistics
  • Advanced$900/month
    • 5000 tickets/month
    • Dedicated CSM
    • Custom integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Forethought if

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

Choose Gorgias if

  • You need omnichannel inbox.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want order management.
Gorgias review

Questions people ask

Is Forethought or Gorgias better?
Neither clearly leads. Forethought starts at On request and Gorgias at $10/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Forethought or Gorgias?
Forethought starts at On request and Gorgias at $10/month.
Does Forethought or Gorgias run on more platforms?
Forethought runs on Web. Gorgias runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is Forethought best used for?
Forethought is most often used for 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., 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., 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., a support leader who needs to know which questions have no knowledge article behind them, ranked by the volume of tickets they generate.. Of those, 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. and 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. are not what Gorgias is typically brought in for.
What can Forethought do that Gorgias cannot?
Forethought covers Solve, Autoflows, Custom Actions, Triage. Gorgias covers Omnichannel inbox, Order management, Macros, Automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Gorgias: Does Gorgias publish pricing on their website?

Specific prices are not listed on the Gorgias pricing page; customers must sign up or contact sales for detailed pricing.

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.

Gorgias: Is AI included on all Gorgias plans?

Yes, AI Agent is included on every plan and pricing is based only on conversations the AI resolves.

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.

Gorgias: Can I add Voice or SMS to any plan?

Yes, Voice and SMS can be added to any plan with pricing scaled by call and text volume.

Source
Forethought: How is it priced?

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

Gorgias: How does Gorgias price its helpdesk?

Helpdesk is not priced per agent; instead it scales from 50 to 5,000 tickets per month depending on plan selection.

Source
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