Free Freshdesk alternatives 2026
8 alternatives reviewed and compared
These Freshdesk alternatives all have a genuinely free plan or are fully open source — no trial countdown, no card required.
Looking for alternatives to:
Freshdesk
Customer support software with ticketing, automation, and self-service for growing teams.
Top alternatives compared
| Software | Rating | Starting price | Best for | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zoho Desk Affordable help desk software with ticketing, AI, and Zoho ecosystem integration. | 4.2 | Free | Zoho-stack teams watching the budget | |
 LiveAgent All-in-one help desk with ticketing, live chat, call center, and social media support. | 4.5 | Free | Teams that want chat + phone in one bill | |
 Jira Service Management ITSM platform built on Jira with incident, change, and asset management plus a free tier for up to 3 agents. | 8.0 | Free | IT teams already using Jira Software for development | |
 Tidio Live chat, chatbot, and help desk platform built for small businesses and e-commerce stores. Free plan available. | 8.3 | Free | Small e-commerce stores on Shopify or WooCommerce | |
 Hiver Gmail-based help desk that turns your inbox into a shared workspace with ticketing, SLAs, and automation. Free for up to 10 users. | 8.3 | Free | Teams already using Gmail/Google Workspace for email | |
 Freshchat Conversational messaging platform by Freshworks with AI bots, omnichannel support, and a free plan for 100 agents. | Free | Teams wanting free live chat for large agent groups | ||
 Crisp Business messaging platform for startups and SMBs with live chat, shared inbox, chatbot, and a generous free plan. | 8.0 | Free | Startups and indie hackers needing a free messaging solution | |
 osTicket Open-source support ticket system with custom forms, auto-routing, and SLA tracking. Free self-hosted or $12/agent/mo cloud. | Free | Organizations with strict data sovereignty requirements |
Detailed reviews
Zoho Desk
Affordable help desk software with ticketing, AI, and Zoho ecosystem integration.
Best for:
Why pick Zoho Desk over Freshdesk?
Zoho Desk lands at a lower per-agent price than Freshdesk's paid tiers and ties into Zoho CRM natively, so a team already running Zoho avoids the cross-vendor sync mess.
LiveAgent
All-in-one help desk with ticketing, live chat, call center, and social media support.
Best for:
Why pick LiveAgent over Freshdesk?
LiveAgent bundles live chat, call center and social channels into one cheaper plan, where Freshdesk pushes telephony and Omnichannel into separate paid SKUs.
Jira Service Management
ITSM platform built on Jira with incident, change, and asset management plus a free tier for up to 3 agents.
Best for:
Why pick Jira Service Management over Freshdesk?
Jira Service Management has a genuinely usable free tier and is strong at IT teams already using Jira Software for development.
Tidio
Live chat, chatbot, and help desk platform built for small businesses and e-commerce stores. Free plan available.
Best for:
Why pick Tidio over Freshdesk?
Tidio has a genuinely usable free tier and is strong at Small e-commerce stores on Shopify or WooCommerce.
Hiver
Gmail-based help desk that turns your inbox into a shared workspace with ticketing, SLAs, and automation. Free for up to 10 users.
Best for:
Why pick Hiver over Freshdesk?
Hiver has a genuinely usable free tier and is strong at Teams already using Gmail/Google Workspace for email.
Still deciding?
Put your shortlist side by side and see how the numbers and features really stack up.