FreshdeskUserlikeFreshdesk vs Userlike

Freshdesk vs Userlike: entry plans at $19 and $0

A help desk against a customer messaging platform: Freshdesk is $200 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 Userlike if you are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns. For five people, Freshdesk is $200 a month cheaper than Userlike ($275 a month on Freshdesk against $475 on Userlike), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $230 under Freshdesk. Freshdesk and Userlike share no channel in the base price; only Freshdesk has email; only Userlike has website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Freshdesk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what Freshdesk and Userlike sell here at one price.

At a glanceFreshdeskFreshdeskUserlikeUserlike
Built aroundEmail tickets · chat is the separate FreshchatThe website messenger · now Lime Connect
Entry plan$19/agent/mo · Growth: email and tickets$0 · Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations
Chat in the price$55/agent/mo · Pro, with Freshchat on topAbout $95/seat/mo · Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly
AI agent$49 per 100 sessions · 500 trial sessions once per accountFrom about $108/mo · AI Agent, 100 conversations
Copilot for agents$29/agent/mo · Freddy CopilotAbout $21/seat/mo · AI Copilot
Free planNone · 14-day trialYes · 1 seat, website only

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. Userlike has no ticket queue behind its conversations.

    UserlikeUserlike

    As a message in the website messenger, or from WhatsApp, in one message center. Freshdesk raises a ticket where Userlike 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 $475 on Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The free plan is one seat on the website; Pro is priced per seat in euros (about $95) with a three-seat minimum. $475 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. Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats as well.

    UserlikeUserlike

    The AI Agent starts around $108 a month for 100 conversations; the AI Copilot is about $21 per seat. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats as well.

  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 Userlike.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Website messenger, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Telegram, SMS and email on Pro. website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram are 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. Userlike is a customer messaging platform instead.

    UserlikeUserlike

    Live translation, video calls and WhatsApp campaigns; a German company under Lime Technologies. 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. Userlike is an hour.

    UserlikeUserlike

    An hour: paste the messenger, connect WhatsApp through their onboarding. Freshdesk is a day or two.

Sources: Freshdesk pricing · Userlike 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 Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat
UserlikeUserlike. The Userlike message center: the conversation list with channel badges and the chat

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

Freshdesk, Userlike 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.

FeatureFreshdeskFreshdeskUserlikeUserlikeSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per agent and per session
Per seat in euros; three-seat minimum
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Not on the pricing page; 14-day trial
1 seat, 200 conversations
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
Via Freshchat or Omni
All plans
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Core of the product
Pro
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
Via Freshchat or Omni
Pro
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
Via Freshchat or Omni
Pro
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
Not native
Pro
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
AI Agent add-on
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
500 one-time trial sessions, then $49 per 100
From about $108 a month
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Escalates to agents
Hands to an agent
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Ticket-first
Conversations only
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Automations, form-based
Workflows add-on
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Reports and CSAT
Analytics on Pro
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.
  • Five people cost $200 a month less than on Userlike ($275 against $475), before AI.
  • You need email in the price, which Userlike does not include outright.

Pick Userlike if

  • You are in Europe and want a German-hosted messenger with WhatsApp campaigns.
  • Telegram and Instagram must be in the same inbox.
  • You need website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which Freshdesk does not include outright.
  • You want a free plan to start on; Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on Freshdesk or Userlike who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $275 a month on Freshdesk against $475 on Userlike for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats, Userlike meters AI (from about $108/mo) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need native Windows and macOS apps, which neither Freshdesk nor Userlike 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. Userlike: $475 a month for five (5 seats × about $95, billed yearly); 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 $430 less than Userlike 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; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Only Userlike has a free plan (1 seat, website only); Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise. Freshdesk and Userlike share no channel in the base price; only Freshdesk has email; only Userlike has website chat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Telegram. Between them Freshdesk and Userlike cover every channel Sellio ships. Freshdesk ($49 per 100 sessions) and Userlike (from about $108/mo) both meter AI above the seats. Freshdesk has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Freshdesk nor Userlike ships a desktop app. Freshdesk is a day or two; Userlike is an hour.

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. Userlike: AI Agent from about $108 a month for 100 conversations; AI Copilot about $21 per seat. Beside Freshdesk's $49 per 100 sessions and Userlike's from about $108/mo, 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
    UserlikeUserlikeSee 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
    UserlikeUserlike · 14-day trial of Pro
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

Freshdesk vs Userlike: the questions people ask

Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets; Userlike is a customer messaging platform built around the website messenger. Freshdesk has tickets and Userlike does not, and neither Freshdesk nor Userlike ships a desktop app.

  • Entry plan: Freshdesk $19/agent/mo (Growth: email and tickets); Userlike $0 (Free: 1 seat, 200 conversations).
  • Chat in the price: Freshdesk $55/agent/mo (Pro, with Freshchat on top); Userlike About $95/seat/mo (Pro, three-seat minimum, yearly).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: all five channels on every paid plan, where Freshdesk and Userlike each include only some.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside Freshdesk and Userlike on the same rows.

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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