Freshdesk vs LiveHelpNow (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Freshdesk and LiveHelpNow share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Freshdesk starts cheaper, at $19 a month for each person against $39 a month for each person.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Freshdesk grades higher on ease of use. LiveHelpNow grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan 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
LiveHelpNow
Live chat, ticketing and knowledge base with a built-in AI agent
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 LiveHelpNow if
- Fits if your support team wants chat and tickets in one place
- Works for teams that also take calls and social messages
Look elsewhere if
- Tight on Essential: ticketing, call logging and workforce tools need Professional at $59
- Pricey if you want AI, since Hue add-ons start at $99 a month and go to $799
- Skip it if you want to start on your own, as the trial is set up after a call
- Watch out: the page does not say if seat prices are billed monthly or yearly
- Not for you if you want phone apps, as only the web workspace is listed
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFreshdeskFair | 2.4GPALiveHelpNowFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$39 a seat a month for Essential, which sits between the middle ($29) and the dearer quarter ($45) of the category. Tickets need Professional at $59. |
| 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. | CA free trial set up after a short call; its length and any card requirement aren't stated. There is no free plan. |
| 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. | BLive chat, tickets, a knowledge base, phone, social channels, automations and an API. The listing shows no gap in the core job, though ticketing is on Professional. |
| 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. A trial is arranged by a call, and channels and routing have to be set up. |
| 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. | BWeb only, with Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk, Slack and Shopify connections. No desktop or phone apps are listed. |
| Best for | email support with a help center from day one | live chat and a help desk in one workspace |
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 LiveHelpNow. How we grade
Price against what you get
Freshdesk starts at $19 a month for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. LiveHelpNow starts at $39 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Freshdesk starts $20 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Freshdesk for less, and 4 score higher than LiveHelpNow for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Freshdesk also covers reports.
- LiveHelpNow also covers live chat.
At a glance
| Freshdesk | LiveHelpNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per agent / month, billed annually | $39 per seat / month, billing basis not stated |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan, no credit card needed | Free trial, set up for your team after a short call |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Freshworks Inc. | LiveHelpNow LLC |
| Price read from | freshworks.com | livehelpnow.net |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
LiveHelpNow
- Ticketing, call logging and workforce management need Professional or higher.
- Hue AI add-ons cost extra: Knowledge AI from $99 a month, Conversational AI from $499 and Conversational AI Plus from $799.
- The pricing page does not say whether seat prices are billed monthly or annually.
- The pages list no desktop or mobile apps; agents use the web workspace.
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.
LiveHelpNow
- Live chat and ticketing
- Website chat, SMS and email tickets sit in one agent workspace; ticketing starts on the Professional plan.
- Knowledge base and portal
- Essential includes a knowledge base with unlimited articles, a customer support portal and secure forms.
- Phone and social channels
- Call flows, callbacks and Zoom Phone, plus Facebook Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Google Business Messages and Slack.
- Hue AI assistant
- Hue answers from your knowledge base, past chats and uploaded documents, in chat, on tickets and on the phone, and suggests replies to agents.
- Automations and routing
- Conversations are routed by skill, availability and context, with automations that grow more advanced on higher plans.
- API and developer tools
- A REST API, OAuth, webhooks and a JavaScript SDK for the chat widget are documented for developers.
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.
LiveHelpNow
Essential$39
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Live chat, knowledge base, support portal, surveys, social channels, basic automations and reporting; one chat domain.
Professional$59
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Adds ticketing, workforce management, advanced automations, KPI dashboards, data export and call logging.
Premium$79
per seat / month, billing basis not stated
Adds onboarding, a monthly success call, priority support, no LiveHelpNow branding and higher limits.
EnterpriseCustom
For large or complex requirements. Priced through sales.
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.
LiveHelpNow
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Freshdesk or LiveHelpNow?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Freshdesk is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $39 a month for each person for LiveHelpNow. Freshdesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually, and LiveHelpNow starts at $39 per seat / month, billing basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, Freshdesk or LiveHelpNow?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Freshdesk nor LiveHelpNow has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Freshdesk and LiveHelpNow run on?
As of Nov 13, 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.