Flatdesk: Helpdesk & Inbox vs ShieldDesk ‑ AI Support Inbox

Two Shopify apps, side by side: detected stores, momentum, reviews, plans, listed features and who runs each. Store counts as of Nov 3, 2026 for Flatdesk, Oct 27, 2026 for ShieldDesk.

The short answer

  • Only ShieldDesk lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $49/month for Flatdesk and $9/month for ShieldDesk.
  • Flatdesk lists 5 features ShieldDesk’s listing doesn’t mention, including Auto-assign, Live chat, Response templates.

Head to head

App Store reviews

Flatdesk: —
ShieldDesk: 1
Open this comparison in ShoplistFree account. Every feature, store and change, side by side.
Pitch
—
—
Categories
  • Helpdesk
  • Helpdesk
Languages
  • English
  • English
Launched
Nov 3, 2026
May 18, 2026
Built for Shopify
Not badged
Not badged
Reviews per month
—
1 last full month
Detected stores
0active installs
0active installs
Most common store size
—
—
Top countries
—
—

Momentum

New reviews each month

Review pace is the clearest public read on how fast an app is winning new merchants.

011MaySepShieldDesk ‑ AI Support Inbox: 1 reviews in May 2026ShieldDesk ‑ AI Support Inbox: 1 reviews in September 2026
FlatdeskShieldDeskCompleted months only
Free options
Free planFree trial
Free planFree trial
Monthly range
$49/month
From $0 to $49/month
Plans
Standard$49/month
14-day free trial
FreeFree
  • · 50 messages per month
  • · AI drafts from live order data
  • · All channels in one inbox
  • · All features included
  • · Spam filtered automatically
Starter$9/month
7-day free trial
  • · 1,000 messages per month
  • · All features included
  • · Auto-answers order status
  • · Cancel, refund or reroute orders
  • · Reports, saved replies, team inbox
Pro$19/month
7-day free trial
  • · 5,000 messages per month
  • · All features included
  • · Auto-answers order status
  • · Priority support
  • · Reports, saved replies, team inbox
Business$49/month
7-day free trial
  • · 20,000 messages per month
  • · All features included
  • · Dedicated onboarding
  • · Priority support
Coverage
8 of 10 features80%
5 of 10 features50%
Unique strengths
  • Auto-assign
  • Live chat
  • Response templates
  • Tagging
  • +1 more
  • AI responses
  • Spam detection
Helpdesk
80%8/10
50%5/10
Channels
100%3/3
67%2/3
Workflow automation
71%5/7
43%3/7
532onlybothonly
FlatdeskShieldDesk10 features listed across both App Store listings

Coverage counts what each App Store listing names. Every feature, checked off app by app, is in Shoplist.

See every feature
Works with also listed by another
—
—
How it sells itself

Flatdesk turns your support email into a shared inbox inside your Shopify admin. Forward your support address to it and every customer email becomes a ticket, with the customer's recent orders beside it. Cancel, refund or change a shipping address from the ticket, after a confirm step that shows what will happen. Add a chat and a contact form to your store, and a help center on your own store address.

ShieldDesk brings messages from your contact form, support email, WhatsApp and customer account pages into one inbox. It filters spam, reads the matching order and your policies, and drafts a reply in your store's voice. "Where is my order?" is answered automatically from live tracking, with a countdown you can stop.

Key points
  • Every email to your support address becomes a ticket in one shared inbox
  • The customer's recent orders beside each ticket, with tracking
  • Cancel, refund or change the shipping address, each after a confirm step
  • A store chat, a contact form and a help center on your own store address
  • AI classifies every message by intent automatically
  • Draft replies generated using real order history
  • Order status queries auto-resolved with live tracking
  • Spam and abuse messages detected and filtered out
Screenshots
Flatdesk inbox drawn beside the headline about orders on tickets
Inbox of open tickets from email, chat and the contact formA ticket's reply thread with the customer's orders beside itStore help center listing four published articles
Savings dashboard showing auto-resolved tickets
ShieldDesk customer inbox showing AI message classificationShieldDesk- AI support that works while you sleepAI draft reply generated from real order data

All the numbers

Every figure, side by side

A green dot marks the app ahead on a measured figure. Estimates, gaps and apps that leave no storefront trace never take the lead.

Showing only the rows where the apps differ.

Adoption

MeasureFlatdeskShieldDesk
Detected storesNot publishedNot published
Net store change, 28 days00estimated
Stores added, 28 daysNot enough dataNot enough data
Big-brand shareNot enough dataNot enough data
Top store categoriesNot publishedNot published
Top store countriesNot publishedNot published

Reviews

MeasureFlatdeskShieldDesk
App Store ratingNot published5.0 ★
App Store reviewsNot published1
New reviews, 28 daysNot enough dataNot enough data
Reviewers a year or more inNot enough dataNot enough data

Pricing

MeasureFlatdeskShieldDesk
Free planNot listedYes
Lowest paid monthly plan$49/month$9/month(ahead)
Longest free trial14 days7 days
Plans listed14

Listing

MeasureFlatdeskShieldDesk
Shopify category rankNot enough data#123in Helpdesk
Shopify App ChartsNot on this week’s chartsNot on this week’s charts
Built for ShopifyNoNo
LaunchedNov 3, 2026May 18, 2026
Languages1English1English
DeveloperBananafest DestinyApproid Tech

FAQ

Flatdesk and ShieldDesk: common questions

Is Flatdesk or ShieldDesk cheaper?
Only ShieldDesk lists a free plan. Paid plans start at $49/month for Flatdesk and $9/month for ShieldDesk. Shoplist compares base prices only between monthly plans in the same currency; usage charges and annual plans vary, so check each plan’s limits.
What features does each app list that the other doesn’t?
Flatdesk lists 5 the others don’t mention, such as Auto-assign, Live chat, Response templates, Tagging. ShieldDesk lists 2 the others don’t mention, such as AI responses, Spam detection. A feature missing from a listing may still be supported; this compares what each App Store listing says.
Where does this comparison’s data come from?
Shoplist crawls Shopify storefronts to detect which apps each store runs, and reads each app’s Shopify App Store listing for reviews, pricing, features and integrations. Store counts are as of Nov 3, 2026 for Flatdesk, Oct 27, 2026 for ShieldDesk; estimated figures are labeled.

How Shoplist compares apps

Store counts come from Shoplist’s crawl of Shopify storefronts, which detects the apps each store runs; they are as of Nov 3, 2026 for Flatdesk, Oct 27, 2026 for ShieldDesk. Reviews, ratings, plans, features and integrations come from each app’s Shopify App Store listing. 28-day figures are labeled when estimated, and a figure that is missing or estimated never decides who leads. Read the methodology.