What is the best alternative to Freshdesk?
Freshdesk is a help desk, which is software that collects customer emails and chats into tickets so your team can answer them from one place. The right alternative depends on what you want to change: a plan you can use free, the cost of Freddy AI, simpler pricing, or the apps you run beside it. This guide sets seven options against Freshdesk's own plans.
- If you want a free plan: Zoho Desk is free for 3 users, Help Scout for 5, HubSpot Service Hub for 2 and Tidio for 50 conversations a month. Freshdesk starts with a 14-day trial of its Enterprise plan.
- If the Freddy AI add-ons add up: Fin is $0.99 per outcome, Help Scout AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution, and Tidio's Lyro has 50 free conversations once. Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy sessions once per account, then charges $49 per 100.
- If you use other Freshworks apps: check what runs beside Freshdesk before you move. Freshworks also sells Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshchat and Freshmarketer.
- If you want simpler pricing: Gorgias prices by ticket volume from $10 a month, Tidio by conversations, and Help Scout by user.
- If you want a bigger help desk: Zendesk Support Team is $19 per agent a month billed yearly and Suite Team is $55.
- If you want AI on top of Freshdesk: Fin runs on Freshdesk at $0.99 per outcome, with no Intercom seat.
All prices are in US dollars per seat per month and were current on 21 October 2026. They can change, so check with the company before you buy.
Who is this Freshdesk alternatives guide for?
This guide is for owners and support leads who run Freshdesk, or are weighing it, and want to see what else is out there. It sets seven options beside Freshdesk's plans: Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub, Tidio, Zendesk, Intercom and Gorgias. Every tool gets its price, its AI and its best fit.
For the wider market, see AI customer service tools sorted by job. If you use Fin and want options to it, see Fin alternatives for small teams. If you are leaving Zendesk instead, Zendesk alternatives with costs per agent is the matching guide.
What does Freshdesk cost today?
Freshdesk sells three plans, priced per agent per month in US dollars on 21 October 2026. Prices differ by country.
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | What the plan includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | $19 | $23 | Freddy AI Agent (first 500 sessions), ticketing and a shared inbox, a customer portal and knowledge base, reports, threads and tasks, roles |
| Pro | $55 | $66 | Everything in Growth, plus a multilingual help desk, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, several SLA policies (promised reply times) and outside collaborators |
| Enterprise | $89 | $107 | Everything in Pro, plus Freddy AI Insights, skill-based routing, a sandbox, audit logs and allowed domains with IP whitelisting |
- Freddy AI Copilot helps your agents write replies and adds $29 per agent a month on Pro and Enterprise.
- Extra AI sessions cost $49 per 100 once the first 500 are used. The 500 come once per account, on every plan.
- Day passes, a one-day seat for an extra agent, are $2 on Growth, $7 on Pro and $12 on Enterprise.
- Trial and exit: the 14-day trial gives the Enterprise plan. There are no cancellation fees, and a cancellation takes effect at the end of your term.
Freshdesk
Which Freshdesk alternatives have a free plan?
Freshdesk starts with a 14-day trial of Enterprise and then moves to paid plans. These tools let you stay on a free plan or free tools for as long as you fit its limits.
| Tool | What is free | The limit | First paid plan, billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | Free plan | 3 user licenses | Express $7 |
| Help Scout | Free plan | 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site, 100 contacts a month | Standard $25 |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Free tools | Up to 2 users, no card | Starter $7 |
| Tidio | Free plan | 50 billable conversations a month, 50 Lyro conversations once | Starter $24.17 |
Free limits are about users, inboxes and conversations, so count yours before you move. A free plan is a good place to test with real tickets.
How do the alternatives compare with Freshdesk on price?
All prices are US dollars from 21 October 2026, with Freshdesk's own plans beside the seven options for reference.
| Tool | Priced per | Entry plan, billed yearly | Entry plan, billed monthly | Top priced plan, billed yearly | AI billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | Agent | Growth $19 | Growth $23 | Enterprise $89 | First 500 sessions free, then $49 per 100 |
| Zoho Desk | Agent | Express $7 | Express $9 | Enterprise $40 | AI agents from Express, Zia on Professional |
| Help Scout | User | Standard $25 | Standard $30 | Pro $75 | $0.75 per resolution |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Seat | Starter $7 | Starter $10 | Enterprise $150 | HubSpot Credits |
| Tidio | Conversations | Starter $24.17 | Starter $29 | Plus $300 a month plus usage | First 50 Lyro chats free |
| Zendesk | Agent | Support Team $19 | Support Team $25 | Suite Professional $115 | Set number included, then $2.00 each |
| Intercom | Seat | Essential $29 | Essential $39 | Expert $132 | $0.99 per outcome |
| Gorgias | Ticket volume | Basic $50 | Starter $10 | Advanced $750 | Add-on, per AI interaction |
A seat means one person on a paid plan. HubSpot lists Starter at $20 and charges $7 billed yearly or $10 monthly. Intercom Essential is $29 yearly and $39 monthly at the regular price, and new customers pay $19 and $29. Gorgias Starter can only be billed monthly. Check the price with the company before you buy.
