Freshdesk's per-agent pricing looks affordable at first: until Freddy AI, marketplace apps, and agent scaling kick in. Here's every tier, add-on, and hidden cost for teams of 5, 15, and 50 agents.
Freshdesk pricing in 2026 starts with one of the most competitive free tiers in the helpdesk space. But as your team grows and you add AI features, the per-agent model scales faster than most teams expect. Understanding where the costs actually land before you commit can prevent budget surprises down the road.
This guide breaks down every Freshdesk pricing tier, the Freddy AI cost structure, marketplace add-on fees, and how costs add up for real teams. We also compare with Chatsy pricing for the same team sizes so you can see the full picture.
Disclosure: We built Chatsy, which is used as an example in this guide.
Freshdesk is one of the more transparent enterprise helpdesk vendors, but Freddy AI session counts and marketplace add-on fees remain murky on the public site. This guide reconciles three sources:
Where Freshdesk's listed Freddy rate did not match user-reported overage charges, we used the higher invoiced figure. Where marketplace apps drove the real bill above the listed plan price, we modelled that as a separate line in our 5/15/50 agent scenarios. Last verified March 2026.
Freshdesk offers four plans. All paid plans are priced per agent per month, with discounts for annual billing. Prices below reflect annual billing unless noted.
| Plan | Annual (per agent/mo) | Monthly (per agent/mo) | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 (up to 2 agents) | $0 | Basic ticketing, email channel, knowledge base |
| Growth | $15 | $18 | Automation, SLA management, marketplace apps, business hours |
| Pro | $49 | $59 | Multiple SLA policies, custom roles, round-robin routing, CSAT surveys |
| Enterprise | $79 | $95 | Sandbox, audit logs, skill-based routing, IP whitelisting, approval workflows |
The Free plan is genuinely useful for very small teams. It includes email ticketing, a basic knowledge base, and ticket dispatch, enough for a solo founder or two-person team handling low volume.
Growth is where most small businesses start. You get automation rules, collision detection, SLA management, and access to the Freshworks Marketplace.
Pro is the most popular tier for mid-size teams. It unlocks round-robin routing, custom roles, multiple SLA policies, and more granular reporting. This is also the minimum tier most teams need for meaningful workflow automation.
Enterprise adds sandbox environments for testing changes, audit logs for compliance, and skill-based routing for larger teams with specialized agents.
Freshdesk's AI capabilities are powered by Freddy, but Freddy is not included in any base plan. It is a separate add-on with its own pricing.
| Freddy AI Component | Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Freddy Self-Service (bots) | ~$29/agent/mo | AI chatbot for customer-facing automation |
| Freddy Copilot (agent assist) | ~$29/agent/mo | AI suggestions, response drafts, ticket summaries |
| Freddy Insights (analytics) | ~$29/agent/mo | AI-powered reporting and predictions |
| Bot sessions | 500/mo included | Overages charged per session |
| Bot session overages | ~$75 per 1,000 sessions | Varies by contract |
Why this matters: A Pro plan agent at $49/month becomes $78-$107/month once you add Freddy. For a 15-agent team, that is the difference between $735/month (Pro only) and $1,170-$1,605/month (Pro + Freddy components).
Bot sessions are particularly easy to underestimate. Every conversation that triggers the Freddy chatbot consumes a bot session. A busy e-commerce site can burn through 500 sessions in a week during peak periods, making overages a recurring cost.
Freshdesk has a large marketplace, but many popular apps carry their own subscription fees.
| Add-On / Cost | Typical Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace apps | $0-$50+/agent/mo | Many popular integrations are paid |
| Field service management | ~$15/agent/mo | Add-on for on-site service teams |
| Extra bot sessions | ~$75/1,000 sessions | Overages beyond included allotment |
| Day passes | ~$3/day pass | Occasional agents who need temporary access |
| Phone channel (Freshcaller) | Separate product | Starts at $15/agent/mo, plus per-minute charges |
| Data export / API calls | Rate-limited by plan | Higher plans get higher API limits |
The marketplace is where costs creep in quietly. Time-tracking apps, advanced reporting tools, CRM integrations, and quality assurance plugins often cost $10-$30/agent/month each. A team running three or four paid apps adds $30-$120/agent to the monthly bill.
Freshcaller (phone support) is a separate Freshworks product with its own per-agent pricing plus per-minute call charges. Teams that need phone support alongside Freshdesk should budget $30-$60/agent/month for the combined stack.
