Shopify Inbox vs Gorgias: which is better for a small store in 2026?
Shopify Inbox is the better pick for a small store that answers its own chats and wants zero cost: it is free, built into the Shopify admin, sends order updates and product recommendations automatically and lists 20+ languages. Gorgias is the better pick once the store has a support team and needs email, chat, social, SMS and voice in one ticketing inbox with macros and rules: plans start at $40/mo for 50 tickets and scale by ticket volume, never per agent, with the AI Agent metered at $1.50 per automated interaction past the allowance. Owner-answered chat on a budget: Inbox. Team-run multichannel support: Gorgias.
Chatonbo is the third option when you want the chat to answer from your whole website and documents, not only the catalog, and to sell: product cards with pictures, add to cart inside the chat and order tracking through the official Shopify app, at Free, Pro $19/mo for 5,000 conversations or Business $59/mo for 10,000, with human handoff and lead capture included.
Shopify Inbox vs Gorgias vs Chatonbo at a glance
Prices are as listed on each vendor's own pricing page on the dates in the note below. Where a page does not state something, we say so instead of guessing.
| Shopify Inbox | Gorgias | Chatonbo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free* | Tiered by ticket volume: Starter $40/mo (50 tickets), Basic $90/mo (300), Pro $550/mo (2,000), Advanced $1,430/mo (5,000); never priced per agent* | Flat monthly: Free, Pro $19/mo, Business $59/mo. No per-seat or per-resolution fees |
| Entry price | $0* | Starter $40/mo: 50 tickets, 30 automated interactions, 3 seats* | Free plan; Pro $19/mo with AI included |
| At 5,000 conversations a month | Free; no conversation limit is listed* | Advanced, $1,430/mo for 5,000 tickets and 530 automated interactions; AI Agent $1.50 per automated interaction past that* | Pro $19/mo covers 5,000 conversations a month; Business $59/mo covers 10,000. A busy month costs the same as a quiet one |
| AI answers from your own content | AI sales associate answers from your Shopify catalog and Shop data; training on outside pages or documents is not listed* | AI Agent on every plan, metered per automated interaction (30 included on Starter and Basic, then $1.50 each)* | Yes, drafted from your website URL, documents and product catalog; AI included on every plan |
| Shopify add to cart in chat | Product recommendations listed; add to cart inside the chat is not stated on the listing* | Not listed on the pricing page | Yes: product cards with pictures and add to cart inside the chat (official Shopify app) |
| Order tracking | Order updates listed among the automated responses* | Order data in the agent inbox; AI order handling counts as automated interactions | Yes, shoppers get order status inside the chat (official Shopify app) |
| Languages | 20+ languages listed* | Multilingual support available; not itemized on the pricing page | 50+ languages |
| Setup time | Built in; turn it on from the Shopify admin | Helpdesk onboarding: channels, rules, macros | About 2 minutes from a website URL; official Shopify and Wix apps, WordPress/WooCommerce plugin |
| Free plan | The whole app is free* | No permanent free plan; free trial without a credit card* | Yes, plus a 30-day free trial on paid plans |
| Human handoff | You reply yourself from the Shopify Inbox app; Shopify stores only* | Full helpdesk inbox for a team: email, chat, social, SMS and voice; not priced per agent* | Yes, human handoff and lead capture with a simple inbox; not a multichannel ticketing helpdesk |
*Shopify Inbox: apps.shopify.com/inbox listing as viewed on September 11, 2026. Gorgias: gorgias.com/pricing as viewed on September 11, 2026, monthly billing. Both vendors may change pricing; check their sites for current terms.
Two-way breakdowns: Chatonbo vs Shopify Inbox and Chatonbo vs Gorgias.
When to pick Shopify Inbox
Free matters more than anything else
Shopify Inbox costs nothing and there is no conversation limit on the listing. For a new store watching every dollar, it is the obvious starting point.
You answer chats yourself
Inbox is a merchant-answered chat with automated order updates and product recommendations layered on. If you are happy replying from the Inbox app, it does the job.
Your store is 100 percent Shopify
Inbox lives inside the Shopify admin and Online Store. There is nothing to install or connect, and it only works there.
Shoppers sign in with Shop
The listing says the AI sales associate personalizes replies for shoppers signed in with Shop, which suits stores whose customers already use it.
Thinking of leaving Shopify Inbox? Read the honest Shopify Inbox alternative page.
