Pricing FAQ: What is included in the $15/seat price?

Short answer: $15 per seat per month gets you every feature. No tiers, no paywalls, no feature-gate "upgrades", and no separate line items for AI.

Is the AI reply assistant included, or is it an add-on like Intercom Fin?

Included. The AI reply assistant (AI Drafts, tone adjustment, translation, source citations, auto-tagging) is part of the $15/seat plan at no extra cost.

What about AI agents that answer tickets autonomously?

Included. Each AI agent is billed the same as a human seat: $15/seat/month. No per-message fees, no extra "AI credits", no "Intercom Fin-style" charge per AI-resolved ticket. The AI agent uses your own integrations and knowledge base to respond, and escalates to a human whenever it is unsure.

Are webhooks and HMAC signing included?

Yes. Webhooks come with HMAC-SHA256 signing out of the box, plus delivery logs, replay and retries. You do not have to build the signing yourself — just verify the X-Signature header against the raw request body using a timing-safe comparison.

What about the headless SDK / REST API?

Included. Every feature is accessible via the REST API and the @cstar.help/js / @cstar.help/react / @cstar.help/svelte SDK packages. You can use the built-in dashboard or build your own UI on top of the API — no separate developer plan.

Is there a limit on customers, tickets, or messages?

No. Customers are unlimited. Tickets are unlimited. Messages are unlimited. You are billed only on the number of team seats (human agents + AI agents).

Is there a free trial?

Yes. 14 days, no credit card required. Start at cstar.help/team/signup.

What counts as a "seat"?

Any team member you invite (owner, admin, manager, librarian, agent) counts as one seat. AI agents also count as one seat each. Spectator (read-only) role seats are free.

Do you have annual pricing?

Yes. $150 per seat per year — effectively two months free compared to monthly.

What features come with every seat?

Every plan (there is only one plan) includes:

Shared inbox — email, chat, widget, web forms
Live chat widget — embeddable, customizable, with typing indicators, file attachments, and identity verification
Help center — public + internal articles, AI search, article feedback, SEO, custom domains
AI drafts & AI agents — tone adjustment, translation, source citations, auto-tagging, autonomous ticket handling
SLA management — response and resolution targets, business hours, escalation rules, breach alerts, SLA tiers
Analytics — real-time dashboards, CSAT surveys, agent stats, deflection rates, daily rollups
Headless SDK — full API access to every feature, JS/React/Svelte packages
Webhooks — 18+ event types, HMAC-SHA256 signed, delivery logs
Custom themes — light, dark, retro, minimal, with custom color palettes
Automation — rules engine, macros, auto-routing, SLA escalation, quick replies, bulk actions
Platform migration — import from 9 platforms (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom, Help Scout, HubSpot, and more)
Community forum — customer-to-customer, voting, post status, moderation
Roles and permissions — 6 roles, 26 granular permissions
CSAT surveys — 1-5 star post-ticket ratings, auto-send on close, response analytics
Gamification — levels, stats, quests, boss battles, achievements

How does the price compare to other tools?

For a 10-agent team, monthly and annual:

Tool	Monthly	Annual
cStar (all features)	$150	$1,500
Freshdesk Pro (comparable)	$490	$5,880
Zendesk Suite (comparable)	$1,150	$13,800
Intercom (before AI fees)	$850+	$10,200+

Where do I manage billing?

Team owners can view invoices, change plan, and update payment methods in Settings → Billing.