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What is Freshdesk?
Freshdesk is a powerful and versatile help desk platform. Its parent company, Freshworks, shared the same name until it rebranded in 2017 to signify its evolution as a software developer.
Founded in Chennai, India, and based in San Mateo, California, Freshdesk has an astonishing collection of ticketing, self-service, and reporting features. Its capabilities have developed so much over the years, and they show no signs of stagnating. In 2020 alone, the company introduced 31 new features.
Numerous reviews on Freshdesk show that it is a better solution for small and medium-sized businesses. But Freshdesk is also included in two bundles to meet the needs of large businesses.
The brand processes over 1 billion API calls per day and manages 3.5 billion ticket interactions. No less than 450,000 agents use this cloud-based help desk software to serve over 330 million customers across 150 countries. And with offices in 12 countries across four continents, Freshdesk is deployable wherever you are.
FreshDesk Features
FreshDesk offers a range of features that aim to simplify support ticket management and improve collaboration within your team. Here is a detailed overview.
1. Freddy: FreshDesk AI
Freddy is a major innovation in the world of GRC. It is a robot equipped with artificial intelligence that automates various tasks.
- Automating tasks: Freddy takes care of the repetitive tasks, allowing agents to focus on more complex issues.
- Prioritization of tickets: It also helps to prioritize incoming tickets, ensuring efficient use of time and resources.
Freddy is a valuable addition to FreshDesk, offering intelligent automation without sacrificing human interaction.
2. Ticketing and Collaboration Tools
Ticket management is at the heart of all good CRM software. FreshDesk excels in this area with several useful tools.
- Shared Inbox: All tickets go to a shared inbox, allowing for easy collaboration.
- Ticket filtering: Use specific keywords and properties to filter and prioritize tickets.
Freshdesk's ticketing tools are intuitive and promote effective collaboration, making them a solid choice for teams of all sizes.
3. Field Service Management
FreshDesk is not limited to ticket management; it also offers tools for field service management.
- Service tasks: Identify tickets that require field intervention.
- Scheduling dashboard: Plan and track your team's tasks in the field.
Field service management is another area where FreshDesk shines, offering a suite of tools to make this process as smooth as possible.
4. Automation
Automation is key to maximizing efficiency. FreshDesk offers several functionalities in this area.
- Ticket distribution: Tickets are automatically awarded based on a variety of criteria.
- Time-based automations: Trigger actions based on the time elapsed since a specific event.
Freshdesk's automation features are robust and save time and improve efficiency.
FreshDesk is a comprehensive CRM tool with a range of features that can benefit businesses of all sizes. Whether you're a small business or a large organization, FreshDesk has something to offer.
Customer Support
Since Freshdesk is a corporate helpdesk software, we had high expectations for its customer support. Overall, this application did not disappoint us.
Freshdesk's knowledge base includes 23 categories of how-to articles that teach you how to use the platform. The company's FAQ section is just as extensive. If you prefer visual aids, Freshdesk has a library of nine video tutorials on selected topics.
You can also find answers and ask questions on the Freshdesk forum. Alerts can be activated to keep up to date with application operational statistics and feature deployment.
If you want to speak to a Freshdesk representative, you can do so by phone, email, or live chat. The company has dedicated local numbers in the United States, India, Australia, and ten European countries. If you want to reach them by phone in other countries, you can use their 866 number.
Email support is only available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Live chat representatives are online during business hours. Although his chatbot contacted us, all he did was recommend relevant documentation and let us know that the live agents were offline.
If you want your agents to get hands-on training, you can enroll them in the Freshworks Academy. Your team can take three courses, each lasting 10 to 30 minutes. At the end, your agents can take a test to be certified.
Pricing
There is a free Freshdesk plan. But to unlock additional features, you can opt for one of the four paid options. If you want to combine Freshdesk, Freshchat, and Freshcaller into one service, you can choose from two omnichannel plans and get a 40% discount.
All Freshdesk plans are available in monthly and annual billing options.
Support Desk
Omnichannel
This helpdesk ticketing software comes with a 21-day free trial.
Thanks to Freshdesk's scalability, you can extend the full range of features with a second subscription. Here are the three expansion plans:
- Field service management: $29/field employee/month
- Freddy Self-Service: $100/1000 Freddy sessions/month
- Freddy Ultimate: $75/agent/month or $500/5,000 Freddy sessions/month
Additionally, each paid regular plan comes with a three-day pass for casual agents. These may be subject matter experts who connect to the platform to deal with specific questions, where appropriate. Once activated, each pass expires at midnight.
Additional passes can be purchased at an additional cost:
- Growth: 2
- For: $7
- Business: 12
As a pay-as-you-go service, this help desk software doesn't charge cancellation fees. However, the cancellation will only take place at the end of your current subscription period. Fees paid are not refundable. You must give Freshdesk written notice of non-renewal no later than 60 days before your subscription expires.
Freshdesk vs. Zendesk
While the industry has no shortage of support ticket systems, it's clear that two brands are fighting for the top spot. Freshdesk and Zendesk are nearly on by across all categories. Launched just three years apart, they both have tens of thousands of customers, including world-renowned brands.
Freshdesk is used by UNICEF, Cisco, Honda, Honda, Hugo Boss, Toshiba, and Goodreads. Zendesk, on the other hand, powers the customer support capabilities of tech titans like Shopify, Uber, Airbnb, and Slack.
Judging by each brand's impressive customer base, either one is a safe bet. A good way to decide between the two is to compare critical departments.
In terms of price, Zendesk is the more expensive choice. But we agree with most Freshdesk critics that Zendesk has the upper hand when it comes to personalization. With it, you can explore more dashboard views, although Freshdesk makes it easy to customize fields and forms.
Freshdesk does a better job of streamlining ticket management than its rival. It's more difficult to collaborate and solve problems together on Zendesk.
While Freshdesk can't match Zendesk's automation and integrations, it's unbeatable when it comes to self-service and reporting.
FAQs
Is Freshdesk really free?
Freshdesk has a free plan. While it only gives you access to all of Freshdesk's limited features, you can use it for free for as long as you want.
How much does Freshdesk cost?
The Sprout Plan is completely free. To unlock more features, you can upgrade to one of their paid plans. Freshdesk costs can range from $15 to $169 per month.
Is Freshdesk a CRM?
No, that is not the case. But it does support third-party integrations with CRM tools by Hubspot, Zoho, Capsules, Infusionsoft, Highrise, Insightly, and more. If you're using Freshworks CRM, a standalone subscription, you can connect it to Freshdesk and view customer data without leaving the platform.
What is Freddy?
Freddy is an artificial intelligence robot developed by Freshworks that automates everyday, repetitive tasks for agents to provide impressive customer services. It increases the productivity of your agents and offers advanced artificial intelligence functions.
Final Verdict
Our Freshdesk review isn't the only one who says that businesses of all sizes gravitate toward this software. Arguably, Zendesk is more appealing to businesses with its slightly broader functionality, but Freshdesk's customer base shows the opposite.
What's indisputable is that Freshdesk plans are attractive for most SMEs. If this help desk supports the third-party business tools you love, it can be a cost-effective choice for managing your tickets and agents.
