At some point, answering customer emails yourself stops making sense. You're spending evenings on "where is my order" replies and return requests instead of on product, marketing or sleep. The next question is what it costs to hand support to someone else, and which model fits a small Shopify store.
There isn't one right answer. Pricing depends on how you're billed (per ticket, per hour, per month), where the agents are based, and how much of your support you actually hand over. Below I've laid out the main options with published prices at the time of writing, what each model is good at, and where each one can go wrong.
A quick note on the numbers: these are approximate, taken from providers' public pricing pages and listings. Prices change, and most providers quote custom rates for larger volumes. Treat them as a starting point, then check current pricing directly.
First, work out your volume
Before comparing prices, find out how many tickets you actually get. In Shopify or your help desk, count the conversations over the last 60 to 90 days, across every channel: email, chat, Instagram and Facebook DMs, and marketplace messages. Divide by the number of months.
Also note:
- Peaks. Black Friday, holiday shipping and product launches can double or triple a normal month.
- Mix. Simple tickets (order status, address changes) are cheaper to handle than returns, damaged items or chargebacks.
- Hours. Do you need replies on weekends, or in Australian time zones as well as US ones?
This number drives almost every cost below.
Option 1: Per-ticket onshore services
Some services charge per resolved ticket, using native English-speaking agents. Published prices at the time of writing put companies such as Chatdesk and Simplr at roughly $1.95 to $2.50 per ticket, usually with minimums or plan tiers.
Good for: - Variable volume, since you pay for what gets handled. - Brands that want native English tone without hiring. - Easy budgeting once you know your monthly ticket count.
Watch for: - Minimum monthly commitments. - How a "ticket" is defined. A back-and-forth thread can count as one or several depending on the provider. - Whether agents can handle complex cases (refund decisions, disputes) or escalate them back to you.
Option 2: Monthly plans with an interaction allowance
Some providers sell a monthly plan that covers a set number of interactions. Helplama, for example, published plans starting from around $399 per month for about 100 interactions at the time of writing.
Good for: - Small stores with steady, predictable volume. - Owners who want a fixed monthly cost.
Watch for: - What happens when you go over the allowance. - Which channels and tasks are included.
Option 3: Hourly freelancers
You can hire a freelance support agent directly, through a marketplace or a referral. For native English agents based in the UK, published rates at the time of writing typically sit around £15 to £25 per hour.
Good for: - Direct relationship with one person who learns your brand. - Flexibility in hours and tasks.
Watch for: - You manage them: hiring, onboarding, writing processes, checking quality. - Cover for holidays and sick days is your problem. - Hourly billing rewards time spent, not tickets resolved, so you need some way to see output.
Option 4: US virtual assistant agencies
Virtual assistant agencies place US-based assistants who can take on support alongside other admin tasks. Published pricing at the time of writing puts agencies such as Time etc and Zirtual at roughly $36 to $50 per hour, and Boldly at up to around $65 per hour, usually sold as monthly hour bundles.
Good for: - Brands that want a US-based assistant covering support plus other work (inbox management, supplier emails, admin). - Vetted, managed staff with agency backup.
Watch for: - The hourly rate is high if the work is mostly repetitive tickets. - Assistants are generalists, so ecommerce-specific experience (returns, carrier claims, disputes) varies.
Option 5: Offshore support agencies
Offshore agencies provide trained agents, often in the Philippines or Latin America, at lower hourly rates. Published prices at the time of writing run roughly $6 to $14 per hour, with TalentPop listing plans from around $8 per hour.
Good for: - Higher volumes where cost per hour matters most. - Coverage across long hours or 24/7. - Stores with clear macros and processes the agents can follow.
Watch for: - You'll likely need detailed documentation and a review process at the start. - Tone and phrasing may need coaching to match a US, Canadian or Australian audience. - Minimum hours per week or month.
Option 6: A dedicated onshore agent
Some agencies assign a full-time, native English agent to your brand. At published prices at the time of writing, expect roughly $2,000 per month and up for a dedicated onshore agent, depending on hours and channels.
Good for: - Brands with enough volume to keep one person busy. - Consistency: the same agent learns your products and customers.
Watch for: - Paying for full-time capacity when your volume is seasonal. - What happens if that agent leaves.
Option 7: Hiring in-house
Hiring your own support employee gives you the most control, but it costs far more than the salary alone. On top of pay, you'll carry payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, software seats, training time and management time. You're also committed through quiet months.
Good for: - Larger brands with high, steady volume and a need for deep product knowledge. - Support that overlaps with other roles (operations, community, quality control).
Watch for: - Single point of failure unless you hire more than one. - The full cost is easy to underestimate.
Option 8: A one-person support operator
This is the model I run. Instead of an agency with a pool of agents, you work with one person who has run support for an ecommerce brand and handles your inbox on a monthly plan.
My own published plans:
| Plan | Monthly price | Tickets included |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $349 | Up to 100 |
| Growth | $749 | Up to 300 |
| Scale | $1,290 | Up to 600 |
Overage is $2.50 per ticket. Plans cover email, chat and social DMs, returns and refunds, chargeback responses, and a weekly report on why customers are contacting you and what to fix.
Good for: - Small and mid-sized Shopify stores that want a native English tone and one consistent point of contact. - Owners who want the underlying causes of tickets fixed, not only the tickets answered.
Watch for: - One person means defined capacity. Very high volume or true 24/7 coverage suits an agency better. - Check hours and response times against what your customers expect.
How to compare the options fairly
Headline prices are hard to compare because they're billed differently. To compare like for like:
- Convert everything to cost per resolved ticket. For hourly options, estimate how many tickets an agent handles per hour on your mix, then divide.
- Add your own management time. Freelancers and offshore teams often need more of it at the start. Put a value on your hours.
- Count peak months. A plan that looks cheap in March may be expensive (or overwhelmed) in November.
- Check scope. Does the price include refunds, returns, carrier claims and disputes, or only first replies?
- Ask about reporting. Knowing why customers write in is what lets you reduce volume over time.
Which model fits which store
A rough guide, not a rule:
- Under about 100 tickets a month: a monthly plan, a per-ticket service or a one-person operator is usually simplest.
- A few hundred tickets a month: per-ticket services, one-person operators on a larger plan, or a part-time offshore agent with good documentation.
- Many hundreds to thousands a month, or 24/7 needs: offshore agencies or a dedicated agent, possibly with an onshore lead for escalations.
- Support closely tied to product or operations: consider hiring in-house.
Whatever you choose, keep ownership of your policies, macros and help desk account. That way you can switch providers without starting from zero.
Want someone to handle this for you?
If you're weighing up options, I'll look at your current ticket volume and mix and tell you honestly which model fits. Book a free support audit or compare my plans and pricing.
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