Free Freshdesk alternatives

All Freshdesk alternatives

1. 

   

   Zoho Desk

   4.7(1.6K) · App StoreLike

   Zoho Desk is a help desk application from Zoho that manages customer requests from email, phone, chat, social media and web forms as tickets. It offers a self-service knowledge base, SLA rules, workflow automation, analytics and Zia, an AI assistant that suggests answers and detects customer sentiment. It integrates tightly with Zoho CRM and has a free plan for small teams.

   10 Zoho Desk alternatives

   Pros

   • Tight integration with Zoho CRM shows customer context on tickets
   • Zia suggests answers and detects customer sentiment
   • Free plan for small teams, with paid tiers for SLAs and automation

   Cons

   • Interface feels busy, with many settings to learn
   • Works best when you already use other Zoho apps

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebiPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AI assistantAnalyticsBuilt-in automationsIntegrationsKnowledge baseTicketing

   Visit websiteMore about Zoho Desk
2. 

   

   Help Scout

   4.2(323) · App StoreLike

   Help Scout is a customer support platform built around a shared inbox that feels like personal email to customers, without ticket numbers or portals. It adds a knowledge base (Docs), the embeddable Beacon widget for live chat and self-service, customer profiles, reporting and AI tools for drafting and summarizing replies. It suits small and mid-sized companies that value a personal tone.

   8 Help Scout alternatives

   Pros

   • Replies feel like personal email, with no ticket numbers for customers
   • Beacon widget combines live chat and help articles on any site
   • Clean interface that new agents learn quickly

   Cons

   • Fewer advanced workflow and reporting options than enterprise help desks
   • Free plan is limited, so key features require a paid plan

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebiPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AI assistantAnalyticsIntegrationsKnowledge baseLive chat widgetShared inbox

   Visit websiteMore about Help Scout
3. 

   

   HubSpot

   4.7(15.7K) · App StoreLike

   HubSpot is a customer platform built around a free CRM, with paid hubs for marketing automation, sales engagement, customer service, content management and operations. Contacts, deals, emails and support tickets share one record, and the Breeze AI tools help with writing, research and agents. It suits small and mid-sized companies that want marketing, sales and support in a single system.

   12 HubSpot alternatives

   Pros

   • Free CRM that covers contacts, deals and basic email tracking
   • Marketing, sales and service share one customer record
   • Large integration marketplace and extensive free training via HubSpot Academy

   Cons

   • Costs rise steeply once you need Professional-tier features
   • Marketing pricing grows with the number of marketing contacts
   • Upper tiers can involve onboarding fees and annual contracts

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   CRMEmail Marketing & NewslettersCustomer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebiPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AI assistantContact managementEmail automationEmail trackingIntegrationsPipeline management

   Visit websiteMore about HubSpot
4. 

   

   Chatwoot

   37.7KstarsLike

   Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform positioned as an alternative to Intercom and Zendesk. It unifies website live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and SMS in one shared inbox, with a help center, canned responses, automation rules and an AI assistant called Captain. Teams can self-host it for free or use the paid cloud version.

   11 Chatwoot alternatives

   Pros

   • Open source and free to self-host, keeping conversations on your servers
   • One inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, social channels and SMS
   • Includes a help center, canned responses and automation rules

   Cons

   • Self-hosting requires maintaining the server, updates and integrations
   • Reporting and workflows are less deep than in Zendesk or Intercom

   Cost / License

   FreemiumOpen source

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebiPhoneAndroidSelf-hosted

   Features

   AI chatbotAPI accessKnowledge baseLive chat widgetShared inboxUnified social inbox

   Visit websiteMore about Chatwoot
5. 

   

   tawk.to

   Like

   tawk.to is a free live chat platform that lets businesses add a chat widget to their website and answer visitors from the web, desktop or mobile apps, with no limit on agents. It also includes ticketing, a knowledge base and real-time visitor monitoring. The company earns money through optional paid add-ons, such as removing its branding, AI assistance or hiring agents to staff the chat.

   8 tawk.to alternatives

   Pros

   • Free live chat with no limit on the number of agents
   • Includes ticketing, a knowledge base and visitor monitoring
   • Web, desktop and mobile apps to answer from anywhere

   Cons

   • Removing tawk.to branding requires a paid add-on
   • Interface and reporting feel basic next to premium tools
   • AI assistance is sold as a paid extra

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebWindowsMaciPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AnalyticsKnowledge baseLive chat widgetTicketing

   Visit websiteMore about tawk.to
6. 

   

   Crisp

   4.7(3.8K) · App StoreLike

   Crisp is a French customer messaging platform that gathers website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other channels into one shared inbox. It includes a chatbot builder, AI answers based on your own content, a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page. A free plan covers basic live chat, and paid plans add automation, AI features and more channels.

   8 Crisp alternatives

   Pros

   • Shared inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
   • Bundles a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page
   • French company with a GDPR-minded approach to customer data

   Cons

   • Free plan is limited to basic chat, while AI and automation need paid plans
   • Reporting is lighter than in help desks built for large enterprises

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebWindowsMaciPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AI chatbotGDPR compliantKnowledge baseLive chat widgetShared inboxUnified social inbox

   Visit websiteMore about Crisp
7. 

   

   Tidio

   4.8(4.8K) · App StoreLike

   Tidio is a customer service tool that combines a website live chat widget, a multichannel inbox and ticketing with Lyro, an AI agent that answers common questions from your help content. Visual chatbot flows can greet visitors, recover abandoned carts or collect leads. It integrates with Shopify, WordPress, Wix and other platforms, and mainly targets small businesses and online stores.

   8 Tidio alternatives

   Pros

   • Easy to install on Shopify, WordPress and Wix stores
   • Lyro AI agent answers common questions from your help content
   • Visual chatbot flows for lead capture and abandoned carts

   Cons

   • AI and chatbot usage limits can push costs up quickly
   • Free plan becomes tight for a growing store
   • Reporting is basic for larger support teams

   Cost / License

   FreemiumProprietary

   Categories

   Customer Support & Live Chat

   Platforms

   WebiPhoneAndroid

   Features

   AI chatbotIntegrationsLive chat widgetTicketingUnified social inbox

   Visit websiteMore about Tidio