Why a knowledge base pays for itself
81% of customers attempt self-service before they ever contact you. Every question your helpdesk answers is a ticket nobody has to file — and on a pay-as-you-go helpdesk, that's money directly back in your wallet. Industry deflection runs 30–60% once a real article corpus exists.
It compounds further: the articles you publish become the source your AI assistant draws from when it drafts replies and resolves conversations. The knowledge base isn't a side feature — it's the fuel tank.
What you get
A branded home at your own link
usekora.app/p/helpdesk/yourbrand — claim up to 5 custom links, keep every old link working, default to a clean monochrome look with light/dark/system theming.
A Notion-style editor
Type "/" for blocks — headings, lists, quotes, code, tables, images, videos (embeds or uploads). Markdown shortcuts, floating toolbar, autosave, revisions with restore.
Per-article control
Slug, summary, cover image, meta title and description, public/unlisted visibility, and a per-article search-engine switch that feeds the sitemap.
Built-in analytics
Visitors, pageviews, referrers, top articles, helpful votes, and on-site searches — zero-result searches become your content backlog.
Email subscriptions
An optional subscribe box captures reader emails with bot protection. Export to CSV anytime.
Help widget mode
Embed your whole helpdesk in your site with one script tag: KoraWidget with mode "help".
Pricing that makes per-seat vendors uncomfortable
Publishing costs 1 credit — once per article, ever. A 30-article helpdesk costs about $3 total. Editing, republishing, theming, analytics, subscriptions and search are always free. Attachments meter into the same storage billing as everything else (2 credits per 2GB/month).
| Scenario | Kora | Zendesk | HubSpot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public, branded helpdesk | Included | Suite plans ($55+/agent/mo) | Service Hub Pro (~$450/mo) |
| Publishing an article | 1 credit (once) — edits free | Per-seat tier | Per-seat tier |
| Custom fonts + colors | Included | Guide theming (higher tiers) | Limited |
| Per-article SEO controls | Included + sitemap switch | Included | Included |
| Helpdesk analytics | Visitors, pageviews, referrers, searches | Guide analytics | Pro tier |
| Email subscriptions + export | Included | Add-on | Marketing Hub add-on |
| Memorable custom URL | Claim up to 5 links | Custom domain (higher tiers) | Custom domain (add-on) |
| Widget embed of helpdesk | Included | Web Widget (Suite) | Included |
Publishing model
- 1 credit per article, charged once: the first time you publish. The button always shows the cost before you click.
- Unlimited free edits: fix typos, rewrite sections, swap covers — maintenance should never be taxed.
- Unpublish and republish free: taking an article down or putting it back never charges again.
- Unlisted mode: live at a direct link, invisible to listings, search and sitemaps — like an unlisted video.
- Draft share links: 7-day signed links for review before you spend the credit.
Frequently asked questions
What is knowledge base software?+
Knowledge base software lets your team publish self-service articles — how-tos, troubleshooting guides, FAQs — on a public helpdesk your customers can search and read on their own. 81% of customers try self-service before contacting support; a good knowledge base answers those questions before they become tickets.
How much does knowledge base software cost?+
Far more than it should. Zendesk bundles its knowledge base into Suite plans from $55/agent/month (full features at $115). HubSpot locks its KB behind Service Hub Professional — about $450/month with the 5-seat minimum. Freshdesk gates it behind higher tiers. Kora charges 1 credit per published article (about $0.10) — writing, editing, branding and analytics are all free.
How does Kora’s knowledge base pricing work?+
Publishing an article costs 1 credit, charged once per article — the same creation-only principle as tickets. Editing is unlimited and free. Unpublishing and republishing are free. Search, votes, pageviews, subscriber emails and branding never cost anything. Images and uploaded videos count toward your normal storage usage (2 credits per 2GB per month).
Can I customize and brand my helpdesk?+
Yes. Your helpdesk lives at usekora.app/p/helpdesk/yourbrand (claim a custom link — you get up to 5) and supports your logo, title, intro, accent color, separate light/dark text and background colors, and independent title/body fonts from a curated list. The default look is clean monochrome with a light/dark/system theme toggle.
Does my helpdesk get its own analytics?+
Yes — visitors, pageviews, referrers, top articles, helpful-vote ratios and on-site searches including zero-result queries (your content-gap queue), plus captured subscriber emails you can export as CSV.
Is my helpdesk optimized for search engines?+
Each article has its own slug, meta title, meta description and cover image, plus a per-article switch to include it in the sitemap. Private or unlisted content stays out of search automatically. You can also keep the entire helpdesk reachable by direct link only.
What editor does Kora use for articles?+
A Notion-style editor: type "/" for a block menu (headings, lists, quotes, code, tables, dividers, images, videos), markdown shortcuts like "#" and "-", and a floating toolbar for formatting. Images upload inline; videos can be YouTube/Vimeo/Loom embeds or direct MP4/WebM uploads.
Can I share article drafts before publishing?+
Yes. Every article has a draft share link (valid 7 days, revocable anytime) so teammates or clients can review content before you spend the publish credit.
Can readers subscribe to my helpdesk?+
Yes — an optional email subscribe box on your helpdesk home collects addresses (with bot protection), which you manage and export from the dashboard. One click to CSV.
Does the knowledge base work with Kora’s AI features?+
That’s the design center: your published articles are the source of truth that future AI reply drafting and AI resolution retrieve from — so the knowledge base you build now compounds into automation later, on every channel.
Ready to publish? Create a free workspace, open Helpdesk, and start from a template. Or see exactly how credits work — a 30-article helpdesk costs 30 credits, total.