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
Intelswift
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
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.
Image source: Producthunt
Pricing
With Intelswift, you can choose between the following pricing plans:
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
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
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:
The prices above are for monthly billing. There is a discount for annual payments. You can also use a 14-day free trial.
Intercom
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
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
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
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
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
Image source: G2
Pricing
Salesforce Service Cloud has five pricing options:
Only the Starter Suite plan mentions a monthly billing option. There’s a 30-day free trial.
Kustomer
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
Integrations
Kustomer offers many good integration options, including Slack, Shopify, Jira, Fullstory, RingCentral, MessageBird and Salesforce.
User rating
G2: 4.4
Capterra: 4.6
Image source: G2
Pricing
Kustomer offers the following plans:
Sprinklr
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
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
Image source: Capterra
Pricing
Sprinklr has two plans:
There’s a 20% discount with annual billing. You can also access a 30-day free trial.
Helpshift
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
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
Image source: G2
Pricing
Helpshift offers three pricing plans:
There’s also a 30-day free trial.
ChatBot
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
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
Image source: G2
Pricing
ChatBot offers four pricing plans:
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
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
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
Image source: G2
Pricing
Help Scout has three plans:
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
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
Integrations
ServiceNow connects to many other systems, such as Salesforce, Jira, Okta, Slack and Microsoft Teams.
User rating
G2: 4.4
Capterra: 4.3
Image source: G2
Pricing
ServiceNow doesn’t provide pricing information on the website.
Tool name | Features | Free Trial | Pricing | Average user ranking |
Intelswift |
| 21 days | From $19/month, $10/month for each extra seat | 5.0 |
Zendesk |
| 14 days | From $19/agent/month | 4.3 |
Intercom |
| 14 days | From $29/seat/month | 4.5 |
Salesforce |
| 30 days | From $25/user/month | 4.4 |
Kustomer |
| N/A | From $89/month/user | 4.5 |
Sprinklr |
| 30 days | From $199/seat/month | 4.3 |
Helpshift |
| 30 days | From $150/month | 4.1 |
ChatBot |
| 14 days | From $52/month | 4.55 |
Help Scout |
| 15 days | From $75/month | 4.5 |
ServiceNow |
| N/A | N/A | 4.35 |
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!
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.