
The 15 Best Freshdesk Alternatives for 2025
Discover the 15 best Freshdesk alternatives like LiveAgent, Zoho Desk & Salesforce to boost customer service with better pricing & features!

Explore 15 Zendesk alternatives for 2025 offering cost-effective, flexible, and feature-rich solutions for your customer service needs.
Zendesk is a popular customer support solution with a wide range of features including ticketing and knowledge management. However, modern customer service software offers features like automation, live chat, and knowledge base integration to streamline support operations. Affordable alternatives allow smaller businesses to access enterprise-level tools at a fraction of the cost.
While Zendesk is undeniably powerful, why not keep your options open? Let’s explore 15 Zendesk alternatives that you might consider switching to.
Every business has its requirements, specific use cases, and preferences, so it’s only natural that Zendesk’s solution isn’t the most suitable for all. Streamlined customer support processes enable faster ticket resolutions and reduce overall operational costs.
Here are some of the reasons businesses tend to turn away from Zendesk:
According to American Express’s 2017 research, 1/3 of consumers could abandon your service after one negative interaction. What’s more, the solution you choose can be decisive. A staggering 91% of customers can leave without warning. Many platforms offer robust features without additional costs, making them more accessible to small businesses.
| Platform | Capterra Rating | Integrations | Free Version | Free Trial | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiveAgent | 4.7 | 220+ | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | $15 agent/m |
| Freshdesk | 4.5 | 500+ | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | $15/agent/m |
| Front | 4.5 | 80+ | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | $15/agent/m |
| Kustomer | 4.5 | 70+ | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | $29/agent/m |
| HubSpot Service Hub | 4.4 | 1000+ | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | $45/agent/m |

LiveAgent offers fully-featured help desk software used across all industries. Despite boasting over 180 features and functionalities, it remains one of the most affordable options out there. With a user-friendly interface and 24/7 customer service, the software is accessible even to less tech-savvy users, while keeping the options open for those who are well-versed in coding.
Over 175 powerful extensive features contribute to LiveAgent’s omnichannel customer-centric approach. You can connect LiveAgent to 220+ third-party applications including Shopify, Magento, Jira, Slack, Salesforce, and many social media integrations.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to LiveAgent:
LiveAgent is the best choice for individuals, small and medium businesses. Nevertheless, LiveAgent’s Enterprise plan provides advanced features for large businesses as well. Features like the ticketing system, live chat, and knowledge bases are perfect for eCommerce, software development and IT, and finance and legal services. Enterprise plans include advanced analytics, dedicated support, and customizable workflows for large-scale operations.
A multi-channel ticket management, self-service options, and a fast live chat widget are also features that make LiveAgent a great choice for healthcare, education, and tourism. Streamlining customer support operations ensures efficient ticket handling and enhances the overall service experience. Chat widgets with automation can ensure speedy responses to common queries, even outside business hours.
A customizable chat widget allows businesses to engage customers directly on their website, improving accessibility and response times. Reducing routine tasks through automation enhances the productivity of customer support teams and improves response times.
Customer review
All-around ticketing system for reasonable price (G2)
Whatever request we’ve had during this time, we’ve always been able to implement it. Either on our own, with countless features and possibilities LiveAgent offers, or with their amazing customer support, which is always helpful. We are using mainly their automation features, custom filters, tagging and statistics.
G2
It just works!
We have been using LiveAgent for more than a decade, and have never been tempted to move to anything else. It just works, and works well, with more than enough to provide excellent support, without burdening users with unnecessary bells and whistles. In turn, the quality of LiveAgent support to us, is fast, friendly and efficient. Having used several systems in the past, the cost per seat is quite palatable, and the ability to support many domains, from the same dashboard, is an agency dream.
G2
Cost-effective and user friendly
Even though I have used other customer support softwares, this was my first time selecting a provider and setting up the account and tools by myself. Initially I worried it would be too technical and difficult but the setting up process is easy, well explained and there always is assistance available.
Capterra
Try out LiveAgent, the top Zendesk competitor, for 30-day free trial and get acquainted with its features.

Freshdesk is a multichannel customer support software solution with a user base of over 60,000 customers. Their main goal is to streamline processes and communication and help deliver amazing customer experiences. Freshdesk comes equipped with dozens of helpful features and 1000+ integrations including Shopify, Slack, Trello, Amazon Connect, and Mailchimp.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Freshdesk:
Small to medium-sized businesses due to its affordable and user-friendly approach.

