The short answer
Same job, different meter
AskSpot and Zipchat are both AI sales-and-support agents for online stores, with a website chat and an email channel. Zipchat is self-serve and Shopify-first: it installs in under 30 minutes, has a free plan in the Shopify app, answers on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger today, and bills per AI reply. Its built-in order lookup is read-only and never cancels, edits or refunds an order – returns and other actions are custom skills you describe and connect to your tools’ APIs. AskSpot is a catalog-aware sales and support Agent that we set up for you: it searches your products (including by photo), offers a virtual fitting room and voice in the chat, helps shoppers check out inside the chat, cancels orders itself once you allow it, and answers on the storefront and inside your helpdesk – in 200+ languages, at a flat price per conversation.
Choose AskSpot if…
You want the AI to sell from your catalogue – search by photo, a virtual fitting room, voice both ways and checkout inside the chat – to cancel orders and run returns out of the box rather than through skills you configure, and to answer inside the helpdesk you already run (Freshdesk, Thulium, Zendesk). And you want one price per conversation however long it runs, several stores in one account, and the setup done for you.
Choose Zipchat if…
You’re on Shopify and need WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger next to the website chat today, want to start free and set up in half an hour, and are happy to build order actions such as returns yourself as custom skills – its built-in order lookup is read-only, and you pay per AI reply rather than per conversation.
Feature comparison
AskSpot vs Zipchat, capability by capability
The same 17-point rubric we score every tool on. A tick means the vendor documents it; a tilde means limited or partial; a dash means it isn’t advertised.
| Capability | AskSpot | Zipchat |
|---|---|---|
| Selling | ||
| Product search & recommendationThe shopper describes what they want and the Agent finds and recommends products from your own catalogue. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Visual search by photoThe shopper uploads a photo and the Agent finds matching or similar products. | ✓ | ~ |
| In-chat product cards + add-to-cartReal product cards inside the chat, with add-to-cart – no leaving the conversation. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voice in chatThe shopper can speak a question and hear the answer read aloud – inside the website chat, not a phone line. | ✓ | ~ |
| Agentic checkout / copilotThe Agent can browse, choose options and take the shopper through checkout. | ✓ | ~ |
| Proactive messages & cart recoveryThe Agent reaches out at the right moment and wins back abandoned carts. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Virtual fitting room / visualizationThe shopper sees how a product looks on them or in their space before buying – a virtual try-on. | ✓ | – |
| Revenue / conversion analyticsReporting that ties chat activity to carts, orders and revenue. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support & reach | ||
| Order tracking (WISMO), cancels & returnsThe Agent reads order data to answer ‘where is my order?’ and handle returns. | ✓ | ~ |
| Helpdesk / inbox agentAn AI agent that also answers support emails in your helpdesk inbox, not just live chat. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full helpdesk suite (macros, SLAs, seats)A complete seat-based helpdesk – macros, SLAs and agent seats for a support team. | – | ~ |
| Social / messaging channelsAnswering on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other messaging channels. | soon | ✓ |
| Marketplace inbox (Allegro, Amazon)The Agent answers buyer messages inside Allegro and Amazon marketplace inboxes. | ✓ | – |
| General | ||
| Grounded / low-hallucination answersAnswers stay tied to your real data, so the Agent does not make things up. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Knowledge baseCurate your own Q&A and point the Agent at your site, so it answers on-brand. | ✓ | ✓ |
| Onboarding & human supportA dedicated team helps you set up – including done-for-you Agent configuration – and supports you after. | ✓ | ~ |
| Free tierA permanent free plan, not just a trial or demo. | ~ | ✓ |
| Capabilities documented (of 17) | 14 | 9 |
✓ documented~ limited / partial– not advertisedsoon on the roadmap
How AskSpot works: one Agent across two channels – its own storefront chat and your existing helpdesk inbox. It plugs into the helpdesk you already run (Freshdesk, Thulium, Zendesk, Allegro, Amazon) rather than replacing it.
