Freshdesk costs $19–$89 per agent a month billed yearly, up from $15–$79 in June 2025, and its free plan is now a 6-month program for 2 agents. For AI answers on chat and WhatsApp plus a CRM at one team price, try CRMsoftware.pro (from $19 a month for 8 users). For enterprise ticketing, Zendesk. For the closest low-cost swap, Zoho Desk. For simple email support, Help Scout. For a help desk on a CRM, HubSpot Service Hub. For AI-first messaging, Intercom. For a shared inbox, Front. For Gmail-based teams, Hiver. For Shopify stores, Gorgias.
We checked every price on the vendor's own pricing page on October 14, 2026, from a US location, billed yearly unless we say otherwise, before tax. Freshdesk's rules come from its own help center and terms. CRMsoftware.pro is our own product, so we list its limits too. No made-up scores or tests: each tool gets its real price, its pros and cons, and who it suits.
What Freshdesk costs in 2026
Freshworks sells two help desks. Freshdesk covers email, Facebook and a basic web chat. Freshdesk Omni adds full live chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in one inbox, plus a chat AI agent. Both are priced per agent:
| Plan | Freshdesk, per agent a month | Freshdesk Omni, per agent a month | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | $19 yearly ($23 monthly) | $29 ($35) | Ticketing, shared inbox, knowledge base, reports |
| Pro | $55 ($66) | $79 ($95) | Multilingual help desk, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies |
| Enterprise | $89 ($107) | $119 ($143) | Skill-based routing, sandbox, audit logs, Freddy AI Insights |
AI and add-ons cost extra:
- Freddy AI Agent. New customers on Growth, Pro or Enterprise get 500 free sessions once (the Free program gets none); after that, sessions cost $49 per 100. An email AI session covers 72 hours from the customer's first email, and a chat session (Omni only) covers 24 hours. Buying a session pack removes any free sessions left.
- Freddy AI Copilot for agents costs $29 per agent a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) and is offered on Pro and Enterprise.
- Day passes for occasional agents cost $2, $7 or $12 a day on Freshdesk and $5, $10 or $15 on Omni.
The free trial gives you the Enterprise plan for 14 days. After it, you can join the Free program: up to 2 agents, free for 6 months, Freshdesk only (not Omni), with no API access.
How Freshdesk prices changed since 2025
Freshworks' own price list from June 2025 shows lower prices for most plans:
| Plan, billed yearly | June 2025 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk Growth | $15 | $19 | +27% |
| Freshdesk Pro | $49 | $55 | +12% |
| Freshdesk Enterprise | $79 | $89 | +13% |
| Freshdesk Omni Pro | $69 | $79 | +14% |
| Freshdesk Omni Enterprise | $109 | $119 | +9% |
| Extra AI Agent sessions | $100 per 1,000 | $49 per 100 | About 4.9 times per session |
Freshworks' terms also let it adjust fees at renewal with at least 30 days' notice, so check your renewal quote.
Why teams look for a Freshdesk alternative
- Higher prices. Growth rose from $15 to $19 per agent, and extra AI sessions now cost $49 per 100 instead of $100 per 1,000.
- Live chat and WhatsApp moved to Omni. New Freshdesk accounts get email, Facebook and a basic web chat; WhatsApp, Instagram and the chat AI agent need Omni at $29 or more per agent.
- AI is metered. After the one-time 500 sessions, every AI conversation is billed, and Copilot needs Pro or Enterprise.
- No lasting free plan. The Free program ends after 6 months and stops at 2 agents.
- Exports take work. A ticket export in CSV or Excel leaves out the full conversation and archived tickets; the complete export arrives as XML.
