Freshdesk vs Zendesk: which one’s better? (Spoiler: we think it’s ThriveDesk)

Let’s get this out in the open: you came here looking for an honest comparison between Freshdesk and Zendesk, and somehow landed on the ThriveDesk blog. Yes, we make customer support software too.

Yes, we’d love for you to choose us instead. And yes, that makes this comparison about as unbiased as asking Pepsi which tastes better: Coke or RC Cola.

But here’s the thing: we’ve talked to hundreds of support teams who’ve used both Freshdesk and Zendesk, and many of them ended up switching to us. That means we know exactly what frustrated them about each platform, what they loved, and what made them start looking for alternatives in the first place.

So while we can’t promise complete objectivity (we’re only human), we can promise honesty. Both Freshdesk and Zendesk are solid platforms with real strengths—and real weaknesses. Some teams will thrive with either one. Others will find themselves drowning in complexity, surprise costs, or feature limitations that only become obvious after you’ve already migrated your entire support operation.

This guide breaks down the key differences between Freshdesk and Zendesk based on what actually matters: pricing structures, feature sets, learning curves, and those annoying gotchas that only reveal themselves after you’ve signed the contract. We’ll tell you where each platform excels, where they fall short, and yes—where ThriveDesk might be a better fit for your needs.

Descripción general

Freshdesk es una solución de gestión de atención al cliente centrada en la optimización de costes. Zendesk es una solución robusta, fiable y una de las más antiguas del mercado de software de atención al cliente; ligeramente cara, pero su objetivo es ofrecer el mejor retorno de la inversión.

Tanto Freshdesk como Zendesk ofrecen un conjunto de funciones sofisticadas. Freshdesk es excelente para lo básico, mientras que Zendesk está diseñado para manejar requisitos empresariales complejos. Muchos consideran que Zendesk es la herramienta de help desk más completa, pero Freshdesk iguala esas herramientas y funciones a todos los niveles.

Freshdesk es más barato y se presenta como una solución alternativa a los crecientes precios de Zendesk. El precio de entrada de Freshdesk empieza en $15 al mes por agente, mientras que Zendesk cobra casi el triple, $49 al mes por agente, con funciones muy poco elegibles. 

Aquí está la tercera opción sin embargo - ThriveDesk – a simple, inexpensive help desk software for Bootstrap-based SAAS startups and eCommerce businesses. With built-in functionalities like shared inbox, live chat, chatbot, reporting, knowledge base and a lot more integration, ThriveDesk includes all the support features you could possibly want.

To save you from endless tabs, we pulled all the key data into one sheet that helps you find best helpdesk software and competitors on data points like pricing, documentation, and customer support. The data is accurate as of Oct 01, 2025.

We’ll walk you through some of the strongest alternatives in the market, including ourselves, of course. Whether you’re a lean eCommerce shop or a growing SaaS team, there’s an option out there that won’t drain your budget or sanity.

ThriveDesk (hi 👋)

We started ThriveDesk and our goal was to create support software that small businesses can trust. A tool that combines helpdesk, live chat, chatbot, and knowledge base in one place. It is modern, lightning fast, and backed by support that treats you like a person, not a ticket number.

We know choosing support software is tough, but ThriveDesk was designed to be the kind of tool you don’t have to wrestle with. It’s simple where it should be, powerful where it matters, and always transparent about what you’re paying for.

👍 Pros

• Lightning-fast and modern UI: ThriveDesk is built with speed in mind. The interface loads quickly, looks clean, and stays clutter-free, so your team can focus on helping customers instead of wrestling with menus and settings. New teammates can jump in and feel at home within minutes.
• All-in-one toolkit: No need to juggle multiple tools. ThriveDesk brings helpdesk, live chat, chatbot, and knowledge base into one seamless platform. Everything connects, so you can handle tickets, chat in real time, publish self-serve articles, and automate responses without switching tabs.
• Smooth Notion-like editor + AI: Writing documentation doesn’t have to be painful. Our knowledge base editor feels smooth and intuitive, just like Notion. AI helps with suggestions, summaries, and edits, so your team can publish articles that are clear, polished, and helpful in less time.
• Transparent pricing, stellar support: What you see is what you pay. There are no hidden fees, add-on charges, or extra costs for features you actually need. Plus, our own support team is here for you at no extra charge — responsive, human, and ready to help.
• No pushy upsells: We only recommend extras if you truly need them.
• Smart apps without coding: With our Smart Apps, you can pull data from any system — CRM, payment processor, or shipping tool — directly into your tickets. No developers required, no custom coding, just a few clicks to connect the dots.
• Purpose-built for SMBs and eCommerce: Tailored features for lean, fast-moving teams.
• Neo, our AI support agent: Neo is more than a chatbot. It’s an AI agent built to actually solve customer problems, not just deflect them. It can answer complex queries, guide customers through solutions, and even capture leads for your business while your team is offline.

