Comparison
FyneDesk vs Freshdesk
Freshdesk's permanent free plan is gone, and Freshdesk now prices paid plans and AI capabilities separately. FyneDesk includes AI summaries, drafted replies, portal, knowledge base, ticket routing on the free plan.
Freshdesk base price and AI costs
The short version
Freshdesk's permanent free plan is gone. The current free program is limited to 1-2 agents for 6 months. Paid Freshdesk starts at $19/agent/month billed annually, Pro is $55/agent/month, and AI Agent sessions are priced separately at $49 per 100 sessions.
FyneDesk includes ticket management, AI-powered summaries and suggestions, knowledge base, customer portal, email-to-ticket, teams, routing, webhooks, asset management, CRM, dashboard analytics, and a full audit trail -- all free, with no time limit. Need SLA management, advanced automations, or custom branding? Pro is $12/agent/month.
What happened to Freshdesk's free plan?
Freshdesk originally offered a free tier called "Sprout" that supported up to 3 agents. Over the years, they reduced it to 2 agents, then converted it to a 6-month "Free Program." In 2025, Freshdesk began emailing users that the free plan would be fully discontinued as of June 9, 2025. Users on the free plan were given the choice: upgrade to a paid plan or lose access.
This left many small businesses, schools, nonprofits, and startups without the support tool they depended on — often with only weeks of notice. Community forums filled with users sharing their frustration about a "free forever" promise being reversed.
FyneDesk was built with a different philosophy. The free plan is not a marketing funnel. It is a real, fully-featured product with no expiration date and no bait-and-switch.
Pricing at a glance
- Tickets, KB, CRM, portal, email-to-ticket
- AI summaries & suggested replies
- SLA management on Pro
- Asset management & full audit trail
What Freshdesk charges for, FyneDesk includes free
| Feature | FyneDesk | Freshdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Customer portal | Free | $19/agent/mo Growth |
| Ticket routing | Free | $19/agent/mo Growth |
| AI summaries & suggestions | Free | $49/100 sessions AI Agent sessions |
| Audit trail | Free | $89/agent/mo Business |
| Webhooks | Free | $55/agent/mo Pro |
| Role-based access | Free | $55/agent/mo Pro |
| Asset management | Free | Not available |
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | FyneDesk | Freshdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, permanent | Limited (6 months only) |
| Ticket management | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| Customer portal | Yes, free | Growth plan ($19/agent/mo) |
| Live chat | Yes, free | Freshchat (separate product) |
| Knowledge base | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| Email-to-ticket | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| AI ticket summaries | Yes, free | Paid AI add-on |
| AI suggested replies | Yes, free | Paid AI add-on |
| SLA tracking | Yes, free and fully customisable | Growth ($19/agent/mo) |
| Multiple SLA policies | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Pro ($55/agent/mo) |
| Dashboard analytics | Yes, free | Basic reports; custom on Pro ($55/mo) |
| Teams & assignment | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| Round-robin assignment | Yes, free | Growth ($19/agent/mo) |
| Ticket routing | Yes, free | Growth ($19/agent/mo) |
| Role-based access | Yes, free | Pro plan ($55/agent/mo) |
| Asset management | Yes, free | Not included |
| Contact/customer CRM | Yes, free | Basic contact info only |
| Audit trail | Yes, free | Enterprise plan ($89/agent/mo) |
| Webhooks | Yes, free | Pro ($55/agent/mo) |
| Multi-tenant data isolation | Yes, row-level security | Yes |
| File attachments | Yes, free | Yes, all plans |
| Custom fields on tickets | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Growth plan ($19/agent/mo) |
| Dependent / conditional fields | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Pro plan ($55/agent/mo) |
| Canned responses & macros | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Yes, all plans |
| Response templates | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Yes, all plans |
| Custom reports | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Pro plan ($55/agent/mo) |
| Advanced automations | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Growth ($19/agent/mo) |
| Skill-based routing | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Enterprise ($89/agent/mo) |
| Custom branding | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Growth plan ($19/agent/mo) |
| Data import & migration support | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Paid add-on service |
| SSO & advanced security | Business | Enterprise ($89/agent/mo) |
| API access | Business | Yes, all plans |
| Parent-child tickets & merging | Yes, free | Pro plan ($55/agent/mo) |
| Bulk ticket actions | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Yes, all plans |
| Export & CSV download | Pro ($12/agent/mo) | Yes, all plans |
| Multilingual portal | Yes, free | Growth plan ($19/agent/mo) |
| Themes & branding | 5 built-in themes + logo, free | Portal customisation on paid |
Why teams switch to FyneDesk
- Freshdesk's free plan is gone. Freshdesk ended their permanent free plan in 2025. What they offer now expires after 6 months, then you're paying $19+/agent/month. FyneDesk's free plan has no expiry — up to 3 agents, free forever.
