FreshdeskFacebook ChatFreshdesk vs Facebook Chat

Freshdesk vs Facebook Chat: who includes email and Instagram

A help desk against a Meta Business Suite inbox: Facebook Chat is $275 a month cheaper for five people. The six differences, what five people pay on each, and a third option.

By Khalid Nouri, founder of SellioPricing check dates are listed with each vendor below

Try the third optionSellio pricing

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The short answer

Pick Freshdesk if your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk. Pick Facebook Chat if customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget. For five people, Facebook Chat is $275 a month cheaper than Freshdesk ($275 a month on Freshdesk against $0 on Facebook Chat), before AI. Sellio Mini is $45, which only Facebook Chat's figure comes under. Freshdesk and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Freshdesk has email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat includes website chat, WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Freshdesk and Facebook Chat sell here at one price.

At a glanceFreshdeskFreshdeskFacebook ChatFacebook Chat
Built aroundEmail tickets · chat is the separate FreshchatMessenger and Instagram DMs · free with a Page
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Growth: email and tickets$0 · with a Facebook Page
Chat in the price$55/agent/mo · Pro, with Freshchat on topNone · the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024
AI agent$49 per 100 sessions · 500 trial sessions once per accountNone to buy · instant replies and FAQs
Copilot for agents$29/agent/mo · Freddy CopilotMeta AI drafts · for some businesses
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · the whole inbox is free

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    As a ticket in an email queue. Chat conversations live in Freshchat and become tickets when escalated. Facebook Chat has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    As a Messenger or Instagram message in the Business Suite inbox, with the customer's profile beside it. Freshdesk raises a ticket where Facebook Chat keeps a conversation.

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    $19 buys email tickets on Growth. Chat and messaging mean adding Freshchat or an Omni bundle. $275 for five people, against $0 on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    There are no seats and no price; anyone with a Page role can answer. $0 for five people, against $275 on Freshdesk.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Freddy AI Agent: 500 trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100. Freddy Copilot is $29 per agent on top. Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy) instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    No AI agent to buy. Instant replies, away messages and FAQs are rules; Meta AI drafts replies for some businesses. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats instead.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Email and web forms on every plan; chat, WhatsApp and Instagram arrive with Freshchat. email is here and not on Facebook Chat.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Messenger, Instagram DMs and comments; WhatsApp lives in its own app, and the website plugin is gone. Instagram is here and not on Freshdesk.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Field service, time tracking, SLAs and a marketplace; the wider Freshworks suite for IT and sales. Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox instead.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    Posting, scheduling and ads for the Page; nothing beyond Meta's own channels. Freshdesk is a help desk instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    A day or two: connect the support address, set groups and SLAs, then add Freshchat for the widget. Facebook Chat is none.

    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat

    None: it is already there when you have a Page. Freshdesk is a day or two.

Sources: Freshdesk pricing · Facebook Chat pricing. Each vendor’s own comparison of the other is linked so you can weigh both sides against ours.

What each one looks like

A look at the agent workspace. Interfaces can vary by plan and product version.

The Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel
FreshdeskFreshdesk. The Freshdesk ticket view: the queue on the left, the ticket thread and the properties panel
The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list
Facebook ChatFacebook Chat. The Meta Business Suite inbox: Messenger and Instagram threads in one list

Pricing references: Freshdesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06); Facebook Chat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13). Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

Freshdesk, Facebook Chat and Sellio, side by side

Fifteen things a support team checks. A dash means the product does part of it or charges extra for it.

