The 10 Best Freshdesk Alternatives and Why You Should Try Them

Have you ever used customer support software that offered so many unnecessary complicated tools you weren’t sure what to do with them? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

Freshdesk is frequently one of the first options to appear when googling “customer service software”. It’s a good choice for businesses with skilled high-tech staff that can endlessly navigate its dizzying list of features, but what if that isn’t what your business is looking for?

Many companies are searching for user-friendly Freshdesk alternatives like our interactive tool, Customerly to help their customer service teams provide quality assistance without all the garnish.

Today, we will share our list of the 10 best Freshdesk alternatives deemed fit to look at.

But first, let’s have a quick overview of Freshdesk itself.

Freshdesk is a well-known customer service software that offers desk features like omnichannel messaging, shared ownership of conversations and loads of social media integrations.

Freshdesk definitely has its strengths. One of the biggest attractions to Freshdesk is that it considers growing businesses with its agent-dependent pricing plan.

Another strong point of using this customer service platform is the advanced security. Freshdesk company developers perform regular network audits which enhance user data protection.

So, why is it that so many businesses are searching for Freshdesk alternatives?

Freshdesk’s strengths are accompanied by recognizable weaknesses that have potential and fixed customers looking to switch to a reliable alternative.

Yes, Freshdesk offers a long list of detailed features, which makes the user experience more complicated. It is a challenge to deal with all of these unknown extra components used to provide customer communication. These features often intimidate users rather than intrigue them.

Another important reason why businesses are looking for a Freshdesk alternative is that Freshdesk doesn’t have “fresh” customer support. Responses to messages are reported as few and far between. The service assistant team at Freshdesk is not focused on customer-centric communication—ironic when selling customer support software.

That being said, here is a comprehensive list of the 10 best Freshdesk alternatives to try for your company and the reasons why we chose them!

Customerly is the top-of-the-line customer support platform that helps you send the right message to the right person at the right time.

The wide range of personalized support services we offer at an affordable price sets Customerly apart.

A few services we offer are:

• More personalized support for customers
• Customer experience evaluations
• Out-of-the-box marketing automation tools

Let’s dig into some of Customerly’s key features that can be used to provide personalized support to your customers.

Customer Inboxes

The customer inbox through Customerly has a clean, organized look to it. It’s also super comprehensive and user-friendly.

Here, everything is categorized and includes customer information that can be used for future exchanges. No need to dig through your contacts for background info on your customers, it’s right there!

The customer inbox is where you can:

• Collaborate with other teams
• Merge all customer conversations coming through Facebook messenger, email and on your website live chat
• Schedule messages to be sent out at a later time
• Add conversation tags that reflect urgency or category
• Create canned responses
• Video call your users and share your screen for a better understanding
• Use smart assignment rules to automatically assign new conversations

One of the coolest features here is the screen share option while video chatting with your customers. Imagine the convenience of not only giving a solution with words but actually showing it to the client directly. What a time saver!

Help Center

Self-service tools are a great way to increase efficiency and save businesses money when it comes to their customer support teams.

Customerly offers a standalone help center that can be easily integrated with the live chat feature. The Customerly AI will reply automatically using the knowledge base articles provided.

Not only does this Freshdesk alternative produce customer support metrics, but we also let you know how your articles are used. The article’s performance is evaluated to decide which information is useful and what can be eliminated.

We have saved our customers a total of $11,630,875 (and growing) in support tickets avoided and automatically managed by our customer service automation autoreply feature.

Customer Satisfaction Evaluations

Here at Customerly, we want to ensure you have all the tools to properly measure the satisfaction of your customers. We make measuring the 6 essential customer satisfaction metrics easy to give your business a leg up.

These customer satisfaction metrics include:

1. CSAT score
2. Net Promotor Score (NPS)
3. Customer Effort Score (CES)
4. Customer Health Score (CHS)
5. Customer Churn Rate
6. In-chat Surveys

These criteria will deliver a birds-eye view of what your customers think about your services. That info can be used to make necessary changes and build on strong points to keep clientele happy.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation with Custmerly workflows eases daily, repetitive tasks by taking them off your plate for you.

These workflows are simple to build and manage based 100% on your rules and parameters that fit your goals. Your rules mean personalized results.

They are used to automate:

• Onboarding processes
• Behavioral-based follow up
• Customer reviews
• Account & upgrade recovery

To emphasize the impact of these handy workflows, one of our clients reported a 20% increase in customer engagement after implementing them. The proof is in the pudding as they say!

