Help Desk Migration Service
X

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: A Deep-Dive Comparison

Kateryna Butkovska May 2, 2024

If you are looking for a powerful software solution for your customer support processes, HubSpot Service Hub and Freshdesk are probably at the forefront of your considerations.

Both help desk software platforms are equipped with essential customer support management capabilities and maintain large user bases. Freshdesk, under the Freshworks umbrella, serves over 60,000 business clients, with industry giants like Honda, UNICEF, and Cisco among its users. HubSpot’s suite of products, including Service Hub, is used by 194,000 companies, featuring prominent names like Mitsubishi, Walmart, and Shell.

How do you decide which one best suits your needs? Let’s compare HubSpot and Freshdesk across key criteria to help you make an informed decision.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Free Versions

HubSpot Service Hub

Unlike other help desks, Service Hub’s free plan, known as Free Tools, comes with free versions of all “Hubs” within the suite, including those for marketing, sales, content, and operations.

Beyond these, the package provides the bare minimum of ticketing capabilities, including manual ticket assignment, live chat, reporting (up to three dashboards), Facebook Messenger and Slack integration, calling SDK, and more. It also offers a shared inbox and all related features, such as response templates (up to five), reply tracking, scheduling, email health tracking, and a mobile inbox.

The plan is available for a maximum of five agents.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk’s Free plan is available for teams with ten or fewer agents. The package offers basic ticketing, including ticket routing based on your business rules, integration with email and social media, and a customer-facing knowledge base. Service analytics and reporting with team collaboration features and the Ticket Trend Report, which allows you to forecast the number of requests are also on offer.

Finally, you can choose your data center’s location if you go with this plan.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Ticket Management

HubSpot Service Hub

In HubSpot Service Hub, you can create and manage tickets coming from different channels. The tickets are organized and tracked in ticket pipelines, or workspaces, with customizable statuses.
Automated conversation routing, role-based ticket assignment, customer feedback surveys, and custom ticket views are also in. What’s more, the platform boasts a handy feature that automatically updates ticket statuses so that multiple agents don’t duplicate efforts on the same ticket.

Freshdesk

Just like Service Hub, Freshdesk offers a centralized platform for managing all customer conversations across multiple channels. However, its ticket management capabilities are more diverse.

Agents can effortlessly view, prioritize, merge, transfer, share, or otherwise handle tickets. The platform enables ticket routing based on agent availability, skills, or established business rules. CSAT surveys, pre-defined responses, automated follow-ups, and custom ticket views are available too.

For an additional fee, Freshdesk users can take full advantage of Freddy Copilot. This AI-powered agent assistant can summarize ticket details, rephrase or expand responses, analyze customer sentiments, assist in request resolution, generate articles based on resolved tickets, and more.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Multichannel Support

HubSpot Service Hub

The number of channels supported by HubSpot Service Hub is more limited compared to Freshdesk.

The platform supports ticketing across email, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and phone. The latter doesn’t require additional plugins and is available from the Starter suite and up, giving an edge over Freshdesk.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers omnichannel customer support. Reps can manage customer queries across email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, X, Apple Business Chat, Line, website widgets, and chatbots.

On top of that, the Freshcaller add-on enables outbound and inbound calls.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Customer management

HubSpot Service Hub

Service Hub thoroughly records customer interactions, facilitates feedback collection, and lets you segment customers based on various criteria through list segmentation.

What sets Service Hub apart in customer management is a seamless integration with its CRM system. This offers your team a comprehensive view of the customer journey, extending beyond interactions with support reps.

Freshdesk

Similar to Service Hub, Freshdesk keeps a detailed record of past customer interactions with representatives, facilitating context-driven assistance.

It also offers features for capturing feedback, segmenting customers to deliver personalized support, and generating reports on the customer journey.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: SLAs

HubSpot Service Hub

In Service Hub, you can set SLAs based on time to first response and time to close. You have the flexibility to apply these settings universally to all tickets or customize SLAs for different priority levels.

You can monitor SLA adherence with a visual indicator that provides a real-time view of progress towards meeting SLAs and identifies tickets at risk of breaching them. This feature flags tickets in danger of breaching their SLAs and uses automation to trigger predefined actions in case a breach occurs.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers more advanced SLA management. You can establish SLA targets for various stages of ticket resolution, including initial and subsequent responses. In addition to a universal SLA policy for all tickets, Freshdesk lets you create distinct SLAs tailored to different priority levels, channels, agent groups, products, problem types, and other customizable criteria.