Which free-plan help desks can replace Freshdesk?
These four have a free plan or free tools, so you can run real tickets before you pay.
Zoho Desk
- The free plan is capped at 3 users.
- Zoho offers a free guided move from other help desks.
Help Scout
- HIPAA compliance, for health data, is included on Pro.
- Extra Docs sites cost $20 a month billed yearly.
HubSpot Service Hub
- Seat prices go from $7 on Starter to $90 on Professional.
- Help Desk Workspace starts on Professional.
Tidio
- Free, Starter and Growth plans include 10 seats.
- The 50 free Lyro conversations are one time only.
Which paid help desks can replace Freshdesk?
These three start with a trial and move to paid plans, and each one counts its price in a different way.
Zendesk
- Extra AI resolutions past the allowance cost $2.00 each.
- Copilot is a $50 per agent add-on.
Intercom
- Seats and Fin outcomes are billed separately.
- Expert adds single sign-on and HIPAA support.
Gorgias
- Starter plans can only be billed monthly.
- Ticket limits apply to each plan every month.
How do Freddy AI add-ons compare with other AI pricing?
An AI agent is software that replies to customers by itself and passes hard questions to a person. Each help desk counts and bills its AI in a different unit.
- Freshdesk counts sessions. Each account gets 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once, then pays $49 per 100, which is $0.49 a session. Copilot for agents adds $29 per agent a month.
- Fin counts outcomes, a customer question it resolves, at $0.99 each, and costs nothing when it cannot answer.
- Help Scout counts resolutions at $0.75 each, with 3 months of unlimited AI Answers free.
- Zendesk includes 5 to 10 automated resolutions per agent each month and bills $2.00 for each one after that, and Copilot is $50 per agent a month.
- Tidio counts conversations. Lyro has 50 free conversations once, and the plans count billable conversations.
A session and a resolution are not the same unit. A resolution counts only when the AI solves the question, so ask how your own tickets would be counted before you compare the figures.
What if you use other Freshworks apps?
Freshdesk is one product in a set. Check what runs beside it before you move the help desk.
- Freshworks sells more than Freshdesk. Its other products include Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshchat and Freshmarketer. List which ones your team uses today.
- HubSpot Service Hub sits on HubSpot's CRM, so a team that wants sales and support in one set can have both. Free tools cover 2 users.
- Zoho Desk is part of Zoho, which sells many other business apps, and it offers a guided data move from other help desks at no cost.
- Zendesk, Help Scout and Gorgias are sold mainly as support tools. Zendesk also sells Zendesk Sell, a sales CRM, so list what you would run beside it.
Which Freshdesk alternative fits your situation?
Match what you want to change to the options built for it.
Freshdesk alternatives if you want a free plan
Start with Zoho Desk, which is free for 3 users, or Help Scout, which is free for 5 users with 1 inbox. HubSpot Service Hub has free tools for 2 users with no card, and Tidio is free for 50 billable conversations a month. Freshdesk begins with a 14-day trial of its Enterprise plan, so these four are the way to stay on a free plan for longer.
Freshdesk alternatives if Freddy AI costs add up
Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once per account and then charges $49 per 100. If your AI use is high, compare Fin at $0.99 per outcome and Help Scout AI Answers at $0.75 per resolution. Fin runs on top of Freshdesk, so you can test it without moving.
Freshdesk alternatives if you want simpler pricing
Gorgias prices by tickets a month: $10 for 50, $60 for 300, $360 for 2,000 and $900 for 5,000, billed monthly. Tidio prices by conversations, and Help Scout prices by user on three paid plans. Freshdesk's seat price is simple too, but its AI sessions, day passes and Copilot are billed on top.
Freshdesk alternatives if you want a bigger help desk
Zendesk adds chat, phone and AI agents on its Suite plans: Suite Team is $55 and Suite Professional is $115 per agent a month billed yearly. Intercom Advanced is $85 and Expert is $132. Zendesk Suite Professional and Intercom Expert cost more per agent than Freshdesk Enterprise at $89, so weigh the extra channels against the seat price.