Here comes the best part, all of this is available at affordable prices.

Pricing plans

– Essential: $7/month/3 users

• Best for small groups or solo entrepreneurs
• Centralized inbox and good marketing tool to deliver product updates

– Startup: $39/month/6 users

• Recommended for small teams
• All Essential Plan features included
• Marketing & email automation
• A hefty list of integrations available

– Pro: $82/month/10 users

• Customerly’s most popular plan
• Works wells for established companies
• Includes all the tools on the Startup Plan
• Video calling, NPS, in-app surveys, and canned responses

– Enterprise: $249/month with unlimited users

• Built for large teams
• Offers unlimited chat history and a business-dependent number of contacts
• All the features from the Pro Plan are included
• Team reports, live translations, tailored onboarding and extremely rapid support

Rating: 4.6

“5 Stars – We’ve used more chat software than we can count on one hand and Customerly takes the top by a landslide.”

– Customerly review

ProProfs Help Desk software is one of the cheaper Freshdesk alternatives on the market today. The centralized dashboard is organized and has a fresh look to it, making it user-friendly and adaptable to most business aesthetics.

The ability to keep track of customer interactions through email, live chat, social media or a business help center page means faster and better support for clients.

ProProfs survey maker is another feature used to create surveys that measure customer satisfaction. Send a survey after any conversation to see how support teams are going based on overall customer happiness.

Highlighted features:

1. Smart reports are used to measure CSAT, NPS and FCR to rate customer satisfaction.
2. The ProProf chatbots and central knowledge base allow automated customer support and self-service.
3. All conversations are centralized in one space and can be accessed by all support teams.

Limitations:

• The user interface is lackluster and not as interactive as other Freshdesk alternatives.
• There are not many options for customization or unique templates to choose from.
• The platform can’t be integrated with social media which means navigating back and forth to answer customer queries.

Cost:

– 15-day free trial is available

– Essentials: $15/month per user

– Premium: $20/month per user

– Enterprise: Price varies

Rating: 4.8

“Overall, the experience has been quite memorable. We are quite pleased to get some competitive functionalities at almost $10/agent/month.”

– ProProfs Help Desk review

With a name like LiveAgent, it’s obvious that the live chat support on this Freshdesk alternative is the star of the show. A live chat agent is assigned through a ticketing system. That agent then uses the customer profile to answer any inquiries they may have.

LiveAgent is a unique live chat tool that includes 135 features to choose from. These features include an animated chat button and many personalization components to set it apart from the competition.

Highlighted features:

1. Agent collision detection can increase customer service efficiency by preventing more than one agent from working on the same ticket simultaneously.
2. There are 212 integrations to work with—Gmail, Optimal Call and Slack are a few noteworthy options.
3. The call center system makes it possible to video chat with both customers and colleagues through the interactive dashboard.

Limitations:

• Chat history is not saved which means that logging out deletes any past customer conversations.
• It is very time-consuming to manually customize all the available features to your company’s specific look.

Cost:

– Free limited plan available for 1 user

– Ticket plan: $15/month per user

– Ticket & chat: $29/month per user

– All-inclusive: $49/month per user

Rating: 4.7

“LiveAgent works very well for us, there are many functions that we don’t use since we don’t really need them for our business but they are amazing. We can easily offer support and keep all the information for each client’s case.”

-LiveAgent review

HelpScout is one of the longest-standing Freshdesk alternatives on this list. This system was started in 2011 and has been providing quality customer support ever since.

Some of HelpScout’s key features are the ticket response user experience, centralized customer portal and email-to-case section of the platform. The tidy inbox and task automation abilities help increase productivity by 52%.

HelpScout software is beneficial for both small businesses and huge enterprises alike.

Highlighted features:

1. The customer management section saves important customer data to separate profiles that are used for future interactions.
2. Beacon is HelpScout’s help desk software that suggests relative content to promote customer self-service.
3. There is a collaborative team-shared inbox to make customer inquiries easier to respond to. It can also be used to share notes with co-workers about customer queries.

Limitations:

• There are not as many integrations available with HelpScout as there are with other Freshdesk alternatives.
• It is often necessary to merge duplicate customer profiles manually, as the system does not recognize when they are repeated.
• It takes a lot of searching through case history to find old tickets once a case is closed.

