Freshdesk vs Supportbench (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Freshdesk grades higher than Supportbench: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
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 and platforms. Supportbench grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
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
Supportbench
Help desk for B2B support teams, with SLAs and account context
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 Supportbench if
- Fits if you support business customers and want SLAs by account
- Works for teams of 15 or fewer on one flat per-agent price
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pass 15 agents, as each extra adds $2.50 and per-agent cost is capped at $150
- Skip it if you need SSO, a sandbox or white labeling, because those are Enterprise at $100
- Watch out: accounts of 60 or more agents standardize on Enterprise
- Too light for a small consumer team, as it is built for B2B
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAFreshdeskFair | 2.2GPASupportbenchFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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$32 an agent a month billed yearly, between the middle of $29 and the dearer quarter of $45. Enterprise is $100. |
| 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 with no card. 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. | BAccount-aware ticketing, SLAs, AI, a knowledge base, reporting and health scoring. The listing shows no gap in the core support job. |
| 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. SLAs, escalations and a portal need setting 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. | CWeb only, and the listing names no integrations. |
| Best for | email support with a help center from day one | a B2B help desk with SLAs and account context |
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 Supportbench. 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. Supportbench starts at $32 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Freshdesk scores higher and starts $13 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Freshdesk for less, and 23 score higher than Supportbench 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 shared inbox and AI support agent.
- Supportbench also covers workflow automation and chatbots.
At a glance
| Freshdesk | Supportbench | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per agent / month, billed annually | $32 per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the Enterprise plan, no credit card needed | Free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Freshworks Inc. | Supportbench |
| Price read from | freshworks.com | supportbench.com |
| 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.
Supportbench
- Both plans are priced per agent: after 15 agents each extra agent adds $2.50, and per-agent cost is capped at $150.
- The page says accounts of 60 or more agents standardize on Enterprise.
- SSO (SAML), sandbox, white labeling and unlimited custom roles are Enterprise-only.
- It is built for B2B teams, so it may be more than a small consumer-facing team needs.
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.
Supportbench
- Account-aware ticketing
- Cases carry company, contact, asset and history context, and arrive by email, chat, an AI bot or the API.
- Dynamic SLAs and escalations
- SLAs can be driven by any data point on the case, account or asset, with multi-level escalations and an audit trail.
- AI assistance
- Search, summaries, sentiment, prediction and deflection are included, and the page says there are no per-resolution AI fees.
- Knowledge base and portal
- Internal and customer-facing knowledge bases with a self-service portal; white labeling is on Enterprise.
- Reporting and surveys
- Dashboards with 35+ KPI scorecards, natural-language reporting, and CSAT, NPS and CES surveys.
- Customer health scoring
- Health scores for customer accounts sit alongside the support data, from the Professional plan.
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.
Supportbench
Professional$32
per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly)
Ticketing, dynamic SLAs and escalations, knowledge base and portal, health scoring, 35+ KPI scorecards, surveys and AI features.
Enterprise$100
per agent / month, billed annually ($125 billed monthly)
Everything in Professional, plus sandbox, white labeling, SAML SSO, unlimited custom roles, an enterprise API and a dedicated success manager.
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.
Supportbench
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Professional is $32 per agent per month billed annually against $40 billed monthly; Enterprise is $100 against $125.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Freshdesk or Supportbench?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Freshdesk is cheaper to start with: $19 a month for each person, against $32 a month for each person for Supportbench. Freshdesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually, and Supportbench starts at $32 per agent / month, billed annually ($40 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Freshdesk or Supportbench?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Freshdesk nor Supportbench has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Freshdesk and Supportbench 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.