Top Freshworks Alternatives: Our Picks for Customer Service Automation

Compare features, pricing options, user ratings and integrations of the 10 best Freshworks alternatives on the market to learn which suits your business

By Intelswift Team
October 30, 2024
15 min read

Did you know that over 80% of organizations expect to compete with other market players mainly based on the customer experience they offer? This statistic clearly shows how important this factor is and why you really (really!) can’t neglect such aspects of your business operations as the user-friendliness of your website or – especially – the quality of your customer support.

Customer service automation plays a huge role here, and Freshworks is a name often mentioned when talking about such software. However, it’s not the only interesting option – by far. In this detailed comparison, we’ll highlight some of the best Freshworks alternatives on the market in 2024 and beyond.

See also: Best customer service automation software


Best Freshworks alternative: Our top 10 picks

Intelswift

Intelswift – a solid Freshworks alternative

Image source: Intelswift


Intelswift is a customer service automation platform that helps businesses optimize customer communication. The solution streamlines repetitive tasks, integrates into support team workflows and uses AI in various scenarios, such as identifying anomalies in data or generating forecasts and visualizations.

For more information about Intelswift, look here.


Key Features

  • AI Agents – Create personalized product recommendations, generate answers (with multilingual support), qualify leads, schedule and summarize meetings and automate the creation of FAQs. Our AI agents are super easy to train – just upload the data you already have, like website content or documents.
  • AI Copilot – Drive data insights with anomaly detection, data-rich forecasts and visualization created with natural language prompts.
  • Live Chat – Easily transfer conversations from AI chats to live agents. This can be done automatically when the AI Agent comes across a knowledge gap or whenever a customer requests it. Intelswift ensures that your contacts can reach a human agent whenever they want.
  • Workflows – Use a no-code builder with an intuitive interface to set up customer service workflows.
  • Omnichannel and multilingual support – Intelswift is an omnichannel (we support WhatsApp, Telegram, web widgets etc.), multilingual platform.

Integrations

Intelswift provides over 120 integration options. You can connect our solution to well-known software tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zoho etc. with just one click. You configure automation workflows in Intelswift, and the AI agent then triggers specific actions – starting email workflows, passing data to analytics platforms or transferring leads to a CRM system. 


User rating

Intelswift has a 5.0 score on Producthunt.

Intelswift customer opinion

Image source: Producthunt


Pricing

With Intelswift, you can choose between the following pricing plans:

  • Personal – $19/month
  • $49/month – $49/month
  • Business – $125/month

The prices above are with monthly billing (there’s a 20% discount with annual payments).

We also have a unique startup offer for just $7 monthly. Apply here to get a better understanding of your clients and adapt to market dynamics.

Get our 21-day free trial with access to a complete feature set.


Zendesk

Zendesk – a Freshworks alternative

Image source: G2


Zendesk Support Suite is an omnichannel communication platform for businesses. With it you can offer your users a seamless support experience and automate customer support tasks to optimize day-to-day operations.


Key Features

  • Messaging and live chat – Communicate with users on social media, WhatsApp, business productivity tools etc.
  • Workforce engagement – Optimize engagement and efficiency by automating scheduling, forecasting, monitoring and real-time reporting.
  • AI and automation – Provide your employees with AI assistants to generate suggestions and customizable replies. Resolve some issues without human agents.
  • Help center – Set up a knowledge base to help your users solve their problems without your assistance.
  • Agent workspace – Optimize reaction times and enable in-team cooperation by unifying communication channels.
  • Voice – Use voice communication to hasten the resolution of your customers’ issues.

Integrations

Zendesk integrates with many well-known systems, including Slack, Asana, Shopify, Harvest, Linear etc.


User rating

G2: 4.3

Capterra: 4.4

Pricing

Zendesk support suite has three pricing plans:

  • Support Team – $19/agent/month
  • Support Professional – $55/agent/month
  • Support Enterprise – $115/agent/month

The prices above are for monthly billing. There is a discount for annual payments. You can also use a 14-day free trial.


Intercom

Intercom – a Freshworks alternative

Image source: G2


Intercom software is a customer communication platform that integrates various messaging and automation tools to streamline customer service operations and enhance the customer experience by offering in-context support within products, apps or websites. The solution provides several functional AI enhancements, such as AI agents or Copilot.

See also: Intercom alternatives


Key Features

  • Omnichannel – Unify communication from different channels in one inbox.
  • AI insights & reporting – Use an AI chatbot to quickly deal with many of your customers’ issues (even up to half of the typical support volume).
  • Fin AI agent – Resolve up to half of your support volume instantly using an AI-enhanced chatbot.
  • Workflows – Use an intuitive drag&drop builder to automate workflows without coding.
  • Knowledge hub and help center – Let customers fix their issues using a knowledge hub and help center.