👎 Cons

• Growing ecosystem: Our integrations are expanding quickly, but we don’t have every app on the market (yet).
• No iOS app (yet): Our Android app is live, but iOS is still in development.

Precios de ThriveDesk

ThriveDesk uses straightforward pricing based solely on the number of inboxes per month. Here’s a pricing snapshot:

• Básico: $29/mes
• Estándar: $69/month
• Unlimited: $129/month

💛 Friendly tip: Many tools look affordable at first but get expensive once you add extra fees for agents, overages, or “premium” support. ThriveDesk is the only provider on this list that gives you unlimited agents on Unlimited plan and never charges extra for support. 

One final thing…

We think you’ll like knowing there are real humans behind this product. We’re a nimble team, part remote and part in-office, working side by side to build mighty things. We love doing team activities and regular outings, because building great software is easier when you actually enjoy the people you work with.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk is one of the most recognizable names in customer support software. Founded in 2010 by Freshworks, it’s built to cover everything from ticketing to automation, and it’s especially popular with startups and mid-sized businesses looking for a Zendesk-style platform at a friendlier price point

👍 Pros

• Generous free plan: Unlike most competitors, Freshdesk offers a genuinely useful free plan for up to 2 agents that includes ticketing, knowledge base, and basic reports.
• Traditional ticketing approach: If Intercom’s conversation-first approach feels too casual, Freshdesk’s ticket-based system provides the structure many support teams prefer.
• Extensive customization options: From custom objects to advanced routing, Freshdesk lets you tailor the platform to match your specific workflow needs.
• Multi-product ecosystem: Being part of Freshworks means easy integration with their CRM, marketing automation, and IT service management tools.

👎 Cons

• Complexity creeps in: The platform can feel overwhelming as you scale, with layers of settings buried in menus.
• Limited modern communication channels: Works great for email and basic chat, but lacks seamless integration with modern messaging platforms compared to Intercom.
• Multi-tiered pricing system: What starts as simple per-agent pricing quickly stacks when you add Freshchat, Freshcaller, or Omnichannel—each sold separately.
• AI costs extra: Freddy AI adds $29/agent/month to your bill.

Precios de Freshdesk

Here’s where things get… interesting. Freshdesk uses per-agent pricing, but it’s not as straightforward as it appears on the surface.

• Free: $0 for up to 2 agents
• Growth: $15/agent/month
• Pro: $49/agent/month
• Empresa: $79/agent/month

Want live chat? That’s Freshchat (separate pricing). Need phone support? Hello Freshcaller (another bill). Omnichannel features? Fresh Omnichannel (yet another subscription).

What starts as $15/month per agent can quickly become $15 (Freshdesk) + $15 (Freshchat) + $29 (Freshcaller) = $59/agent just for basic multi-channel support. 

Add AI features at $29/agent/month, and you’re looking at enterprise-level costs without the unified experience.

🎬 Fun Fact: The “Broken TV” Spark

Freshdesk exists because founder Girish Mathrubootham got terrible customer service for a broken TV. He vented about it in a Hacker News comment, which sparked conversations about building better support software. 

A few months later, he quit his job at Zoho and started Freshdesk from his house in Chennai. Sometimes the best products come from genuinely frustrated customers!

Zendesk

The granddaddy of customer support software, Zendesk has been around since 2007. It quickly became the “enterprise default” for large companies that needed robust ticketing, reporting, and integrations. If Intercom is the sleek new car, Zendesk is the heavy-duty truck — not flashy, but it can carry a lot.

👍 Pros

• Enterprise-ready: Rock-solid infrastructure with 99.9% uptime SLA and enterprise security features that big companies actually trust.
• Massive app ecosystem: Works with just about every CRM, marketing tool, and analytics platform.
• Informes avanzados: Deep analytics and customizable dashboards that make data nerds happy.
• Multichannel mastery: Email, chat, phone, social media, and SMS all in one platform without feeling bolted-on.

