Head to head

inrelay vs Gorgias

Two very different bets: metered tickets with deep Shopify actions, or one flat price with a human on the send button.

The case for Gorgias

Choose Gorgias if your team edits Shopify orders inside tickets all day and needs Instagram, TikTok Shop, WhatsApp and SMS live right now — no tool matches that ecommerce depth today.

The case for inrelay

Choose inrelay for a flat, predictable bill and AI that drafts every reply for a human to approve, instead of resolving conversations autonomously and billing per resolution.

This inrelay vs Gorgias comparison keeps both halves honest: every matrix row below is verifiable, every price is dated August 2026, and the section on where Gorgias wins is real, not decorative. Weighing more than two tools? The Gorgias alternatives roundup reviews nine, and the comparison hub holds the rest.

01 · The matrix

Feature by feature.

Gaps rendered as gaps, on both sides. “In development” means exactly that — not shipped, not a check.

Gorgiasinrelay
Pricing shape
Modelmetered on ticketsflat per account
Free tier—the Solo plan, free forever — small AI reply budget
Channels
Email
Live chat
Instagram DMin development
TikTok Shopin development
SMSpaid add-onin development
WhatsAppin development
Voicepaid add-on—
Help-desk layer
Knowledge baseyes, custom domains
CSAT surveys
Collision detectionunverified
SLA rules—in development
Analyticsyes, shallow depthincluded on Team
AI
AI drafting
Human approval before sendno — autonomous by designdefault; auto is opt-in
Apps
Desktop app (Mac + Windows)—
Mobile app

Gorgias features and pricing as of August 2026; its pricing page renders tiers in-app, so re-verify there. Neither product has native SLA management today — a shared gap.

02 · Their wins

Where Gorgias is stronger

Three areas, and they’re not small. First, Shopify order actions: refunds, order edits and tracking lookups happen inside the ticket, and nothing else on the market — inrelay included — matches that depth today. If your agents edit orders hourly, this alone can decide the comparison.

Second, live social coverage. Instagram DM, TikTok Shop, WhatsApp and SMS are all shipped, native channels on Gorgias right now. On inrelay those channels are in development — email and live chat are what’s live today. A brand whose support volume is mostly DMs shouldn’t wait on our roadmap.

Third, voice: Gorgias sells a usage-priced phone add-on. inrelay has no voice channel and none planned near-term. Add its longer track record with thousands of ecommerce brands, and the honest summary is: for a social-heavy Shopify operation that wants everything live today, Gorgias is the safer pick — what you’re paying for that safety is the metered bill below.

03 · Our wins

Where inrelay is stronger

The clearest difference is who presses send. Gorgias’s AI Agent resolves and replies autonomously — the resolution is literally the billing unit. inrelay’s agent reads, tags and drafts every reply, and a human approves each send by default; full-auto exists, but as a per-workspace opt-in you choose deliberately.

The second difference is the bill’s shape. Gorgias meters tickets, so the invoice spikes exactly when sales spike; inrelay is flat — $19 Solo, $79 Team, $149+ Studio — with no volume meters at all, and teammates are never priced. Third, the apps: inrelay ships a dedicated Mac and Windows desktop app on every plan, where Gorgias is web-only. And the knowledge base supports custom domains, with CSAT and collision detection included rather than assembled. What inrelay does not have yet, said plainly: SLA rules are in development, and so are the social channels above — analytics ship on the Team plan.

04 · The bill

Pricing, side by side.

The comparison that matters is at your ticket volume — because only one of these products bills on it.

Monthly volumeGorgias, helpdesk onlyGorgias + AI on ~30%inrelay, flat
300 tickets$60 (Basic)≈ $150$19 Solo · $79 Team — AI included
2,000 tickets$360 (Pro)≈ $960the same — flat, no volume meters

As of August 2026, monthly billing. The double meter, explained: a Gorgias AI resolution bills about $1.00 and consumes a ticket from the plan allowance, so the AI column adds both charges; overage runs $0.32–0.40 per extra ticket on top. inrelay numbers per pricing — plans are flat with no volume meters, and the agent runs on a monthly reply budget you set; if it runs out the agent pauses and the inbox keeps working, with no overage fee. No per-resolution fees. Ever.

05 · The move

Migrating from Gorgias

Export your history

Gorgias’s self-serve CSV export works from any inbox view, with limits worth knowing: message history covers the most recent 30 days per export, capped at 100,000 tickets. For complete archives, the official Help Desk Migration partner moves tickets, customers, tags and knowledge-base articles.

Reconnect email and chat

Your support address and chat widget reconnect to inrelay in minutes — those channels land first. Social channels stay on Gorgias until inrelay’s ship; plan the timing honestly around that.

Accept what doesn’t move

Shopify order-action macros are Gorgias-specific and won’t port anywhere. Expect the export-to-working-inbox move to take an afternoon; rebuilding automations deliberately takes a week of normal use.

Start today

Spikes happen. Bills shouldn’t.

One flat price, AI drafts a human approves, teammates never priced — free to try with your own inbox.

Start freeSee pricing

Questions, answered.

Is inrelay a full Gorgias replacement?
Not for every team yet. If you need Shopify order editing inside tickets or live Instagram, TikTok Shop, WhatsApp and SMS channels today, Gorgias still wins — those channels are in development on inrelay. Teams whose volume is email and chat can switch now and gain the flat bill and the approval gate.
Does inrelay meter tickets like Gorgias does?
No. Plans are flat, with no ticket or chat meters at all. The only dial is the AI reply budget — you set it and can see it, and when it runs out the agent pauses while the inbox keeps working, with no overage fee. Teammates are never priced either.
Can inrelay’s AI reply without a human?
Only if you turn that on. Approval before send is the default: the agent drafts in your voice and a person approves each reply. Auto-send exists as a per-workspace opt-in — the opposite default from Gorgias, whose AI Agent resolves autonomously by design.
What does Black Friday cost on each?
On Gorgias, a +2,000-ticket spike means roughly $640–800 in ticket overage, plus AI resolution fees if the agent handles part of it — one store’s documented Q4 bill went from $360 to $1,098. On inrelay there is nothing to spike: no volume meters, an AI reply budget you set with no overage fee, and a plan price that stays flat, even in Q4.

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