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Side-by-side comparison · Sales & Customer Support

Freshdesk vs Hiver vs Hyperbound

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Freshdesk

3.8

From $19/agent/mo

Hiver

3.9

From $25/user/mo

Best overall

Hyperbound

4.1

Free to start

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Pick it if: Small and mid-size businesses that handle customer questions by email, chat and phone and need a proper ticket system.

Best value

Pick it if: Small and mid-sized teams who answer customers or suppliers from a shared Gmail address and want structure without leaving Gmail.

Best overall

Pick it if: Sales managers and enablement teams onboarding and coaching reps on calls.

Hyperbound scores highest overall, but Hiver gives you more for your money. Which one is right comes down to what you value most.

Overview

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
In one lineHelpdesk for email, chat and phone support, with Freddy AI to answer and assist.Shared inbox and helpdesk that runs inside Gmail, with AI that drafts and answers replies.AI sales role-play: practise cold calls and objections with realistic AI buyers.
Pricing modelPaidPaidFreemium
Starting price$19/agent/mo$25/user/moFree
Free plan No No Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes No

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Overall rating3.83.94.1Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
4.5
4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
4.0
4.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
3.5
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
3.5
4.0
3.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
3.5
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Access & platform
Free plan No No Yes
Mobile app Yes Yes–
Desktop app No––
Browser extension– Yes Yes
API access Yes Yes–
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No No No
AI abilities
Works with your files Yes––
Understands images–––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No No No
Runs agents or automations Yes Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style–––
Works in many languages Yes––
Capabilities score8/ 177/ 176/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Plans

Growth

$19/agent/mo billed yearly

Small teams moving off a shared inbox.

Growth

$25/user/mo billed yearly, or $35 monthly

Small teams running one or two shared inboxes.

Free

Free

Trying AI role-play with a few reps.

ProOur pick

$55/agent/mo billed yearly

Growing teams that need routing and deadlines.

ProOur pick

$55/user/mo billed yearly, or $65 monthly

Support teams that need targets and connected tools.

PracticeOur pick

Custom per user

Teams that want reps rehearsing on AI.

Enterprise

$89/agent/mo billed yearly

Larger support teams with admin and security needs.

Elite

$85/user/mo billed yearly, or $95 monthly

Larger teams wanting AI quality checks and tighter security.

Perform

Custom per user

Teams that also want real calls scored and coached.

Which plan to pickGrowth is fine for a few agents answering email. Most growing teams end up on Pro for routing, SLAs and the option to add Copilot. Budget for extra AI Agent sessions once the first 500 are used.Growth is enough for a small team that just needs a tidy shared inbox with AI help. Choose Pro if you need response-time targets, CRM or Shopify data next to each email, or the API. Voice is an add-on at $30 per seat.Run the free role-plays with two or three reps first. If they keep using them, Practice covers rehearsal; only pay for Perform if you do not already have Gong or another call recorder.

Key features

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Standout features
  • Ticketing and shared inbox
  • Freddy AI Agent
  • Freddy AI Copilot
  • Help centre and portal
  • Automations and SLAs
  • Reports
  • Shared inbox in Gmail
  • AI agents
  • AI copilot
  • Collaboration
  • Hiver Omni
  • AI buyer role-plays
  • Custom personas
  • Scorecards
  • Real call scoring
  • Manager dashboards

Pros and cons

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Pros
  • Cheaper and quicker to set up than Zendesk
  • Clean, easy agent inbox that new staff pick up fast
  • Large marketplace of apps and integrations
  • AI agent included to start, without a separate contract
  • Public API for custom workflows
  • Almost no training: the team keeps working in Gmail
  • AI agents and copilot included from the cheapest plan
  • Good for non-support teams like finance and HR
  • Cheaper than Zendesk or Intercom for small teams
  • 24/7 support on every plan
  • Very realistic AI buyers that react to what you say
  • Useful free plan with ready-made role-plays
  • Clear scoring that shows reps what to fix
  • Saves managers hours of live role-play
Cons
  • 2026 price rise, and the free plan is now only a six-month program for one or two agents
  • Useful features like custom dashboards and smart routing are locked to Pro and above
  • Freddy AI costs add up: sessions billed in packs and Copilot priced per agent
  • AI agent needs tuning and handles multi-step conversations less well than Intercom
  • Mixed reviews of Freshworks support and billing when issues arise
  • Gmail add-on can be slow, lose connection or log users out
  • Search and formatting are weaker than in a full helpdesk
  • Key integrations and the API only start on Pro
  • Seats sold in blocks, with a two-seat minimum
  • No public pricing for team plans
  • Custom personas and scorecards take setup time
  • Built for sales teams, not individuals practising on their own

Who each one is for

AttributeFreshdeskHiverHyperbound
Best for
  • Turning a support inbox into tracked tickets
  • Building a help centre and customer portal
  • Deflecting repeat questions with an AI agent
  • Teams of 3 to 100 support agents
  • Running support@ or info@ as a team
  • Assigning and tracking customer emails
  • Finance and HR shared mailboxes
  • AI-drafted email replies
  • Teams that want to stay in Gmail
  • Practising cold calls before going live
  • Onboarding new sales reps faster
  • Drilling objection handling
  • Scoring calls against a scorecard
You'll find it used by
  • Customer support teams
  • E-commerce stores
  • SaaS companies
  • IT and service desks
  • Customer support teams
  • Finance and accounts teams
  • Operations teams
  • Logistics companies
  • Agencies
  • Sales development reps
  • Account executives
  • Sales managers
  • Sales enablement teams

Questions people ask

Which is better, Freshdesk, Hiver or Hyperbound?

Hyperbound scores highest overall in our ratings (Freshdesk 3.8/5, Hiver 3.9/5 and Hyperbound 4.1/5). Freshdesk is best for turning a support inbox into tracked tickets and building a help centre and customer portal. Hiver is best for running support@ or info@ as a team and assigning and tracking customer emails. Hyperbound is best for practising cold calls before going live and onboarding new sales reps faster.

Which is cheaper, Freshdesk, Hiver or Hyperbound?

Freshdesk: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/agent/mo. Hiver: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $25/user/mo. Hyperbound: It's free to use.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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