HelpLayerCompare / Freshdesk
HelpLayer vs Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a ticketing help desk with a customer portal and knowledge base, and Freddy AI for answers and agents. HelpLayer is the help center that keeps itself up to date: when your product changes, it writes the update to the article and its video, for you to approve.
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CHOOSE FRESHDESK IF
You need ticketing, SLAs and automations for a support team, at a low price per agent.
CHOOSE HELPLAYER IF
You want the help center itself to keep up with your product, with narrated videos, demos and AI answers included in a flat price.
FEATURE BY FEATURE
Where they differ
| Feature | HelpLayer | Freshdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Help center with AI answers | Free plan, then $29 a month flat (3 team members). AI answers included. | $19 per agent a month (Growth, billed yearly) + $49 per 100 AI sessions |
| Free plan | Yes: 1 help center, 25 articles | A 6-month free program for up to 2 agents; 14-day trial |
| Keeps articles up to date | Watches GitHub and web pages, writes the update, you approve it | Writes an article from a prompt (Copilot add-on); suggests articles from escalated chats |
| Narrated video tutorials | Made from the article's steps, made again when they change | Embed a video |
| Click-through demos | Made from the article's steps | No |
| AI answers in your app | Widget, included | AI answers in chat need Freshdesk Omni (from $29 per agent) |
| Inbox, tickets, live chat | No: questions it can't answer go to your support email | Yes; live chat with Omni |
| AI assistants can read it | llms.txt and an MCP server, built in | An MCP server for your team; no llms.txt |
| Custom domain | Yes | Growth and up |
WHAT IT COSTS
A team of 3, answering 1,000 questions a month
Freshdesk Growth
$547 a month
3 agents × $19 = $57+ 1,000 AI sessions × $0.49 = $490(every conversation the AI handles is a session)
500 free sessions, once per account. AI in chat needs Omni: $577 a month for the same.
HelpLayer Pro
$29 a month
3 team members, 3 help centersAI answers includedvideos and demos included
No ticketing: questions it can't answer go to your support email.
Freshdesk prices from freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing, billed yearly ($23 per agent billed monthly), October 5, 2026. A session is a 72-hour window from a customer's first email, or 24 hours of chat.
WHERE FRESHDESK IS AHEAD
- Mature ticketing, SLAs, automations and skill-based routing.
- A multilingual help desk with community forums, and article approvals on Enterprise.
- AI agents across email, chat and messaging (with Omni).
- Freddy AI Copilot for agents, and an MCP server that covers articles.
WHERE HELPLAYER IS AHEAD
- Watches your code and pages, and writes the article update itself; you approve it.
- Makes the narrated video and the click-through demo from each article.
- One flat price with AI answers included: no per-agent or per-session fees.
- llms.txt and a public MCP server, so any AI assistant can read your help center.
QUESTIONS
HelpLayer vs Freshdesk: questions
Can HelpLayer replace Freshdesk?
It replaces Freshdesk's knowledge base and the AI answers on it. It doesn't replace ticketing: questions HelpLayer can't answer go to your support email, which can be your Freshdesk support address.
What does an AI answer cost?
Freshdesk charges $49 per 100 AI sessions ($0.49 each) on top of agent seats, with 500 free sessions once per account. In HelpLayer, AI answers are included in the plan.
How does HelpLayer know an article is out of date?
You connect an article to its sources: a GitHub repository or a web page, like your pricing page or changelog. When they change, HelpLayer works out which articles the change touches, writes the update to the text and the video, and waits for your approval.
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Sources, checked October 5, 2026: Freshdesk pricing · Omni pricing · Free program · Article generator · Improve AI agent · MCP · Custom domain. Freshdesk and Freddy are trademarks of their owner. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.