Integrations

Intercom integrates with many useful tools, such as Stripe, Jira Cloud, Instagram, WhatsApp, Salesforce, HubSpot etc. You can also access a Zapier integration for even more options.


User rating

G2: 4.5

Capterra: 4.5

Intercom customer feedback

Image source: G2


Pricing

Intercom offers three plans:

    Essential – $39/seat/month

    Advanced – $99/seat/month

    Expert – $139/seat/month

There’s a 14-day free trial, and you can get a discount with yearly billing.


Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud customer relationship management software

Image source: G2


Salesforce Service Cloud is a comprehensive suite that enhances support operations by providing a centralized platform for businesses to manage customer inquiries, track customer interactions and offer personalized customer service across various channels.


Key Features

  • Agentforce – Access a customizable, autonomous agent who can engage with your customers and assist them on various communication channels.
  • Omnichannel communication – Communicate with your users via SMS, Messenger, WhatsApp, SMS, Apple Messages for Business etc. The system supports automated messages (status/order updates etc.)
  • Self-service – Help customers find answers on their own using handy self-service tools.
  • Voice – Use a VoIP communication system to speed up query resolution.
  • Customer service management – Manage customer relationships and interactions, cases, assets, incidents and more to optimize speed and efficiency.
  • Automation – Automate routine day-to-day tasks to save time and boost productivity.
  • Chatbots – Use AI-powered chatbots to handle a part of your support volume and quickly deal with common requests.
  • AI – Integrate generative AI technology into your workflows to improve agent productivity and customer experience.

Integrations

Salesforce is part of an extensive suite of business tools for various purposes. It also offers over 1,400 integration options with third-party platforms, including Skype, Slack, Microsoft Teams and Jira solutions. A Zapier integration provides even more possibilities.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.4

Salesforce Service Cloud user review

Image source: G2


Pricing

Salesforce Service Cloud has five pricing options:

  • Starter Suite – $25/user/month billed annually
  • Pro Suite – $100/user/month billed annually
  • Enterprise – $165/user/month billed annually
  • Unlimited – $330/user/month billed annually
  • Einstein 1 Service – $500/user/month billed annually

Only the Starter Suite plan mentions a monthly billing option. There’s a 30-day free trial.


Kustomer

Kustomer – one of the top Freshworks alternatives

Image source: G2


Kustomer is a platform that combines standard customer service features – omnichannel communication, chatbots etc. – with a CRM system and some AI enhancements (AI chatbots, Copilot).


Key Features

  • CRM – Get a CRM system designed specifically for customer service to manage data, configure routing rules and automate customer service processes.
  • AI Copilot – Access Copilot to generate conversation summaries, spellcheck and translate and expand messages.
  • AI Chatbots – Use no-code configuration tools and templates to set up AI chatbots and provide your customers with constant, personalized support. 
  • Omnichannel – Communicate with your customers seamlessly across multiple channels (SMS, email, chat, voice, social media).
  • Self-service – Use proactive messaging and offer your users tools (chatbots, knowledge base) they can use to fix their issues without your help.

Integrations

Kustomer offers many good integration options, including Slack, Shopify, Jira, Fullstory, RingCentral, MessageBird and Salesforce.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.6

Kustomer user review

Image source: G2


Pricing

Kustomer offers the following plans:

  • Enterprise – $89/month/user
  • Ultimate – $139/month/user

Sprinklr

Sprinklr – a Freshworks alternative

Image source: G2


Sprinklr is a comprehensive customer experience management platform with a customer service module featuring omnichannel communication, live chat, self-service and AI-enhanced conversational and IVR tools.


Key Features

  • Live chat – Assist your customers whenever they need (24/7) via a live chat widget integrated into mobile apps and websites.
  • Conversational AI – Use natural language to set up AI bots without coding quickly.
  • Omnichannel support – Assign interactions to agents easily thanks to AI-powered omnichannel routing (supports social media, chat, voice and email).
  • Knowledge base – Collect helpful information in a handy knowledge base your customer support teams can easily access.
  • Agent assist – Provide agents with an AI assistant that summarizes cases and conversations, offers valuable recommendations and insights etc.
  • Conversational IVR – Use voice bots with conversation routing to serve more customers while providing a seamless experience.

