When you go out looking for customer service software, a few names will surely pop up. Two of them are Freshdesk and Intercom.
You’ll see plenty of features when you go to their respective websites. Both of them seem to be the perfect software for you.
And then comes the confusion. The confusion about which software is the best for you. While both software may have their respective places in the industry, they also serve different kinds of businesses.
We are finding out today whether Freshdesk or Intercom is for you or none of them. Keep reading our detailed comparison guide of Freshdesk vs Intercom to determine which suits you.
In 2010, Girish Mathrubutham founded Freshworks, the parent company of Freshdesk, in India. Over the years, Freshworks has experienced rapid growth and expansion, securing significant funding. This leading software company has developed various customer service tools to support its success.
Freshdesk, one of their offerings, is a help desk platform that consolidates customer interactions from multiple channels like email, chat, phone, social media, and more. It enables businesses to address client requests and issues efficiently. The platform offers self-service options for customers, automates repetitive tasks, and fosters team collaboration.
With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Freshdesk is a powerful tool suitable for businesses of different sizes, delivering a seamless support experience.
To assist organizations in improving customer connections through individualized, messenger-based experiences, Intercom, a SaaS firm, was established in 2011. The organization provides services to businesses worldwide with offices in San Francisco, Dublin, Sydney, and other cities.
Intercom is a conversational platform that customizes messaging across the customer journey using customer, business, and behavioral data. It provides proactive tours to get started with the platform, self-service features, marketing campaigns, chatbots, and more. Users can communicate with consumers across all channels using collaborative inboxes, reporting, and automated workflows.
The features you get with each customer support software are the first consideration. And, of course, the most important one as well. Here are how Freshdesk and Intercom compare based on various features.
While you’re providing customer support to your customers, you may require some customer support assistance yourself. Here is how Freshdesk and Intercom compare in terms of customer support.
Freshdesk provides excellent customer support with a range of accessible channels on its website, such as email, live chat, and contact numbers. They also prioritize interactive support methods, offering a vast video library containing relevant content.
Users can access interactive videos covering diverse topics, including creating a multilingual knowledge base, utilizing canned responses, and creating knowledge base articles.
Freshdesk further supports users in enhancing their skills and obtaining training through the Freshworks Academy. Additionally, users can engage in discussions and seek assistance from others on the Freshworks community forum.
Intercom has a wide set of customer support options for its customers. First, they have a help center where information about installing and using Intercom is available. Intercom also has its community forum where you can meet other users and get help from their experience.
Intercom also offers live chat and email support.
Apart from this, you also have a resource library where you can see the latest trends, product announcements, and best practices. Intercom holds and stores multiple webinars as well. Lastly, Intercom has an academy where you can take short courses and get the best out of Intercom.
Comes with a 21-day free trial and a forever free plan for up to 10 agents with basic features. Other pricing plans are:
Growth: $15/user/month. Provides fundamental features, including time monitoring, collision detection, help desk reporting, and more.
Pro: $48/user/month. Comes with a few additional features like customizable CSAT surveys, custom objects, advanced filtering, etc.
Enterprise: $79/user/month. All Growth and Pro features, skill-based routing, email bots, article suggestions, social signals, and more are available.
Unlike Freshdesk, Intercom does not have a forever-free plan. They do offer a 14-day free trial with two seats. Other pricing plans are:
Starter: $74/month. It comes with Fin AI, workflow basics, Intercom messenger, chat and email, office hours, saved replies, and many more.
Pro and Premium: Prices for these plans are custom-made for each customer based on fin usage resolutions, unique people reached, and the number of seats required. You get all advanced and basic features with these plans.
Now let’s give you a verdict on which one is the best for you. Freshdesk or Intercom? Let’s find out!
Freshdesk is for you if you want an affordable option that offers just the right features for a small business.
Freshdesk is ideally suited for businesses prioritizing efficient customer support and streamlined ticket management. Companies that experience high customer inquiries and require multi-channel support will love Freshdesk.
It seamlessly integrates with various communication channels like email, live chat, phone calls, and social media platforms, ensuring that customer queries are efficiently handled and responded to in a timely manner.
After looking at all the features of Intercom, we have concluded that Intercom is the perfect solution for you if you are a midsize or an enterprise business.
Intercom is not for small businesses that are just getting started. This is because Intercom is expensive and has many complexities regarding pricing and usage.
While Freshdesk is more angled towards managing standalone customer support, Intercom focuses on managing customer relationships and customer support. If your long-term goal is direct customer relationship building—Intercom is definitely for you.
Intercom excels at enabling targeted messaging and personalized interactions with customers. Intercom’s integration with popular CRM and marketing automation platforms further enhances its suitability for bigger businesses.
What if there was a customer support software that is cheaper than Freshdesk and Intercom? Such a platform exists, and it is nothing but Helpwise!
Being a cheaper alternative is not just our only USP. There’s more:
Still not convinced? Don’t just rely on our words. Here is what our users have said:
“Excellent Intercom alternative at fraction of the price”
A comprehensive support solution includes shared inboxes for email, SMS, website chat, WhatsApp, and many other channels, along with a help desk and knowledge base.
“Great product with amazing support”
The customer support team is super helpful and caring. They are great listeners. You share feedback, and they take quick action on it. I have never experienced such excellent customer support for any product.
Try Helpwise for free and know for yourself how we stack up against Freshdesk and Intercom.
| Freshdesk | Intercom | |
| Features | Ticket management Automation Self service Analytics and Insights Customization | Team macros Live chat and chatbot Fin- their own AI bot Curated reports on performance metrics |
| Pricing | Paid plans start $15/user/month | Paid plans start at $74/user/month. |
| Ease of Use | Easy to set up and get started with. | Easy to set up but does have a learning curve. |
| Integrations | With popular tools but only at upper tier plans | Integration with most popular tools |
| Customer Support | 24/7 live chat and email support | Different customer support options like live chat and email support. |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 on G2 | 4.5 on G2 |
Freshdesk focuses on ticket-based support and comprehensive inquiry management. At the same time, Intercom specializes in real-time messaging, personalized customer interactions, and proactive communication.
Freshdesk is a more suitable platform for small businesses. This is because Freshdesk is easy to use and has all the features a small business would need. Intercom is quite complex for a small business. Freshdesk also has a forever free plan that Intercom does not.
Pricing is complex for Intercom. Freshdesk has a much simpler pricing plan. With Freshdesk, you get a free plan for up to 10 agents. The paid plans range from $15/user/month to $79/user/month. Intercom’s pricing starts at $74/month.
Both Freshdesk and Intercom can be integrated with multiple CRM and productivity tools. While Intercoms makes you pay extra for many integrations, most are free with Freshdesk. Intercom does have more integration capabilities than Intercom.
Both platforms stand their ground when it comes to customer support. Understanding your needs and deciding which platform fits the bill for you is essential.
Yes, Intercom can be used for internal communication within a company, enabling teams to collaborate, exchange messages, and share information efficiently in real time. Its messaging capabilities and team features facilitate streamlined internal communication and collaboration.
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