Pick Zoho Desk if you want the lowest per-user price, a permanent free plan and AI agent assist bundled from Professional; pick Freshdesk if you need native phone and chat through Freshdesk Omni, a documented agent-interface language list, or an AI agent whose price is fully published.
Both are ticketing help desks for small and mid-size teams, and both let you choose EU hosting at sign-up on any plan. Zoho Desk's list prices are lower, but the AI credits that meter its Zia AI Agents beyond a free allowance have no public price. Freshdesk prices everything, but charges its AI Agent per session whether the customer's problem gets solved or not.
Bottom line
- Zoho Desk is the cheaper help desk with bundled agent-assist AI, and Freshdesk is the better choice if you need native phone or a fully priced AI agent.
Side by side
| Freshdesk | Zoho Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.0 | 8.1 |
| Pricing model | Per seat, plus AI usage | Per agent seat |
| Price from | $19 per agent per month | $7 per agent per month |
| 10 agents · Mid tier · seats only | $550 | $230 |
| 10 agents · Mid tier · with AI on | $1,085 | $230 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Mandatory extra fees | No | No |
| Channels | Email, Live chat, Phone, WhatsApp, Social messaging | Email, Live chat, WhatsApp, Social messaging |
| Agent interface languages | 49 languages · German: Yes · Spanish: Yes | Not documented · German: Not documented · Spanish: Not documented |
| EU data hosting | Yes | Yes |
| UK data hosting | No | No |
| HIPAA (BAA available) | Yes | Yes |
| Certifications | ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO/IEC 27701:2019, SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 3, Cyber Essentials Plus, CSA STAR Level 1, EU-US Data Privacy Framework (with UK Extension), HIPAA BAA (Enterprise plan only) | ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ENS (Spain), Cyber Essentials Plus, GDPR data processing addendum (on request), HIPAA BAA (on request) |
| Best for | Budget-conscious teams that want EU hosting and a cheap per-agent entry price | Small and mid-size teams that want a complete help desk at a low per-user price |
Choose Freshdesk if
- You want native phone, live chat and WhatsApp in one workspace, which Freshdesk Omni offers from $29 per agent.
- You want to forecast your AI bill from public prices: Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100.
- Your agents need German or Spanish, which are among the interface languages Freshdesk documents.
- You need a published sub-processor list, which Freshworks provides and we could not find for Zoho.
Choose Zoho Desk if
- You want the lowest seat price: Zoho Desk Standard costs $14 and Professional $23 per user per month on annual billing.
- You want to start free: Zoho Desk has a permanent free plan for up to 3 users, while Freshdesk's free program ends after 6 months.
- You want agent-assist AI without a per-seat add-on: Zia is included from Professional, while Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent.
- You are moving from Zendesk or Freshdesk and want a documented free migration.
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 |
| Zoho Desk | $42 | $42 | $230 | $230 | $1,150 | $1,150 |
Freshdesk: entry tier is Freshdesk Growth, mid tier is Freshdesk Pro, top tier is Freshdesk Enterprise (standalone Freshdesk, not Omni). Copilot costs $29 per agent and is not available on Growth. AI Agent sessions are priced at $49 per pack of 100 with none included monthly, and because sessions count whether or not they resolve, the real bill is higher than the resolutions entered here suggest. Zoho Desk: entry tier is Standard, because Express is capped at 5 users; mid tier is Professional and top tier is Enterprise. Zia is included from Professional, so agent assist costs nothing there and is not available on Standard without your own API key. AI-agent usage cannot be priced, because Zoho does not publish the price of the AI credits used beyond the free token allowance. Help desk true-cost calculator
Score breakdown
| Criterion | Weight | Freshdesk | Zoho Desk |
|---|---|---|---|
| True cost with AI on | 30% | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 20% | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| AI, as documented | 15% | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Access and switching | 10% | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| Channels and languages | 10% | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Data protection and compliance | 15% | 5/5 | 4/5 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Zoho Desk cheaper than Freshdesk?
Yes, on seats. Zoho Desk costs $14 (Standard), $23 (Professional) and $40 (Enterprise) per user per month on annual billing; Freshdesk costs $19, $55 and $89. Zoho also includes Zia agent assist from Professional, where Freshdesk charges $29 per agent for Copilot. Zoho's AI-agent usage beyond the free allowance cannot be priced from public information.
Which has better AI pricing, Freshdesk or Zoho Desk?
Neither is ideal. Zoho Desk includes Zia agent assist from Professional and gives Zia AI Agents 30 million free tokens a month, but does not publish the price of the AI credits used after that. Freshdesk publishes everything but bills its AI Agent per session, at $49 per 100, whether or not the session resolves anything. Read do you need the AI add-on.
Can I migrate from Freshdesk to Zoho Desk?
Zoho documents a free migration from Freshdesk and Zendesk. Check your Freshdesk terms first: seats cannot be cut mid-term, fees are non-refundable, and renewal comes with 30 days' notice of any price change. See the help desk migration checklist.
Do Freshdesk and Zoho Desk both offer a free plan?
Only Zoho Desk offers a permanent one, for up to 3 users. Freshdesk's Free program covers 2 agents for 6 months, after which a paid plan is required. See free help desk software.
Related pages
- Freshdesk reviewreview
- Freshdesk pricing explainedpricing
- The best Freshdesk alternativesalternatives
- Zoho Desk reviewreview
- Zoho Desk pricing explainedpricing
Sources
- Freshdesk pricing — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk Omni pricing — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks price list (current as of June 13, 2025) — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Understanding Freshdesk pricing plans — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Explore Freshdesk free plan — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Understanding full-time vs occasional agents — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Add and use collaborators to assist in ticketing — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Freddy AI Agent and chatbot sessions FAQs — Freshworks Support · September 18, 2026
- Manage Freddy AI add-ons — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks Terms of Service — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Manage languages — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Where is your data (servers) located? — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks Data Processing Agreement — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks sub-processors — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks Trust Center — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- HIPAA configuration guide — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- The Freddy AI trust framework — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk API: rate limit — Freshworks Developers · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk upcoming changes (December 2025 to June 2026) — Freshdesk Support · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk Omni — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk apps — Freshworks Marketplace · September 18, 2026
- Freshdesk — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks reports fourth quarter and full year 2025 results — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks reports record second quarter 2026 results — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks pricing and buyer data — Vendr · September 18, 2026
- Zoho Desk pricing — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho Desk price list data, all currencies — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho Desk edition comparison — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Managing your agent seats — Zoho Desk Help · September 18, 2026
- Zia, the AI assistant in Zoho Desk — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zia Agents pricing — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho refund policy — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Know your data center — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Compliance at Zoho — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho and the GDPR — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- HIPAA compliance guide for Zoho Desk — Zoho Desk Help · September 18, 2026
- Zoho launches Zia LLM, prebuilt agents, a custom agent builder and an MCP server — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho Desk integrations — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- Zoho Desk product page — Zoho · September 18, 2026
- About Zoho — Zoho · September 18, 2026
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