Freshdesk and Zendesk are both popular helpdesk software solutions designed to streamline customer support and ticketing processes. However, Freshdesk offers a more comprehensive set of features, including customizable workflows, integrations with other tools, and a user-friendly interface. Zendesk, on the other hand, is known for its scalability and flexibility, making it suitable for larger organizations.
In this write-up, we will be comparing both Freshdesk and Zendesk in terms of their key differences, features, customization, user interface, pricing, and more to understand them better.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: An Overview
Freshdesk is a popular customer service software that helps businesses manage their customer interactions and support tickets in one place. It offers features like ticketing, email, phone, and chat support, as well as analytics and reporting tools to help teams track and improve their performance. With Freshdesk, businesses can provide 24/7 support to their customers, streamline their support processes, and deliver better customer experience.
Zendesk is a popular customer service software that helps businesses streamline their support processes. It offers a range of features such as a ticketing system, chatbot, and agent workspaces to facilitate efficient communication and issue resolution. With Zendesk, businesses can provide personalized support to their customers, track queries, and analyze their performance to improve their overall customer experience.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: Key Differences
Freshdesk and Zendesk are both popular customer support software solutions that help businesses manage and resolve customer inquiries and issues effectively. Here are some key differences between the two:
- In Freshdesk, basic filters are available for at-a-glance ticket views. However, Zendesk offers diverse filter options for at-a-glance ticket views.
- Zendesk is known for its more advanced ticketing capabilities, including features like ticket automation, macros, and triggers. Freshdesk's ticketing system is also effective but may not provide as many advanced options.
- Freshdesk and a few Freshdesk alternatives allow agents to track time spent on tickets, both manually and automatically. Zendesk's time tracking app offers custom fields and in-depth custom reports.
- Zendesk is more scalable as it offers more advanced features and customization options suitable for large-scale organizations. Freshdesk is also scalable, but it has certain limitations in terms of customization and integration.
- Zendesk and some other Zendesk alternatives provide a structured onboarding experience with guided walkthroughs, making it easier for new users to get started. Freshdesk lacks a clear onboarding program, even though it offers a database of training resources.
- Zendesk's customer support is highly responsive and provides instant replies. On the other hand, Freshdesk's live chat support is slow in responding.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: In Terms of Features
- Ticket Management: In Freshdesk, canned responses are easy to organize and insert but offer limited team collaboration within tickets. Whereas, in Zendesk canned responses require more manual effort to find and insert. However, it offers seamless team collaboration within tickets.
- Knowledge Base: For knowledge base, Freshdesk offers a multilingual knowledge base system with translation capabilities. On the other hand, Zendesk offers bot integration, multilingual content support, and feedback forums.
- Live Chat: Freshdesk offers a free, in-built live chat functionality called Freshchat. It tracks customer conversation history, supports multiple bot sessions, and can reroute chats into tickets and vice-versa. Zendesk, on the other hand, has a live chat feature called Zendesk Chat, but it comes at an additional $19 for a team. It allows the integration of AI-powered bots for task automation.
- Reporting and Analytics: Freshdesk provides inbuilt reports to measure customer experience metrics. The analytics feature lets you customize data points and automatically organizes data. Zendesk's reporting features give insight into customer interactions from various channels and the Search Dashboard helps analyse customer search data and actions.
- Setup & Onboarding: In Freshdesk, there is no structured onboarding experience, but a robust training library is available. This becomes overwhelming for new users. On the other hand, Zendesk supports structured onboarding with guided demos and a robust training library. This makes it easier for new users to navigate.
- Multilingual Support: Freshdesk supports multiple languages while making it easier for businesses to provide customer support in different languages. On the other hand, Zendesk requires additional configuration and setup to support multiple languages.
- Enterprise-level Features: In comparison to Freshdesk, Zendesk offers more enterprise-level features, such as advanced security options, Single Sign-On (SSO) support, and more comprehensive SLA management.
- Community Forums: Zendesk includes a built-in community forum feature, which allows customers to interact with each other, share knowledge, and provide support. On the contrary, Freshdesk does not have a built-in community forum but can be integrated with third-party solutions.
- Chatbot Capabilities: Both Freshdesk and Zendesk offer chatbot capabilities to automate customer interactions, but they differ in implementation. Freshdesk has its own native chatbot feature, while Zendesk integrates with third-party chatbot platforms such as Chatfuel and Dialogflow.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: Pricing
Freshdesk offers a more flexible pricing structure, with various plans to choose from, including a free plan for small teams. Zendesk, on the other hand, is a bit expensive but it also offers more advanced features in its higher-tier plans.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: User Interface
Freshdesk is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. It has a clean and modern design that makes it easy for agents to navigate. On the other hand, Zendesk has a more structured and organized interface which may require more time to learn and get accustomed to it.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: Customization
Zendesk provides more customization options compared to Freshdesk. With Zendesk, you can customize your support portal, ticket forms, and automation in more detail without relying heavily on coding or development skills. Freshdesk also offers some level of customization but has a slightly limited range of customization options.
Freshdesk vs Zendesk: Integrations
Zendesk has a vast array of integrations with various third-party applications, making it easy to connect and streamline your support workflow. Freshdesk also offers integration but is a bit limited compared to Zendesk.
Verdict: Freshdesk vs Zendesk
In summary, Freshdesk and Zendesk are two popular helpdesk software solutions with their own strengths and features. Freshdesk stands out with its user-friendly interface, comprehensive ticketing system, customizable workflows, and multilingual support. On the other hand, Zendesk is known for its advanced ticketing capabilities, scalability, and extensive customization options.
Apart from that, it offers a structured onboarding experience, robust reporting and analytics features, and a built-in community forum. Zendesk also provides more enterprise-level features and integration with multiple third-party applications.