JivoChatFreshdeskJivoChat vs Freshdesk

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

A live chat and messaging against a help desk: JivoChat is $65 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 JivoChat if you want Telegram, Instagram and Messenger in a chat app that runs on the desktop. Pick Freshdesk if your support is email tickets first and you want SLAs, time tracking and field service in one help desk. For five people, JivoChat is $65 a month cheaper than Freshdesk ($210 a month on JivoChat against $275 on Freshdesk), before AI. Sellio Mini, at $45 for the workspace, is $165 under JivoChat. JivoChat and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only JivoChat has website chat, Instagram and Telegram. Neither JivoChat nor Freshdesk includes WhatsApp outright. Below, a third option for a team of two to ten that wants what JivoChat and Freshdesk sell here at one price.

At a glanceJivoChatJivoChatFreshdeskFreshdesk
Built aroundThe chat widget · messaging apps includedEmail tickets · chat is the separate Freshchat
Entry plan$0 · Free: up to 5 agents$19/agent/mo · Growth: email and tickets
Chat in the price$28/agent/mo · Basic, yearly$55/agent/mo · Pro, with Freshchat on top
AI agent$69/agent/mo · AI Agent add-on$49 per 100 sessions · 500 trial sessions once per account
Copilot for agents$13/mo · AI Assistant$29/agent/mo · Freddy Copilot
Free planYes · up to 5 agentsNone · 14-day trial

The six differences that decide it

Everything else on this page follows from these.

  1. 01

    Where a conversation starts

    JivoChatJivoChat

    As a chat in the widget or a message from Telegram, Instagram or Messenger, in one agent app. Freshdesk raises a ticket where JivoChat keeps a conversation.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

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

  2. 02

    What the seat buys

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Free covers five agents on basic chat; $28 on Basic adds visitor monitoring and $42 on Professional the chatbot. $210 for five people, against $275 on Freshdesk.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    $19 buys email tickets on Growth. Chat and messaging mean adding Freshchat or an Omni bundle. $275 for five people, against $210 on JivoChat.

  3. 03

    How the AI is billed

    JivoChatJivoChat

    The AI Agent is $69 per agent per month and the AI Assistant $13 a month, both on yearly billing. Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats as well.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Freddy AI Agent: 500 trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100. Freddy Copilot is $29 per agent on top. JivoChat meters AI ($69/agent/mo) above the seats as well.

  4. 04

    Channels in the price

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Website chat, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger, Viber, email and phone; WhatsApp is a $27 module. website chat, Instagram and Telegram are here and not on Freshdesk.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Email and web forms on every plan; chat, WhatsApp and Instagram arrive with Freshchat. JivoChat adds website chat, Instagram and Telegram, which Freshdesk lacks.

  5. 05

    Beyond the inbox

    JivoChatJivoChat

    Callbacks, telephony and video calls; no ticket queue or knowledge base. Freshdesk is a help desk instead.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    Field service, time tracking, SLAs and a marketplace; the wider Freshworks suite for IT and sales. JivoChat is a live chat and messaging instead.

  6. 06

    Time to the first reply

    JivoChatJivoChat

    An hour: install the widget and the desktop app. Freshdesk is a day or two.

    FreshdeskFreshdesk

    A day or two: connect the support address, set groups and SLAs, then add Freshchat for the widget. JivoChat is an hour.

Sources: JivoChat pricing · Freshdesk 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 JivoChat agent app: the chat list with channel icons and the visitor's page
JivoChatJivoChat. The JivoChat agent app: the chat list with channel icons and the visitor's page
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

What your team would pay

Move the sliders. Yearly-billing rates from each vendor’s pricing page, next to Sellio’s plan for the same number of seats.

5 people who answer customers

50

300 AI conversations on JivoChat, AI agent sessions on Freshdesk

3000+
JivoChatJivoChat

$210/mo

Chatbot, WhatsApp module.

5 × $42 seats
$210
300 AI conversations × $0
$0
Copilot, 5 × $69
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. JivoChat sells its AI Agent at $69 per agent per month, not per conversation; add that to the seat price. Rates recorded on 2026-09-13.

FreshdeskFreshdesk

$422/mo

Custom roles, round robin, more automations and reporting.

5 × $55 seats
$275
300 AI agent sessions × $0.49 (rounded to 100-session packs)
$147
Copilot, 5 × $29
$0

Yearly billing; monthly costs more. 500 trial sessions are available once per account, not every month. Recurring estimates exclude that trial and charge $49 per 100-session pack. Rates recorded on 2026-09-06.

Sellio · Mini

$55/mo

One price for the workspace: 3 channels, 2 AI agents, $5 AI credit a month.

Workspace, 5 of 5 seats
$45
AI past 100 included conversations
$10
Copilot for agents
Included

About $0.05 per AI conversation past the credit, with a daily and monthly cap you set. Yearly billing takes 20% off. See every plan.

Pricing references: JivoChat pricing page (recorded 2026-09-13); Freshdesk pricing page (recorded 2026-09-06). Calculator uses yearly-billing rates. Prices change; confirm current terms with each vendor.

5 people, website chat plus 2 more channels, 2 AI agents: $45 a month. Start free, no card.

Start freeSee every plan

JivoChat, Freshdesk 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.

