Does Freshdesk or Zendesk have a free plan?

Freshdesk has a free plan. Zendesk does not, though it offers a free trial.

How long is the Freshdesk and Zendesk free trial?

Freshdesk offers a 14-day free trial, and Zendesk offers a 14-day free trial.

Which is easier to use, Freshdesk or Zendesk?

In VERILO's editorial assessment Freshdesk is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Zendesk. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

Freshdesk vs Zendesk

A side-by-side look at Freshdesk and Zendesk: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose Freshdesk if

Small and mid-sized teams running email-first support
Businesses that want traditional ticketing at a lower price than Zendesk
Companies already using other Freshworks products

Visit Freshdesk

Choose Zendesk if

Support teams of 10 or more agents handling high ticket volumes
Companies that need multiple channels, SLAs and audit-ready reporting
Businesses with a large existing app stack that need marketplace integrations

Visit Zendesk

Cheapest to start

Not confirmed

Free plan

Freshdesk

Highest editor rating

Zendesk · 4.5

Comparison of Freshdesk and Zendesk
Compare	Freshdesk Visit site	Zendesk Visit site
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Starting price	From $15/mo	From $19/mo
Editor rating	4.1	4.5
Ease of use	Easy (4/5)	Moderate (3/5)
Category	Customer Support	Customer Support
Pricing model	A free plan supports up to two agents. Paid plans start at $15 per agent per month billed annually for Growth (about $18 monthly), with Pro at $49 and Enterprise at $79 per agent per month annually; Freddy AI Copilot is an extra per-agent add-on.	Support-only plans start at $19 per agent per month billed annually; the full Zendesk Suite runs from $55 (Team) to $115 (Professional) per agent per month annually, with Enterprise priced on request. AI agent resolutions and the copilot add-on are billed separately.
Plans	Free — Free Growth — $15/user/mo Pro — $49/user/mo Enterprise — $79/user/mo	Support Team — $19/user/mo Suite Team — $55/user/mo Suite Professional — $115/user/mo Suite Enterprise — Custom
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, API	Web, iOS, Android, API
Integrations	Facebook & Instagram, HubSpot, Jira, Mailchimp, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Zapier	Facebook & Instagram, HubSpot, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Trello, WhatsApp, Zapier
Best for	Small and mid-sized teams running email-first support Businesses that want traditional ticketing at a lower price than Zendesk Companies already using other Freshworks products	Support teams of 10 or more agents handling high ticket volumes Companies that need multiple channels, SLAs and audit-ready reporting Businesses with a large existing app stack that need marketplace integrations
Pros	Free plan and low entry price for small teams Solid ticketing basics: SLAs, automations, canned responses, parent-child tickets Clean, approachable interface that agents learn quickly Good marketplace of apps and a documented API	Mature ticketing engine with triggers, automations, macros, SLAs and skills-based routing Covers email, chat, voice, WhatsApp and social messaging in one agent workspace Largest app marketplace in the category, plus a well-documented API Strong reporting and dashboards through Zendesk Explore Multi-brand help centers with localization
Cons	Live chat, bots and phone require the separately priced Freshdesk Omni bundle Freddy AI Copilot is a paid per-agent add-on rather than included Reporting and automation are shallow on the Free and Growth tiers Many capabilities are split across tiers, making plan comparison confusing	Per-agent pricing gets expensive, and useful features are gated behind Professional and Enterprise AI agents, copilot and advanced data retention are paid add-ons on top of seat fees Configuration of views, triggers and routing takes real setup time and often an admin Smaller teams pay for capabilities they will not use
AI agents	No	Yes
AI assistant	Yes	No
API access	Yes	Yes
Chatbot	No	Yes
Custom fields	Yes	No
Knowledge base / help centre	Yes	Yes
Live chat	No	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	No
Multichannel inbox (email, chat, social)	Yes	Yes
Reporting & dashboards	Yes	Yes
Roles & permissions	Yes	No
Shared inbox	Yes	No
SLA management	Yes	Yes
SSO / SAML	No	Yes
Ticketing	Yes	Yes
WhatsApp channel	No	Yes
Workflow automation	Yes	Yes

Common questions

Does Freshdesk or Zendesk have a free plan?: Freshdesk has a free plan. Zendesk does not, though it offers a free trial.
How long is the Freshdesk and Zendesk free trial?: Freshdesk offers a 14-day free trial, and Zendesk offers a 14-day free trial.
Which is easier to use, Freshdesk or Zendesk?: In VERILO's editorial assessment Freshdesk is the easier of the two, scoring 4 out of 5 against 3 for Zendesk. That is a judgement about how quickly a new team gets productive, not a measured benchmark.

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