Freshdesk alternatives for an online store
Gorgias is built for stores and works with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento and WooCommerce. For more on how shops run support, see how online shops handle support.
What should you know before you move off Freshdesk?
Two facts about Freshdesk shape the move.
- Cancellation takes effect at the end of your term. Freshdesk has no cancellation fees, so start the new tool first and overlap the two until your term ends.
- The trial gives the Enterprise plan for 14 days. Use a free plan or a trial on the new tool the same way: import a sample of tickets and your 10 most used macros, which are saved replies that agents send in one click.
- Decide what has to move. Tickets, contacts, macros, automations and help articles are separate items, and each new company imports a different set. Ask for the list in writing.
- Adding an AI agent needs no move. Fin connects to Freshdesk, so tickets and reports stay put.
How do you choose a Freshdesk alternative?
Work through these four steps.
- Count the people who answer customers, and check each free plan's user limit against that number.
- Count last month's AI conversations, and ask each company how it would count them.
- List the Freshworks apps you use beside Freshdesk and decide whether the set matters.
- Run 50 real tickets through a free plan or trial before you decide.
The people who answer tickets every day should try your final two.
Best for your situation
Guides & comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Who are Freshdesk's main competitors?
The help desks closest to Freshdesk are Zendesk, Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub and Intercom. Gorgias and Tidio compete for online stores and small chat-first teams, and Fin adds AI on top. Freshdesk Growth is $19 per agent a month billed yearly.
Is Freshdesk no longer free?
Freshdesk's current plans are Growth at $19 per agent a month, Pro at $55 and Enterprise at $89, billed yearly, after a 14-day trial of Enterprise. If you want a free plan, Zoho Desk has one for 3 users, Help Scout for 5 users, HubSpot Service Hub for 2 users and Tidio for 50 conversations a month.
Why is Freshdesk better than Zendesk?
It depends on what you need. Freshdesk Growth is $19 per agent a month billed yearly, the same as Zendesk Support Team, and Freshdesk Pro is $55, the same as Zendesk Suite Team. Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions, and Zendesk includes a set number of automated resolutions per agent and bills the rest. Try both on a free trial.
How much does Freshdesk cost?
Billed yearly, Freshdesk Growth is $19 per agent a month, Pro is $55 and Enterprise is $89. Billed monthly they are $23, $66 and $107. The first 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions are included once per account, then $49 per 100. Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month on Pro and Enterprise.
Which company owns Freshdesk?
Freshworks makes Freshdesk. Freshworks also sells Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshchat and Freshmarketer.
Is Freshworks the same as Freshdesk?
No. Freshworks is the company, and Freshdesk is its help desk. Freshworks' other products include Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshchat and Freshmarketer.
Is Freshdesk a CRM?
Freshdesk is a help desk, which collects customer messages into tickets. Freshworks sells its CRM as separate products, Freshsales and Freshsales Suite. HubSpot Service Hub and Zoho Desk each sit beside a CRM from the same company.
Who is Freshworks' biggest competitor?
Freshworks competes with different companies in each of its products. In help desks, the closest are Zendesk, Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub and Intercom. Their entry prices billed yearly are $19, $7, $25, $7 and $29 per seat a month, so Freshdesk Growth at $19 sits in the middle.
Is Freshdesk good for a small business?
Freshdesk covers the basics a small support team needs: email tickets, a shared inbox, a customer portal, a knowledge base and an AI agent, from $19 per agent a month billed yearly. Whether it fits depends on how many agents you have, how much AI you use and whether you need a free plan.
Can I add AI to Freshdesk without switching?
Freshdesk has its own AI agent, Freddy. You can also add Fin, which runs on Freshdesk at $0.99 per outcome. Ask how it counts a resolution before you start.
In short: which Freshdesk alternative should you pick?
- If you want a free plan, look at Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub or Tidio.
- If the Freddy AI add-ons add up, compare Fin and Help Scout AI Answers.
- If you use other Freshworks apps, list them first, then compare HubSpot Service Hub and Zoho Desk, which also come as sets.
- If you want simpler pricing, look at Gorgias, Tidio or Help Scout.
- If you want a bigger help desk, look at Zendesk or Intercom.
Prices are as of 21 October 2026 and can change, so confirm the price with the company before you buy. Whichever you choose, start on a free plan or trial, answer real tickets in it and compare it with Freshdesk before you pay for a year.
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