Guide
How Freshdesk compares, in detail
Freshdesk, made by Freshworks, is one of the most widely used ticketing helpdesks. It has about 4.4 stars from more than 3,800 reviewers on G2 and 4.5 stars from 3,494 reviews on Capterra. It supports serious support operations: SLAs, parent and child tickets, skill-based routing, sandboxes, audit logs, and a customer portal. Its Freddy AI Agent can also take actions through prebuilt workflows for Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, and FedEx.
So when teams search for Freshdesk alternatives, it’s worth asking a sharper question first. Is the helpdesk the problem, or is the problem the cost and reach of the AI on top of it? The answer decides whether to replace Freshdesk or keep it for tickets and put a different AI in front. This guide covers both options.
Fetchply publishes this guide. Freshdesk facts come from Freshworks’ pricing pages, support articles, and changelog, checked on November 9, 2026.
Two Freshdesk products, two prices
Freshdesk is now sold in two versions:
- Freshdesk is email-first.
- Freshdesk Omni adds advanced live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, and bring-your-own channels.
The split matters for AI. Freddy’s chat AI agents on web, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger require Omni. Email AI agents work on both versions.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Plan | Freshdesk | Freshdesk Omni |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | $19 | $29 |
| Pro | $55 | $79 |
| Enterprise | $89 | $119 |
Why teams look for Freshdesk alternatives
1. AI sessions are billed whether or not they resolve anything
Every account gets 500 free Freddy AI Agent sessions once. After that, sessions cost $49 per 100. Freshworks’ support documentation sets out how they work:
- A chat session covers all interactions within 24 hours. An email session covers a 72-hour window.
- Sessions are billed whether or not the AI resolves the issue.
- Previews also use sessions.
- Packs expire at the end of the billing cycle and don’t roll over. They’re added again every cycle until you reduce them.
- When sessions run out, the AI agent stops. In the self-service widget, the customer isn’t passed to a human.
2. The AI for your agents is a separate seat add-on
Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent per month and is available only on Pro and Enterprise. A five-person team on Pro pays $275 for seats and another $145 for Copilot.
3. Prices went up and the free plan disappeared
Current entry prices are $19, $55, and $89. According to archived pricing pages cited by DragApp, they used to be $15, $49, and $79. Freshdesk’s pricing pages no longer show a free plan. A Free Program for two agents over six months still exists, but Freshworks’ changelog says joining it now goes through Customer Success Managers.
4. Many features sit on higher tiers
Multilingual support, advanced routing, and multiple SLAs start on Pro. Skill-based routing and audit logs need Enterprise. G2 reviewers often say advanced automation is hard to set up.
5. Connecting Shopify takes extra steps
Since January 1, 2026, connecting Shopify requires the merchant to create a custom app in Shopify’s Dev Dashboard. Freshdesk has no Shopify App Store listing.
Cost of the same workload
This example uses three agents and 500 AI conversations a month, with seats billed annually and the one-time free sessions already used.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Setup | Monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Freshdesk Growth, email AI only | 3 × $19 + 5 × $49 = $302 |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth, chat AI | 3 × $29 + 5 × $49 = $332 |
| Freshdesk Omni Pro + Copilot | 3 × ($79 + $29) + $245 = $569 |
| Fetchply Starter, assuming 4 AI replies per conversation (2,000 messages) | $18, 3 seats included |
These are different products. Every Freshdesk figure includes a full ticketing system, and Fetchply’s doesn’t. The units also differ. A Freshdesk session covers a whole conversation window, while a Fetchply message is one AI reply. If your conversations need more than four replies on average, raise the Fetchply estimate to match.
Option A: replace Freshdesk
This makes sense when your team uses Freshdesk mainly as a shared inbox, and your queue is mostly questions an AI can answer from your content or store data.
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Item | Freshdesk / Omni | Fetchply |
|---|---|---|
| AI channels | Chat and messaging on Omni; email on both | Website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Slack, Discord, business email |
| AI billing | $49 per 100 sessions, billed regardless of outcome | AI messages included in each plan; no automatic overage |
| AI actions | Prebuilt workflows for Shopify, Stripe, PayPal, FedEx | Verified Shopify and WooCommerce order lookups; custom Functions for your own APIs |
| Ticketing | SLAs, parent and child tickets, routing, sandbox, audit logs | Shared inbox with assignment, labels, notes, and shortcuts; no SLAs or ticket hierarchy |
| Knowledge base | Hosted portal and knowledge base | Uses your existing pages and files; doesn’t host a help center |
| Voice | Freshcaller add-on | None |
Option B: keep Freshdesk for tickets, put Fetchply in front
Fetchply includes a ready-made Freshdesk ticket template for its Functions feature. Here’s how it works:
- Fetchply’s AI answers first on your website, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger.
- When it can’t resolve something, or the customer asks for a person, it collects their name, email, subject, and details.
- It creates an open ticket in your Freshdesk account and tells the customer the ticket number.
- Your team follows up by email from Freshdesk, as they do today.
The template only creates tickets. It deliberately never reads them back, so a customer can’t see another person’s ticket.
This setup keeps your SLAs and reports intact, with fewer Freshdesk seats needed for front-line chat. You also avoid Omni and Freddy session costs for the questions the AI answers. Functions are available on every Fetchply plan, including Free, which allows two. See how this helps reduce support tickets.
The tradeoff is that conversations which get escalated begin in Fetchply and continue in Freshdesk. Your team needs to know where to look.
When Freshdesk is the better choice
- You need SLAs, ticket hierarchies, skill routing, or audit trails.
- Your AI must issue refunds or change orders through prebuilt workflows.
- You need voice support alongside tickets.
- You already use other Freshworks products, such as Freshsales or Freshservice. For Freshworks’ messaging product, see our Freshchat alternatives guide.
When Fetchply is the better fit
- Most of your volume is repeat questions on chat and messaging apps.
- You want AI on WhatsApp and Instagram without moving to Omni.
- You’re tired of session packs that expire every cycle.
- You run a Shopify or WooCommerce store and want verified order answers without building a custom Shopify app.
Before you switch
- Export your knowledge-base articles and add them to Fetchply as website pages or files.
- Reduce your Freddy session packs before the next cycle. They renew automatically.
- If you choose Option B, set up the Freshdesk template with an API key from a dedicated agent profile, then test it with the built-in test run.
- Check your contract term. Cancellations and downgrades take effect at the end of the term.
- Weighing a lighter email-first helpdesk instead? Read our Help Scout alternatives guide.
Not ready to leave Freshdesk?
Add the Freshdesk ticket Function to a free Fetchply agent and let it answer front-line chats for a month.
Set up the Freshdesk FunctionSources
Checked . Vendor pages can change after this date.
- Freshworks: Freshdesk pricing
- Freshworks: Freshdesk Omni pricing
- Freshdesk Support: Freddy AI Agent Studio
- Freshdesk Support: getting started with Omni
- Freshdesk Support: Free Program
- Freshworks: Freshdesk new features
- DragApp: Freshdesk pricing history (third party)
- Freshdesk Support: the Shopify app
- G2: Freshdesk reviews
- Capterra: Freshdesk reviews