10 Freshdesk Alternatives and Competitors to Consider

Although Freshdesk has its good points, our comparison to top Freshdesk alternatives can help you provide an exceptional customer experience (CX) that sets your business apart from the competition, creating loyal customers and brand champions (just ask Zappos).

As you search for the right customer experience software for your business, you might come across Freshdesk on a few roundups. At Nextiva, we like to be transparent in our reviews. So, is Freshdesk a good customer support software? For some businesses, it is. Are there better options out there? Absolutely. 

Whether you’re a scaling company looking for your first CX solution or a heavy hitter looking to make a switch, our guide to Freshdesk alternatives has the information you need to choose what’s best for your business.

Why People Are Looking for Freshdesk Alternatives

Before making a purchase, 89% of consumers read online reviews. If you’ve been to the review sites — like G2, Trustpilot, or Gartner — I’m sure you found the same issues with Freshdesk popping up again and again, like we did:

• Poor customer service: Several reviewers mentioned encountering issues with Freshdesk’s customer support, including slow response times, unhelpful solutions, and a lack of knowledge about the product.
• Limited or missing features: While the basic plan is affordable, reviewers found it lacked features needed for scaling businesses and upgrading plans can become expensive. Customization options were also seen as limited.
• Billing issues: Some reviewers reported problems with Freshdesk’s billing practices, such as difficulty getting refunds or downgrading plans and hidden fees for features advertised as included.
• Integration problems: Some reviewers had trouble integrating Freshdesk with other tools and services, experiencing glitches and data synchronization issues.
• Difficult setup: Reviewers mentioned a complex setup process and not as intuitive as advertised. 
• Technical and IT issues: A few reviewers mentioned experiencing technical problems with Freshdesk, such as outages and portal login issues.
• Basic reporting: Reviews mention Freshdesk has basic reporting and requires extensive rework to be usable.

Top Freshdesk Features People Like

Although this list of Freshdesk alternatives stands out, Freshdesk does have some helpful features and capabilities. These include: 

🎟️ Ticket management: Freshdesk offers a centralized workspace to manage emails, calls, faxes, and other channels. 

🧑‍💻 Intuitive agent interface: Users say Freshdesk has a clear and easy-to-use interface that simplifies navigating and managing customer inquiries.

🤖 Automation: Some reviews say that automation features that streamline repetitive tasks, like ticket routing, are useful.

10 Best Freshdesk Alternatives You’ll Love

Now, let’s explore a few Freshdesk alternatives. Each Freshdesk competitor section provides valuable details, including a brief software overview, features, pricing tiers, and pros and cons. 

CX Software	Best For	Features	Starting Price (Billed Annualy)
Nextiva	Best overall customer experience software	Unified workspace Real-time insights Pre-built AI and automation	$20 per user per month
Front	Collaboration-focused businesses	Automation capabilities Integrations  Pre-built and customizable reports	$19 per month per seat
Zoho Desk	Businesses with high customization needs	AI and automation tools Customization options Ticket management capabilities	$7 per month per user
Zendesk	Businesses who want a lot of integrations	Omnichannel workspace  Reporting and analytics  Integrations marketplace	$55 per agent per month
Intercom	AI-powered support	Fin AI tool Centralized view  Ticketing system	$29 per month per seat
HubSpot Service Hub	Marketing and sales CRM	Integrations across platforms  Shared inbox  Customer portal	$15 per month per seat
Help Scout	Growing businesses	Shared inbox  Live chat widget  Help desk reporting and analytics tools	$22 per month per user
Salesforce Service Cloud	Salesforce CRM users	Multichannel support AI-powered chatbots Collaboration tools	$25 per month per user
LiveAgent	Live chat support	Live chat  Call center functionality 24/7 technical support	$9 per month per agent
HappyFox	Project management	Ticketing system  Knowledge base  Customizable	$19 per month per seat

1. Nextiva

Best overall customer experience software 

Nextiva is one of the strongest Freshdesk alternatives with its AI-powered, Unified Customer Experience Management platform. Our cloud-based communications solution enhances customer engagement, boosts customer satisfaction (CSAT), and fosters team collaboration with all the right tools. It’s also extremely flexible, adapting easily to evolving customer needs — and your growing business.

Here’s how it works: Nextiva unifies every customer channel into a single, intuitive agent workspace. Whether the customer connects via voice, video, live chat, text, social media, or email, agents have the right customer data in one place to provide seamless, tailored support. Plus, with AI-powered automation and self-service features, like advanced IVR and chatbots, you’ll see reduced costs and optimized business operations. 

Features 

Nextiva has no shortage of first-class features to help your business provide a seamless customer experience across the digital customer journey. Here are a few:

• Unified workspace that allows agents to manage all customer communications on a single dashboard.
• Real-time insights that use conversational analytics to track customer sentiment and behavior to build deeper relationships.
• Modern contact center with open architecture, workflow engine, and embedded AI for optimized buyer journeys.
• Pre-built AI and automation that deploys quickly and easily and scales with your business.
• Workforce engagement management (WEM) that simplifies workforce management, reduces agent burnout, and boosts productivity.

