Modeled team
Annual difference at 25 agents
Updated 2026 helpdesk comparison
Pylon alternative for teams that want simpler B2B support plus BYOK AI.
Pylon and Ochre both understand that modern B2B support runs through Slack Connect and account context. Pylon goes broader into account intelligence and customer-success workflows; Ochre stays focused on the support inbox, public flat seats, and AI usage you can audit.
AI billing
BYOK vs platform AI
Migration
Avg 10 hours, max 24 hours
Ochre fits best if...
- You want the lower public seat price and do not need the full account-intelligence suite.
- You'd rather pay OpenAI or Anthropic directly than bundle AI into a separate platform product.
- You're 5–50 agents and the per-seat delta ($39 vs $59+) compounds into real money.
- You've already standardized on a Slack Connect workflow and just need a tool that doesn't fight it.
Stick with Pylon if...
- You're a higher-ACV B2B company where account-based customer marketing (broadcasts, in-Slack campaigns) is core to retention.
- You depend on Pylon's CRM-style account hierarchy for customer success motions, not just support.
- Your buying committee is comfortable with sales-led procurement and the white-glove onboarding is a feature.
- You've already built deep on Pylon's API and the engineer-time to migrate exceeds the seat savings.
Pricing snapshot
5 agents · 300 AI actions/mo
$195/mo ($39 × 5 + your LLM cost ~$15)
$295/mo ($59 × 5 Starter, before AI product)
10 agents · 800 AI actions/mo
$390/mo ($39 × 10 + ~$40 LLM)
$590/mo ($59 × 10 Starter, before AI product)
25 agents · 1,500 AI actions/mo
$975/mo ($39 × 25 + ~$75 LLM)
$1,475–$2,225/mo (Starter to Professional, before AI product)
Annual difference at 25 agents
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+$6K–$15K/year before separate AI packaging
Feature comparison
Per-agent base
Pylon publishes Starter, Professional, and Enterprise seat prices billed annually (checked 2026-05)
$99/mo Starter (fixed 3 seats) or $39/seat Per Seat, public
$59–$139/seat (Starter → Enterprise)
AI assistant for agents
Included, BYOK
Bundled (no separate cost line)
Autonomous AI resolutions
Pylon lists AI as a separate product, so exact like-for-like AI cost depends on package
Your LLM cost (~$0.005/resolution at retail OpenAI)
Separate AI product
Slack Connect as a channel
Both are Slack Connect-native — this is parity, not a delta
Yes
Yes
Account / company hierarchy
Pylon's account model is more elaborate (parent/child, custom fields, broadcasts)
Yes (accounts + contacts)
Yes
Customer marketing / broadcasts
Pylon ships in-Slack broadcasts and campaigns — genuinely a separate product surface
No
Yes
Stripe context in inbox
Yes
Yes
Bring your own LLM keys
Yes
No
Public pricing page
Both publish seat prices; Ochre's Per Seat plan includes BYOK AI while Pylon packages AI separately
Yes
Yes
Self-serve setup
15 minutes
Sales-led onboarding (1–3 weeks)
Quality assurance
Included
Reporting, no rubric QA
Migration from Pylon
Concierge, 24h, IDs preserved
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Verdict
Pylon and Ochre share more shape than either product shares with Zendesk or Intercom: both are built for B2B SaaS support that lives in Slack Connect with account context. Where we differ is scope. Pylon goes broader into account intelligence, broadcasts, and customer-success workflows. Ochre keeps the support inbox sharper and cheaper, with BYOK AI you can audit. If account marketing is core, Pylon may be right. If you want inbox + AI for B2B support, Ochre is the simpler model.
FAQ
Pylon is also Slack Connect-native. What's the actual difference?
On the Slack Connect surface itself, the products are close to parity — both treat shared channels as first-class inboxes. The difference is shape and pricing. Pylon leans into account-based customer marketing (broadcasts, campaigns, account scoring) and prices as a sales-led product. Ochre stays focused on inbox + AI for B2B SaaS support, publishes flat pricing, and ships BYOK AI so you can see your token bill instead of paying a bundled markup.
Why is Pylon's pricing so opaque?
Pylon now publishes clear platform seat prices, which is a good thing. The part that still needs modeling is package fit: Starter, Professional, Enterprise, Account Intelligence, AI, phone, and services solve different jobs and can change the real bill. Ochre keeps the support inbox simpler: one public Per Seat price plus your direct model-provider bill.
Will my Slack Connect channels survive the migration?
Yes — and customers don't see any change. The Slack Connect channel itself lives in your customer's workspace; what changes is which app on your side reads from it. We re-auth the Ochre Slack app on each shared channel (admins of those channels get a one-click approval) and the channel keeps its name, history, and members. Total downtime per channel is under a minute.
How does BYOK AI compare to Pylon's AI product?
Pylon packages AI as a separate product. With Ochre's BYOK setup, your AI bill is whatever you actually use against OpenAI or Anthropic at retail — typically $0.003–$0.008 per autonomous resolution. The honest answer: packaged AI can win on simplicity. BYOK wins when you care about unit economics, model choice, and a margin breakdown your CFO can actually see.
Can I keep Pylon for customer marketing and use Ochre for support?
Yes — and this is a path some teams pick. You'd pay a smaller Pylon footprint (typically a Marketing-only or seat-minimum tier) for broadcasts and campaigns, and run Ochre as your primary support inbox + AI. The combined bill usually still beats full-suite Pylon at 15+ agents. If broadcasts aren't core to your motion, just consolidate on Ochre.
When is Pylon genuinely the right call?
Three honest cases. (1) You're a higher-ACV B2B company where in-Slack broadcasts and account-based customer marketing are a real motion, not just a nice-to-have. (2) You need elaborate account hierarchies (parent/child orgs, computed custom fields, account scoring) that go beyond inbox features. (3) You're already deep on Pylon's API with internal automation — the migration cost exceeds 12 months of seat savings. Otherwise, Ochre's flat pricing + BYOK math will pencil out.