The best Freshdesk alternative depends on what is driving you away: Zoho Desk is cheaper per user with a real free plan, Help Scout bills its AI only per resolution, HubSpot Service Hub fits teams on HubSpot's CRM, Zendesk offers a broader suite, and Gorgias suits ecommerce stores.
Freshdesk is still a low-priced help desk with EU hosting on every plan. What has changed is its pricing: list prices and the AI Agent session price have both risen compared with an earlier Freshworks price list that is still online, the free plan has become a time-limited program, and AI sessions are charged whether or not they resolve anything. The alternatives below each address one of those points.
Why teams look beyond Freshdesk
- The Freddy AI Agent is billed per session, at $49 per 100, and a session is charged whether or not the customer's problem gets solved.
- The AI session price rose from $100 to $490 per 1,000 sessions compared with an earlier Freshworks price list that is still online, with no announcement we could find.
- Seat prices rose too: Growth went from $15 to $19 and Pro from $49 to $55 per agent per month.
- The free plan is now a Free program of 2 agents for 6 months, after which a paid plan is required.
- Standalone Freshdesk is email-first; chat, phone and WhatsApp need Freshdesk Omni at $29 to $119 per agent.
The alternatives, ranked
Help Scout
Small teams that work mainly in email8.3- Price from
- $25 per agent per month
- Pricing model
- Per seat, plus AI usage
- Free plan
- Yes
- EU data hosting
- No
Help Scout is a shared inbox, live chat widget and knowledge base for small and mid-size support teams. Paid plans start at $25 per user per month on annual billing, there is a free plan for up to 5 users, and its customer-facing AI agent costs $0.75 per resolution with no charge when the customer still needs a person.
The catch: Data is hosted in the United States only, and the prices on the pricing page are annual-billing prices: paying monthly costs $30 instead of $25 on Standard.
Tidio
Online stores and other small teams of up to ten agents that also want support to generate sales, through in-chat product recommendations8.9- Price from
- $24.17 per month
- Pricing model
- Per ticket volume
- Free plan
- Yes
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Tidio is a customer service suite for small ecommerce teams: ticketing and an email inbox, live chat, the rule-based Flows chatbot and the Lyro AI agent. It does not charge per agent. Every self-serve plan is a flat price for the whole project that includes 10 seats, and the plan is chosen by how many conversations a human answers: Starter is $24.17 a month for 100 of them, and Growth runs from $49.17 for 250 up to $290.83 for 2,000, on annual billing. Lyro is bought separately, in prepaid monthly packs from $32.50.
The catch: Three meters run at once and none of them covers the others: billable human conversations, Lyro conversations and Flows visitors are bought separately. Worse, the conversation cap is a wall, not a bill - once the month's allowance is used, agents cannot see or answer new messages until the quota resets or you upgrade. And every self-serve plan stops at 10 seats.
Zoho Desk
Small and mid-size teams that want a complete help desk at a low per-user price8.1- Price from
- $7 per agent per month
- Pricing model
- Per agent seat
- Free plan
- Yes
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Zoho Desk is a ticketing help desk with email, social and WhatsApp channels, a help center and a chat widget, sold as part of the wider Zoho suite. Paid editions start at $7 per user per month on annual billing, there is a free plan for up to 3 users, and the Zia AI assistant is included from the Professional edition at $23. Zia AI Agents come with a free monthly token allowance, but the price of usage beyond it is not published.
The catch: Below Professional there is no bundled generative AI: on Express and Standard, AI features need your own OpenAI or DeepSeek API key, billed by that provider. And once Zia AI Agents use up the free token allowance, they draw on AI credits whose price Zoho does not publish.
HubSpot Service Hub
Teams already on HubSpot's CRM that want support tickets on the same customer records as sales and marketing7.5- Price from
- $7 per agent per month
- Pricing model
- Per seat, plus AI usage
- Free plan
- Yes
- EU data hosting
- Yes
HubSpot Service Hub is the customer service part of HubSpot's CRM: ticketing, shared inboxes, live chat, calling, a knowledge base and a customer portal, all on the same contact records as HubSpot's marketing and sales tools. Seats cost $7 (Starter), $90 (Professional) and $150 (Enterprise) per seat per month on an annual commitment. Professional and Enterprise also require one-time onboarding at $1,500 and $3,500. The Breeze Customer Agent costs $0.50 per resolved conversation, paid in HubSpot Credits.
The catch: The advertised prices leave things out. Professional and Enterprise need one-time onboarding ($1,500 and $3,500), the Starter price of $7 assumes an annual commitment against $20 month to month, and the included credits cover only about 60 AI resolutions a month on Professional. If you hold other HubSpot hubs at a higher tier, every Core Seat is priced at that tier.
Gorgias
Shopify and other ecommerce brands with many agents and moderate ticket volume7.4- Price from
- $10 per month
- Pricing model
- Per ticket volume
- Free plan
- No
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Gorgias is a help desk built for online stores, above all Shopify stores, with order data in the inbox and an AI agent that can handle refunds, cancellations and address changes. It is priced by billable tickets a month rather than per agent. Basic costs $50 a month for 300 tickets, Pro $300 for 2,000 and Advanced $750 for 5,000, on annual billing. The AI Agent costs $0.90 per automated interaction, and each of those interactions also uses up one of your plan's tickets.
