Gorgias vs Richpanel for Stores Under 10 Orders a Day
Why Low-Volume Stores Need a Different Helpdesk Math
Most helpdesk comparisons are written for stores doing 500 tickets a month. If you're doing 10 orders a day — roughly 300 orders a month, and maybe 30–60 support tickets if things are calm — the math changes completely.
At that volume, two things matter more than anything else: the fixed monthly cost you pay whether you get one ticket or fifty, and how fast you can get set up without hiring a developer. Seat-based pricing punishes you for adding a part-time VA. Ticket-based pricing punishes you for a busy Black Friday. Feature gating punishes you for needing one specific thing, like Shopify order data next to the conversation.
Gorgias and Richpanel are the two names that come up most for Shopify stores specifically, because both pull order data, tracking, and customer history into the ticket view. They're built for the same job but priced and packaged very differently. Here's what that looks like when your ticket volume is low but your need for context is not.
Gorgias Pricing for Stores Under 10 Tickets a Day
Gorgias prices by agent seat plus a monthly ticket allowance. You pick a plan tier, and each tier includes a set number of tickets per month; go over and you pay for overages. There's also a separate charge for additional seats beyond what the plan includes.
For a store under 10 tickets a day, that structure creates a specific problem: you're paying for a tier sized for a much busier store, or you're on the entry tier and watching the ticket counter. Ten tickets a day is 300 a month. That's comfortably inside most entry-level allowances, but a single product launch, a shipping delay, or a broken discount code can triple your volume for two weeks.
Practical notes for low-volume stores:
- Check current pricing before you commit — Gorgias changes tiers and allowances, and the entry plan's ticket cap is the number that decides whether this works for you.
- Seats are the hidden cost. If you and a VA both need access, budget for two.
- Annual billing typically discounts the monthly rate; monthly billing gives you an exit if volume drops.
- Overage fees are real. Set a calendar reminder mid-month to check your ticket count.
The honest summary: Gorgias is priced like a tool for stores that already have support volume. At 10 orders a day you'll likely be paying for headroom you don't use — which is fine if you plan to grow into it, wasteful if you don't.
Richpanel Pricing for Stores Under 10 Tickets a Day
Richpanel also prices by seat, but its tiers are organized around self-service features rather than ticket allowances. The lower plans give you the shared inbox, Shopify order context, and basic automation; higher plans unlock things like a help center, AI replies, and more advanced flows.
That packaging suits low-volume stores better in one specific way: you're not rationing tickets. You can have a 400-ticket month and your bill doesn't move, as long as your seat count is unchanged.
The trade-offs:
- Check current pricing — Richpanel's plan names and inclusions have shifted, and the gap between the cheapest and second-cheapest tier is the number that matters for you.
- Self-service features are gated. If you want a help center or AI-assisted replies to deflect "where's my order?" tickets, you may need to jump a tier.
- Fewer seats needed at low volume, so the per-seat cost is easier to justify than a ticket allowance you'll never fill.
For a store doing 10 orders a day, Richpanel's structure usually lands as the more predictable bill. Predictable beats cheap when you're a one-person support team.
Feature Breakdown: What You Actually Get at Low Volume
At 10 orders a day, you don't need a workforce management module. You need four things: order data in the ticket, a shared inbox so nothing gets lost in Gmail, basic macros, and a Shopify integration that doesn't break.
| Capability | Why it matters at low volume | Gorgias | Richpanel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify order lookup in-ticket | Kills the "can you check my order?" back-and-forth | Yes | Yes |
| Shared team inbox | Stops tickets living in a personal Gmail | Yes | Yes |
| Macros / canned replies | Biggest time saver for a solo operator | Yes | Yes |
| Ticket allowance model | Determines whether a busy week costs you money | Ticket-based tiers | Seat-based tiers |
| Self-service help center | Deflects WISMO tickets without you | Available on tiers | Gated to higher tiers |
| AI reply drafting | Useful, not essential at this volume | Available on tiers | Available on tiers |
| Free plan | Lets you test before paying | Check current pricing | Check current pricing |
Both tools cover the essentials. The differentiator at your volume isn't the feature list — it's which pricing model matches how your ticket count actually behaves.
Shopify Integration and Setup: Which Is Faster?
Both install as Shopify apps from the Shopify App Store, which means no API keys, no webhook plumbing, and no developer.
The setup sequence is nearly identical:
- Install the app from the Shopify App Store and approve the permissions.
- Connect your support email or forwarding address so existing customer emails flow in.
- Connect any other channels you use — Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, contact form.
- Build three or four macros: order status, shipping delay, return request.
- Test with a real order: open a ticket from a customer email and confirm the order sidebar populates.
Gorgias tends to have more channel integrations out of the box, which matters if you're answering DMs as well as email. Richpanel's Shopify data view is tight and the setup is slightly less to configure, which matters if you want to be live in an afternoon.
Either way, budget two hours. The integration is not the hard part — writing macros that match how you actually talk to customers is.
Which Helpdesk Scales Better When You Grow Past 10 Orders a Day?
Past 10 orders a day, the question flips. You're no longer optimizing for a small fixed bill; you're optimizing for how much support one person can absorb before you hire.
Gorgias scales on volume tolerance: it's built for high ticket counts, has deep channel coverage, and its automation and AI features are aimed at deflection at scale. The catch is that growth means both more tickets and more seats, so the bill climbs on two axes.
Richpanel scales on self-service: help center, AI replies, and order-tracking deflection are the levers that keep ticket volume from growing linearly with order volume. If your growth looks like more of the same questions — where's my order, can I change my address — Richpanel's deflection tools do more work per dollar.
Neither is wrong. Gorgias fits stores whose support is conversation-heavy and multi-channel. Richpanel fits stores whose support is repetitive and deflectable.
The Verdict: Cheapest Helpdesk That Still Scales
For a Shopify store under 10 orders a day, Richpanel is usually the lower-risk bill because seat-based pricing doesn't punish you for a spike, and its self-service features give you a growth path without a plan change. Gorgias is the better pick if you're already answering Instagram and Facebook DMs alongside email, or if you expect to blow past 10 orders a day within a few months and want to grow into a tool rather than migrate later.
Before you commit to either, do one thing: pull your last 90 days of support emails and count them. If you're under 200 a month and mostly answering "where's my order?", start with whichever has the cheaper single-seat plan and a free trial, run it for 30 days, and let your actual ticket count make the decision. Check current pricing on both sites the week you sign up — this category changes packaging often.
FAQ
Is Gorgias or Richpanel cheaper for a store doing 10 orders a day? It depends on your ticket count and seat count, not your order count. Richpanel's seat-based model is usually more predictable at low volume because a busy week doesn't trigger overages. Check current pricing on both before deciding.
Do I even need a helpdesk at 10 orders a day? If support lives in a shared Gmail and you're the only person answering, you can survive without one. You need a helpdesk the moment two people answer the same inbox, or when looking up order details manually costs you more than the subscription.
Can I switch from Richpanel to Gorgias later without losing data? Both support exporting conversations, and both are Shopify apps, so migration is possible but manual — macros and automations don't transfer cleanly. If you expect to double your volume within six months, pick the tool you'd want at that scale now.