In 2026 Freshdesk raised its plans for the first time in five years: Growth went from $15 to $19, Pro from $49 to $55 and Enterprise from $79 to $89 per agent per month (annual). AI costs extra too: Freddy Copilot is $29 per agent per month on Pro and Enterprise, plus AI Agent session packs. If your bill crept up, here are the alternatives.
Comparison
| Alternative | Starting price | Why consider it |
|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | From $7/user/mo | Cheaper real ticketing |
| Help Scout | Free; $25/user/mo | Simpler, AI drafts included on paid plans |
| Zendesk | $19/agent/mo | More power at scale |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Free; Starter ~$15–$20/seat | Tied to HubSpot CRM |
| Intercom | $29/seat/mo | AI-first chat |
| Chatwoot | Free self-host | Open source, omnichannel |
| Zammad | Free self-host; hosted from about €7/agent | Open-source ticketing |
| Helpin | Free self-host; cloud from $79/mo | Support + CRM + projects |
Picks
- Cheapest hosted: Zoho Desk.
- Easiest to use: Help Scout.
- Bigger and more customisable: Zendesk.
- No per-seat licence: self-host Zammad, FreeScout, Chatwoot or Helpin. See open-source ticketing systems.
Before you switch
Export tickets, contacts, canned responses and solution articles. Rebuild automations one by one and keep tracking first response time through the move.
Munaza
Founder & Editor, SupportPricing
Munaza runs a digital marketing agency that manages social media and SEO for client brands across multiple platforms. Her work puts her inside SaaS tools every day: she sets up help centers, writes product content and compares software for clients before they buy. She started SupportPricing because customer service software pricing kept changing faster than anyone could track. Every price on this site comes from the vendor’s own pricing page and carries the date she checked it.