Pricing

Whether you’re a startup, small business, mid-size, or enterprise, Nextiva has a perfect plan for you. The best part? Nextiva scales easily with your growing business. 

• Digital: $20 per user per month, billed annually
• Core: $30 per user per month, billed annually
• Engage: $40 per user per month, billed annually
• Power Suite: $60 per user per month, billed annually 

2. Front

Best for collaboration-focused businesses

Front offers a collaborative customer service platform that handles complex inquiries through cross-team coordination. With an intuitive, email-like interface, it combines email speed with help desk functionality, making it ideal for industries like manufacturing, logistics, and financial services. 

Its multi-channel shared inbox enables customer service teams to manage support tickets sent through email, social media, chat, and more. Front has built-in features like shared drafts, @mentions, and handoff workflows that enhance internal collaboration. The platform also offers automation features and integrates with over 100 apps.

Features 

Front comes with some features that help businesses create a positive customer experience, including:

• Collaboration tools, such as comments, shared drafts, handoff workflows, and public replies.
• Automation capabilities, like their rules engine, templates, and custom rules.
• Integrations with 100+ third-party apps and has an open API.
• Pre-built and customizable reports to gather insights

Pricing

Front offers a 14-day free trial and these pricing options:

• Starter: $19 per month per seat, billed annually
• Growth: $59 per month per seat, billed annually
• Scale: $99 per month per seat, billed annually
• Premier: $229 per month per seat, billed annually

3. Zoho Desk

Best for businesses with high customization needs

Zoho Desk offers a customizable help desk with many features and capabilities that streamline customer support. This customer support platform includes an AI-powered assistant, Zia, that automates tasks and anticipates follow-up questions for proactive support. It also allows for efficient ticket management through round-robin assignment and parent-child ticketing. 

The platform is highly customizable — from creating custom modules to color-coding picklists and personalizing ticket IDs. Zoho Desk also provides a good mobile experience with custom dashboards and text-to-speech capabilities. Zoho Desk also supports accessibility enhancements and integrates with various tools through its marketplace.

Features 

Zoho Desk offers several beneficial features, including:

• AI and automation tools, like Zia, an interactive AI assistant, and Blueprint widgets to streamline workflows 
• Customization options, such as custom modules, field enhancements, field and ticket ID lookup and customization.
• Ticket management capabilities, like parent-child ticketing, scheduled replies, and mass replies.

Pricing

Zoho offers a free 15-day trial, a free plan with limited features, and these pricing tiers:

• Express: $7 per month per user, billed annually
• Standard: $14 per month per user, billed annually
• Professional: $23 per month per user, billed annually
• Enterprise: $40 per month per user, billed annually

4. Zendesk

Best for businesses who want a lot of integrations

Zendesk’s CX software offers a Freshservice alternative with its integrated ticketing system that manages customer queries in a single agent workspace. It enables businesses to provide omnichannel support across email, social messaging, phone, and self-service channels. 

With options like ticket ID personalization and conditional forms, businesses can tailor the platform to fit their needs. It has AI and automation features, such as intelligent routing and predictive analytics. For those looking for solid security features, Zendesk has encryption and attachment controls to help protect customer data.

Features 

Zendesk’s customer service software includes features such as:

• Omnichannel workspace that enables team members to manage customer inquiries in one place.
• Reporting and analytics with prebuilt and customizable dashboards
• Integrations marketplace with various third-party apps.

Pricing

Zendesk has pricing packages for support and sales and also features suite pricing:

• Suite Team: $55 per agent per month, billed annually
• Suite Growth: $89 per agent per month, billed annually
• Suite Professional: $115 per agent per month, billed annually

5. Intercom

Best for AI-powered support

Intercom combines AI tools with a unified workspace. With features like Fin AI, it automates key processes such as summarizing conversations, personalizing replies, and pre-filling ticket details. Intercom integrates with various business systems, including customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing platforms, making cross-functional collaboration easier. It’s customizable, allowing businesses to tailor the interface to suit their needs and branding.

Features 

With Intercom, you get AI-powered and traditional features, including:

• Fin AI is an artificial intelligence tool that automates ticket summaries and creates personalized replies.
• Centralized view of conversations from email, phone, and messenger.
• Ticketing system with intelligent routing and triage capabilities

Pricing

Intercom offers three pricing options and a 14-day free trial.

• Essential: $29 per month per seat, billed annually
• Advanced: $85 per month per seat, billed annually
• Expert: $132 per month per seat, billed annually

6. HubSpot Service Hub

Best for marketing and sales CRM

HubSpot Service Hub offers customer service software that streamlines customer support tickets and improves team collaboration. It integrates seamlessly into HubSpot’s CRM and provides live chat, a shared inbox, and a ticket management system. The free version offers plenty of limited features, but upgrading to a paid subscription plan unlocks advanced functionalities like automated workflows, detailed reporting, and a built-in knowledge base. 