Moreover, the feature includes automated reminders for agents working on tickets nearing their SLA deadlines. In the event of an SLA breach, escalation rules are triggered to ensure efficient ticket handling.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Self-Service Options

HubSpot Service Hub

In HubSpot, the knowledge base feature is exclusively offered in the Professional and Enterprise tiers, along with customer portals. Users can create up to five knowledge bases within the platform.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers plenty of self-service capabilities. Apart from community forums, the platform enables you to create a knowledge base with articles for customers. Features like bulk article actions, article versioning, templates for article creation, article approval workflows, and Email-to-KBase, or automated conversion of agent replies into articles, make this process easy.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Chatbots

HubSpot Service Hub

The chatbot functionality, known as conversational bots, is available starting from the Free Tools pricing plan.

While HubSpot’s chatbots are not AI-backed, they offer diverse capabilities and can be embedded into websites and Facebook Messenger. These bots can create tickets, qualify leads, book meetings, and handle other tasks.

Freshdesk

With the Freddy Self-Service add-on, you can effortlessly create and deploy AI-powered chatbots across various channels.

These bots can be tailored to respond to specific scenarios, recognizing customer intent and addressing general inquiries. They can also guide users to helpful knowledge base articles and automatically generate tickets for issues that need human agent intervention.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Scaling Capabilities

HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot enables seamless scalability. Like Freshdesk, Service Hub offers a free pricing plan; however, it comes with a limited capacity, providing only five agent seats instead of ten offered by Freshdesk.

As you progress through the pricing tiers, you get more freedom to customize and automate. This means not just having access to specific features but also scaling them. For instance, with the Starter plan, you can manage up to one million products, one team inbox, and ten dashboards. But the Professional tier unlocks 15 million products, 100 team inboxes, and 25 dashboards.

Freshdesk

Scaling your team with Freshdesk is just as easy as with Service Hub. You can begin at zero budget, and as you move up the pricing tiers, you gain access to more advanced automation and customization features.

Similar to Service Hub, Freshdesk provides a wide array of automation options, advanced agent scheduling capabilities, and robust analytics—all essential for managing large-scale operations. However, what sets Freshdesk apart is its comprehensive suite of AI features and unique ability to grant daily access to your account to occasional agents. This is particularly useful during periods of high request volume.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Reporting and Analytics

HubSpot Service Hub

Service Hub provides insight into fundamental agent performance metrics, overall support volume, post-support survey results, and more. It also lets you analyze how agents use your knowledge base. All reports can be organized into dashboards.

Among its standout features is the ability to analyze support data, along with marketing and sales records, and Conversation Intelligence, an AI-powered tool that generates insights from your voice data.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk’s dashboards provide real-time insights into critical KPIs, including ticket creation, resolution, and status. A variety of default reports deliver essential metrics such as ticket volume, customer satisfaction, and agent performance.

What sets Freshdesk apart is its unique reporting features: Top Customer Analysis, which identifies frequent customer interactions, and the ticket lifecycle report, detailing every action within each ticket. Plus, users can create custom reports for deeper insights from their Freshdesk data.

Freshdesk also offers Freddy Insights, an AI-powered analytics add-on that gives support managers comprehensive insights into team performance and suggests improvements.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Integrations

HubSpot Service Hub

Service Hub seamlessly integrates with other HubSpot tools, including Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Operations Hub, CMS, Commerce Hub, and more. The platform’s bundle feature makes it easy to build a cohesive HubSpot-powered ecosystem. Users can effortlessly subscribe to multiple HubSpot solutions and capabilities with just a few clicks.

For those seeking third-party integrations, the HubSpot Marketplace offers access to over 1,400 options, expanding the platform’s versatility and customization potential.

Freshdesk

You can ramp up Freshdesk’s capabilities by connecting the platform to a third-party app. The Growth plan unlocks over 1,000 apps at Freshdesk Marketplace which offer a diverse range of software solutions, including project management tools and video conferencing platforms.

For additional flexibility, you can always establish connection with any solution through a custom API integration.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Onboarding Process

HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot Service Hub provides onboarding assistance to help new customers get started with the software. Service Hub’s onboarding flow is fully customizable: you’ll work closely with a dedicated HubSpot consultant to create a roadmap that fits your goals.

