Freshdesk
Hiver
| Feature | Freshdesk | Hiver |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $15/mo | Free / from $19/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, growing-teams, e-commerce, startups | small-teams, gmail-users, support-teams, startups |
| Founded | 2010 | 2011 |
| Ticketing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Knowledge Base | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sla Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Team Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multichannel | ✓ | ✗ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared Inboxes | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Assignment | ✗ | ✓ |
| Collision Detection | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Freshdesk Pros
- Free tier with up to 2 agents
- Intuitive and easy to set up
- Freddy AI for ticket classification
- Gamification for support teams
✗ Freshdesk Cons
- Advanced features only on expensive plans
- Less customizable than Zendesk
- Reporting depth limited on lower tiers
✓ Hiver Pros
- Works inside Gmail
- Easy adoption
- Shared inboxes
- Good for email teams
✗ Hiver Cons
- Gmail-only
- Limited outside email
- Fewer features than full helpdesks
The Verdict
Freshdesk is built for small businesses and growing teams, with a focus on ticketing and knowledge-base. Hiver targets small teams and gmail users and leads with shared-inboxes and email-assignment.
Pricing is close: Freshdesk starts at $15/mo versus $19/mo for Hiver — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Freshdesk offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Hiver takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.