Freshdesk alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (checked Oct 14, 2026) | AI | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk (for reference) | Email ticketing on a budget | $19/agent/mo | 500 AI sessions once, then $49 per 100; Copilot $29 on Pro+ | 6-month program, 2 agents |
| CRMsoftware.pro | AI answers on chat channels plus a CRM | $19/mo for up to 8 users | AI messages included in every plan | Yes, 3 users, website chat only |
| Zendesk | Enterprise ticketing | $19/agent/mo (Support Team, email only); $55 for Suite Team with chat and messaging | 5–10 automated resolutions per agent, then $1.50–$2.00 each | No, 14-day trial |
| Zoho Desk | Closest low-cost swap | $7/user/mo | AI agents on Zoho's LLM (up to 30M free tokens a month) or your own key; Zia from Professional | Yes, 3 users |
| Help Scout | Simple email-first support | $25/user/mo | AI Answers $0.75 per resolution | Yes, 5 users |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Help desk on a CRM | $7/seat/mo (Starter, shown as a discount from $20) | Customer Agent on Professional: 50 HubSpot Credits per resolved conversation | Yes, 2 users |
| Intercom | AI-first messaging | $29/seat/mo | Fin $0.99 per outcome | No, free trial |
| Front | Collaborative shared inbox | $25/seat/mo, up to 10 seats | Autopilot from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20/seat | No, free trial |
| Hiver | Gmail-based help desk | $25/user/mo | AI agents on all plans | No, 7-day trial |
| Gorgias | Shopify and ecommerce support | $50/mo for 300 tickets | AI Agent about $0.90 per automated interaction | No, free trial |
What a 5-agent team pays
One realistic setup: 5 agents handle 1,000 conversations a month, 600 by email and 400 by website chat. An AI agent answers the 400 chats and fully resolves 200. Billed yearly, on the cheapest plan with live chat and an AI agent, after any one-time free AI allowance runs out:
| Tool and plan | How the bill adds up | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| CRMsoftware.pro Growth | $49 flat for up to 20 users and 3,000 AI messages; 400 AI chats use about 1,200 at roughly 3 per chat; the email inbox is in beta | $49 |
| Hiver Omni Growth | 5 × $25; AI agents are included on all plans (check AI usage limits with Hiver) | $125 |
| Zoho Desk Enterprise | 5 × $40; website live chat comes through Zoho SalesIQ on Enterprise; AI agents use Zoho's LLM with up to 30M free tokens a month | $200 |
| Help Scout Standard | 5 × $25 + 200 AI resolutions × $0.75 = $150 | $275 |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth (reference) | 5 × $29 + 400 AI sessions = 4 packs × $49 = $196 | $341 |
| Intercom Essential | 5 × $29 + 200 Fin outcomes × $0.99 = $198 (handoffs completed by a Fin workflow also count) | from $343 |
| Front Professional | 5 × $65 + Autopilot from $0.05 × 400 = $20 (Starter allows one channel type) | from $345 |
| Gorgias Pro | $300 for 2,000 tickets + about $0.90 × 200 AI interactions = $180 | about $480 |
| HubSpot Service Hub Professional | 5 × $90 + Customer Agent at 50 credits per resolved conversation: 10,000 credits − 3,000 included = 7,000 × $0.01 = $70; plus a one-time $1,500 onboarding fee | about $520 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | 5 × $55 + 175 resolutions beyond the 25 included × $1.50–$2.00 | $537.50–$625 |
Without chat AI, Freshdesk Growth costs 5 × $19 = $95 a month for email ticketing, and Zoho Desk Standard 5 × $14 = $70. Try our cost per ticket calculator and live chat staffing calculator to size your own team.
The 9 best Freshdesk alternatives
1. CRMsoftware.pro: best for AI answers on chat channels plus a CRM
CRMsoftware.pro is our product, so judge this section with that in mind. It is not a classic ticketing system: it is an AI agent, a team inbox and a CRM in one. The AI answers on your website, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger and Slack, with an email inbox in beta, hands over to a person, and turns each conversation into a contact and a deal, with bookings and AI voice in the same product.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for 3 users and 100 AI messages a month on website chat (AI only: no human handover or unified inbox). Launch $19/mo billed yearly ($24 monthly) for 8 users, 1,000 AI messages, chat channels, human handover and a unified inbox. Growth $49 ($59) for 20 users, 3,000 AI messages, team inbox with saved replies and auto-translation. Scale $99 ($119) for 50 users and 10,000 AI messages.
Pros: one flat price for the whole team; AI messages included, with no per-session or per-resolution fees; CRM pipeline, bookings and AI voice built in.
Cons: our pages list no ticket SLAs, customer portal or Freshdesk-style help center, and no Freshdesk importer; the email inbox is still in beta; a fixed number of AI messages per plan.
Best for: small teams whose support and sales happen in chat and messaging apps rather than in email tickets.
If most of your Freshdesk AI sessions are website chats, compare 5 Omni seats plus session packs with a flat plan that includes AI messages. Start free, no card needed, or see pricing.