FeatureFreshdeskFreshdeskFacebook ChatFacebook ChatSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per agent and per session
Free
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Not on the pricing page; 14-day trial
The whole product
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Via Freshchat or Omni
Website Chat Plugin retired in 2024
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Core of the product
Not offered
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Via Freshchat or Omni
Separate WhatsApp Business app
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via Freshchat or Omni
DMs and comments
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not native
Not offered
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Slack and Teams notifications
Not offered
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
Freddy, trained on the knowledge base
Rules, not an AI agent
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
500 one-time trial sessions, then $49 per 100
No AI to bill
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Escalates to agents
No AI to hand off from
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first
Labels and done state only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Automations, form-based
Instant replies, away messages, FAQs
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and CSAT
Page insights
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

Desktop app (Windows, macOS)
Browser and mobile only
Browser and mobile
Native Windows and macOS apps

Which one, for whom

Pick Freshdesk if

  • Your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk.
  • You are already on Freshworks products and want the same admin and billing.
  • You need email in the price, which Facebook Chat does not include outright.
  • You need a ticket queue, which Facebook Chat does not have.

Pick Facebook Chat if

  • Customers only write on Messenger and Instagram and you have no budget.
  • One or two people answer and you do not need assignment or tickets.
  • Five people cost $275 a month less than on Freshdesk ($0 against $275), before AI.
  • You need Instagram in the price, which Freshdesk does not include outright.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Freshdesk or Facebook Chat who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $275 a month on Freshdesk against $0 on Facebook Chat for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats, Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy); Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need Telegram and native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

Freshdesk on Pro: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Facebook Chat: $0 a month for five (free for anyone with a Page role); it does not print a per-seat rate to extend to two or ten. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $230 less than Freshdesk and more than Facebook Chat's $0 for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $455 under Freshdesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Only Facebook Chat has a free plan (the whole inbox is free); Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise. Freshdesk and Facebook Chat share no channel in the base price; only Freshdesk has email; only Facebook Chat has Instagram. Neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat includes website chat, WhatsApp and Telegram outright. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats; Facebook Chat has no AI to bill (none to buy). Freshdesk has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app. Freshdesk is a day or two; Facebook Chat is none.

What each price leaves out

Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly; 500 AI agent trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 sessions. Facebook Chat: No AI agent; instant replies and FAQs are rule-based. Beside Freshdesk's $49 per 100 sessions and Facebook Chat's none to buy, Sellio includes an AI credit with each paid plan. Usage consumes that credit; additional credits cost extra, and you can set a spending cap.

How to decide in an afternoon

  1. Step 1

    Count agents and channels

    Anyone who replies is a seat. List the channels customers actually use.

    5 people reply5 seats
    Website chat61%
    WhatsApp27%
    Email12%
  2. Step 2

    Price the AI you would use

    Estimate monthly conversations the AI could close, then apply each vendor's per-resolution or per-session rate.

    1,200 conversations × 40% AI closes480
    FreshdeskFreshdesk$0.49$245
    Facebook ChatFacebook ChatSee vendorNot quoted
    Sellio$0.05$19

    Illustrative AI-only estimate; vendor units differ. Pack billing is rounded up. Sellio assumes Mini’s $5 credit and $0.05 per conversation.

  3. Step 3

    Trial the shortlist

    Check each vendor’s trial, free plan or demo terms. Where access is available, test one real channel before committing.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk · 14 days of Enterprise
    Facebook ChatFacebook Chat · Not applicable; free
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

    Confirm trial access and limits, then evaluate one real channel on each.

Continue your research

FAQ

Freshdesk vs Facebook Chat: the questions people ask

Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets; Facebook Chat is a Meta Business Suite inbox built around Messenger and Instagram DMs. Freshdesk has tickets and Facebook Chat does not, and neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Freshdesk $19/agent/mo (Growth: email and tickets); Facebook Chat $0 (with a Facebook Page).
  • Chat in the price: Freshdesk $55/agent/mo (Pro, with Freshchat on top); Facebook Chat None (the website Chat Plugin was retired in 2024).
  • Sellio's inbox: website chat, WhatsApp and Telegram, which neither Freshdesk nor Facebook Chat has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

Sellio's side of the Freshdesk and Facebook Chat rows is on the shared inbox page.

Still have a question? Contact us or browse the docs.

Or the third option: one price, every channel.

Sellio puts website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and email in one inbox with tickets and an AI agent, for $45 to $295 a month per workspace.

Get startedRead the docs

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