Scored against each vendor’s public product, pricing and documentation pages, October 2026. AskSpot is scored on the same rubric. Partial scores for Zipchat: shoppers can send photos and voice notes in the chat, but voice notes are transcribed and answered in text, and search by photo across the catalogue isn’t documented; checkout help is a draft-order skill merchants build, and the built-in order lookup is read-only, so returns are a custom skill you set up. Where AskSpot trails: Zipchat answers on WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger today and has a free plan in its Shopify app.
Limits and extras
Not part of the 17-point score – but these decide what you pay and what you build yourself.
| Limit or extra | AskSpot | Zipchat |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Conversations – however many messages each one takes | AI replies – about 2.4 per conversation by Zipchat’s own estimate, across every channel |
| Order actions | Cancels orders itself once you allow it, with a configurable returns workflow | Built-in order lookup (Shopify) is read-only and never cancels, edits or refunds; returns and other actions are custom skills you describe and connect to a tool’s API |
| Helpdesk integration | Answers tickets inside Freshdesk, Thulium and Zendesk | Runs as an AI agent inside Zendesk; a Freshdesk template opens tickets |
| Several stores in one account | Included (€49 per extra domain) | Each store needs its own plan; multi-store pricing on request |
| Team seats | No seat fees | Unlimited team members |
| Done-for-you setup | Included, with a dedicated success manager | Self-serve setup in under 30 minutes, plus a free onboarding call |
| Billing and custom pricing | Monthly billing – for custom pricing, contact us | Monthly or annual (20% off); an Unlimited plan quoted by sales |
| Marketplace inboxes | Allegro, Amazon | Not advertised |
| Trial and guarantees | 7-day free trial, no credit card | 7-day free trial, 30-day money-back guarantee; free plan (120 AI replies a month) in the Shopify app |
Pricing
What each one costs
AskSpot charges a flat rate per conversation; Zipchat sells plans capped by AI replies, so a long conversation uses more of the plan than a short one. Compare the all-in cost at the same volume, not the sticker price. Figures from each vendor’s pricing page (monthly billing), October 2026.
AskSpot
$290 / month
(€250) at ~1,250 conversations – flat rate, everything in.
- Includes 1,250 conversations a month
- Then $0.22 (€0.18) per extra conversation
- No cap on catalogue size, no per-seat fees
- Done-for-you setup and a dedicated success manager included
Zipchat
$300 / month
(≈ €278) at ~1,250 conversations – Pro plan (monthly).
- Starter $80/mo (750 AI replies, ~300 conversations) · Pro $300/mo (3,000, ~1,250) · Scale $600/mo (6,000, ~2,500) · Scale Plus $1,200/mo (14,000, ~6,000)
- Extra replies $49 (≈ €45) per 250 – per 500 on Scale Plus
- Free plan with 120 AI replies a month in the Shopify app; 20% off on annual billing
- Unlimited plan quoted by sales, from $2,100 (≈ €1,944) a month
| All-in cost / month | AskSpot | Zipchat |
|---|---|---|
| ~1,250 conversations | $290 (€250) – everything in | $300 (≈ €278) – Pro plan |
| ~2,000 conversations | $455 (€385) | $600 (≈ €556) – Scale plan |
Both prices are in US dollars, as each vendor lists them, with euros alongside. At about 1,250 conversations a month the two cost roughly the same; at 2,000 AskSpot is about a quarter cheaper, because Zipchat’s next step up is the Scale plan (staying on Pro and buying reply packs comes to about $692). Zipchat’s conversation counts are its own estimate of about 2.4 AI replies per conversation – longer chats use up the plan faster, and replies on every channel count. AskSpot bills each conversation once, however long it runs: 1,250 included, then $0.22 (€0.18) each, with the setup and a dedicated success manager in the price. Zipchat figures are monthly billing from its pricing page, with euros at €1 ≈ $1.08; AskSpot’s dollar and euro prices are both list prices. October 2026.