Cost:

– Free trial of 15 days available

– Standard: $25/month per user

– Plus: $50/month per user

– Pro: $65/month per user

Rating: 4.5

“I love that Help Scout makes it easy for our team to organize, categorize, and track issues. We use Help Scout for internal and external support and all of our team members find it easy to use. I also like how integrated the Docs sites are – it makes it easy to quickly link articles and see how many people view different topics in our help libraries.”

-HelpScout review

Zoho Desk is the alternative that is most often referred to when making Freshdesk software comparisons. This customer support software has similar Freshdesk features, like the ticketing system and customization abilities, that are easy to use after the initial framework is built.

One unique feature that Zoho Desk software provides is its chatbot, Zia. This AI is a self-service option that helps customers by providing valid solutions found in the system’s knowledge base. Zia is a fast way to find answers without talking to an agent.

Highlighted features:

1. Zia, the Zoho Desk chatbot works using both voice and text messaging.
2. There is a ticket filtering system that can be used to manage tickets based on priority or urgency.
3. Clients can decide between utilizing a ticketing system or a call center system when keeping customers informed.

Limitations:

• Zoho Desk involves a difficult setup that takes time and effort to initiate, especially if a business is a start-up with a single department.
• Task automation can be slow and there is definite room for improvement with the software.

Cost:

– Free trials: 15 days with any plan

– Free limited plan offered for basic support

– Standard: $18/month per user

– Professional: $30/month per user

– Enterprise: $45/month per user

Rating: 4.5

“This is a solution that provides our customers with the most effective and personalized attention. It has facilitated and improved the complex work of customer service, making it a much simpler, proactive and productive process.”

– Zoho Desk review

One customer support software that offers a well-rounded support process is Kayako. One major advantage of using this system to manage customer conversations is its collaborators. They are provided as a tool to aid in customer engagement by providing internal notes without sending outbound responses.

Kayako also keeps a close eye on all interactions in many languages and throughout multiple mediums—such as Facebook, Twitter and email to name a few. The Journeys and Conversations feature gives a play-by-play of each client’s unique voyage with a company.

Highlighted features:

1. Ticket collaborators are available to assist with customer support without responding directly to the customer.
2. Live chat support can be added to mobile applications or directly to a business website.
3. The user can create video content to direct clients with actionable support while they are out of the office.

Limitations:

• Kayako’s biggest weakness is that its expensive pricing plans are only built for high-budget teams.
• A lot of promotions and spam come through the desk solution and there is no way to get rid of it.
• Many user reviews report lags in the system that interferes with customer conversations.

Cost:

– 14-day free trial offered for both plans

– Kayako cloud: $125/month per user

– Classic on-prem: $125/month per user

Rating: 4.0

“It is an excellent software for managing tickets and customer support. It has great features and support for the customer service staff. I highly recommend it.”

– Kayako review

We are pretty sure that most people have heard of Hubspot before. They are famous in the sales and marketing industry and now offer customer support software called Hubspot Service Hub.

People who already use other Hubspot tools find this an easy Freshdesk alternative. When companies are already familiar with the help desk software, it’s simple to use the Omni-channel messaging, live chat and inbound calling aspects of the platform.

Highlighted features:

1. The customer portal is painless to use because it allows customers to pilot their own experiences and view their chat history.
2. The Hubspot CRM is highly functional and has already proven to work in the marketing and sales industries.
3. Calls can be made directly to clients when using the platform’s VoIP calling feature.

Limitations:

• It takes a hot minute to get used to the variety of tools and info available through Hubspot Service Hub.
• The customer portal only offers ticket tracking as an available feature when assisting clients.
• Searching through conversations for a word or phrase can be a pain. The search tool is reported to be inaccurate and gives incorrect results to keyword searches.

Cost:

– Free plan avaible for basic CRM

– Starter: $45/month/2 users

– Professional: $375/month/5 users

– Enterprise: $1,200/month/10 users

Rating: 4.4

“We started using Hubspot Service Hub overall when Hubspot presented their Chat feature. We have seen many improvements and new features implemented throughout the year so I’m positive it will become an even greater tool in the future. Would recommend.”

– Hubspot Service Hub Review

Hiver is most famous for being the first ever Gmail-based help desk software. The fact that customer conversations are done directly through Gmail makes this tool easy to use because everyone is already aware of how Gmail works.

There is no need for a third-party platform to talk to teammates, you can do that right through the Hiver service management system. There is no need to forward emails to other team members. Just simply cooperate on a single customer query and share notes along the way.

