Shopxare Team
Short answer: Freshdesk no longer has a forever-free plan. Its Free Program covers up to 2 agents for 6 months, then you must move to a paid plan (Growth starts at $19 per agent per month, billed annually, as of October 2026). The best Freshdesk alternative depends on what you need after that: Zoho Desk if you want a free email help desk for 3 people, Help Scout if you want a polished paid inbox, FreeScout if you can host software yourself, Zendesk if you are growing into a large team, and Shopxare if you want chat, email tickets and an AI agent on a free plan.
Below: what changed at Freshdesk, what a 3-person team pays for the same month with AI on each tool, a comparison table, when Freshdesk is still the right pick, and how to move without losing history. All prices were checked on each vendor's own page in October 2026.
What changed at Freshdesk
Three things matter if you run support for a small store or agency.
1. The free plan has an end date. Freshdesk's own help article describes a "Free Program" that "is available for free for 6 months" and "supports up to 2 agents". After six months you must upgrade, and once you upgrade you cannot switch back. It applies to Freshdesk only, not Freshdesk Omni (Freshdesk support, updated September 2026). The public pricing page no longer lists a free tier at all; new signups get a 14-day Enterprise trial (Freshdesk pricing).
2. The 500 free AI sessions are one-time. Every paid plan shows "Freddy AI Agent (first 500 sessions included)". Freshworks' session FAQ says these are "500 one-time complimentary sessions", a session is everything a customer says to the AI within 24 hours, and extra sessions cost $49 per 100. Unused sessions expire at the end of the billing cycle (Freddy AI Agent sessions FAQ, August 2026).
3. Chat and the AI copilot sit higher up. The standard plans are built around email and the customer portal. Messaging channels come with Freshdesk Omni, from $29 per agent per month billed annually (Omni pricing). Freddy AI Copilot is a $29 per agent add-on on Pro and Enterprise only.
None of this makes Freshdesk a bad product. It does mean that a team that picked it because it was free now has a bill to plan for.
What a 3-person team pays: one month, same workload
The scenario: 3 agents, annual billing, and about 300 conversations a month answered by AI. List prices in USD, checked October 2026.
| Tool and plan | Seats | AI for 300 conversations | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopxare (Free) | $0 | Included AI budget, then AI credit | $0 |
| Freshdesk Growth | 3 × $19 = $57 | 3 packs × $49 = $147 (after the one-time 500) | $204 |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth (adds chat) | 3 × $29 = $87 | $147 | $234 |
| Help Scout Standard | 3 × $25 = $75 | 300 × $0.75 = $225 | $300 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | 3 × $55 = $165 | 285 × $1.50 = $427.50 (15 included) | $592.50 |
Notes on the math: Freshdesk counts AI sessions (24-hour windows), so we assume one session per conversation. Help Scout charges $0.75 per AI resolution and gives new accounts three months of free, unlimited resolutions (Help Scout pricing). Zendesk includes 5 automated resolutions per agent per month and charges $1.50 per committed resolution or $2.00 pay-as-you-go; monthly billing for Suite Team is $69 per agent (Zendesk pricing).
Two things stand out. Freshdesk Growth is cheaper than Help Scout or Zendesk once AI is involved, so "Freshdesk is expensive" is not true for every team. And the AI line, not the seats, decides the bill as volume grows.
The 5 Freshdesk alternatives
1. Zoho Desk: a free email help desk for up to 3 people
Zoho Desk's free plan gives "three user licenses" with limited features (Zoho Desk pricing). A live chat widget starts on Standard, and Zia AI starts on Professional. Zoho shows prices in your local currency, so check the page for your region. Pick it if you mostly answer email and already use other Zoho apps.
2. Help Scout: the easiest paid inbox
The free plan covers 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts a month. Standard ($25 per user per month) adds live chat and an AI inbox assistant. Pick it if your team values a calm, email-like inbox and you are happy to pay per AI resolution.
3. FreeScout: free if you host it yourself
FreeScout is an open-source help desk with "unlimited support agents, tickets, mailboxes" (FreeScout). You need a server and someone to maintain it. Extras like live chat and satisfaction ratings are paid modules with a lifetime license per installation. Pick it if you have a developer and want full control of your data.