Front is a collaborative inbox tool trusted by over 8000 users worldwide. Front’s software helps customer service teams manage all customer messages and build long-lasting relationships. An intuitive interface makes it easier for teams to adapt quickly to new platforms, reducing training time and improving productivity.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Front:
Small to medium-sized businesses.

Kustomer’s software brings all customer communication together in a unified environment. With its vast automation capabilities, businesses use it to bring their customer service to the modern era.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Kustomer:
Mid-sized and large businesses with greater resources due to its higher pricing.

HubSpot Service Hub is a part of the HubSpot family that offers multiple B2B solutions for sales, marketing, customer service, and other operations. You can use HubSpot Service Hub on its own or combine it with other software solutions from HubSpot.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to HubSpot Service Hub:
Small to large businesses.

Zoho Desk is a customer support solution that puts the user experience at the forefront. With a huge customer base of 100,000 clients, Zoho Desk is a well-known solution focused on empowering customers and engaging customer service agents.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Zoho Desk:
Small to medium-sized businesses.

Over 25,000 businesses trust Intercom with their customer service needs. Their unified platform heavily utilizes automation to streamline all customer communication.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Intercom:
Medium to large businesses.

HappyFox’s customer support software solution is packed with helpful features designed to streamline customer communication across all customer-facing channels. Trusted by big names in various industries like Jabra and Metroland Media, they provide a reliable business solution.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to HappyFox:
Medium businesses to enterprises.
Unlimited Agents:
Agent-based pricing:

Groove is a customer-experience-centric Zendesk alternative with multichannel capabilities. With a customer base exceeding 2000 clients, they are building a tight-knit community of customer service professionals.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Groove:
Small to medium-sized businesses.

Hiver offers a customer service platform for streamlined communication and improved customer experience. Designed especially for Google Workspace, Hiver is trusted by more than 2000 businesses worldwide.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Hiver:
Small to medium-sized businesses that primarily use Google Workspace.

Helpjuice is a well-known knowledge base software used to build knowledge bases for internal use, or for customer support. Creating a robust library of knowledge base articles helps customers resolve issues independently, reducing ticket volume.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Helpjuice:
The most distinctive difference between the two is their focus. Zendesk’s focal point is ticket management, while Helpjuice’s primary focus is building and maintaining internal and external knowledge bases. This competitor to Zendesk emphasizes team collaboration and content management above all else.
Small and medium-sized businesses that want an organized and well-maintained knowledge base.

Kayako distinguishes itself as a Zendesk alternative by providing a fully integrated customer service platform that simplifies customer interactions across various communication platforms. With over 131,000 agents using Kayako, it supports businesses in offering 24/7 assistance through email, social media, live chat, and more, in multiple languages.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Kayako:
Kayako sets itself apart with its emphasis on a unified customer support experience across multiple channels, enabling a more personalized service. Unlike Zendesk’s more ticket-focused approach, Kayako offers a singular view of the customer journey, providing teams with comprehensive context for each interaction.
Small to medium-sized businesses looking for an efficient way to manage customer interactions across multiple channels.
Kayako’s pricing is only available upon request.

Help Scout is a customer service platform that emphasizes efficient communication and streamlined customer conversations. With over 12,000 customers, Help Scout’s wide range of helpful features helps companies all around the world in eCommerce, Finance, Healthcare, SaaS, and Education.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Help Scout:
Small to medium-sized businesses.

ServiceNow provides an array of IT service management (ITSM) solutions. It enhances collaboration across departments, streamlines IT operations, and automates workflows.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to ServiceNow:
Medium-sized to large companies.
ServiceNow offers fully-featured Personal Developer Instances that act as a free trial for registered users. To learn more about the software’s pricing, you have to register and reach out to ServiceNow’s sales team to get a custom quote.