The honest split
Where each tool is stronger
AskSpot is stronger at
- Helping the shopper check out inside the chat (agentic copilot)
- Search by photo across your catalogue, a virtual fitting room, and voice both ways – the shopper speaks and hears the answer read aloud
- Order actions out of the box – the Agent cancels orders itself once you allow it in settings and runs a configurable returns workflow, with no skills to configure
- Answering tickets inside Freshdesk and Thulium as well as Zendesk
- A price per conversation rather than per reply – about a quarter cheaper at 2,000 conversations a month
- Several stores in one account, without a separate plan for each
- Done-for-you setup and a dedicated success manager, included in the price
- A bonus if you sell in Central Europe: the Allegro and Amazon marketplace inboxes and native Shoper, IdoSell and AtomStore integrations
Zipchat is stronger at
- WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, live today, plus WhatsApp marketing messages
- A free plan in its Shopify app (120 AI replies a month) and a 30-day money-back guarantee
- A self-serve start – live in under 30 minutes, no demo needed
- A well-reviewed Shopify app (4.9 from 206 reviews) and BigCommerce and Wix support
- Custom skills for any tool with an API, written in plain words and usually set up without a developer – plus ready-made templates for Judge.me, Freshdesk, Cal.com and others
- A 20% discount for paying annually
See AskSpot on your own catalogue
Start a free trial today, no credit card required, and set it up in the panel – or book a demo and we’ll set it up on your products for you.
One platform, two Agents
The AI Chat & Inbox Agents
AskSpot is two Agents on one platform – the on-site AI Chat Agent that sells from your own catalogue, and the AI Inbox Agent that answers across your helpdesk and marketplace inboxes, in 200+ languages.
spotBy industry
Which industry are you in?
Every vertical asks different questions – see how AskSpot answers them from your store’s own catalogue.
Proof
Stores already running AskSpot
How Morele.net cut customer service costs by 90%
Morele.net cut support costs 90%, from 50 agents to 5. AskSpot resolves 65% of its 37,600 monthly chats with no human and answers Allegro questions too.
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How Militaria resolves 72% of chats in 8 languages
Militaria.pl runs AskSpot across three domains in eight languages: 61% recommendation click-through, 26% add-to-cart after a chat, 72% resolved with no human.
Read the story →
How 4FIZJO resolves 61% of customer chats with AI
AskSpot's AI Chat resolves 61% of 4FIZJO's 21,360 monthly chats with no human across 6 markets; its Inbox Agent auto-resolves 25% of email tickets.
Read the story →
How Ogrodosfera turns garden questions into €412,000 a month
A pergola is bought on specs, not on a whim. Ogrodosfera's AskSpot Agent answers dimensions, materials and wind ratings – €412,000/mo in chat orders.
Read the story →
How PHH Group handles 56,000 marketplace chats a month
PHH Group runs AskSpot across pigu.lt, 220.lv, kaup24.ee and hobbyhall.fi – 56,000 conversations a month, 43% in the native apps, 55% resolved by AI.
Read the story →
How Senetic turns 19.5% of technical IT chats into cart-adds
Senetic's AskSpot Agent answers port, PoE and compatibility questions across seven European storefronts. 19.5% add to cart, 8.1% buy, 62% resolved by AI.
Read the story →
See every story
Every merchant we have measured – what shoppers asked, what the agent did, and the numbers it moved.
Browse them all →
Testimonials
What our customers say
“AskSpot enables us to provide superior support for Ariston customers at every stage – from pre-purchase advice to post-sale and service assistance. Equally important, Ariston benefits from the valuable insights AskSpot delivers about customer preferences, which help us continuously improve the customer experience.”
“AskSpot is a revolutionary solution for us. We provide our customers with the key information they need instantly while simultaneously reducing the workload of customer service.”
