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Software · head to head

Freshdesk vs Helicone

Freshdesk logo

Freshdesk

Software

Delight your customers, effortlessly

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Helicone logo

Helicone

Software

Open-source LLM observability and gateway platform for AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Helicone has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Freshdesk growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards; Helicone the free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.
  • They diverge on capability: Freshdesk covers Ticketing, Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Freshdesk and Helicone actually diverge.

Attributes where Freshdesk and Helicone differ
AttributeFreshdeskHelicone
Starting price$19/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebweb, api
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Freshdesk

  • Ticketing
  • Automation
  • Self-service
  • Team collaboration
  • Multi-channel support
  • SLA management
  • Reporting
  • Mobile apps

Only in Helicone

  • Request dashboard and tracking
  • Sessions and segments
  • Helicone Query Language (HQL)
  • Prompt datasets and improvement
  • Playground
  • Rate limits and alerts

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Freshdesk

  • Help desk and ticketing systemnot Helicone
  • Customer support portal and knowledge basenot Helicone
  • Multi-channel support coordinationnot Helicone
  • AI-assisted support agent interactionnot Helicone

Helicone

  • Monitoring cost and latency of production LLM applicationsnot Freshdesk
  • Debugging multi-step agent sessionsnot Freshdesk
  • Managing and iterating on prompts across a teamnot Freshdesk
  • Routing requests across multiple LLM providersnot Freshdesk

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Freshdesk

  • Growth tier lacks multilingual helpdesk and custom reporting dashboards
  • Skill-based routing available only on Enterprise tier
  • Freddy AI Copilot requires separate £29/agent/month add-on on Pro and Enterprise plans
  • AI agent sessions charged beyond initial 500 sessions: £49 per additional 100 sessions
  • Day passes for non-agents vary by tier: £2 (Growth), £7 (Pro), £12 (Enterprise)

Helicone

  • The free Hobby plan is capped at 10,000 requests per month, which teams with production traffic can exceed quickly.
  • Advanced compliance features like SOC 2 and HIPAA are only available starting at the $799/month Team plan.
  • Usage beyond the free tier is billed on top of the base subscription, adding cost unpredictability at scale.
  • On-premises deployment is restricted to the custom Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

Freshdesk

$19/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Freshdesk review.

Helicone

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 10,000 free requests
    • 1 GB storage
    • 1 seat
  • Pro$79/month
    • 10K free requests included, usage-based beyond
    • 7-day free trial
    • Unlimited playgrounds and workspaces
  • Team$799/month
    • 5 organizations
    • SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance
    • Dedicated Slack channel access
  • Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Custom MSAs and SAML SSO
    • On-premises deployment
    • Bulk cloud discounts

Which should you pick?

Choose Freshdesk if

  • You need ticketing.
  • You also want automation.
Freshdesk review

Choose Helicone if

  • You need request dashboard and tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want sessions and segments.
Helicone review

Questions people ask

Is Freshdesk or Helicone better?
Neither clearly leads. Freshdesk starts at $19/month and Helicone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Freshdesk or Helicone?
Helicone has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $19/month for Freshdesk and Free for Helicone.
Does Freshdesk or Helicone run on more platforms?
Freshdesk runs on Web. Helicone runs on web, api.
Can I use Helicone for free?
Yes. Helicone has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Freshdesk starts at $19/month.
What is Freshdesk best used for?
Freshdesk is most often used for help desk and ticketing system, customer support portal and knowledge base, multi-channel support coordination, ai-assisted support agent interaction. Of those, help desk and ticketing system and customer support portal and knowledge base are not what Helicone is typically brought in for.
What can Freshdesk do that Helicone cannot?
Freshdesk covers Ticketing, Automation, Self-service, Team collaboration. Helicone covers Request dashboard and tracking, Sessions and segments, Helicone Query Language (HQL), Prompt datasets and improvement.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Helicone: What does Helicone cost?

Helicone offers a free Hobby plan, a Pro plan at $79/month, a Team plan at $799/month, and custom Enterprise pricing, with usage-based charges applying beyond included request limits.

Source
Helicone: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

The free Hobby plan includes 10,000 requests per month, 1 GB of storage, 1 seat, and 1 organization, aimed at kickstarting AI projects.

Source
Helicone: Are there discounts available?

Helicone offers 50% off the first year for qualifying startups, discounts for non-profits, a $100 annual credit for open-source projects, and free access for students.

Source
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