Tidio emerges as a Zendesk alternative, crafted to enhance customer engagement and streamline communication channels for various types of businesses. It has quickly become a go-to platform for those looking to offer responsive and efficient customer service.
Common features with Zendesk:
Features unique to Tidio:
Tidio differentiates itself with a focus on automation and AI, providing tools to automate conversations and tasks, significantly enhancing customer interaction and service efficiency. Additionally, Tidio offers a highly intuitive user interface and seamless integration capabilities, especially for e-commerce platforms like Shopify, making it particularly advantageous for online retailers.
Small to medium-sized businesses and e-commerce platforms.
Every business has unique needs and requirements that their Zendesk alternative has to cover. For small teams, basic features like ticketing and live chat can suffice while evaluating more advanced functionalities later.
Look at things like the number of agents, your daily customer communication volumes, the types of customer requests you tend to receive through which communication channels, what standard features will suffice, and where you need upgrades.
When choosing a Zendesk alternative, don’t give in to peer pressure and go with the ‘big guy". Evaluate what your business and customer service team need and then start digging into whether you’ll go with a household name or an emerging startup.
Although it seems like a no-brainer, we can’t stress enough how important it is to not blow your budget on a solution just because it seems right at first. Circling back to the previous point, once you have a clear outline of the features and functionalities you require, do a deep dive into different solutions, and what they offer and at what price.
Understanding the cost of ownership is essential when comparing Zendesk alternatives, especially for long-term use. Of course, we don’t recommend choosing something just because it is cheap, but remember that help desk software should be a helper, not a huge burden on your company’s budget.
If you can, get a free trial. That’s the best way to know what the user experience is like, how much training your staff will need, and how easy it will be to integrate a particular solution into your daily operations.
If you don’t have the option to give it a test drive, look up reviews from professionals. Read a few on different review sites, and you’ll get a pretty good picture of what the software is like. Don’t forget to look out for common customer issues as they may provide a window into your own experience.
This goes hand in hand with the first point, realizing which features your help desk tool has to have is crucial to make an informed decision. Once you’re settled on a few providers, write down their feature lists and compare the number of features, and how customizable they are.
Although more isn’t always better, look for a solution that gives you the most bang for your buck. Even an IT help desk software free of charge could be the best fit for you, depending on your needs.
Another important thing you should consider is how well your future customer service software solution integrates with third-party applications. The chance is you already know about a handful of integrations you’ll definitely need.
For example, if you’re working in eCommerce, you’ll probably benefit from having a Shopify integration. Or if you’re planning on running a call center, Twilio comes in handy. Look for Zendesk alternative that let you integrate most, if not all, of the third-party apps you need to smoothly run your contact center.
Last, but certainly not least, don’t forget to check out the vendor’s customer support, customer service portal, and support documentation. They can offer a great solution, but if you run into problems, it’s the support you’ll turn to.
When reading reviews, pay attention to mentions of customer support. You don’t want to find yourself trying to call an unreachable hotline or be continuously blown off by a poorly programmed chatbot. Look for a solution which, in case the help is needed, can provide expert support on demand.
As you can see, there is no shortage of customer service support solutions to choose from, so don’t worry that you won’t be able to find the right one for you. Platforms offering migration support ensure a smooth transition from existing customer service tools. As long as you carefully evaluate your business needs and requirements, and stay within your budget, you can have excellent Zendesk alternative.
Platforms like LiveAgent are an excellent choice for small businesses due to their affordability and feature-rich offerings. Selecting the right customer support platform involves evaluating scalability, integration options, and user experience.
Take LiveAgent into consideration. Even if you have virtually a non-existent budget, LiveAgent has an answer. If you’re willing to spend a little, even $15 can get you pretty far. That’s without considering the entirely free option. LiveAgent’s multichannel customer communication, ticketing, live chat, over 200 integrations, and reliable and professional customer support is a player worth competing with Zendesk.
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Viktor is a developer and technical content contributor at LiveAgent, focused on creating informative content about help desk software and customer service solutions.

Zendesk has several considerable competitors including LiveAgent, Zoho Desk, Help Scout, Tidio, HappyFox, and Hiver. Each offers unique features and pricing models tailored to different business needs.
Key features include ticketing software, multi-channel support, automation options, robust reporting and analytics, customization capabilities, integrations, and transparent pricing.
Yes, most Zendesk alternatives support data migration. For example, LiveAgent offers free data migration assistance from Zendesk, or you can follow step-by-step guides for self-migration.
Yes, several free alternatives exist including LiveAgent (with a free plan), Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, and HubSpot Service Hub. LiveAgent consistently receives higher customer ratings across review platforms.
Common complaints include complex ticket management, limited customization options, expensive pricing plans, and lack of phone support for all pricing tiers.
Customer reviews on Capterra, G2, and Getapp rate Zendesk at approximately 4.4 out of 5, while LiveAgent averages 4.7 out of 5. However, the best choice depends on your specific business needs and requirements.

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