4. Zendesk: when you are building a large support team
Zendesk is the most expensive option here for a small team, but it scales to hundreds of agents with deep reporting and a large app marketplace. Our Zendesk alternatives post breaks its pricing down line by line.
5. Shopxare: chat, email tickets and an AI agent on a free plan
Shopxare has one plan today and it is free, with no credit card. For a team leaving Freshdesk, the parts that map directly:
- Email tickets: receive support email in the inbox, reply from your own address and track numbered tickets (Tickets and email).
- Website chat: the Messenger installs on any site, WordPress, Shopify, ikas or Google Tag Manager (Install the Messenger).
- AI agent: Are AI answers from your help center, pages and files, and hands over to your team (Are AI). Copilot drafts and rewrites replies; nothing is sent without a person (Copilot).
- Help center on your own domain, reply targets (SLA), office hours and assignment rules (Teams and assignment).
- Marketplace messages from Amazon, eBay, Allegro, Trendyol and others in the same inbox.
Where it falls short: there is no phone channel, and WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger are on the way, not available yet. If phone support is central for you, Freshdesk with its voice add-on or Zendesk fits better.
Comparison table
| Free option | Live chat | AI agent pricing | Hosting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk | 2 agents, 6 months | Omni plans | 500 one-time sessions, then $49/100 | Cloud |
| Zoho Desk | 3 users, no end date | From Standard | Zia from Professional | Cloud |
| Help Scout | 5 users, 1 inbox | From Standard | $0.75 per resolution | Cloud |
| FreeScout | Free software | Paid module | Not built in | Self-hosted |
| Zendesk | 14-day trial | Suite plans | $1.50–2.00 per resolution | Cloud |
| Shopxare | Free plan, no end date | Included | Included AI budget, then AI credit | Cloud |
When to stay with Freshdesk
Stay if you sell over the phone and want voice inside the help desk, if you need skill-based routing, a sandbox or audit logs (Enterprise), or if the rest of your company runs on Freshworks. At $204 a month for our scenario, Growth is fair value for an email-first team.
Example: a 3-person store at the end of the Free Program
A homeware store answers about 900 emails and chats a month with 3 people. Its Freshdesk Free Program ends in December, and it wants AI to take the "where is my order" questions before Black Friday. On Freshdesk it would need Omni Growth for chat ($87) plus session packs. It decides to test an alternative for two weeks while Freshdesk is still free: import contacts and help articles, forward the support address, put the chat on the store and let the AI answer only outside office hours. After two weeks it compares answer quality, not just price.
How to move without losing history
- Export or import contacts, past conversations and help articles. Shopxare imports from Freshdesk (Move to Shopxare).
- Recreate saved replies, tags and assignment rules before the switch.
- Forward your support address to the new inbox and send a test from an outside account.
- Run both tools in parallel for a week, then turn off Freshdesk notifications.
For a wider look at free ticketing tools, see our free ticketing system comparison.
FAQ
Does Freshdesk still have a free plan?
Not a permanent one. The Free Program covers up to 2 agents for 6 months and applies to Freshdesk, not Omni. After that you need a paid plan.
How much does Freshdesk cost per month?
As of October 2026: Growth $19, Pro $55 and Enterprise $89 per agent per month, billed annually. Freshdesk Omni costs $29, $79 and $119. AI sessions beyond the one-time 500 cost $49 per 100.
What is the best free alternative to Freshdesk?
For email only and up to 3 people, Zoho Desk Free. For chat, email tickets and an AI agent in one free tool, Shopxare. If you can host software, FreeScout.
Is Zoho Desk better than Freshdesk?
Zoho Desk is cheaper to start (free for 3 users with no end date) and fits teams already on Zoho. Freshdesk has a simpler setup and includes AI sessions to start with. Test both with your own tickets.
Shopxare is free, no credit card. Create a workspace, import your Freshdesk data and run it next to Freshdesk until your Free Program ends.