Here is what Freshdesk actually costs for three common team sizes. We assume Pro plan (typical for automation features) with Freddy AI Self-Service enabled.
| Cost Component | Calculation | Monthly Total |
|---|---|---|
| Pro plan (5 agents) | 5 x $49 | $245 |
| Freddy Self-Service (5 agents) | 5 x $29 | $145 |
| Marketplace apps (2 paid apps avg) | 5 x $20 | $100 |
| Total | $490/mo |
| Cost Component | Calculation | Monthly Total |
|---|---|---|
| Pro plan (15 agents) | 15 x $49 | $735 |
| Freddy Self-Service (15 agents) | 15 x $29 | $435 |
| Freddy Copilot (15 agents) | 15 x $29 | $435 |
| Marketplace apps (3 paid apps avg) | 15 x $30 | $450 |
| Bot session overages (~1,500 extra) | 1.5 x $75 | $113 |
| Total | $2,168/mo |
| Cost Component | Calculation | Monthly Total |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise plan (50 agents) | 50 x $79 | $3,950 |
| Freddy AI (all components, 50 agents) | 50 x $87 | $4,350 |
| Marketplace apps (4 paid apps avg) | 50 x $40 | $2,000 |
| Bot session overages (~5,000 extra) | 5 x $75 | $375 |
| Total | $10,675/mo |
At 50 agents, the per-agent model compounds every add-on across every seat. Even modest marketplace app usage becomes a $2,000/month line item.
Chatsy uses conversation-based pricing, you pay for message credits, not per agent. AI is included. Here is the comparison:
| Team Size | Freshdesk (Pro + Freddy) | Chatsy (Equivalent) | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 agents | $490/mo ($5,880/yr) | Standard $150/mo ($1,800/yr) | ~$4,080 |
| 15 agents | $2,168/mo ($26,016/yr) | Pro $500/mo ($6,000/yr) | ~$20,016 |
| 50 agents | $10,675/mo ($128,100/yr) | Enterprise (custom) | Typically 60-80% less |
Chatsy's Standard plan includes 3,500 message credits, 3 team seats, live chat, AI chatbot, knowledge base, and ticketing. The Pro plan includes 12,000 credits and 5 seats. No per-agent fees: AI usage is bundled into your message credits.
For a detailed comparison, see Chatsy vs Freshdesk.
Every add-on multiplies by your agent count. A $29 Freddy add-on for one agent is $1,450/month for 50 agents. This makes every headcount decision a compound pricing decision.
AI features that competitors include in base plans require a separate Freddy subscription in Freshdesk. There is no way to get AI chatbot, agent assist, or AI analytics without paying the Freddy add-on on top of your plan.
Many teams assume all marketplace apps are free. They are not. Popular integrations for time tracking, advanced reporting, Salesforce sync, and JIRA often cost $10-$50/agent/month.
The included bot sessions (500/month on most plans) run out quickly for any team with meaningful traffic. Overages are charged per block, and there is no easy way to cap spending.
Phone support (Freshcaller), field service, and other channels are separate Freshworks products with their own pricing. A "full omnichannel" setup requires subscriptions to multiple products.
The fundamental challenge with Freshdesk pricing is that every cost multiplies by your headcount. Here is how this plays out as teams grow.
| Team Size | Pro Plan Only | Pro + Freddy Self-Service | Pro + Full Freddy Stack | Pro + Freddy + 3 Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 agents | $147/mo | $234/mo | $408/mo | $498/mo |
| 10 agents | $490/mo | $780/mo | $1,360/mo | $1,660/mo |
| 25 agents | $1,225/mo | $1,950/mo | $3,400/mo | $4,150/mo |
| 50 agents | $2,450/mo | $3,900/mo | $6,800/mo | $8,300/mo |
| 100 agents | $4,900/mo | $7,800/mo | $13,600/mo | $16,600/mo |
At 100 agents on the full stack, Freshdesk costs exceed $16,000/month: a figure that surprises teams who started on the free plan and assumed gradual scaling would keep costs manageable.
The compound effect is most painful when teams add their second or third Freddy component. Going from "just the chatbot" to "chatbot plus agent assist" doubles the Freddy line item instantly, and every future hire amplifies that decision.
How does Freshdesk stack up against other helpdesk tools at the same team sizes?
| Tool | 5 Agents (w/ AI) | 15 Agents (w/ AI) | 50 Agents (w/ AI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshdesk (Pro + Freddy) | $390/mo | $1,170/mo | $3,900/mo |
| Zendesk (Suite Pro + AI) | $825/mo | $2,475/mo | $8,250/mo |
| Intercom (Advanced + Fin) | $920/mo | $3,255/mo | $10,190/mo |
| Help Scout (Plus) | $250/mo | $750/mo | $2,500/mo |
| Chatsy (Pro) | $500/mo | $500/mo | Custom |
Freshdesk is cheaper than Zendesk and Intercom at most team sizes. Help Scout is cheaper for pure per-seat costs but has fewer features at the base tier. Chatsy is the only option that does not scale with headcount.
