# Freshdesk vs SupportWire

> Any Freddy AI forces Freshdesk Pro ($55/agent), then Copilot and $49/100-session packs. SupportWire: $19/seat, AI $0.49 after 50 free. No native phone on SupportWire.

## The short version

Freshdesk is a capable, well-rated helpdesk (4.4 on G2, 4.5 on Capterra), but its AI is bolted on and priced as a stack of add-ons on top of a tiered per-agent seat price. SupportWire is AI-native: Kal works on the one plan and you pay only for resolved tickets. (Freshdesk pricing verified against Freshworks' own pricing page live on 10 July 2026, corroborated in USD via the Wayback Machine capture of 8 July 2026.)

## Pricing model

Freshdesk is billed per agent/month, three tiers, annual billing: **Growth $19 / Pro $55 / Enterprise $89** (monthly billing is $23 / $66 / $107). Those are base ticketing prices with no Freddy AI. SupportWire is **$19 per seat per month, everything included**, with unlimited free lite seats and pay-as-you-go AI.

## AI pricing (the real cost)

No Freddy AI runs on Freshdesk's Growth tier at any price — you must first move to **Pro ($55/agent/mo annual)**. Then Freddy is three separate products: **Freddy AI Agent** (the customer-facing bot) is session-based — Pro/Enterprise include a **one-time** 500 free sessions, then **$49 per 100 sessions**; a "session" is one end-user interaction (a 72-hour window for email). **Freddy AI Copilot** (agent-assist) is **$29/agent/month billed annually ($35 monthly)**. **Freddy AI Insights** is Enterprise-only. SupportWire meters AI at **$0.49 per resolution after 50 free each month**, billed only when Kal actually closes the ticket — not per session.

## What forces you up a tier

Freddy AI, multilingual help desk, collaborators, round-robin routing, SLA policies and custom dashboards require **Pro**. Skill-based routing, audit logs, sandbox, JWT auth and IP allowlisting are **Enterprise-only ($89/agent/mo annual)**. SSO and role-based access control are the exceptions — included even on the cheapest Growth tier. SupportWire has no ladder: SSO, audit logs, integrations, white-label and AI are all in the single $19/seat plan.

## Where Freshdesk still wins

Freshworks offers native phone/voice via Freshcaller and the bundled Freshdesk Omni product — **SupportWire has no native phone channel**. Freshdesk also has a genuine $0 tier (1–2 agents, 6 months, no card). If voice is core to your support, or you're a two-person team doing basic ticketing, Freshdesk may be the better fit.

## Migrating from Freshdesk

Export your contacts and conversations, point your widget and inbound email at SupportWire, and your team can be live the same afternoon. White-glove migration is on us, and Kal runs during your 14-day trial too. No annual lock-in.

See also: [Pricing](/pricing.md), [Kal](/ai.md), [Switch](/switch.md)

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Source: https://supportwire.ai/freshdesk-vs-supportwire
SupportWire. The live chat platform for startups.
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