If your customer replies on day eight, Trengo counts it as a new conversation. Trengo bills in packages of users and conversations, and each conversation runs for a 7-day window. Recently, Trengo has also added a cheaper Base plan and its own AI agent for e-commerce, called Dessa.
For support teams with short enquiries, that is easy to plan. For shops dealing with order status, returns and follow-up questions over two weeks, it gets more expensive quickly. Below you will find six Trengo alternatives with prices from the providers' own websites, as of 6 November 2026.
Which Trengo alternatives are there?
The most relevant Trengo alternatives for the DACH region are Superchat, Lime Connect (formerly Userlike), respond.io, Zendesk, Freshdesk and Chatarmin. The right choice depends on one question: do you want another multichannel inbox or an e-commerce specialist with a shop integration?
| Provider | Based in | Entry price per provider | Billing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trengo (for comparison) | Utrecht | Base €119/month billed annually, 3 users | Packages of users and conversations | Omnichannel support teams |
| Superchat | Berlin | Free plan, Basic €89/month | – | SMEs and local businesses |
| Lime Connect | Cologne | Free plan, Pro €87/month billed annually | – | Teams focused on website chat |
| respond.io | Kuala Lumpur | Starter $79/month billed annually | Monthly active contacts | International multichannel teams |
| Zendesk | San Francisco | Support Team €19/agent, Suite Team €55/agent | Per agent, annually | Large support organisations |
| Freshdesk | San Mateo | Growth €17/agent, Pro €52/agent | Per agent, annually | Small helpdesk teams |
| Chatarmin with armincx | Vienna | On request, after a demo | By volume and use cases | DACH shops using WhatsApp as a sales channel |
As of 6 November 2026, net prices according to each provider's pricing page. "–" means the provider does not state this publicly. The order is not a ranking.
How much does Trengo cost in 2026?
Trengo offers four plans: Base, Boost, Pro and Enterprise. Each plan includes a fixed number of users and conversations, and Trengo says you save up to 20% with annual billing. Enterprise is priced individually.
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Users included | Conversations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | €119/month | €149/month | 3 (max. 5) | 1,200 per year or 100 per month |
| Boost | €299/month | €349/month | 10 (max. 100) | 6,000 per year or 500 per month |
| Pro | €499/month | €599/month | 20 | 18,000 per year or 1,500 per month |
Source: Trengo pricing page, as of 6 November 2026.
Add-ons come on top. WhatsApp broadcasting costs extra on all three plans, at €59 per month or €588 per year according to Trengo. Additional users cost €25 (Base and Boost) or €40 (Pro) per month with annual billing. 100 extra conversations cost €15.
AI works via a surcharge: every conversation handled with AI costs an extra €0.25 (annual) or €0.30 (monthly). On the Base plan, the pricing page says you can only test the AI agent in the playground. Our article on Trengo pricing covers all plan details.
Why do shops look for a Trengo alternative?
The inbox itself is rarely the issue. Most of the time it is the pricing model, which grows with your volume. Four points come up again and again.
1. The 7-day window. According to Trengo, every outbound message that starts a contact or replies to an enquiry counts as a conversation. If the exchange runs longer than 7 days, a new conversation begins.
2. Fixed user packages. Boost includes 10 users, Pro includes 20. A team of 6 that needs more than 5 users ends up on Boost and pays for the remaining seats.
3. WhatsApp marketing as an add-on. You book newsletters and campaigns as a broadcasting add-on. Meta's per-message fees come on top with every provider.
4. An AI surcharge per conversation. The more your AI answers, the higher the variable bill. At 2,000 AI conversations a month, that adds around €500.
To put it fairly: Trengo is a European company with a clear inbox and a strong focus on service teams. With Dessa, Trengo now promotes an AI agent that, according to Trengo, handles order status, returns, cancellations and address changes. The pricing page does not list a separate price for Dessa.
The Trengo alternatives in detail
Each alternative solves a different problem. Prices come from the providers' websites, and we only mention features that the provider describes publicly.
Superchat: the affordable entry from Berlin
Superchat bundles WhatsApp and other channels in one inbox and targets SMEs and local businesses. Besides a free plan, the Basic plan starts at €89 per month. Our article on Superchat pricing covers the plans and limits in detail.
Best for: small teams that find Trengo's packages too large.
Lime Connect (formerly Userlike): focus on website chat
Lime Connect is based in Cologne and grew out of Userlike. Its strength is website chat, with messaging channels such as WhatsApp on top. There is a free plan, and the Pro plan costs €87 per month with annual billing.
Best for: service teams whose customers mainly get in touch via the website.
respond.io: the most direct like-for-like replacement
Like Trengo, respond.io is a multichannel generalist. It bills by monthly active contacts, meaning the customers you message in a given month. Starter costs $79 per month with annual billing and Growth $159, each for up to 1,000 active contacts.
