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Comparison

Freshdesk vs Zendesk: which is right for a small business?

Freshdesk suits teams that want email ticketing, a help center and an AI agent on every plan: Growth is $19 an agent billed yearly, with 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions included once. Zendesk suits teams that will add chat and phone: Support Team is $19 billed yearly, and messaging, live chat and telephony start with Suite Team at $55.

Updated . Every fact is linked to Freshdesk's or Zendesk's own site, with the date we checked it

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How do Freshdesk and Zendesk compare, side by side?

Freshdesk: Customer support helpdesk from Freshworks: ticketing, shared inbox, customer portal and knowledge base, with the Freddy AI Agent built in. Zendesk: Customer service software: a ticketing system with email, messaging, live chat and phone support, plus AI agents that answer customers.

What mattersFreshdeskZendesk
Free planNo free plan listed on the pricing page.1No free plan listed on the pricing page.2
Free trial14 days, with access to the Enterprise plan; no payment shown until the trial ends314 days, on the Suite Professional plan by default (a specific plan can be trialled by contacting Zendesk)4
Entry plan$19 per agent per month, billed annually (20% off annual); $23 billed monthly5$19 per agent per month, billed annually; $25 billed monthly6
What the entry plan includesFreddy AI Agent (first 500 sessions included, once per account); Ticketing and shared inbox; Customer portal and knowledge base; Out-of-the-box analytics and reporting; Threads and tasks; Roles and permissions7Email and ticketing system; Ticket routing; Prebuilt analytics dashboards; Automations and triggers; 5 automated AI-agent resolutions per agent per month included8
Mid plan$55 per agent per month, billed annually; $66 billed monthly9$55 per agent per month, billed annually; $69 billed monthly10
AI agent pricingFreddy AI Agent: 500 free sessions on Growth, Pro and Enterprise, once per account; then $49 per 100 sessions. A session is one unique interaction between an end user and an AI agent; an email session is a 72-hour window from the customer's first email11AI agents (messaging, email, voice) are included in every Suite and Support plan; billed per automated resolution, meaning a request resolved with no escalation to a human. Included resolutions: 5 per agent per month (Support Team, Suite Team), 10 (Suite Professional); extra at $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay-as-you-go.12
AI copilot for agents$29 per agent per month (annual); $35 billed monthly; can be bought for any number of agents; no day passes for Copilot13Copilot (agent assistant: next best actions, suggestions, writing tools) is a $50 per agent per month add-on for Professional and higher plans; trials include Copilot by default14
Knowledge baseCustomer portal and knowledge base on every plan15Knowledge base and AI-built knowledge graph unifying content from third-party sources16
AppsFreshworks Marketplace of apps and integrations for Freshdesk and other Freshworks products17Zendesk Marketplace: 1,800+ apps, partners and integrations18
MCPFreshdesk MCP works both ways: 'Inbound MCP' gives compatible AI tools access to Freshdesk tickets, conversations and customer information; 'Outbound MCP' lets Freshdesk workflows reach external systems; usage billed as MCP actions at $15 per 1,00019MCP client generally available from 10 Aug 2026: admins connect Zendesk to public or private MCP servers (e.g. Asana, Stripe, GitHub) and use their tools in action flows, auto assist and AI agents20

Prices are in US dollars a month, before tax, as each company lists them.

Which should you choose, Freshdesk or Zendesk?

Choose Freshdesk if

  • Most of your support arrives by email and you want a help center and customer portal on the first plan.
  • You want to try an AI agent without paying per answer at first, using the 500 included sessions.
  • Some people help out only now and then, and day passes suit you better than full seats.
  • You want an AI copilot for your agents at the lower add-on price.

Choose Zendesk if

  • You'll run support across email, messaging, live chat and phone in one place.
  • You want a set number of AI resolutions included every month, per agent.
  • You need IVR phone trees, skills-based routing or workforce tools as you grow.
  • You want the larger app marketplace, or to plug Zendesk's AI into other systems' MCP servers.

How do Freshdesk and Zendesk differ in approach?

Freshdesk packs more into its entry plan, while Zendesk builds up from ticketing to a full contact centre. Freshdesk's Growth plan already has ticketing, a shared inbox, a customer portal, a knowledge base and the Freddy AI Agent; Freshworks pitches it as the way to "launch AI-powered service over email".

Zendesk's Support Team plan is ticketing for teams that have outgrown a shared inbox. The rest of Zendesk's strength arrives with the Suite plans: messaging and live chat, telephony, omnichannel routing, AI agents, a knowledge base and Action Builder for workflows across other systems. A team that expects to answer customers on every channel tends to grow into Zendesk; a team that answers mostly by email gets more from Freshdesk's first plan.

How much do Freshdesk and Zendesk cost?

The seat prices are almost identical, and the add-ons decide the bill. Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team are both $19 an agent a month billed yearly; monthly, Freshdesk is $23 and Zendesk $25. Freshdesk Pro and Zendesk Suite Team are both $55 billed yearly, or $66 and $69 monthly. Above that, Freshdesk Enterprise is $89 and Zendesk Suite Professional $115.