“AskSpot has significantly improved customer service in our stores. The assistant not only searches the product catalog and helps customers choose the right hardware, but also automatically checks the status of orders and complaints – relieving the team and shortening response times.
The greatest value for us is the scalability of the solution and the ease of integration with additional stores and markets. We treat AskSpot as a strategic component of our customer experience development and sales automation.”
“We have been impressed by how AskSpot delivers a seamless experience for our customers while remaining incredibly intuitive for our own team to manage.
Beyond the ease of use, the detailed analytics and reports are of enormous value – they help us make better decisions around customer satisfaction. Behind AskSpot stands a team that puts innovation first and keeps developing the product to match changing business needs.”
“I really like how easy it was to configure and launch AskSpot. … It presents products nicely, it features the most important product attributes, and the add to cart button within the chat really helps shorten the customer’s purchase journey. The AI quickly finds and suggests the best product to customers, saving a lot of time compared to humans.”
“At GadziSklep, customers often need more than product information – they’re looking for specific advice on keeping their animal. AskSpot helps them choose the right products for a given species, answers their questions and guides them through the range even when our team is already off. That lets us stay available to customers almost around the clock, without losing service quality. It’s a solution that brings knowledge, advice and sales together in one place.”
See every testimonial
Read what the e-commerce teams who put AskSpot live say about working with it.
Check all the testimonials →
FAQ
AskSpot vs Zipchat – common questions
Is AskSpot better than Zipchat?
It depends on the store. If you want photo search, a virtual fitting room, voice and checkout inside the chat, and an Agent that cancels orders and runs returns without any skills to configure, AskSpot does more – and costs less once you pass about 1,250 conversations a month. If you run a Shopify store, want to set it up yourself in half an hour and need WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger today, Zipchat is a strong fit. The capability table and pricing above lay out the trade.
How much does Zipchat cost?
Zipchat sells monthly plans capped by AI replies: Starter $80 (750 replies, about 300 conversations), Pro $300 (3,000, about 1,250), Scale $600 (6,000, about 2,500) and Scale Plus $1,200 (14,000, about 6,000). Extra replies cost $49 per 250, annual billing takes 20% off, and the Shopify app has a free plan with 120 AI replies a month. At about 1,250 conversations a month that is $300 (≈ €278) against AskSpot’s $290 (€250), and at 2,000 $600 (≈ €556) against $455 (€385). Checked October 2026 – see Zipchat’s pricing page for current rates.
Does Zipchat have photo search, voice or a virtual fitting room?
Shoppers can send images and voice notes in Zipchat’s website chat. Voice notes are transcribed and answered in text, and searching the catalogue by photo or a virtual try-on are not advertised on Zipchat’s public pages as of October 2026. AskSpot searches your catalogue by photo, shows products on the shopper or in their room in a virtual fitting room, and takes spoken questions and reads its answers aloud inside the chat.
Can Zipchat cancel orders or process returns?
Zipchat’s built-in order lookup works in Shopify and is read-only – by Zipchat’s own description it never cancels, edits or refunds an order; templates add order tracking for WooCommerce and Qapla’. Returns, draft orders and other actions are custom skills: you describe when the agent should use them and connect the API of your returns platform or other tool. AskSpot handles this out of the box: the Agent cancels orders itself once you allow it in settings, runs a configurable returns workflow, or collects every detail for your team.
What is the best Zipchat alternative for e-commerce?
If you want an AI agent that sells with photo search, a virtual fitting room, voice and checkout inside the chat, acts on orders without skills to configure, and charges per conversation instead of per reply, AskSpot is a strong Zipchat alternative. It reads your catalogue and order data, answers in 200+ languages, works inside Freshdesk, Thulium or Zendesk, and comes set up for you at a flat rate with $0.22 (€0.18) per extra conversation.
Comparisons
How AskSpot compares
See how AskSpot stacks up against the other AI chat and support tools for online stores – same rubric, real pricing.