FeatureJivoChatJivoChatFreshdeskFreshdeskSellio

Pricing

Pricing model
Per agent; AI per agent; WhatsApp module
Per agent; AI per agent and per session
Per workspace; seats and channels are plan limits
Free plan
Up to 5 agents
Not on the pricing page; 14-day trial
2 seats, 1 channel, 1 AI agent, no trial clock

Channels

Website live chat
All plans
Via Freshchat or Omni
One script tag; guides for HTML, React, Next.js and more
Email in the inbox
Email channel
Core of the product
From Mini: forward your support address; reply from the thread
WhatsApp
$27/mo module on Professional
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: WhatsApp Business API, several agents on one number
Instagram DMs
All plans
Via Freshchat or Omni
From Mini: Instagram DMs beside web chat
Telegram
All plans
Not native
From Mini: paste a bot token; the webhook is set for you
Slack, Discord, Teams (two-way)
Not offered
Slack and Teams notifications
From Mini: two-way threads; a reply there reaches the customer

AI

AI agent trained on your docs
AI Agent add-on
Freddy, trained on the knowledge base
Crawl your site, upload PDFs and FAQs; answers only from those
How AI is billed
$69 per agent
500 one-time trial sessions, then $49 per 100
Metered from an included credit, with caps you set
AI hands off to a person
Hands to an agent
Escalates to agents
On low confidence, a keyword, or a teammate taking over

Support operations

Tickets
Chats only
Ticket-first
On Plus: raise from any chat; customer, back-office and tracker
Visual workflow automation
Chatbot flows on Professional
Automations, form-based
From Mini: 11 triggers, 18 actions, no code
Analytics and CSAT
Chat reports
Reports and CSAT
From Essentials: response times, resolution, CSAT; topics and email reports on Plus

Apps

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

Which one, for whom

Pick JivoChat if

  • You want Telegram, Instagram and Messenger in a chat app that runs on the desktop.
  • Five agents on the free plan is enough to start.
  • Five people cost $65 a month less than on Freshdesk ($210 against $275), before AI.
  • You need website chat, Instagram and Telegram in the price, which Freshdesk does not include outright.

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 a ticket queue, which JivoChat does not have.
  • Time to the first reply is a day or two here and an hour on JivoChat.

The third option: Sellio

  • You are two to ten people on JivoChat or Freshdesk who answer chat, messaging and email, and want to compare workspace pricing with $210 a month on JivoChat against $275 on Freshdesk for five people.
  • You want the AI bill known before the month starts: JivoChat meters AI ($69/agent/mo) above the seats, Freshdesk meters AI ($49 per 100 sessions) above the seats; Sellio includes a credit and lets you cap it.
  • You need WhatsApp in the base price, which neither JivoChat nor Freshdesk includes.

What two, five and ten people pay

JivoChat on Professional: $84, $210 and $420 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Freshdesk on Pro: $110, $275 and $550 a month for two, five and ten people, before AI. Sellio: Free for two seats; Mini at $45 for five, $165 less than JivoChat and $230 less than Freshdesk for five people; Essentials at $95 for ten, the AI credit included. At ten people, Essentials at $95 is $325 under JivoChat and $455 under Freshdesk.

Where the two agree, and where they split

JivoChat is a live chat and messaging built around the chat widget; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Only JivoChat has a free plan (up to 5 agents); Freshdesk offers 14 days of Enterprise. JivoChat and Freshdesk both include email in the price; only JivoChat has website chat, Instagram and Telegram. Neither JivoChat nor Freshdesk includes WhatsApp outright. JivoChat ($69/agent/mo) and Freshdesk ($49 per 100 sessions) both meter AI above the seats. Freshdesk has tickets and JivoChat does not, and only JivoChat ships desktop apps. JivoChat is an hour; Freshdesk is a day or two.

What each price leaves out

JivoChat: AI Agent $69 per agent per month; AI Assistant $13 a month; WhatsApp module $27 a month. Freshdesk: Freddy AI Copilot $29 per agent per month yearly; 500 AI agent trial sessions once per account, then $49 per 100 sessions. Beside JivoChat's $69/agent/mo and Freshdesk's $49 per 100 sessions, 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
    JivoChatJivoChatAssumed $0$0
    FreshdeskFreshdesk$0.49$245
    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.

    JivoChatJivoChat · 14-day trial
    FreshdeskFreshdesk · 14 days of Enterprise
    Sellio · Free plan, no card

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

Continue your research

FAQ

JivoChat vs Freshdesk: the questions people ask

JivoChat is a live chat and messaging built around the chat widget; Freshdesk is a help desk built around email tickets. Freshdesk has tickets and JivoChat does not, and only JivoChat ships desktop apps.

  • Entry plan: JivoChat $0 (Free: up to 5 agents); Freshdesk $19/agent/mo (Growth: email and tickets).
  • Chat in the price: JivoChat $28/agent/mo (Basic, yearly); Freshdesk $55/agent/mo (Pro, with Freshchat on top).
  • Sellio: one inbox for every channel: WhatsApp, which neither JivoChat nor Freshdesk has outright, plus the rest of the five, on every paid plan.

The shared inbox page puts Sellio beside JivoChat and Freshdesk 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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