👎 Cons

• Curva de aprendizaje pronunciada: Zendesk’s interface can feel clunky and overwhelming for new users.
• Expensive quickly: Basic plans look reasonable until you add phone support, advanced AI, or premium features.
• Over-engineered for small teams: If you just need simple customer support, Zendesk might be overkill.

Precios de Zendesk

Zendesk Suite plans (includes everything):

• Team: $55/agent/month
• Growth: $89/agent/month
• Professional: $115/agent/month
• Empresa: $169/agent/month

The Costco effect: That $55/month base price is just the starting point. Add AI features, premium integrations, or advanced analytics, and you’re quickly looking at $100+ per agent. It’s like ordering a car where the engine, wheels, and seats are all optional extras.

🪑 Fun Fact: The Danish Disruption

Zendesk was famously started in a loft in Copenhagen by three Danish guys with secondhand furniture from IKEA. The company went from zero to IPO in just 7 years, proving that sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to get really annoyed with existing solutions first.

Tabla de pros y contras 

Freshdesk	Zendesk
Pros:  ✅ Customer tickets show previous tickets, which is helpful, and it’s not hard to tag certain contacts as VIP users so that they can get expedited support. ✅ It automates 90 % of our volume of tickets saves not only time but reduces the error rate drastically. ✅ All chats and tickets from all booking channels in one central system saved us a lot of time. ✅ Their customer support resolves all of the needs and all issues or concerns quickly. ✅ The centralized automation and reporting features make it quicker to access. It can also be customized according to the requirements. ✅ The software is pretty easy to implement, a bit intuitive with clean UI, and a provision to keep track of internal team priorities and tasks. ✅ Freshdesk dashboard preserves the logs of all tickets making it easier to deal with which further improves the Support team’s efficiency and analytics on individual performance.	Pros: ✅ With Zendesk internal CRM can be maintained with ease. ✅ The features allow tracking the ticket status. The integration of Shopify and creating a knowledge base is effortless. ✅ The sheer number of plugins and integrations available attracts businesses. ✅ Zendesk’s thorough reporting system is the best out there in this market. ✅ Zendesk generates alerts and status of tickets on the platform to ease the completion of the task, attachment of information, and keeping the log of the users and tickets. ✅ New engineers can quickly register in the portal and begin to attend support tickets. It enables customers to keep track of the hours that are billed according to the tickets.
Contras: ⚠️ The ticket management system may sometimes not display the exact team member’s name which creates confusion ⚠️ Spanish translations have been found to be erroneous and inaccurate. ⚠️ Contact management and search need improvement. ⚠️ Upgrading Freshdesk’s features are overpriced based on the feedback received.	Contras: ⚠️ The functionality and automation need time to understand. ⚠️ There are multiple reports of difficulty in creating dashboards, and it is a bit confusing to use, with data that are out of sync at times. ⚠️ Zendesk can improve the time it takes them to implement their service into a business’s existing framework for dealing with customer concerns and complaints.  ⚠️ New features are not implemented quickly enough.

Aquí nos encontramos en el clímax de este enfrentamiento entre Freshdesk y Zendesk. Basándonos en las características, las reseñas y los comentarios, Freshdesk lleva la delantera en esta rivalidad. Freshdesk tiene una interfaz más sencilla que permite a cualquiera acceder a las herramientas más rápidamente. Además, las opciones de precios más baratos atraen a los negocios más pequeños. Zendesk es una mejor alternativa para empresas y grandes corporaciones debido a su plétora de funciones de gestión del servicio de asistencia.

Sin embargo, existen alternativas más unificadas- como ThriveDesk. Con ThriveDesk, obtendrá características adicionales aparte de las mencionadas en las secciones superiores. Thrivedesk ofrece un widget de chat en vivo personalizable y centrado en la modernidad. El widget soporta una plétora de características como la asignación de etiquetas y estatutos, notas privadas para sus colegas, reasignación de las solicitudes de los clientes, y muchos más. 

Sus planes son más sencillos y asequibles, lo que no dificulta la ampliación de su punto de venta de comercio electrónico. La retención de clientes conduce a una base de clientes orgánica que aumenta la rentabilidad de su negocio. Conseguirlo sólo es posible si dispone de un software de atención al cliente acorde con su negocio. ¡Investigue y elija sabiamente!