The add-ons differ more. Freshdesk's Freddy AI Copilot is $29 an agent a month on a yearly plan and can be bought for any number of agents; Zendesk's Copilot is $50 an agent a month, paid yearly, for Professional plans and above. Freshdesk also sells day passes for occasional agents, from $2 on Growth.

How does the AI pricing compare?

Both charge for AI by use, but they count different things. Freshdesk counts sessions: any unique interaction between a customer and the AI agent, with an email session lasting 72 hours from the customer's first email. Every account gets 500 free sessions once, and then pays $49 per 100 sessions, counted per interaction rather than per resolution.

Zendesk counts automated resolutions: requests the AI agent solved without handing over to a person. Support Team and Suite Team include 5 a month per agent and Suite Professional 10, and extras cost $1.50 each committed in advance or $2.00 pay as you go. For a team where the AI resolves most of what it touches, Freshdesk's session price is lower per conversation; where it often hands over, Zendesk charges only for the wins.

Which suits a team that also uses phone and chat?

Zendesk, on the plans compared here. Its Suite Team plan includes messaging, live chat and telephony with omnichannel routing, and Suite Professional adds an IVR phone tree and skills-based routing. Freshdesk's pricing is built around email ticketing, the portal and the AI agent, with multilingual support, intelligent routing and SLA policies from Pro and skill-based routing on Enterprise.

How do they connect to other tools and AI agents?

Zendesk has the bigger marketplace, and Freshdesk has the two-way MCP. Zendesk's Marketplace lists 1,800+ apps, partners and integrations, and since 10 August 2026 its MCP client lets admins plug outside MCP servers, such as Asana, Stripe or GitHub, into action flows and AI agents. Freshdesk's inbound MCP gives compatible AI tools access to tickets, conversations and customer information, and its outbound MCP lets Freshdesk workflows reach other systems, at $15 per 1,000 actions.

Where does Mojobase fit?

Mojobase is a third option for teams where support is one of several jobs, built for 1 to 25 people, and it works well for teams up to 100. Its support Inbox lives in Customers, next to each person's email, meetings and Stripe invoices, and its AI answers from your published Handbook pages: on its own for the topics you set to Auto, as a draft for a person otherwise, and it hands over when it isn't sure. It has no phone or SMS channel, so a team that supports customers by phone is better served by Zendesk. It costs $39 a month for the first person and $25 for each after, for every app.

Questions people ask

Is Freshdesk cheaper than Zendesk?

At entry level they cost the same: $19 an agent a month billed yearly for Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team. Billed monthly, Freshdesk is $23 and Zendesk $25. The mid plans also match at $55 billed yearly, but Freshdesk's AI copilot add-on costs $29 an agent against Zendesk's $50.

Do Freshdesk or Zendesk have a free plan?

Neither lists one on its pricing page. Both offer a 14-day free trial: Freshdesk's gives access to the Enterprise plan, and Zendesk's runs on Suite Professional by default, with Copilot included in the trial.

How do Freshdesk and Zendesk charge for their AI agents?

Freshdesk counts sessions: 500 free once per account, then $49 per 100 sessions, where an email session is a 72-hour window from the customer's first email. Zendesk counts automated resolutions, requests solved with no human: 5 per agent a month included on Team plans, 10 on Suite Professional, then $1.50 committed or $2.00 pay as you go.

Does Zendesk's cheapest plan include live chat and phone?

No. Zendesk's Support Team plan covers email and ticketing, with routing, automations, dashboards and AI-agent resolutions. Messaging, live chat, telephony and the knowledge base start with Suite Team at $55 an agent a month billed yearly.

Can I add part-time agents without paying for a full seat?

In Freshdesk, yes: day passes for occasional agents cost $2 each on Growth, $7 on Pro and $12 on Enterprise, though Copilot can't be used on a day pass. Day passes are a Freshdesk option; ask Zendesk how it prices occasional agents before you plan on them.

Which works with Claude, ChatGPT or other AI tools?

Freshdesk MCP works both ways: compatible AI tools can reach tickets and customers, and Freshdesk workflows can call outside systems, billed at $15 per 1,000 MCP actions. Zendesk's MCP client lets admins connect it to outside MCP servers, and an early access program runs ChatGPT as a support channel.

Sources

  1. Freshdesk: Free plan. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  2. Zendesk: Free plan. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  3. Freshdesk: Free trial. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  4. Zendesk: Free trial. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  5. Freshdesk: Growth. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  6. Zendesk: Support Team. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  7. Freshdesk: Growth includes. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  8. Zendesk: Support Team includes. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  9. Freshdesk: Pro. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  10. Zendesk: Suite Team. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  11. Freshdesk: AI. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  12. Zendesk: AI. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  13. Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  14. Zendesk: AI. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  15. Freshdesk: Feature. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  16. Zendesk: Feature. zendesk.com/service/ai/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  17. Freshdesk: Integrations. freshworks.com/apps/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  18. Zendesk: Integrations. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  19. Freshdesk: Agents and MCP. freshworks.com/freshdesk/omni/mcp/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  20. Zendesk: Agents and MCP. support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/11105393853210-Announcing-the-general-availability-of-the-MCP-client, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  21. Freshdesk: Day passes (occasional agent access). freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  22. Freshdesk: Enterprise. freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.
  23. Zendesk: Suite Professional. zendesk.com/pricing/, checked 7 Nov 2026.

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