The provider is based in Kuala Lumpur and bills in US dollars. Our comparison of respond.io alternatives explains what that means for DACH shops.
Best for: internationally selling brands with many channels.
Zendesk: the enterprise route
Zendesk is the standard for large support organisations. Suite Team costs €55 per agent per month and Suite Professional €115, both billed annually. With 15 agents on Professional, you pay €1,725 a month before any add-on.
At Zendesk, WhatsApp is a support channel. Our comparison of Zendesk alternatives shows which tools suit shops better.
Best for: teams from around 20 agents with SLAs and a dedicated admin.
Freshdesk: the budget helpdesk
Freshdesk costs €17 per agent per month on Growth and €52 on Pro, both billed annually. According to Freshworks, both plans include the first 500 sessions of the Freddy AI agent. A further 100 sessions cost €45.
For classic ticketing via email, chat and WhatsApp support, that is enough for many small teams. WhatsApp campaigns and revenue attribution are not the focus of a helpdesk.
Best for: small support teams that mainly work through tickets.
Chatarmin and armincx: who we are a good fit for
Now to us, with our cards on the table. Chatarmin specialises in WhatsApp marketing for e-commerce, and armincx by Chatarmin is our AI customer service. 510+ brands use Chatarmin, and on OMR Reviews we hold 4.8 out of 5 stars from 114 reviews (as of 6 November 2026).
We do three things differently from Trengo:
- WhatsApp marketing is the core. Newsletters, flows, abandoned cart recovery and A/B tests are part of our WhatsApp newsletter software, connected to Shopify and Klaviyo.
- armincx resolves enquiries with shop data. The AI knows order status, returns and product data and hands the rest to your team.
- Meta fees without a mark-up. We pass them on 1:1. According to Meta, a marketing message costs €0.1131 in Germany and €0.0490 in Austria and Switzerland (excluding VAT, as of October 2026).
Smilodox generated €481,508 in revenue over one Black Friday weekend, as described in the case study. On automation, we quote measured figures. In our AI customer service benchmark with 131 shops, 32.9% of all resolved tickets are automated, and 61.2% in the top quarter.
We are not the right fit if you do not run an online shop or just need an affordable inbox for two people. In that case, Superchat or Freshdesk is the better choice. You get Chatarmin's price after a short demo, tailored to your volume.
Generalist or specialist: how to decide
Three questions shorten the comparison. The answers show whether a generalist is enough or a specialist pays off.
- Is WhatsApp a sales or a support channel for you? For pure support, Trengo, Freshdesk or Zendesk will do. With newsletters and flows, a tool with marketing at its core pays off.
- How many channels do you really need? If you run SMS, voice and many social channels, a generalist like respond.io works well. Most DACH shops mainly need WhatsApp, email and Instagram.
- Should your AI read shop data? An AI with Shopify access answers the question about the order itself. Without that access, it only pre-sorts tickets.
You should stay with Trengo if your volume stays within the allowance and WhatsApp marketing is not on your agenda. Switching without a clear reason costs migration effort with nothing in return. Our comparison of WhatsApp Business API providers gives a wider overview of the market.
Conclusion: the best Trengo alternative depends on your business model
Trengo is a solid multichannel inbox. Its pricing model of user packages, conversations and add-ons suits service teams better than growing shops. Small teams start cheaper with Superchat or Freshdesk, international teams do well with respond.io, and enterprise support belongs with Zendesk.
Do you run a shop in the DACH region and want WhatsApp marketing plus AI support from one provider? Book a demo and work out with us what your setup costs compared with Trengo. 15 minutes, free of charge, with concrete figures for your shop.
FAQ on Trengo alternatives
Is there an alternative to Trengo?
Yes. Superchat, Lime Connect, respond.io, Zendesk, Freshdesk and Chatarmin are the best-known alternatives, depending on whether support or WhatsApp marketing is your focus.
How much does Trengo cost?
Base costs €119, Boost €299 and Pro €499 per month with annual billing. Monthly billing costs €149, €349 or €599, plus add-ons such as broadcasting from €588 per year.
Is WhatsApp marketing included in Trengo?
No. According to Trengo, WhatsApp broadcasting is a paid add-on on all plans, and Meta's fees come on top.
What is a conversation in Trengo?
A conversation is an outbound message that starts a contact or replies to an enquiry. It lasts 7 days, after which further messages count as a new conversation.
Which Trengo alternative suits small teams?
It depends. For pure support, Freshdesk from €17 per agent is affordable, and for WhatsApp with a small team Superchat offers a free plan.
Which is better, Trengo or Zendesk?
It depends. Trengo suits small and mid-sized service teams with fixed packages, while Zendesk suits large organisations that pay per agent and map many processes.
Is it worth switching from Trengo to Chatarmin?
It depends. With an online shop and WhatsApp as a sales channel, the switch usually pays off, but without a shop our biggest advantage is missing.
