Helpdesk for support teams, with AI agents that answer customers and a copilot for staff.
Sales & Customer Support
Freshdesk
Helpdesk for email, chat and phone support, with Freddy AI to answer and assist.
3.8our rating
PaidFrom $19/agent/moWorks with Claude Code
Quick take
- A full ticketing helpdesk that most small teams can set up in a day, for less than Zendesk.
- Growth starts at $19 per agent a month billed yearly, Pro is $55 and Enterprise $89. Monthly billing costs about 20% more.
- Freddy AI Agent comes with 500 sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 more. Freddy Copilot is another $29 per agent a month on Pro and up.
- There is no lasting free plan now, only a 14-day trial and a six-month free program for one or two agents.
- Users report the AI is easy to switch on but needs tuning before it answers many tickets well.
What is Freshdesk?
Freshdesk is a helpdesk from Freshworks. Customer emails, web forms and chats arrive as tickets in one shared inbox, where your team assigns, replies, tracks deadlines and builds a help centre of answers. Freddy AI Agent answers common questions on its own from your help articles, and Freddy Copilot (a paid add-on) drafts replies, summarises long threads and suggests answers for your staff.
Pick it over Zendesk when you are a small or mid-size team that wants most of the same ticketing for less money and an easier setup. Intercom is the stronger choice if chat and an AI agent are the centre of your support, rather than email tickets. For a team that just wants support inside Gmail, Hiver is simpler.
The catch: Freshdesk raised prices in 2026 for the first time in five years, the old free plan is now a six-month program for one or two agents, and many useful features sit in the Pro and Enterprise tiers. Freddy AI Agent's 500 included sessions are a one-off allowance, then extra sessions are billed in packs, and users say the AI needs time to tune before it deflects many tickets.
Who's using it, and who it's for
- Customer support teams
- E-commerce stores
- SaaS companies
- IT and service desks
Small and mid-size businesses that handle customer questions by email, chat and phone and need a proper ticket system.
Key features
Ticketing and shared inbox
Email, web forms, chat and social messages land as tickets your team can assign, tag, prioritise and track.
Freddy AI Agent
Answers common customer questions by chat and email from your help articles, and hands the rest to a person.
Freddy AI Copilot
Paid add-on that drafts and rewrites replies, summarises long threads and suggests the next step for agents.
Help centre and portal
Publish help articles and give customers a portal to check the status of their requests.
Automations and SLAs
Route tickets to the right person, send reminders and track response deadlines, with more options on Pro.
Reports
Built-in dashboards on volume, response times and satisfaction, with custom dashboards on Pro and up.
How we rate it
3.8 / 5
Our rating
From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.
- Ease of use
- 4.0
- Features
- 4.0
- Output quality
- 3.5
- Value for money
- 3.5
- Speed & reliability
- 4.0
How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
How good the results are before you fix them.
What you get for the price, including the free plan.
How fast it is and how often it falls over.
Freshdesk pricing
Growth
$19/agent/mo billed yearly
Small teams moving off a shared inbox.
- Ticketing, shared inbox and help centre
- Standard reports, threads and tasks
- Freddy AI Agent with 500 starter sessions
- Our pick
Pro
$55/agent/mo billed yearly
Growing teams that need routing and deadlines.
- Multilingual helpdesk and custom dashboards
- Smart ticket routing and multiple SLA policies
- Option to add Freddy Copilot ($29/agent/mo)
Enterprise
$89/agent/mo billed yearly
Larger support teams with admin and security needs.
- Freddy AI Insights
- Skill-based routing and a test sandbox
- Audit logs and IP restrictions
Which plan should you pick?
Growth 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.
Prices in USD unless noted, checked 22 October 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Best use cases
Ways Freshdesk can slot into your week.
- 1
Stop losing emails in a shared inbox
Route support@ into Freshdesk so every customer email becomes a ticket with an owner, a status and a deadline.
- 2
Answer the same questions automatically
Write help articles for shipping, returns and passwords, and let Freddy AI Agent answer those on chat and email.
- 3
Faster replies for agents
With Copilot, agents get a draft reply and a summary of the thread before they start typing.
- 4
Track service levels
Set response and resolution targets by customer type and see who is falling behind each week.
How it fits your tech stack
Freshdesk connects to Shopify, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce and HubSpot through its marketplace, so support staff see order and customer details beside each ticket. It also pairs with Freshworks' own CRM and phone products if you want one vendor.
Pros and cons
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
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
Freshdesk alternatives
The closest alternatives to Freshdesk in the library, best rated first.
Intercom
4.2
Best for answering common customer questions automatically
Compare with Freshdesk
Hyperbound
4.1
Best for practising cold calls before going live
Compare with Freshdesk
Retell AI
4.1
Best for AI receptionist for a small business
Compare with Freshdesk
Yoodli
4.1
Best for rehearsing a pitch or presentation
Compare with Freshdesk
Why it made the list
It is one of the most widely used helpdesks for smaller businesses, and a cheaper, simpler route to Zendesk-style support.
Freshdesk FAQ
How much does Freshdesk cost?
There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/agent/mo. Prices checked 22 October 2026 against Freshdesk's pricing page.
Is Freshdesk free?
No. There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $19/agent/mo.
What is Freshdesk best for?
Freshdesk is best for turning a support inbox into tracked tickets, building a help centre and customer portal and deflecting repeat questions with an AI agent. Small and mid-size businesses that handle customer questions by email, chat and phone and need a proper ticket system.
What are the best Freshdesk alternatives?
The closest alternatives are Intercom, Hyperbound, Retell AI and Yoodli. Intercom is best for answering common customer questions automatically.
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