- AI costs extra on Freshdesk. Freshdesk prices AI capabilities separately from base plans. FyneDesk includes AI summaries, drafted replies, and suggested resolutions on every plan — including Free.
- More included at every tier. To get ticket routing, webhooks, and a customer portal on Freshdesk, you're paying $19–$55/agent/month. FyneDesk includes those free, plus asset tracking and a full audit trail.
- Predictable pricing. FyneDesk is $0 free forever (up to 3 agents) or $12/agent/month Pro. No expiring trials, no separate AI bill, no surprise charges.
- Your data stays yours. FyneDesk uses row-level security to isolate your data at the database level. Your ticket content is never used to train AI models.
Who switches from Freshdesk to FyneDesk?
Teams that switch typically share a few things in common:
- They were on Freshdesk's free plan and lost access when it was discontinued
- They're a small team (2-5 agents) and can't justify $19-55 per agent per month
- They want AI features without paying separately priced on top of an existing plan
- They need a knowledge base and customer portal without upgrading to a paid tier
- They're a school, nonprofit, or startup that needs professional support tools on a tight budget
- They want something that works out of the box without months of configuration
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Freshdesk replaced their permanent free plan (previously called Sprout) with a limited free program in mid-2025 that expires after 6 months. After the trial window, teams must move to a paid plan starting at $19 per agent per month. This is not a permanent free option.
Freshdesk's cheapest paid plan (Growth) starts at $19 per agent per month when billed annually. The Pro plan is $55/agent/month and Enterprise is $89/agent/month. Freshdesk lists AI Agent sessions separately at $49 per 100 sessions, and Freddy AI Copilot can be purchased and assigned separately.
Yes. FyneDesk's free plan includes ticket management, knowledge base, customer portal, email-to-ticket, AI-powered summaries and suggestions, teams, routing, webhooks, asset management, CRM, dashboard analytics, and a full audit trail. There is no trial period and no time limit. For teams that need SLA management, custom fields, canned responses, advanced automations, or custom branding, the Pro plan is $12 per agent per month.
You can start using FyneDesk immediately by creating a free account. Set up your workspace, invite your team, and start managing tickets right away. Your Freshdesk data (tickets, contacts) can be recreated in FyneDesk as you transition. For migration assistance, contact us at support@fynedesk.io.
FyneDesk includes AI-powered ticket summaries, suggested replies, and resolution suggestions on the free plan. Freshdesk sells Freddy AI Copilot separately, and Freshdesk lists AI Agent sessions at $49 per 100 sessions with session validity tied to your billing cycle.
Freshdesk has a larger marketplace of third-party integrations, phone/voice support (via Freshcaller), messaging app integrations (via Freshchat), and social media ticketing. FyneDesk supports four channels: email, a self-service customer portal, an embeddable website widget, and built-in live chat. FyneDesk also includes outbound webhooks for connecting to Slack, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, n8n, and any custom endpoint. For teams that need deeper integrations or API access, the Business plan is available.
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