2. Zendesk: best for enterprise ticketing
Zendesk is Freshdesk's closest rival at scale: deep ticketing, routing, reporting and a huge app marketplace, with AI agents, Copilot and workforce tools on top.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Support Team $19 per agent a month billed yearly (email ticketing only). Suite Team $55 with AI agents, knowledge base, messaging, live chat and omnichannel routing. Suite Professional $115 with Admin Copilot, quick reports and more automation. Copilot costs $50 per agent a month. AI agents include 5 automated resolutions per agent a month on Suite Team and 10 on Suite Professional; more cost $1.50 each committed or $2.00 pay as you go; Zendesk is moving some accounts to a dollar-based resolution allowance, so confirm which model your quote uses. 14-day trial of Suite Professional.
Pros: the deepest ticketing and routing here; strong AI agents; mature marketplace and reporting.
Cons: expensive once AI resolutions add up; the cheapest plan is email only; Copilot is extra.
Best for: larger support teams with complex routing. See our Zendesk vs Freshdesk comparison and Zendesk alternatives.
3. Zoho Desk: best low-cost swap
Zoho Desk is one of the closest matches to Freshdesk, at a lower price: email, social and web-form ticketing, a knowledge base, workflows and, on higher plans, telephony, Zia AI and live chat through Zoho SalesIQ.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for 3 users (email ticketing). Express $7 per user a month billed yearly ($9 monthly) with email, social, web forms, AI agents (Zoho's LLM or your own key) and generative AI features that use your own OpenAI key. Standard $14 ($20) with business messaging, an answer bot and a knowledge base. Professional $23 ($35) with telephony, Zia AI and Blueprints. Enterprise $40 ($50) with live chat through Zoho SalesIQ, skill-based assignment and a sandbox.
Pros: among the lowest per-user prices here; a free plan for 3 users; works with the rest of Zoho.
Cons: full website live chat (Zoho SalesIQ) sits on Enterprise; generative AI features such as summaries and reply suggestions need your own OpenAI key; many settings to learn.
Best for: cost-conscious teams that want Freshdesk-style ticketing, especially Zoho users. Moving your CRM too? Read our Zoho CRM alternatives.
4. Help Scout: best for simple email-first support
Help Scout feels like a shared email inbox rather than a ticket system, with a knowledge base, live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, and AI Answers billed only when they resolve a question.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 Docs site. Standard $25 per user a month billed yearly ($30 monthly, up to 25 users). Plus $45 ($54, up to 50 users) with advanced workflows and Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations. Pro $75 ($90, minimum 10 users) with SSO and HIPAA. AI Answers $0.75 per resolution after a 3-month free trial; extra inbox $10 a month. 15-day trial.
Pros: easy to learn; a real free plan; AI billed per resolution with a spending cap.
Cons: lighter ticketing and SLA tools than Freshdesk Pro; AI costs grow with volume.
Best for: small teams that mostly answer email. More in our Help Scout alternatives.
5. HubSpot Service Hub: best help desk on a CRM
Service Hub puts tickets, a help desk workspace, a knowledge base and a customer portal on HubSpot's CRM, so support sees every deal and marketing email.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Free for up to 2 users. Starter $7 per seat a month billed yearly, shown as a discount from $20, with 500 HubSpot Credits. Professional $90 (shown as a discount from $100) with the Customer Agent, help desk workspace, knowledge base and customer portal, 3,000 credits and a required $1,500 onboarding fee. Enterprise from $150 with 5,000 credits and a $3,500 onboarding fee.
Pros: support and sales on one CRM; a free plan; strong customer portal and feedback tools.
Cons: the AI agent and full help desk need Professional; onboarding fees; AI usage is paid in credits.
Best for: teams already on HubSpot CRM. See our HubSpot alternatives too.
6. Intercom: best for AI-first messaging
Intercom combines a messenger, a shared inbox and tickets with Fin, an AI agent that answers in chat, email and phone and is billed $0.99 per outcome: a confirmed resolution, a customer who asks for nothing more, or a completed Fin workflow, including handoffs.
Price (Oct 14, 2026, US): Essential $29 per seat a month billed yearly ($39 monthly). Advanced $85 ($99) with workflows, round-robin assignment and 20 free Lite seats. Expert $132 ($139) with SSO, HIPAA, SLAs and 50 free Lite seats. Fin costs from $0.99 per outcome on every plan. Free trial.
