Zendesk vs. Freshdesk: Definitive Comparison Guide

If you’re looking for customer support software for your business, you’ve probably come across both Zendesk and Freshdesk. Both are popular options with plenty of features to offer, but which one is the best fit for your business? To help you decide, we’ve put together a comparison guide for Zendesk vs. Freshdesk. Download your copy today!

Despite their similar names, Zendesk and Freshdesk both offer unique features and functionalities that you’re going to want to know about if you’re in the market for a new tool to improve your customer experience capabilities. Offering a robust library of features from live chat support to a support ticket and everything in-between, both solutions are fantastic choices and user-friendly software choices, but only one will fit your unique needs as a business.

Let’s take a look at the features each help desk software offers, as well as their pricing and customer support options.

Zendesk vs. Freshdesk Pricing Plans

Zendesk Pricing:

Zendesk pricing uses the “pay-per-agent” subscription model. The platform has 5 main plans: Essential, Team, Professional, Enterprise, and Elite. Each of these pricing plans comes with a free trial and paid add-ons like real-time chat and social messaging.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the plans.

• Essential: $5 per agent/month and includes email & social media, Web Widget & Mobile SDK, pre-defined business rules, essentials card, and interaction history.
• Team: $19 per agent/month and includes the Essential plan plus custom business rules, Performance Dashboards, and Public apps and integrations.
• Professional: $49 per agent/month and includes the Team plan plus multilingual content, CSAT surveys, and Dashboards and Reporting.
• Enterprise: $99 per agent/month and includes the professional plan plus multiple ticket forms, skills-based routing, contextual workspaces, satisfaction prediction, multiband support, custom objects, powered by sunshine.
• Elite: $199 per agent/month and includes the Enterprise plan plus unlimited light agents, 99.9% uptime SLA, 1 hour service level objective, advanced security, and data center location.

Freshdesk Pricing:

Freshdesk also offers 5 main pricing plans: Sprout, Blossom, Garden, Estate, and Forest. Like Zendesk, the plans are usage-based, meaning you pay based on the number of agents you have and the number of tickets they generate.

• Sprout: Free plan for unlimited agents. Sprout includes email & social ticketing, ticket dispatch, knowledge base, ticket trend report, and datacenter location
• Blossom: $15 per agent/month. Blossom includes all of the features in Sprout, plus call center collaboration, support forums, multi-product support, and gamification
• Garden: $35 per agent/month. Garden includes all of the features in Blossom, plus automation & workflows, SLA management, ticket assignment rules, satisfaction surveys, and data encryption at rest
• Estate: $50 per agent/month. Estate includes all of the features in Garden, plus phone support, business hours & after-hours support, and dedicated account manager
• Forest: $89 per agent/month. Forest includes all of the features in Estate, plus priority email support, 24/7 phone support, and multiple SLAs

[Download: Which is Better? Zendesk vs. Freshdesk]

When comparing Zendesk vs. Freshdesk, both platforms offer paid add-ons, but Zendesk’s prices increase quite a bit with each successive plan, while Freshdesk’s pricing is more consistent across its plans. When it comes to cost, Freshdesk is the clear winner.

Zendesk vs. Freshdesk Features:

Zendesk:

Zendesk offers a wide range of features to help businesses manage their customer support needs. These features include ticketing, automation & workflows, knowledge base, reporting & analytics, collaboration, multilingual support, satisfaction surveys, and integration with third-party applications.

Ticketing

The ticketing system includes basic features that allow customer service teams to resolve issues quickly. Zendesk converts phone, email, and social media requests into tickets. Proper ticket management can lead to higher agent productivity.

Live Chat

Zendesk also includes a live chat function that gives agents the ability to talk with customers in real time. Having live chat support is a great way to enhance customer satisfaction.

Knowledge Base

Zendesk includes a self-service support system to help increase your organizations knowledge base. With this system, businesses can create and publish articles that help customers resolve issues on their own.

Integration with Third-Party Apps

Zendesk integrates with a number of popular applications, such as Salesforce, Google Analytics, and Twitter. This allows businesses to manage all of their customer support needs from one central location.

Reporting & Analytics

The reporting and analytics feature gives businesses the ability to track customer support performance. This data can be used to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

Satisfaction Surveys

Zendesk includes satisfaction surveys that can be sent to customers after their issue has been resolved. These surveys help businesses track customer satisfaction levels.

[Download: Zendesk vs. Freshdesk: What’s Right for You?]

Freshdesk:

Like Zendesk, Freshdesk also offers a wide range of features, including ticketing, automation & workflows, knowledge base, reporting & analytics, collaboration, satisfaction surveys, and integration with third-party applications. In addition, Freshdesk offers call center features such as call routing, call queues, and call recording.

Ticketing

The Freshdesk ticketing system allows agents to prioritize and assign tickets to the right agents in order to enhance the overall customer experience. The Freshdesk ticketing system is designed for team collaboration and agent productivity. You have the ability to prioritize tickets based on keywords and filter tickets on specific properties. Canned responses also allow agents to save replies to common tickets and reuse them. SLA management in Freshdesk lets you set service level agreements for different types of tickets and ensure that they are resolved within the specified timeframe.

AI-powered ticketing

With the help of Freshbot, an AI-powered chatbot, businesses can automate their ticketing process. Freshbot can answer common customer queries and create tickets for complex issues.

Collaboration Options

Collaboration tools in Freshdesk give agents the opportunity to invite other collaborators into the ticket. Agents can also share ownership of tickets with other teams without loosing visibility and access, so that teams can work together on an issue and have up to date answers for customers.

Automation & Workflows

The Freshdesk automation & workflow system allows businesses to automate common tasks and create workflows to streamline their customer support process. With this feature, businesses can automatically assign tickets to the appropriate agents, notify agents of new tickets via email or SMS, and set up ticket SLAs.

Help Widget

The Freshdesk help widget allows businesses to embed a support widget on their website or blog. This widget gives customers the ability to search the knowledge base, submit tickets, and chat with agents without leaving the page they are on.

Reporting & Analytics

The reporting & analytics feature in Freshdesk gives businesses the ability to track performance. This data can be used to improve agent productivity and customer satisfaction.

Security

Freshdesk takes security seriously and offers a number of features to help businesses keep their customer data safe. These features include two-factor authentication, password policies, SSL encryption, and data backups.

[Read our Blog: Zendesk vs. Freshdesk: What’s Right for You?]

Zendesk vs. Freshdesk: How do I know which software is better for my company?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best customer support software for a business will depend on the specific needs of that business. However, some factors to consider when you compare Freshdesk to Zendesk include the following:

The size of your business:

If you have a small business with a limited customer support team, Freshdesk may be a better option as it is more affordable. However, if you have a larger business with a more complex customer support team with deeper needs, Zendesk may be a better option.

The features you need:

As mentioned above, both Freshdesk and Zendesk offer a wide range of features when it comes to managing your customer data. When deciding between the two, consider which features are most important for your business and which platform offers the best options.

Your budget:

One big difference between Zendesk and Freshdesk is their have pricing structures, so be sure to consider your budget when making your decision.

Ultimately, the best customer service software for your business will be the one that meets your specific needs in the most effective and efficient way possible. By considering the factors above, you can narrow down your options and choose the right platform for your business.

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