Zendesk for Startups

Zendesk for Startups gives new customers free access to the Zendesk Suite Professional plan and the Copilot AI add-on, for up to 50 agents (the agent count depends on your funding profile and partner). The baseline term for every accepted startup is 6 months; extended 1- or 2-year terms are tied to Zendesk's institutional partners (VCs and accelerators) and vary with the depth of that relationship, your team size and funding stage.

The offer is available only to new Zendesk customers that have received outside funding (angel, pre-seed, seed, Series A or Series B). You must have fewer than 250 employees; companies with 50-249 employees must be referred by a partner, and companies applying without a partner must have 50 or fewer employees. The company must be under 10 years old. If you are affiliated with a VC or accelerator, Zendesk recommends applying through their community referral link rather than the public form, and it reserves the right to remove any company at its discretion.

In March 2026 Zendesk announced a $100M commitment to startups and expanded its VC program, which is where the 'up to 2 years' offer comes from. An older help-centre article still describes a 6-month credit for Zendesk Suite + Sell for startups up to Series A; the current program page is authoritative. Credits can only be applied during the trial phase, so do not start a paid subscription while you wait for a decision.