Freshdesk vs Helpshift (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Freshdesk grades higher than Helpshift: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Freshdesk grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Freshdesk
Email ticketing help desk with a knowledge base and AI agents
Which one is for you
Pick Freshdesk if
- Fits if your support team works mainly from email
- Works for teams that want a help center and ticket portal on the $19 plan
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if most of your customers reach you by chat or WhatsApp, which needs Freshdesk Omni from $29 an agent
- Pricey if you want AI help drafting replies, at $29 an agent extra ($35 monthly) and not on Growth
- Skip it if you lean on the AI agent: 500 sessions are free once per account, then $49 per 100
- Tight if you need round-robin routing, several SLA policies or custom dashboards, which start on Pro at $55
- Watch out: the $19 is the yearly price, monthly billing costs more, and there's no free plan after the 14-day trial
Pick Helpshift if
- Fits if you run a mobile or PC game studio and want support inside the game
- Works for studios that want to buy software, AI and human support in any mix
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're not a game studio, as the pages speak of players
- Not for you if you want a price before a sales call
- Watch out: what you pay depends on interaction volume, solutions and languages, so it can't be worked out from the site
- Watch out: no free plan or trial is on record
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFreshdeskFair | 1.8GPAHelpshiftWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGrowth is $19 an agent a month billed yearly, a little under this category's middle of $24, and paying monthly loses the 20% yearly discount. A portal and knowledge base are included, but chat means Freshdesk Omni from $29. | CNo price is published: cost is quoted per studio from interaction volume, solutions and languages, so there is nothing to set against the category's $29 middle. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan with no card needed, so you see everything. There's no free plan, and the 500 free AI agent sessions come once per account, not every month. | FNothing free or trial on record, and the pricing page points to a quote. |
| Features | CEmail ticketing, a shared inbox, a portal and knowledge base, routing, SLAs, reports and an email AI agent. The gap is named in the listing: chat and messaging channels aren't in Freshdesk at all, they're sold as Freshdesk Omni. | CIn-game SDKs, a console handoff by QR code and an AI agent for routine player questions. It does one job for one kind of customer, and the listing gives no feature list beyond that. |
| Ease of use | B4.5 from 2,996 App Store ratings for the agent app. Emails turning into tickets is a simple idea to pick up, and occasional helpers can come in on day passes instead of full seats. | CNo store rating on record. It goes into a game through an SDK and is sold with technology, AI and human services in any mix. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Shopify, Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams and Stripe. There's no desktop app, so it stops at a B. | BSDKs for mobile, PC and web plus a console handoff cover where players are, but the listing records no named integrations. |
| Best for | email support with a help center from day one | in-game support for game studios |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Freshdesk and Helpshift. How we grade
Where they differ
- Freshdesk also covers shared inbox, reports and help center.
- Helpshift also covers community.
At a glance
| Freshdesk | Helpshift | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $19 per agent / month, billed annually | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan, no credit card needed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Freshworks Inc. | Helpshift |
| Price read from | freshworks.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Freshdesk
- Freshdesk plans are built around email; chat and messaging channels come with Freshdesk Omni, from $29 per agent / month billed annually.
- Only 500 AI agent sessions are free, once per account; after that sessions cost $49 per 100.
- Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent / month billed annually ($35 monthly) and is not offered on Growth.
- The pricing page shows annual prices only; monthly billing costs more, as the page offers 20% off for paying annually.
Helpshift
- The pricing page publishes no prices: cost is quoted per studio from interaction volume, solutions used, capabilities and languages.
- It is built for game studios; the vendor's pages describe players, not general customer support.
- Technology, AI and human services can be bought in any mix, so what a studio pays depends on that mix.
Key features
Freshdesk
- Ticketing and shared inbox
- Incoming emails become tickets that can be prioritized, assigned and tracked, with internal threads and linked tasks for teammates.
- Freddy AI Agent for email
- An email AI agent replies to customers and works through back-and-forth threads. Each account gets 500 sessions once; more cost $49 per 100.
- Customer portal and knowledge base
- Customers submit tickets and read help articles in a portal. Pro adds portal branding, community forums and article versioning.
- Routing and SLAs
- Business rules dispatch tickets on every plan. Pro adds round-robin and load-balanced assignment and multiple SLA policies; Enterprise adds skill-based routing.
- Freddy AI Copilot
- A paid add-on from Pro up that drafts replies, summarizes long threads, translates in 60+ languages and suggests similar tickets.
- Reports and dashboards
- Standard reports and real-time dashboards on all plans, with custom dashboards on Pro and conversational AI insights on Enterprise.
Helpshift
- In-game support SDKs
- Support is built into mobile, PC and web games, with a console handoff through QR codes and links.
- CARE AI agent
- An AI agent resolves routine player issues on its own, with real-time monitoring of conversations and translation into over 70 languages.
- Agent copilot and routing
- Human agents get an AI copilot and smart routing, and an API lets studios connect their own systems.
- Engagement and VIP care
- Player segmentation, in-game and push messages and VIP outreach are sold as a separate solution.
- Trust and safety
- AI detection of toxicity and harassment across in-game chat, Discord and forums, with policy enforcement workflows.
Plans
Freshdesk
Growth$19
per agent / month, billed annually
Email ticketing and a shared inbox, a customer portal and knowledge base, standard reports, threads and tasks, and roles.
Pro$55
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds a multilingual help desk, custom dashboards, round-robin routing, multiple SLA policies, community forums and 5,000 outside collaborators.
Enterprise$89
per agent / month, billed annually
Adds Freddy AI Insights, skill-based routing, a sandbox, audit logs, IP allowlisting and an approval step for knowledge base articles.
Helpshift
Pricing could not be confirmed. See helpshift.com.
Ways to pay less
Freshdesk
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Freshdesk's pricing page offers 20% off when plans are paid annually rather than monthly.
Helpshift
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Freshdesk or Helpshift?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Freshdesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually, and Helpshift has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Freshdesk or Helpshift?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Freshdesk nor Helpshift has a free plan. Freshdesk has a free trial.
Which platforms do Freshdesk and Helpshift run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Freshdesk lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.