Freshdesk Import Guide: How to Migrate Data to Freshdesk

Import data to Freshdesk from another help desk or service platform? The Migration Wizard automates the transfer of your tickets, contacts, agents, and knowledge base — no manual CSV exports required. This guide covers which platforms you can migrate from, what data moves over, and how to tailor the process. Ready to start?

Moving data from Freshdesk instead? Visit our Freshdesk data migration page.

Supported platforms to migrate to Freshdesk

You can migrate to Freshdesk from any of the following platforms:

Accelo

Atera

Atlas

Autotask PSA

BMCHelixITSM

BoldDesk

Chatwoot

ConnectWise

Crisp

CSV

Custify

Deskpro

DevRev

Dixa

Document360

Drift

Dynamics 365

eDesk

eGain

Enchant

Forumbee

FreeScout

Freshdesk

Freshservice

Front

Gladly

Glassix

Gleap

GLPI

Gmail

Google Docs

Gorgias

Groove

Halo Service Solutions

HappyFox

Harmony

HelpCrunch

HelpDesk

HelpDocs

Helpjuice

Help Scout

HelpShift

HelpSpot

HubSpot Service Hub

InstantDocs

Intercom

Ivanti

Jira Service Management

Jitbit HelpDesk

Kayako

Kayako Classic

Kundo

Kustomer

Lansweeper

Live Agent

LiveChat

Manage Engine

Mayday

Missive

NinjaOne

Odoo Helpdesk

Oracle Service Cloud (RightNow)

osTicket

((OTRS)) Community Edition

Outlook

Paligo

Plain

Planhat

Reamaze

Request Tracker

Respond.io

Richpanel

Salesforce Service Cloud

ServiceDesk Plus

ServiceNow

SherpaDesk

Siit

SmarterTrack

SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Web Help Desk

Spiceworks

Spiceworks Cloud

SQLite

SuperOps

SupportBee

SupportPal

Syncro

SysAid

Tawk.to

TeamSupport

TeamworkDesk

Thena

Thulium

Tidio

TOPdesk

Trengo

Unthread

Vitally

Vivantio

Zammad

Zendesk

Zoho Desk

Zoho Mail

What data can you migrate to Freshdesk?

The Migration Wizard transfers the following data types automatically, with field mappings and relationships preserved:

Agents
Companies
Contacts

Tickets
Categories
Folders

Articles
Responses

Agent requirements on Freshdesk

All agents on the target Freshdesk account must be full-time agents, not occasional agents (Freshdesk's equivalent of Zendesk's "light agents"). If your source platform has occasional/light-agent equivalents, plan to upgrade them on the target before migration so ticket assignments map correctly.

How to create agents in Freshdesk before migration?

You have two options, and your setup decides which one applies.

Let the Migration Wizard create them.

At the Agent Matching step, look for "Add the same staff on Freshdesk." Where the Freshdesk API allows it, this creates missing agents straight from the matching window. They arrive with full rights and no group assignment — the Wizard adds them to the right groups during ticket migration, based on ticket assignments and your group mapping.

Create them manually.

Freshdesk Customer Service Suite accounts don't support automatic creation, so add every agent in Freshdesk before you start. Each agent has to accept an activation email before their profile goes live, so check that "User Activation Email" is enabled in your settings first. Agents then set their full name and password through the link.

Three things to get right either way:

Agent emails must be identical on the source and target. That's how the Wizard restores ticket ownership.
On Freshdesk you can match both Agents and Account Administrators.
Pick a Default Agent during matching. Records belonging to agents who have left your source platform go to them instead of erroring out.

Agent matching is mandatory — you can't run a Free Demo Migration until it's done.

How to set up custom fields for tickets, companies, and contacts in Freshdesk

Create the fields in Freshdesk first, then map them in the Migration Wizard. A field that exists on your source but not on Freshdesk has nowhere to land, and the Wizard can't invent it for you.

In Freshdesk.

Add your custom fields under the ticket, contact, and company field settings, matching the source field types as you go — text to text, number to number, date to date, multi-line to multi-line. A multi-line source field mapped to a single-line Freshdesk field gets truncated at the character limit.

In the Migration Wizard.

Click Map fields at the mapping step. Fields with identical names on both sides map automatically; you match the rest by hand.

Created a field in Freshdesk while the mapping window was open? Click Reload Mapping — the list refreshes and your existing mapping stays intact.
Required fields carry a yellow label and can't be left empty. Map a source field to each one, or assign a Default value that applies to every migrated record.
For non-required fields you don't need, choose Skip this field and it stays empty on Freshdesk.
"Add the same field on Freshdesk" creates a missing target field from inside the mapping form, but checkbox, multi-select, and multi-level fields arrive as plain drop-downs. Create those manually in Freshdesk to keep the type.

One Freshdesk-specific catch.

If a contact already exists on the target (matched by email) or a company already exists (matched by name), the Migration Wizard won't overwrite their custom fields. Existing records keep what they have.

Then verify.

Run a Free Demo Migration and check the sampled tickets, contacts, and companies field by field before you pay for the Full Migration.

Should I turn off Freshdesk automations before migration?

Yes, it's recommended to turn off Freshdesk automations before migration to prevent triggering actions (such as emails, ticket updates, or assignments) on imported data.

Why turn them off?

Prevents sending notifications to customers or agents about old tickets
Avoids unintended ticket changes during the import
Ensures a clean, controlled migration

Find out how to disable automations in Freshdesk following this instruction.

How to add languages to your Freshdesk knowledge base

Freshdesk has to know about a language before the Migration Wizard can put articles into it, so set this up first.

Go to Admin → Account → Helpdesk Settings → Manage Languages.

Set your primary language, then choose your supported languages from the dropdown. Multilingual support starts on the Pro plan.

Two things to know before you save:

You can't change the primary language once multilingual support is on, and every existing solution article gets mapped to it.
Added languages are hidden from the customer portal by default. Click the eye icon next to a language to make it visible.

Add every language that exists in your source knowledge base. The Migration Wizard imports translations only into locales that already exist on Freshdesk.

When you migrate the translations:

Select "Migrate content translations" at the mapping step. Without it, only the primary-language version of each article transfers.
Translations must share the same article ID as the original. Different IDs mean the Wizard reads them as unrelated articles and won't import them as translations.
Turn on "Update cross-links between articles" so links between your articles resolve to their new Freshdesk URLs instead of pointing back at the old platform.

After the Free Demo Migration, open Solutions in Freshdesk and check the sample: right language, right category and folder, published and draft statuses preserved.

Out-of-the-Box Migration Options

Update cross-links between articles
Migrate content translations
Retain multi-company contact associations
Migrate time entries
Add a new tag to tickets

See the full breakdown of migration options →

Common questions

What happens to customer portal access after migration?

Existing customers keep their Freshdesk customer portal login, and their historical tickets remain visible under their account once the migration completes.

See how customer portal access carries over →

Why turn off Automations for Freshdesk migration?

Active Automations and Scenario rules can re-trigger on newly created records during migration, sending duplicate notifications or overwriting fields the Migration Wizard just set. We recommend pausing them for the duration of your migration window and re-enabling once the switchover is verified.

See how to disable Automations before migrating →

Why can’t I see attachments in unpublished articles in my Freshdesk?

If you're unable to view attachments in unpublished articles within your Freshdesk account, it's essential to note the following reasons:

Freshdesk operates on AWS servers, and attachments are hosted exclusively within AWS. However, attachments are only stored in AWS once an article is published. Since the API provides access solely to the Freshdesk database on AWS servers, attachments remain inaccessible via the API if the associated article is unpublished.