Features 

A few of HubSpot Service Hub’s features include:

• Integrations across platforms like Gmail, Outlook, and Facebook Messenger.
• Shared inbox for enhanced team collaboration. 
• Customer portal that provides self-service options.

Pricing

Though HubSpot does not offer a free trial for its customer service software, it does have a free version, as previously mentioned. The pricing plans include:

• Starter: $15 per month per seat, billed annually
• Professional: $90 per month per seat, billed annually
• Enterprise: $150 per month per seat, billed annually

7. Help Scout

Best for growing businesses

Help Scout simplifies customer support with an easy-to-use platform that focuses on providing a smooth user experience. It features customizable workflows, allowing businesses to adapt the interface to their needs. Help Scout offers a shared inbox, internal notes, agent collision detection, and canned replies for team collaboration, ensuring customer support teams work together efficiently. It also integrates well with other business tools and provides a mobile app for on-the-go access.

Features 

Help Scout can be a Freshdesk alternative with features like these:

• Shared inbox that helps teams manage customer conversations across different channels.
• Live chat widget for real-time customer interactions.
• Help desk reporting and analytics tools that provide various reports on email, chat, phone, company, and customer sentiment.

Pricing

If you’d like to try Help Scout, they offer a 15-day free trial. You can then upgrade to one of the following plans:

• Standard: $22 per month per user, billed annually
• Plus: $44 per month per user, billed annually
• Pro: $65 per month per user, billed annually

8. Salesforce Service Cloud

Best for Salesforce CRM users

Salesforce Service Cloud is designed to improve CX through integrated case management and adaptable workflow processes. Its automation capabilities, multichannel support, and AI-driven insights help boost employee efficiency and customer satisfaction. 

Salesforce includes field service management tools, self-service options, live chat, and advanced analytics to help businesses gain customer insights and improve team performance. Although the platform is powerful, its complexity means you may need to train teams to fully leverage its capabilities. 

Features 

Salesforce Service Cloud comes with features such as:

• Multichannel support across phone, email, social media, and live chat.
• AI-powered chatbots and predictive analytics with Einstein AI for intelligent customer interactions.
• Collaboration tools, personalized support tools, service level agreement (SLA) management, and a customizable interface.

Pricing

Salesforce offers a wide variety of subscription plan choices, including:

• Starter: $25 per month per user, billed annually
• Service Professional: $80 per month per user, billed annually
• Enterprise: $165 per month per user, billed annually
• Unlimited: $330 per month per user, billed annually 
• Einstein 1 Service: $500 per month per user, billed annually

9. LiveAgent

Best for live chat support

LiveAgent integrates phone, email, and live chat into a single platform for managing inquiries. Its ticketing system offers automatic routing and tracking features so agents can focus on manual tasks. Advanced call center features like call routing and HD video calls help teams communicate more effectively. LiveAgent also features a built-in knowledge base and analytics tools that allow businesses to monitor performance and refine their support strategies.

Features 

LiveAgent’s features include:

• Live chat box to help manage customer interactions.
• Call center functionality, like call routing, transfers, recording, and HD video calls.
• 24/7 technical support that includes a customer self-service portal, a knowledge base and community forums.

Pricing

LiveAgent has four pricing options to fit most businesses:

• Small: $9 per month per agent, billed annually
• Medium: $29 per month per agent, billed annually
• Large: $49 per month per agent, billed annually
• Enterprise: $69 per month per agent, billed annually 

10. HappyFox

Best for project management

HappyFox, our final option for Freshdesk alternatives, offers customer service ticketing and issue management software equipped with features like ticket merging, auto-routing, and email integration. It also has automation capabilities, with smart rules and workflows that reduce support teams’ manual tasks. HappyFox also offers multilingual support in over 35 languages, making it ideal for international operations.

Features 

HappyFox’s features include:

• Ticketing system with smart routing, ticket merging, email integration, ticket creation, and management.
• Knowledge base that allows you to create and manage help center articles in multiple languages.
• Customizable interface, fields, categories, statuses, priorities, and more.

Pricing

HappyFox offers a 14-day free trial and these pricing plans:

• Basic: $19 per month per seat, billed annually
• Team: $59 per month per seat, billed annually
• Pro: $99 per month per seat, billed annually
• Enterprise PRO: Contact sales for a custom quote 

Why Nextiva Is the Best Freshdesk Alternative   

For businesses looking to deliver exceptional customer service, Nextiva’s Unified-CXM platform is the right choice. It brings all customer interactions together, offering a smooth and personalized experience that increases customer and employee satisfaction, naturally leading to a loyal customer base.

AI, automation, and real-time insights are just a few customer support tools that help streamline your digital customer journey. Nextiva is flexible and adaptable and provides strong data security that you can trust. Go on a product tour today! 

Freshdesk Alternatives FAQs

We get it. Choosing customer service software is a big deal, so having all the information to make a data-driven decision is imperative. Here are some frequently asked questions to fill any gaps.