Aside from onboarding services, Service Hub users can also benefit from:

Freshdesk

Freshworks offers five onboarding packages for its products, including Freshdesk:

On top of that, Freshdesk offers a training program through its Freshworks Academy. Agents can enroll in courses like “Freshdesk Admin Fundamentals” and “Freshdesk Agent Fundamentals” to improve their proficiency with the platform.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Customer Support

HubSpot Service Hub

Hubspot Service Hub, too, offers several customer support options:

Freshdesk

Freshdesk users can get help from:

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Pricing

HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot’s help desk is available at four pricing tiers:

Freshdesk

Freshdesk offers four subscription plans:

For an extra fee, you can also get the following add-ons:

As you can see, HubSpot’s premium tiers are much pricier than Freshdesk’s. Therefore, Freshdesk appears to offer more value for your money. It also boasts a broader range of AI capabilities and supports a higher agent capacity. Even its Free plan can accommodate up to ten agents, and it offers extras like Collaborators and Day Passes for easy team scaling.

On the flip side, Freshdesk charges extra for certain features, even ones considered essential, through add-ons. In contrast, Service Hub integrates chatbots and call center functionalities in its subscription plans. Moreover, it offers basic versions of its core solutions, going beyond customer support, at no additional cost.

Comparison of HubSpot and Freshdesk’s Pros and Cons

The comparison between Freshdesk and HubSpot Service Hub highlights many nuances in features, pricing, and supported channels. To make your decision easier, we’ve compiled a list of pros and cons for each platform.

HubSpot Service Hub

At first glance, Service Hub is very similar to Freshdesk. But a closer look reveals its unique pros:

And here are the main cons:

Freshdesk

The main pros of Freshdesk include:

At the same time, Freshdesk isn’t all roses. The platform’s main cons are:

Now that you’re familiar with the key differences between Freshdesk and HubSpot, let’s explore which types of businesses might benefit most from each help desk software solution.

HubSpot Service Hub vs Freshdesk: Which Customer Support Software Suits Your Needs Best?

Both Freshdesk and HubSpot Service Hub offer four pricing tiers catering to various help desk operations. This makes them suitable for businesses of all sizes, including individual entrepreneurs, startups, and large companies. When deciding between the two, it’s crucial to assess your specific feature requirements and budget constraints.

Here are some considerations to inform your decision:

While this list could go on, the underlying principle remains the same: when choosing between HubSpot Service Hub and Freshdesk, focus on finding the solution that best fits your functionality needs and budget, regardless of the size of your business.

HubSpot Service Hub or Freshdesk: How to migrate your customer service data quickly and painlessly?

Whether you’re moving from a different help desk solution to HubSpot Service Hub or Freshdesk, or migrating data out of these platforms to another system, the Help Desk Migration service can handle the transfer efficiently and accurately.

The service supports migration in multiple directions:

Some key benefits of using the Help Desk Migration service include:

The flexibility of the Help Desk Migration service ensures that you can seamlessly move your customer service data to or from HubSpot Service Hub and Freshdesk, regardless of your starting point or desired destination platform. This versatility minimizes the disruption caused by platform changes and helps maintain continuity in your customer support operations. Set up a free trial to test the migration service today.

So which one to choose HubSpot Service Hub or Freshdesk?

At first glance, HubSpot Service Hub and Freshdesk might seem quite similar. Both offer ticket management, multichannel support, self-service, and reporting—critical features for a seamless help desk workflow. But a closer look reveals the key differences between them.