The key insight: Freshdesk is a mid-range option that appears budget-friendly at small scale but converges toward enterprise pricing at larger team sizes due to per-agent add-on multiplication.
Freshdesk offers discounts for annual billing on all paid plans.
| Plan | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Annual Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | $18/agent/mo | $15/agent/mo | $36/agent/yr (17%) |
| Pro | $59/agent/mo | $49/agent/mo | $120/agent/yr (17%) |
| Enterprise | $95/agent/mo | $79/agent/mo | $192/agent/yr (17%) |
For a 15-agent team on Pro, annual billing saves $1,800/year ($150/month). That is meaningful but requires a 12-month commitment. If you are uncertain about your agent count or plan tier, monthly billing provides flexibility at a 17-20% premium.
Freddy AI add-ons also offer annual billing discounts, though the exact savings vary by contract. Ask your Freshworks sales rep for a combined annual quote that includes both the base plan and all Freddy components.
Switching to Freshdesk from another platform involves costs beyond the subscription:
Factor these transition costs into your first-year budget when comparing Freshdesk to your current tool.
Freshdesk can still be the right choice if:
For teams that primarily need AI-powered support, live chat, and a knowledge base without per-agent scaling, alternatives like Chatsy deliver equivalent or better capability at a fraction of the cost.
Best for: Solo founders, side projects, or teams with fewer than 3 agents handling low ticket volume. You get basic email ticketing and a knowledge base, which is enough for early-stage support.
Best for: Small teams of 3-10 agents that need SLA management, basic automation, and marketplace access. Good value if you do not need AI features.
Best for: Mid-size teams of 10-30 agents that need custom roles, round-robin routing, CSAT surveys, and multiple SLA policies. This is the minimum for meaningful workflow automation.
Best for: Large teams (30+ agents) in regulated industries or organizations that need sandbox testing, audit logs, skill-based routing, and IP whitelisting.
Scenario: A 10-agent e-commerce support team on the Pro plan with Freddy Self-Service, one paid marketplace app, and moderate bot usage.
| Item | Calculation | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pro plan | 10 x $49 | $490 |
| Freddy Self-Service | 10 x $29 | $290 |
| Marketplace CRM app | 10 x $15 | $150 |
| Bot session overages (~500 extra) | 0.5 x $75 | $38 |
| Total | $968/mo | |
| Annual total | $11,616/yr |
Same team on Chatsy: Standard plan at $150/month ($1,800/year) covers AI chatbot, live chat, knowledge base, and ticketing with no per-agent fees. Annual savings: approximately $9,816.
Use our support cost calculator to model your specific scenario.
Freshdesk's free tier is a great hook, but the platform stops being the right choice in several cases:
If you are weighing Freshdesk Pro plus Freddy against an AI-first flat-rate tool, the AI-first option usually wins on both price and resolution rate.
Yes, Freshdesk offers a genuinely free plan for up to 2 agents. It includes email ticketing, a knowledge base, and basic ticket dispatch. However, it lacks automation, SLA management, and AI features. Most growing teams outgrow it within a few months.
Freddy AI components cost approximately $29/agent/month each. If you want the chatbot (Self-Service), agent assist (Copilot), and analytics (Insights), that adds up to $87/agent/month on top of your base plan. For a 10-agent team on Pro, Freddy adds $290-$870/month.
Freshdesk charges per agent. There is no per-ticket fee on the base plans, but bot sessions (used by Freddy AI chatbot) are limited and overages are charged per block of sessions.
No. All agents on a Freshdesk account must be on the same plan. You cannot have some agents on Growth and others on Pro. Day passes ($3/day) are available for occasional users who do not need permanent seats.
Freshdesk is generally cheaper at the base plan level (Growth at $15 vs Zendesk Team at $55), but the gap narrows once you add Freddy AI and marketplace apps. See our Zendesk vs Freshdesk comparison for a detailed breakdown.
Yes. Chatsy uses conversation-based pricing with AI included in every plan. No per-agent fees, no separate AI add-ons, and no bot session limits. See our Freshdesk alternative guide for a full comparison.
Drift is the most expensive conversational platform in the category: starting at $2,500/month. Here's what that buys you, whether the ROI math works, and who should actually pay that price.
