Freshdesk vs Gorgias
Side-by-side total cost of ownership: subscription fees, labor, hidden costs, and AI alternatives.
Published pricing
The subscription is only part of the cost.
| Freshdesk | Gorgias | |
|---|---|---|
| Published rate | $55/seat/mo | $50/seat/mo |
| Team size modeled | 25 | 10 |
| Annual subscription | $16,500/yr | $6,000/yr |
What the invoice doesn't show
Freshdesk
Freddy AI Copilot costs $29/agent/month on top of your plan. Freddy AI Agent sessions now cost $49 per 100 sessions ($0.49/session) — up from $0.10/session before Q4 2025, a 5x price increase. A 10-agent team on Pro + Copilot pays $10,080/year before AI Agent sessions.
Users report an overly aggressive spam filter that flags real customer tickets as spam, requiring tedious manual recovery. Auto-deleted spam tickets still increment ticket numbers, breaking audit trails.
Reporting is described as 'pretty complicated to navigate.' Multiple users export all tickets monthly and build their own reports in Power Query or Excel because native analytics are insufficient for real analysis.
Direct user quote from reviews: 'Freshdesk serves its purpose as a basic helpdesk solution but feels increasingly outdated in today's market. The absence of modern AI features and limited integration options make it challenging to build an efficient workflow.'
Gorgias
Gorgias prices by ticket volume, not seats. The Starter plan ($10/mo, annual only) includes 50 tickets. Basic ($50/mo) includes 300 tickets. Pro ($360/mo) includes 2,000 tickets. Additional tickets cost $0.36–$0.40 each. A mid-size ecommerce brand handling 5,000 tickets/month on Pro pays $1,944/month including overages.
Gorgias AI Agent is billed per automated resolution at $0.90/resolution (annual) or $1.00 (monthly) — and double-billed: you pay both the helpdesk ticket fee AND the AI resolution fee for every conversation the AI handles. A team achieving 30% automation on 2,000 Pro tickets pays $360/mo (helpdesk) plus $540/mo (600 AI resolutions × $0.90) = $900/mo total.
Gorgias is built exclusively for ecommerce and integrates deeply with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento. If your business model expands beyond ecommerce (SaaS, services, marketplace), you'll outgrow Gorgias and face a platform migration.
Users report that Gorgias's reporting and analytics are limited compared to Zendesk or Intercom. Custom report building requires the Advanced plan ($750/mo for 5,000 tickets) or exporting data to external BI tools.
What teams are switching to
Replacing Freshdesk
Intercom Fin
$0.99/resolution + $29–132/seat/mo base
AI-first platform where Fin autonomously resolves 55–65% of conversations, pre-trained on your help center content. Uses pay-per-resolution ($0.99) instead of Freshdesk's expiring session packs.
DevRev
$19.99–59.99/user/mo
AI-native from the ground up. Unifies customer support and product development so tickets automatically create product context for engineering. Claims 85% automatic resolution with their AI agent.
Hiver
Free–$75/user/mo, AI add-on $20/user/mo
Turns Gmail into a helpdesk — teams migrating from Freshdesk work in an interface they already know. AI Copilot summarizes conversations, suggests replies, and handles triage. Free plan available with unlimited users.
Replacing Gorgias
Tidio + Lyro AI
Free–$749/mo, Lyro add-on from $39/mo
Flat-rate pricing instead of per-ticket billing. Lyro AI chatbot handles up to 70% of routine ecommerce inquiries at a predictable monthly cost. No per-resolution or per-ticket overage fees.
Richpanel
$29–$99/agent/mo
Ecommerce-focused helpdesk with AI self-service portal. Customers resolve order tracking, returns, and exchanges without creating tickets — reducing volume rather than charging per ticket.
Re:amaze
$29–$69/agent/mo, unlimited conversations
Per-agent pricing ($29/agent/mo) with unlimited conversations — no ticket caps or overage charges. Built for ecommerce with Shopify integration. AI-powered suggested replies and FAQ bot included.
StackCut doesn't sell or recommend any of these tools. We show them for context. The decision is yours.
Total Cost of Ownership
Subscription fees plus labor and error costs, modeled at $50/hr loaded rate (BLS ECEC).
| Cost Component | Freshdesk | Gorgias |
|---|---|---|
| Annual subscription | $16,500 | $6,000 |
| Labor cost | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Error & rework cost | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Total Cost of Ownership | $30,900/yr | $20,400/yr |
| Est. AI alternative | $8,488/yr | $8,488/yr |
Labor rate based on BLS ECEC June 2025 ($45.65/hr private industry total compensation, rounded to $50). Team sizes differ because each vendor targets different market segments. Your actual numbers depend on team size, role mix, and usage. Run it with your own data.
Which one fits your team?
Both Freshdesk and Gorgiascost more than their published pricing suggests. The right choice depends on your team size and how you weigh each tool's trade-offs.
Freshdesk starts at $55/seat/mo , but watch for Freddy AI Copilot costs $29/agent/month on top of your plan. Freddy AI Agent sessions now cost $49 per 100 sessions ($0.49/session) — up from $0.10/session before Q4 2025, a 5x price increase. A 10-agent team on Pro + Copilot pays $10,080/year before AI Agent sessions.
Gorgias starts at $50/seat/mo , but watch for Gorgias prices by ticket volume, not seats. The Starter plan ($10/mo, annual only) includes 50 tickets. Basic ($50/mo) includes 300 tickets. Pro ($360/mo) includes 2,000 tickets. Additional tickets cost $0.36–$0.40 each. A mid-size ecommerce brand handling 5,000 tickets/month on Pro pays $1,944/month including overages.
An AI-native alternative may replace the workflow at a fraction of the TCO.
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