Freshdesk is a dedicated help desk software solution, while HubSpot Service Hub bridges sales, marketing, and other business processes. Freshdesk excels with its AI capabilities, whereas Service Hub shines with its robust voice feature. While Service Hub might be more expensive due to its advanced pricing plans and mandatory paid onboarding, Freshdesk requires purchasing add-ons to access certain features.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re looking for alternatives to HubSpot, consider Zendesk, Freshdesk, Jira Service Management, Salesforce Service Cloud, or Zoho Desk. Each offers unique features, and pricing plans to suit different business needs. For example, Zendesk stands out for its reliable and most user-friendly ticketing with AI chatbots, reporting prowess, and strong collaboration abilities, while Freshdesk provides multichannel support, a robust knowledge base, and a shared team inbox.
Both Hubspot and Freshdesk have their perks, so the choice depends on your specific needs and budget constraints. If you’re looking for robust AI capabilities and flexible support channels, Freshdesk might be your best bet. On the other hand, if you value seamless integration with other business processes and extensive call center capabilities, HubSpot Service Hub could be the way to go.
Freshdesk vs Hubspot share several key features that make both help desk platforms effective solutions for companies looking to optimize their customer support operations. Both offer robust ticket management systems, multichannel support across various communication channels, customer management features to track interactions, and the ability to set SLAs for a timely response. In addition, they provide self-service capabilities, reporting and analytics tools, integrations with other software, and assistance for new users to help them get started effectively.
Freshdesk focuses exclusively on customer support with robust AI capabilities like Freddy AI and Freshbots, while HubSpot Service Hub offers a more comprehensive solution by integrating with marketing, sales, and other business processes. Pricing varies: HubSpot’s premium tiers are relatively more expensive, and the free plan provides fewer agents compared to Freshdesk. Freshdesk supports a wider range of support channels, such as WhatsApp and X, while HubSpot Service Hub offers extensive integration with other tools, including more than 1,400 third-party apps through the HubSpot Marketplace. These Freshdesk and Hubspot differences underscore the importance of considering your business’s needs and priorities before choosing.
Freshdesk holds several advantages over HubSpot for customer support. Its exclusive focus on customer support ensures a help desk platform finely tuned to meet the specific needs of support teams, resulting in a more efficient and effective support process. Freshdesk’s advanced AI capabilities enable businesses to automate tasks and handle customer queries more intelligently. Additionally, Freshdesk supports a wider range of communication channels, offering businesses greater flexibility to engage with customers across various platforms. Lastly, with flexible pricing plans and a free tier accommodating up to ten agents, Freshdesk provides more accessible options for businesses of all sizes.
The pricing structures of Freshdesk and Hubspot differ in several ways. HubSpot’s pricing tiers are generally higher and support fewer agents compared to Freshdesk’s free tier. Additionally, HubSpot’s premium tiers often require onboarding fees, while Freshdesk offers more accessible options with flexible pricing plans. However, Freshdesk may charge extra for certain features through add-ons, whereas HubSpot integrates essential functionalities like chatbots and call center capabilities into its subscription plans.
Freshdesk vs Hubspot offer a high customization level to adapt to various business needs. In HubSpot, users can customize ticket pipelines, create custom objects, fields, and properties within the CRM, and build custom bots and automation workflows. Freshdesk allows customization of ticket fields, statuses, workflows, automation rules, and branding customization for a consistent support experience. These customization options empower businesses to tailor the help desk platforms to their unique workflows and requirements, enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction.
HubSpot typically offers a more extensive selection of third-party integrations than Freshdesk. With over 1,400 options available in the HubSpot Marketplace, users can seamlessly connect HubSpot with tools across marketing, sales, operations, and more, expanding its versatility and customization potential. While Freshdesk also provides integration options through its Freshdesk Marketplace, the selection may not be as vast as that of HubSpot. However, both Freshdesk vs HubSpot Service Hub allow users to enhance functionality and streamline workflows by connecting with their preferred tools and services.
HubSpot’s reporting and analytics features offer comprehensive insights into agent performance metrics, support volume, and knowledge base usage. Additionally, its Conversation Intelligence tool provides valuable insights from voice data. However, Freshdesk’s reporting capabilities include real-time insights into critical KPIs, unique reports like Top Customer Analysis, and AI-powered analytics with Freddy Insights. While both help desk platforms offer robust reporting, Freshdesk’s unique features may provide a more comprehensive solution for businesses with specific reporting needs.
HubSpot and Freshdesk offer training and support for new users but with differing approaches. HubSpot provides personalized onboarding assistance, allowing users to work closely with a dedicated consultant to create a customized roadmap. In contrast, Freshdesk offers structured onboarding packages ranging from Basic to Enterprise levels, catering to various user needs. Additionally, both help desk platforms offer training programs; HubSpot provides Inbound and Technical Consulting, while Freshdesk offers courses through its Freshworks Academy.
Both HubSpot and Freshdesk offer features and customization options to cater to the diverse needs of different industries. HubSpot provides industry-specific features through its suite of products, including Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub. These hubs offer tools and functionalities designed to meet the needs of various industries, like e-commerce, healthcare, and professional services. For example, HubSpot’s e-commerce tools include features for tracking revenue, managing product catalogs, and automating order processing. Freshdesk customization options allow users to tailor ticket fields, workflows, and automation to their industry’s requirements. Moreover, Freshdesk’s integrations with industry-specific tools and platforms ensure that the help desk software can be extended to meet the unique needs of any industry.
Help Desk Migration

Automated service to migrate your data between help desk platforms without programming skills — just follow simple Migration Wizard.

You May Also Like

Sign up