Integrations

Sprinklr connects to many third-party tools, such as Okta, Netomi, Salesforce, Microsoft Power BI and Microsoft Dynamics.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.2

Sprinklr customer feedback

Image source: Capterra


Pricing

Sprinklr has two plans:

  • Self-serve customer service solution – $249/seat/month
  • Custom CCaaS solution – Custom pricing

There’s a 20% discount with annual billing. You can also access a 30-day free trial.


Helpshift

Helpshift – an alternative to Freshworks

Image source: G2


Helpshift is an AI-first customer service software designed to streamline the support process. It includes AI-powered self-service, conversational tools, ticketing systems and automation features to optimize your processes.


Key Features

  • Help center – Provide your customers with AI-powered tools (FAQs, knowledge bases) they can use to solve their issues without your intervention.
  • Messages – Connect with your customers on various channels (Facebook, Discord, WhatsApp) using a system with seamless transitions.
  • Automation and AI chatbots – Use customizable, industry-specific and multilingual AI chatbots to reduce support volume and deliver help 24/7. Design and automate workflows without coding to handle repetitive tasks and easily prioritize and route inquiries.
  • Agent workspace – Streamline ticket management and optimize productivity with powerful AI tools such as real-time translation, sentiment analysis and AI-generated insights.

Integrations

Helpshift integrates with several other tools, including Okta, Discord, Jira, Salesforce, Microsoft Power BI, Trello etc.


User rating

G2: 4.3

Capterra: 3.9

Helpshift user feedback

Image source: G2


Pricing

Helpshift offers three pricing plans:

  • Starter – $150/month
  • Growth – Custom pricing
  • Enterprise – Custom pricing

There’s also a 30-day free trial.


ChatBot

ChatBot – an alternative to Freshworks

Image source: Chatimize


ChatBot is a software tool that allows companies to build and deploy AI-enhanced chatbots for various purposes (including customer service) and automate some business operations. It doesn’t provide omnichannel capabilities but it’s easy to connect it to other solutions thanks to multiple integration options.


Key Features

  • AI chatbot – Access customizable, trainable (you do this by scanning articles and websites) AI chatbots to resolve customer queries without human intervention.
  • Live chat automation – Seamlessly transfer conversations from chatbots to agents, measure bot performance and categorize chats based on tags.
  • Visual builder – Build, organize and test your bot flows using an easy-to-use visual tool with a version control feature. 
  • Messages – Create appealing and engaging messages with image and GIF support, buttons, a gallery to showcase products/services and customizable greetings.
  • Data collection – Ask questions via forms and surveys to collect user information. Segment data and assign groups to specific chatbots.

Integrations

ChatBot connects to various other solutions, including Shopify, WordPress, Slack, Freshdesk and Zendesk. There’s also a Zapier integration.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.7

ChatBot user review

Image source: G2


Pricing

ChatBot offers four pricing plans:

  • Starter – $65/month
  • Team – $169/month
  • Business – $499/month
  • Enterprise – Custom pricing

The above prices are for monthly billing; there’s a discount with annual payments. You can also try the product for 14 days free of charge.


Help Scout

Help Scout – a customer relationship management solution

Image source: Capterra


Help Scout is an omnichannel customer support system with a solid feature set and a good list of potential integrations. However, it offers fewer AI enhancements than similar solutions (for example, there’s no Copilot implementation).


Key Features

  • Inbox – Aggregate various channels (live chat, email, voice social media) to make managing them easier and optimize multitasking.
  • Self-service – Offer your customers an FAQ section and help center to allow them to solve their problems without asking for support.
  • Messages – Provide live, async and on-demand communication options. Enable proactive messaging (with company branding) to reduce support volume.
  • AI – Streamline operations, write or optimize replies, summarize conversations etc.
  • Automation – Automate tedious tasks to prioritize important ones and speed up customer support operations.
  • Collaboration – Use a collision-free inbox, assignments and mentions to optimize team collaboration.
  • Customer data – Access critical customer information easily in one place and use it to personalize messages.
  • Reporting – Generate comprehensive reports and monitor customer satisfaction and employee productivity.

Integrations

Connect to over 100 other solutions, including Jira, HubSpot, Salesforce, WooCommerce, Messenger, Mixpanel and Mailchimp. A Zapier integration is available for even more options.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.6

Help Scout customer opinion

Image source: G2


Pricing

Help Scout has three plans:

  • Standard – $75/month
  • Plus – $200/month
  • Pro – $850/month

The mounts above are with 100 monthly contacts helped. The pricing depends on the number of tickets or email volume and industry. There’s a 15-day free trial, and you can save 10% with annual billing.