Pros: a mature AI agent (Fin) across chat, email and phone; Fin is billed per outcome rather than per seat; polished messenger.
Cons: seat plus outcome pricing adds up; Copilot costs $29 per agent after 10 free conversations a month; less email-ticket focused than Freshdesk.
Best for: product-led and SaaS teams that support customers in chat. More in our Intercom alternatives.
7. Front: best collaborative shared inbox
Front turns email, chat, SMS and social messages into a shared inbox with rules, comments and analytics, closer to email than to a ticket portal.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): Starter $25 per seat a month billed yearly for up to 10 seats and a single channel type. Professional $65 for up to 50 seats with omnichannel support, macros and multiple workspaces. Enterprise $105, billed yearly only, with AI Copilot, QA and CSAT included. Autopilot, Front's AI agent, starts at $0.05 per conversation through sales; Copilot costs $20 per seat on Starter and Professional.
Pros: great for team collaboration on email; AI agent priced per conversation (from $0.05, quoted by sales); strong analytics.
Cons: Starter allows one channel type; Professional is needed for email plus chat; no free plan.
Best for: account and operations teams that live in email. See our Front alternatives.
8. Hiver: best for Gmail-based teams
Hiver works inside Gmail or as a standalone omnichannel help desk, with shared inboxes, SLAs, AI agents and voice.
Price (Oct 14, 2026), Hiver Omni plans: Growth $25 per user a month billed yearly ($35 monthly) with AI agents, AI Copilot and a shared inbox. Pro $55 ($65) with a customer portal, Slack channel, SLAs and CSAT surveys. Elite $85 ($95) with AI QA, AI insights and skill-based routing. Voice costs $30 per voice seat a month with 1,000 minutes. 7-day trial.
Pros: AI agents on every plan; no new tool to learn for Gmail users; voice add-on.
Cons: best inside Google Workspace; voice costs extra; no free plan.
Best for: small teams that already run support from Gmail.
9. Gorgias: best for Shopify stores
Gorgias is a help desk built for ecommerce: orders, refunds and returns from Shopify and other stores sit next to each ticket, and an AI Agent can answer and act on orders.
Price (Oct 14, 2026): priced by tickets, not agents. Starter $10 a month for 50 tickets (monthly billing only). Basic $50 a month billed yearly ($60 monthly) for 300 tickets. Pro $300 ($360) for 2,000 tickets. Advanced $750 ($900) for 5,000 tickets. The AI Agent is an add-on at about $0.90 per automated interaction, for example 190 interactions for $171 on Pro. Free trial without a card.
Pros: no per-agent fees; deep Shopify integration; AI that can act on orders.
Cons: built for ecommerce; price jumps from 300 to 2,000 tickets; AI interactions add up.
Best for: online stores, especially on Shopify.
Also considered
LiveAgent is a low-cost help desk with call center features at $15, $29, $49 or $69 per agent a month billed yearly. Crisp charges per workspace: $45 a month for 4 seats, $95 for 10 and $295 for 20 or more (billed monthly). Gleap suits app teams at $149 a month for unlimited seats plus $0.29 per AI resolution. Chatwoot is open source: free to self-host, or $19 to $99 per agent a month in its cloud. Zammad is another open-source help desk you can host yourself.
Free Freshdesk alternatives
Freshdesk's Free program lasts 6 months for up to 2 agents. These free plans have no time limit on October 14, 2026:
| Tool | Free plan | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Help Scout Free | 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site | 100 contacts a month, 30-day reports |
| Zoho Desk Free | 3 users, email ticketing | No chat or AI |
| HubSpot Service Hub Free | Up to 2 users | Help desk workspace and AI agent need Professional |
| CRMsoftware.pro Free | 3 users, 100 AI messages a month | Website chat only, AI only |
| Chatwoot | Free to self-host | You run and update the server |
When to stay on Freshdesk
- You mainly need email ticketing. Freshdesk Growth at $19 per agent is still one of the cheaper full help desks.
- You use other Freshworks products. Freshsales, Freshservice and Freshdesk Contact Center (formerly Freshcaller) connect natively.
- You signed up before the session changes. Freshworks says existing customers keep their earlier provisions, including legacy contracts with 2,000 to 5,000 AI sessions a month.
How to choose
- List your channels. If you need chat, WhatsApp or Instagram, compare with Freshdesk Omni, not the cheaper Freshdesk plans.