Highlighted features:

1. The email notes allow co-workers to communicate directly through Hiver without having to use another software.
2. Hiver lets teams track their own performance with metrics like response time, resolution time and customer satisfaction.
3. Its simple interface is user-friendly and requires no previous training to manipulate.

Limitations:

• Prices often change dramatically and suddenly, leaving existing customers disappointed.
• It’s necessary to manually add client information instead of downloading contacts and emails in bulk.
• The user interface with Hiver is quite plain and boring compared to other Freshdesk alternatives.

Cost:

– Free trial available for 7 days

– Lite: $19/month per user

– Pro: $49/month per user

– Elite: $69/month per user

Rating: 4.6

“It is easy to administrate, very user-friendly, and the support is phenomenal. I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than a few seconds for a response from a member of their friendly and extremely competent support team.”

– Hiver review

If you would like the chosen Freshdesk alternative to using a more advanced ticketing system, then HappyFox is a good choice. The robust ticket management features help keep customer issues and concerns organized and attended to.

The desk features provided by HappyFox are mostly geared to help large enterprises handle their large influx of customer support tickets. This is apparent when considering the significant knowledge base provided to both customers and employees alike.

Highlighted features:

1. The ticket managing system can divide customer tickets into smaller, more manageable pieces so they are easier to deal with.
2. HappyFox Smart Rules let the user set ticket conditions based on category or work schedules.
3. The knowledge base articles are categorized into sections for agents, customers and the general public.

Limitations:

• The live chat option is only available with the more expensive pricing plans.
• Each chat can only have one support agent at a time which makes it difficult to transfer chats back and forth.
• The system is not always straightforward and understandable, especially when tracking messages as a group.

Cost:

– Mighty: $39/month per user

– Fantastic: $59/month per user

– Enterprise: $79/month per user

– Enterprise plus: $99/month per user

Rating: 4.6

“HappyFox has been easy to integrate into our services, the agents prefer its versatility to the old platform we are using and the ability to have unlimited agents is a lifesaver for us!”

– HappyFox review

The new kid on the block Zammad is growing into a quality choice as one of the best Freshdesk alternatives. Its modern look and clean interface have potential clients interested in trying it out.

Zammad states that it wants the help desk and support software to be open-source, making it more flexible for the user. Integrating the platform with an existing system using a REST API is simple.

Highlighted features:

1. The interface only has the necessities for support teams and is not cluttered with irrelevant glitz and glam.
2. It’s possible to work on multiple support conversations at the exact same time with parallel ticketing.
3. Do a keyword, phrase or attachment search through the service desk history to find the exact exchange.

Limitations:

• Some features can’t yet be translated into other languages which means it’s necessary to know English.
• Zammad is a relatively new service desk software so its features still have some kinks to work out.
• It takes valuable time to install this desk solution and get it up and running.

Cost:

– 30-day free trial available

– Starter: $7.22/month per user

– Professional: $17.54/month per user

– Plus: $26.82/month per user

Rating: 4.8

“Zammad has everything you need to manage your clients’ requests through different channels, mail, web, form, chat, Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.”

-Zammad review

	Standout Features	Pro Plan Price	Free Plan
Customerly	Intuitive Help Center & NPS Score Surveys	$79/month (10 users)	YES
Freshdesk	Shared Conversations	$59/month (1 user)	YES
ProProfs Help Desk	Easily Accessible Centralized Inbox	$20/month (1 user)	YES
LiveAgent	212 Integrations	$29/month (1 user)	YES
HelpScout	Collaborative Inbox Note Sharing	$65/month (1 user	NO
Zoho Desk	Zia the AI Chatbot	$30/month (1 user)	YES
Kayako	Ticket Collaborators	$125/month (1 user)	YES
Hubspot	VoIP Direct Calling	$375/month (5 users)	YES
Hiver	Team Performance Tracker	$49/month (1 user)	YES
HappyFox	Ticket Management System	$59/month (1 user)	NO
Zammad	Modern Interface	$17.54/month (1 user)	YES

In the end, all businesses are searching for high-quality customer service software that is straightforward and offers the features a company needs. They don’t need the extra bells and whistles to clutter up their software.

This list of the 10 best Freshdesk alternatives can be used to recruit the top all-star players in the customer support game—the #1 pick being Customerly.

Customerly provides multichannel customer service to support your business with manageable pricing and best-in-class marketing automation and customer satisfaction.

Test drive the Cusomterly free trial and make the switch to the most trusted Freshdesk alternative in today’s customer support market.