The catch: Every conversation the AI Agent handles is billed twice: once as an automated interaction at $0.90 and once as a helpdesk ticket against your plan's allowance. Beyond the interactions included in your plan, the AI rate rises to $1.50.
Zendesk
Mid-size and enterprise teams that need phone, messaging and email in one tool5.2- Price from
- $19 per agent per month
- Pricing model
- Per seat, plus AI usage
- Free plan
- No
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Zendesk is a help desk for mid-size and large support teams that covers email, messaging, live chat, phone, WhatsApp, social channels and a help center in one suite. Omnichannel plans start at $55 per agent per month on annual billing, the Copilot agent-assist add-on costs $50 per agent and must be bought for every seat, and AI agents are billed per automated resolution under rules that Zendesk's own pricing page and help center currently describe differently.
The catch: Copilot cannot be licensed for a subset of agents: once it is on, every Suite Professional seat costs $115 plus $50. And the per-resolution price of AI agents under the billing model in force since May 2026 is not published.
Comparison table
| Product | Score | Pricing model | Price from | Free plan | EU data hosting | German | Spanish | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | 8.0 | Per seat, plus AI usage | $19 per agent per month | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Budget-conscious teams that want EU hosting and a cheap per-agent entry price |
| Help Scout | 8.3 | Per seat, plus AI usage | $25 per agent per month | Yes | No | Not documented | Not documented | Small teams that work mainly in email |
| Tidio | 8.9 | Per ticket volume | $24.17 per month | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Yes | Online stores and other small teams of up to ten agents that also want support to generate sales, through in-chat product recommendations |
| Zoho Desk | 8.1 | Per agent seat | $7 per agent per month | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Not documented | Small and mid-size teams that want a complete help desk at a low per-user price |
| HubSpot Service Hub | 7.5 | Per seat, plus AI usage | $7 per agent per month | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Teams already on HubSpot's CRM that want support tickets on the same customer records as sales and marketing |
| Gorgias | 7.4 | Per ticket volume | $10 per month | No | Yes | Not documented | Not documented | Shopify and other ecommerce brands with many agents and moderate ticket volume |
| Zendesk | 5.2 | Per seat, plus AI usage | $19 per agent per month | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Mid-size and enterprise teams that need phone, messaging and email in one tool |
True cost at 3, 10 and 50 agents
| Product | 3 agents · Entry tier · seats only | 3 agents · Entry tier · with AI on | 10 agents · Mid tier · seats only | 10 agents · Mid tier · with AI on | 50 agents · Mid tier · seats only | 50 agents · Mid tier · with AI on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | $57 | $155 | $550 | $1,085 | $2,750 | $5,425 |
| Help Scout | $75 | $188 | $450 | $825 | $2,250 | $4,125 |
| Tidio | $133 | $199 | No public price | $583 | Growth is capped at 10 seats | Growth is capped at 10 seats |
| Zoho Desk | $42 | $42 | $230 | $230 | $1,150 | $1,150 |
| HubSpot Service Hub | $21 | $21 | $900 | $1,120 | $4,500 | $5,720 |
| Gorgias | $230 | $365 | $480 | $930 | $3,450 | $5,700 |
| Zendesk | $165 | $368 | $1,150 | $2,250 | $5,750 | $11,250 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest alternative to Freshdesk?
Zoho Desk. Its Standard edition costs $14 and Professional $23 per user per month on annual billing, against $19 and $55 for Freshdesk Growth and Pro, and it has a permanent free plan for up to 3 users. Compare them in Freshdesk vs Zoho Desk.
Which Freshdesk alternative charges AI only per resolution?
Help Scout charges $0.75 per AI resolution and nothing when the customer asks for a person. HubSpot Service Hub charges $0.50 per resolution, and Zendesk charges only verified resolutions, although its current tier prices come from sales. See per-seat vs per-resolution pricing.
Is there still a free version of Freshdesk?
Not permanently. Freshdesk's Free program covers 2 agents for 6 months. Zoho Desk, Help Scout, HubSpot Service Hub and Jira Service Management all have permanent free plans; see free help desk software.
Which Freshdesk alternatives keep EU data hosting?
Zoho Desk lets you choose EU hosting at sign-up on every edition, HubSpot Service Hub hosts paid accounts in Germany, and Zendesk offers EU hosting from Suite Professional. Help Scout documents US hosting only. See help desks with EU data hosting.
Related pages
- Freshdesk reviewreview
- Freshdesk pricing explainedpricing
- Zendesk vs Freshdeskvs
- Freshdesk vs Zoho Deskvs
- Freshdesk vs Help Scoutvs
- Help desk migration checklistguide
- Best help desk softwarebest list
Sources
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This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on it. We have not run hands-on tests of these products. Method: How we review