- Price the AI by its unit. Freshdesk charges per session, Zendesk and Help Scout per resolution, Intercom per outcome, Front per conversation, Gorgias per interaction; CRMsoftware.pro and Hiver include AI in the plan.
- Count agents in a year. Per-agent tools grow with every hire; Gorgias prices by tickets and CRMsoftware.pro by plan.
- Check the second plan. SLAs, routing and AI copilots usually start one step up.
- Use the free trial with real tickets before you move. Our customer service email templates and human handover playbook help set up the new tool.
How to switch from Freshdesk and keep your data
- Run a full account export. An account admin can export all data from the account settings (Admin, Account, Account details, Export data). The export comes as XML and includes tickets, solution articles, forums and your customer list; a developer or your new vendor's importer usually converts it.
- Do not rely on the ticket export alone. The CSV or Excel ticket export does not include full conversations or archived tickets. Contacts and companies can be exported as CSV.
- Check API access. Many importers read Freshdesk through its API, which paid plans include but the Free program does not.
- Rebuild automations by hand. Rules, SLA policies, canned responses and Freddy settings are not in the account export; list them before you cancel.
- Time the cancellation. Plans renew automatically unless you give written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before your term ends; cancellation then takes effect at the end of the term. Freshworks keeps data available for export for 14 days after the account closes, so finish the export first.
FAQ
What is the best Freshdesk alternative?
For enterprise ticketing, Zendesk. For a low-cost like-for-like swap, Zoho Desk. For simple email support, Help Scout. For a help desk on a CRM, HubSpot Service Hub. For AI-first chat, Intercom. For AI answers on chat channels plus a CRM at one team price, CRMsoftware.pro.
Is Freshdesk no longer free?
Not permanently. New accounts get a 14-day trial, then can join the Free program: up to 2 agents, free for 6 months, Freshdesk only (not Omni) and without API access. After that, you need a paid plan.
How much does Freshdesk cost in 2026?
On October 14, 2026: Freshdesk Growth $19, Pro $55 and Enterprise $89 per agent a month billed yearly ($23, $66 and $107 monthly). Freshdesk Omni costs $29, $79 and $119 ($35, $95 and $143). AI sessions cost $49 per 100 after a one-time 500, and Copilot $29 per agent.
Is Zendesk better than Freshdesk?
Zendesk has deeper routing, reporting and AI agents and suits larger teams; both start at $19 per agent for email ticketing, but Freshdesk Omni ($29) costs much less than Zendesk Suite Team ($55) for chat and messaging. Our Zendesk vs Freshdesk guide compares them plan by plan.
Who is Freshworks' biggest competitor?
Freshworks competes in two markets. In customer service, Zendesk is Freshdesk's most direct rival, with Zoho Desk, HubSpot Service Hub, Intercom and Help Scout as other common alternatives. In IT service management, Freshservice competes with tools such as ServiceNow and Jira Service Management.
What does Freddy AI cost?
New paid accounts get 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once (none on the Free program); after that, sessions cost $49 per 100. An email session covers 72 hours and a chat session 24 hours. Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent a month billed yearly on Pro and Enterprise.
How do I export my data from Freshdesk?
Run a full account export as an admin: it comes as XML with tickets, solution articles, forums and customers. The CSV or Excel ticket export leaves out full conversations and archived tickets.
What's the difference between Freshdesk and Freshdesk Omni?
Freshdesk covers email, Facebook and a basic web chat with an email AI agent. Freshdesk Omni adds full live chat, WhatsApp and Instagram in one inbox and a chat AI agent, for $10 to $30 more per agent a month billed yearly.
Sources
- Freshdesk pricing and Freshdesk Omni pricing (monthly and annual), checked Oct 14, 2026; Freshworks Pricing Plan List, current as of June 13, 2025; Freshworks Terms of Service (effective April 1, 2026).
- Freshdesk help center: Free program (Sep 22, 2026), Freshdesk vs Freshdesk Omni, Freddy AI add-ons, AI Agent sessions FAQ, ticket export, account export, API rate limits.
- Pricing pages checked Oct 14, 2026: Zendesk, Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub, Intercom, Front, Hiver, Gorgias, LiveAgent, Crisp, Gleap, Chatwoot, CRMsoftware.pro.
AI answers on every chat channel, one price for the team
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