When to pick Gorgias
A support team works tickets all day
Gorgias is a full helpdesk: email, chat, social, SMS and voice in one inbox with macros, rules and SLAs. It is never priced per agent, so a team can share Basic at $90/mo for 300 tickets.
Support arrives on more channels than website chat
Inbox is Shopify chat. If a real share of questions arrive by email, Instagram or SMS, Gorgias pulls them into the same queue.
You want order actions inside the ticket
Gorgias shows the Shopify order beside the conversation so an agent can act on it without switching tabs.
You want AI resolutions with human fallback in one tool
The AI Agent runs on every plan and hands unresolved tickets to the team, at $1.50 per automated interaction past the allowance.
Thinking of leaving Gorgias? Read the honest Gorgias alternative page.
When Chatonbo is the better fit
Chatonbo is an AI assistant that answers from your own website, documents and catalog at a flat price: Free, Pro $19/month or Business $59/month, with no per-seat or per-resolution fees and a 30-day free trial on paid plans.
The chat should sell, not only answer
With the official Shopify app the assistant shows product cards with pictures, adds items to the cart inside the chat and tracks orders. One US massage chair store saw $107,725 in orders over seven weeks from shoppers who chatted first.
Answers from your whole site, not only the catalog
Chatonbo drafts the assistant from your website URL, policies and documents in about 2 minutes. The Inbox listing describes answers from your Shopify catalog and Shop data, not outside pages.
Flat price, AI included
Free to start, then Pro $19/mo for 5,000 conversations or Business $59/mo for 10,000, with no per-seat or per-interaction fees and a 30-day free trial on paid plans.
You also sell outside Shopify
Official Wix app and WordPress/WooCommerce plugin, and the assistant answers in 50+ languages.
When Chatonbo is not the fit
We would rather you pick the right tool than sign up and leave. These are the cases where Shopify Inbox or Gorgias is the better choice.
You need full helpdesk ticketing
Chatonbo has a simple inbox with human handoff and lead capture, not a multichannel ticketing system. If email, social and SMS tickets are the job, that is Gorgias.
Free is the only acceptable price
Chatonbo has a free plan, but the Shopify selling features (product cards, add to cart, order tracking) come with the official app on paid plans. If you will never pay for chat, Shopify Inbox is free in full.
A large support team lives in the inbox
Assignment rules, reporting and SLAs for a team of agents are helpdesk features. Gorgias has them; Chatonbo does not.
You automate Instagram or Messenger
Chatonbo is website chat with a WhatsApp fallback. For social DM automation see the ManyChat comparison on our alternatives page.
Comparing more tools? See every comparison on the alternatives page or the head-to-head index.
Shopify Inbox vs Gorgias FAQ
Is Shopify Inbox really free?
Yes. The Shopify App Store listing prices Shopify Inbox as free, with no conversation limit listed, and it works with the Shopify admin and Online Store. Gorgias has no free plan; Starter is $40/mo for 50 tickets. Chatonbo has a free plan plus paid plans at $19/mo and $59/mo.
Does Shopify Inbox have an AI agent like Gorgias?
The Inbox listing describes an AI-powered sales associate that personalizes replies for shoppers signed in with Shop, with automated order updates and product recommendations. Gorgias includes an AI Agent on every plan, metered at $1.50 per automated interaction past the included allowance. Chatonbo answers every conversation with AI trained on your website, documents and catalog, included in the flat price.
When should a store move from Shopify Inbox to Gorgias?
When more than one person answers customers, when questions arrive by email and social as well as chat, and when you need macros, rules and ticket reporting. That is what the ticket-based Gorgias price buys. If instead you want the chat itself to do more (answer from your whole site, add to cart, track orders) at a flat price, Chatonbo is the smaller step.
Which one adds products to the cart from the chat?
Chatonbo does, through its official Shopify app: product cards with pictures and add to cart inside the chat, plus order tracking. Shopify Inbox lists product recommendations but does not state add to cart inside the chat. Gorgias does not list it on its pricing page.
Can I keep Shopify Inbox and add Chatonbo?
You can run Chatonbo on the storefront as the AI assistant and keep Inbox for anything you answer by hand, but most stores pick one chat widget so shoppers are not confused. Chatonbo hands off to a human and can email the transcript, and paid plans have a 30-day free trial to test it.
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