ServiceNow

ServiceNow – a Freshworks alternative

Image source: Capterra


ServiceNow Customer Service Management (CSM) is a platform to enhance the customer service experience. It provides omnichannel communication tools, as well as AI, automation and real-time data collection features to empower agents, streamline processes and facilitate the rapid resolution of customer issues.


Key Features

  • Omnichannel – Communicate using many channels, including chat, email, social media, phone etc.
  • Generative AI – Create conversation, call and case summaries, generate knowledge articles and translate messages in real time.
  • Automate workflows – Build and optimize automated workflows using a no-code tool to streamline work and reduce costs.
  • Workforce optimization – Access scheduling and performance monitoring tools to manage employees easier.
  • Workspaces – Build personalized workspaces to optimize team efficiency and engagement.
  • Virtual agent – Use an AI-powered virtual agent to provide help to both employees and customers whenever it’s needed.
  • Self-service – Create a portal your customers can use to find answers to their questions and fix problems without help.

Integrations

ServiceNow connects to many other systems, such as Salesforce, Jira, Okta, Slack and Microsoft Teams.


User rating

G2: 4.4

Capterra: 4.3

ServiceNow customer review

Image source: G2


Pricing

ServiceNow doesn’t provide pricing information on the website.


Best customer service automation software: Comparison table

Tool name
Features
Free Trial
Pricing
Average user ranking

Intelswift

  • AI Agents
  • Live Chat
  • AI Copilot
  • Workflows
  • AI insights & reporting
  • Omnichannel and multilingual support

21 days

From $19/month, $10/month for each extra seat

5.0

Zendesk

  • Messages and live chat
  • Workforce engagement
  • AI and automation
  • Help center
  • Agent workspace
  • Voice

14 days

From $19/agent/month

4.3

Intercom

  • Omnichannel
  • AI insights & reporting
  • Fin AI agent
  • Outbound messaging
  • Workflows
  • Knowledge hub and help center

14 days

From $29/seat/month

4.5

Salesforce

  • Agentforce
  • Omnichannel communication
  • Self-service
  • Voice
  • Customer service management
  • Automation
  • Chatbots
  • AI

30 days

From $25/user/month

4.4

Kustomer

  • CRM
  • AI Copilot
  • AI Chatbots
  • Omnichannel
  • Self-service

N/A

From $89/month/user

4.5

Sprinklr

  • Live chat
  • Omnichannel support
  • Conversational AI
  • Knowledge base
  • Agent assist
  • Conversational IVR

30 days

From $199/seat/month

4.3

Helpshift

  • Help center
  • Messages
  • AI and automation
  • Agent workspace

30 days

From $150/month

4.1

ChatBot

  • AI chatbot
  • Live chat automation
  • Visual builder
  • Messages
  • Data collection

14 days

From $52/month

4.55

Help Scout

  • Inbox
  • Help center
  • Messages
  • AI
  • Automations
  • Collaboration
  • Customer data
  • Reporting

15 days

From $75/month

4.5

ServiceNow

  • Omnichannel
  • Generative AI
  • Automate workflows
  • Workforce optimization
  • Workspaces
  • Virtual agent
  • Self-service

N/A

N/A

4.35



Conclusion

Freshdesk is a solid customer service automation platform but it can be challenging to implement, and its omnichannel capabilities and integration options aren’t perfect. Thankfully, there are plenty of compelling customer support tools on the market – and, in our opinion, Intelswift is easily one of the top contenders.

Our platform is intuitive and easy to connect to other solutions. It offers a live chat solution with the option to seamlessly transfer between bots and human agents – upon customer request, knowledge gaps, or whenever you simply want to. Plus, it features powerful AI capabilities (including helpful Copilot-based features). Intelswift provides everything you need to ensure exceptional customer service.

Interested in trying it out? Sign up now to check out our 21-day free trial or schedule a demo if you want to see our software in action!


FAQs

Who is Freshworks' biggest competitor?

Freshworks offers many products: a CRM platform with sales automation for lead management, sales pipeline and sales process optimization, a customer service solution, marketing automation tools, a project management system for IT teams etc. Its customer service platform competes with cutting-edge solutions such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, Zendesk Support Suite and Intelswift.

Is Zoho better than Freshworks?

Zoho’s customer service tool, Zoho Desk, has a 4.4 rating on G2 – the exact same score as Freshdesk.

Is Freshworks a Salesforce competitor?

Freshworks is indeed a competitor to Salesforce in both the customer relationship management and customer service management markets.

Is Freshworks a good CRM?

Yes, Freshworks has a high 4.5 score on G2 – it’s well-liked by its customers. However, there are some Freshworks alternatives worth considering if it doesn’t meet your needs.