Freshdesk alternatives? You can just use Laureo
A Freshdesk alternative with the CRM, campaigns and invoices on every plan, and tickets, live chat and a help center on Business and Ultra.
What are the disadvantages of Freshdesk?
The main disadvantages of Freshdesk are cost growth and product splits: each paid plan is charged per agent, Freshworks positions the base plans for email and sells chat in Freshdesk Omni, and the CRM is a separate product, Freshsales. AI adds its own meters, because Freddy AI Agent sessions past the first 500 and Freddy AI Copilot are each sold on top of the plan.
Freshdesk's own pages state the meters, as they stood on October 28, 2026 and October 30, 2026. Additional Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions. Freshdesk also meters connector app tasks and MCP actions as paid add-ons. In Laureo the help desk, knowledge base, public help center and live chat are all part of Business and Ultra.
| Disadvantage | Freshdesk | Laureo |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per agent | Each Freshdesk paid plan is charged per agent, and cost grows with the number of agents. | Business and Ultra include a second full seat in the plan price, and no plan has a seat minimum. |
| CRM sold separately | Freshworks sells its CRM, Freshsales, as a separate product priced per user from $9 to $59 per user per month billed annually. | One plan and one bill cover your CRM, inbox, email campaigns, booking pages, and quotes and invoices, so you stop paying for separate tools. |
| AI metering | Freddy AI Copilot is an add-on at $29 per agent per month billed annually, on Pro and Enterprise. | Every plan includes monthly AI credits for the assistant, the agents and email drafting. |
What is a good Freshdesk alternative for a team that also sells?
Laureo is a good Freshdesk alternative for a team that sells and supports from the same people: the CRM, email campaigns and invoices are on every plan, and tickets, the knowledge base, the public help center and live chat are on Business and Ultra. With Freshworks, chat comes in another edition, Freshdesk Omni, and the CRM in another product, Freshsales, each priced per agent or per user.
Is there a Freshdesk alternative with live chat in the same plan as the help desk?
Yes: Laureo puts live chat in the same plan as the help desk, on Business and Ultra, and each chat lands as a ticket in the same queue as email, under the same SLA targets. Freshworks positions the base Freshdesk plans for email and sells chat in another edition, Freshdesk Omni, priced per agent.
Freshdesk Omni, the omnichannel edition, costs $29, $79 or $119 per agent per month billed annually.
Why Laureo wins against Freshdesk
- One plan and one bill cover your CRM, inbox, email campaigns, booking pages, and quotes and invoices, so you stop paying for separate tools.
- Business and Ultra include a second full seat in the plan price, and no plan has a seat minimum.
- Every plan includes monthly AI credits for the assistant, the agents and email drafting.
- The AI never trains on your data, and every AI request goes only to providers that keep none of it.
Why teams look for a Freshdesk alternative
- Reason 1Freshdesk charges each paid plan per agent, and its base plans are built for email; chat and messaging come with Freshdesk Omni.
- Reason 2The CRM is another Freshworks product, Freshsales, priced per user, so sales and support run on two records.
- Reason 3Freddy AI Agent sessions stop after the first 500 per account and then sell in packs, and Freddy AI Copilot is a per-agent add-on.
- Reason 4Laureo puts the CRM, email campaigns, booking pages, quotes and invoices in one workspace plan with one full seat included on Pro and two on Business and Ultra, and Business and Ultra add tickets, the knowledge base, the public help center and live chat in the same CRM.
Laureo vs Freshdesk, feature by feature
- Every channel in one queueEmail, portal and live chat tickets share one service inbox and one set of SLA targets on Business and Ultra. By comparison, Freshworks positions the base Freshdesk plans for email and sells chat and social channels in Freshdesk Omni.
- The CRMContacts, companies, deals and the pipeline on every plan, and on Business and Ultra a support email from a known contact opens a ticket on that contact and their company. By comparison, Freshworks sells its CRM, Freshsales, as a separate product priced per user.
- Connector and automation feesWorkflow runs are never billed per run: 2,000 a month on Pro, 5,000 on Business and unlimited on Ultra, and only AI steps draw on the monthly AI credits. By comparison, Freshdesk sells connector app tasks and MCP actions as paid add-ons, and its connector apps spend tasks each time they sync data or automate a workflow with an external application.
- AI for supportMonthly AI credits on every plan; on Ultra the resolution agent drafts replies for approval by default. By comparison, Freshdesk includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions once per account, then sells packs of 100, and Freddy AI Copilot costs extra per agent.
- Sales and billingEmail campaigns, booking pages, quotes and invoices on every plan, with unlimited contacts on all plans. By comparison, Freshdesk's pricing page covers support features and lists no campaigns, booking pages, quotes or invoices.
AI that drafts real work and waits for approval
Laureo runs built-in agents that start on their own and draft the work, on monthly AI credits included in your plan, and by default every agent except Ticket Triage (on Ultra) holds each change it proposes for your approval. Ask Laureo in plain language, for example Hey Laureo, draft follow-ups for every deal that went quiet this week, and review the queue before anything is sent.
Pricing side by side
What it costs
Freshdesk starts at $19/agent/mo. Growth is $19 per agent a month billed annually and is built for email support; chat and messaging need Freshdesk Omni from $29 per agent. Freddy AI Copilot is a $29 per agent add-on on Pro and Enterprise, AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 after the first 500, and the CRM, Freshsales, is a separate product.
Laureo bundles the CRM, email marketing, scheduling, and AI agents in one product. One workspace plan with one full seat included on Pro and two on Business and Ultra; add seats as you grow. Pro starts at $83.33 a month billed annually ($99.99 month-to-month). Unlimited contacts on all plans, and Ultra adds cold outreach. Every plan starts with a 14-day trial for $2.99, credited to your first month.
Pricing last verified October 28, 2026. Source: As of October 2026, Freshdesk Growth is $19 per agent a month billed annually, and Freshdesk Omni, the edition with chat, starts at $29 per agent (freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing).
Your data stays yours. Role-based access, audit logging, and an approval queue: by default, every agent except Ticket Triage asks before it changes a record.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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