Apache Answer vs Zendesk Guide
Apache Answer
answer.apache.org
Zendesk Guide
zendesk.comSide by side
| Figure | Apache Answer | Zendesk Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $19/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 10 |
| Spec score · Customer Community Software | 9.1 (#1) | 8.5 (#8) |
| Integrations | Official plugins connect services including Google, DingTalk, Slack, WeCom, Redis, Algolia, Elasticsearch, Meilisearch, S3, and Tencent COS. | Zendesk Marketplace lists more than 1,200 apps, connectors, themes and partners. |
| Languages | The project supports multilingual communities through community-maintained translations. | Zendesk says Guide articles can be translated into more than 40 languages. |
| Public API | Apache Answer generates Swagger API documentation and exposes it from an instance at /swagger/index.html when enabled. | The API reference covers ticketing, Help Center, live chat, voice, sales CRM, omnichannel routing and custom data with endpoint descriptions and examples. |
| Rating on G2 | 4.3 out of 5 from 21 reviews | 4.3 out of 5 from 7,715 reviews |
| Security controls | The docs describe login access controls for registration, login methods, and allowed email domains, plus content access controls for community members. | Zendesk describes SSO, two-factor authentication, IP restrictions, redaction, audit logs and optional BYOK encryption. |
| System requirements | Source builds require Go 1.25 or newer, Node.js 20 or newer, pnpm 9 or newer, mockgen 0.6 or newer, and wire 0.5 or newer. | The web application requires Windows or macOS, at least 8 GB RAM, 10 Mbps upload and download, and current Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge with JavaScript, cookies and local storage enabled. |
| What it does | Apache Answer is software for running community forums, help centers, or knowledge-management Q&A sites. | Zendesk Guide provides customizable internal, IT, agent-only and customer-facing knowledge bases with self-service access. |
Plans
Zendesk Guide
- Suite Team$55 a month
- Suite Professional$115 a month
- Suite Enterprise + CopilotPrice not published
- Support Team$19 a month
- Copilot add-on$50 a month
- Workforce Engagement Bundle add-on$50 a month
- Suite Team$55 a month
- Contact Center add-on$83 a month
- Suite Professional$115 a month
- Suite Enterprise + CopilotPriced on request
In their own words
Apache Answer
Apache Answer is a free, open-source Q&A platform for community forums, help centers, and knowledge management. Members can ask and answer questions, comment, vote, and earn reputation and badges. Tags, advanced search filters, and live suggestions help organize discussions and find relevant questions. Administrators can manage admin, moderator, and user roles, add users in bulk, and inspect edits in revision history. Themes and layouts can be customized, and plugins can add capabilities such as Google or generic OAuth2 login, Slack notifications, Redis caching, Algolia or Elasticsearch search, and S3 storage. Deployment options include Docker Compose, Docker, binaries, and aaPanel. The project lists binaries for Darwin ARM64, Linux AMD64 and ARM64, and Windows AMD64, and supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite. Documentation describes controls for registration, login methods, allowed email domains, and member access to content. Apache Answer is licensed under Apache License, Version 2.0. Its security guarantee covers official repository plugins only, not third-party plugins.
Zendesk Guide
Zendesk Guide has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.