Freshworks
by Freshworks Inc
About This App
Freshworks is a business software suite founded by Girish Mathrubootham in Chennai in 2010. What started as Freshdesk — a simple, affordable alternative to Zendesk — has grown into a family of 10+ products spanning customer support (Freshdesk), CRM (Freshsales), IT service management (Freshservice), marketing automation (Freshmarketer), and HR (Freshteam). The company went public on NASDAQ in 2021 and posted $838.8 million in revenue for 2025, turning profitable with $183.7 million in net income. Freshworks' main edge is usability — teams can deploy Freshdesk or Freshsales in days rather than the weeks or months typical of Salesforce or Zendesk Enterprise. The AI assistant Freddy handles ticket routing, sentiment analysis, and suggested responses across products. Indian businesses benefit from native Razorpay and UPI integrations, INR billing, and local support hours. With 3,800 of its 4,500 employees based in India (Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad), product development is deeply rooted in the Indian market. Pricing follows a freemium model: Freshdesk and Freshsales both offer genuinely usable free tiers for small teams, with paid plans starting around $15/agent/month — roughly 30–50% cheaper than comparable Zendesk or Salesforce tiers. The Growth plan covers most SMB needs; Enterprise adds advanced analytics, custom objects, and audit logs. Freshworks is best suited for SMBs and mid-market companies that want modern CRM and support tools without Salesforce complexity or cost. Note that Freshworks is legally a US company (Delaware incorporated, NASDAQ listed) with significant foreign institutional ownership — it's Indian-founded and Indian-built, but not Indian-owned. Teams needing deep enterprise customisation or a massive third-party app ecosystem may still lean toward Salesforce.
App Details
Freshworks Inc
Honest Review
4.4/5 on G2 · Last verified 2026-04-25
What works well
- +Founded by Indian entrepreneur Girish Mathrubootham in Chennai
- +Easy-to-use interface compared to Salesforce and Zendesk
- +Free tier available for small teams (Freshdesk, Freshsales)
- +3,800 of 4,500 employees based in India (Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad)
What needs improvement
- -Delaware incorporated, NASDAQ listed — legally a US company
- -Founder Girish Mathrubootham stepped down Dec 2025, new American CEO
- -~57% owned by foreign institutional investors
- -60-day cancellation notice required — restrictive billing practices
Common user complaints
- !Billing practices criticized — 60-day cancellation notice without renewal reminders
- !Customer support can be slow for non-enterprise plans
- !Email function has high bounce rates and image upload issues
Learn Freshworks on YouTube
Hand-picked videos to help you get started — tutorials, demos, and reviews.
Freshdesk Tutorial | How to Use Freshdesk Ticketing Software
How to Use Freshworks CRM for Beginners | Freshworks Tutorial 2025
Freshdesk Tutorial: How Freddy AI For CX By Freshdesk Works - Guide 2026
All 10+ Freshworks Apps Explained in 5 minutes
Indian Alternative To
Freshworks is a powerful Indian alternative to these international apps:
Is Freshworks an alternative to Zendesk?
Yes, Freshworks by Freshworks Inc is an Indian alternative to Zendesk. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Zendesk →
Is Freshworks an alternative to Salesforce?
Yes, Freshworks by Freshworks Inc is an Indian alternative to Salesforce. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Salesforce →
Is Freshworks an alternative to HubSpot?
Yes, Freshworks by Freshworks Inc is an Indian alternative to HubSpot. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to HubSpot →
Is Freshworks an alternative to Intercom?
Yes, Freshworks by Freshworks Inc is an Indian alternative to Intercom. It offers similar functionality while being developed and maintained in India.Explore other Indian alternatives to Intercom →
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