Gorgias vs Freshdesk: ticket volume drives Gorgias costs, headcount drives Freshdesk costs
If you are choosing between the two for a Shopify store, the real difference is what each one counts. Gorgias bills Helpdesk by monthly ticket volume and bills its AI Agent per automated interaction. Freshdesk bills per agent seat and meters its AI Agent in sessions. A store with a busy inbox and one or two support staff reads these price lists very differently from a store with a quiet inbox and a larger team.
- Gorgias: ticket-based Helpdesk plans, plus a per-interaction charge for AI Agent
- Freshdesk: Growth, Pro and Enterprise plans priced per seat, with 500 AI Agent sessions included in each
- Shopify actions: Gorgias documents creating, duplicating and editing orders; Freshdesk documents cancelling, refunding and showing tracking details
This comparison is based on the Gorgias pricing and Shopify integration pages and the Freshdesk pricing page, product page and Shopify app help article, all checked on October 26, 2026. For a closer look at Gorgias billing, see our Gorgias pricing guide. If Zendesk is on your shortlist too, we cover that in Gorgias vs Zendesk.
Side-by-side: billing, AI, trial and order actions
All figures below come from the official pages, checked on October 26, 2026.
| Item | Gorgias | Freshdesk |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Monthly ticket allowance, plus overage | Number of agent seats (per seat, per month) |
| Entry paid plan | Starter $10/mo (monthly billing only, 50 tickets) | Growth $19/seat/mo (annual billing) |
| AI billing | AI Agent: per automated interaction ($0.90 on annual, $1.00 on monthly) | Freddy AI Agent: first 500 sessions included on every plan; extra sessions $49 per 100 |
| AI for agents | No separate item | Freddy AI Copilot: Pro and Enterprise only, $29/seat/mo (annual) |
| Free trial | 7 days, all features, no card | 14 days, Enterprise-level plan |
| Shopify order actions | Create, duplicate, edit (pre-shipment), refund, cancel; discount codes | Cancel, full or partial refund, restock, tracking details shown |
Sources: Gorgias pricing and Freshdesk pricing, checked October 26, 2026. Gorgias figures match the numbers in our pricing guide. Freshdesk's pricing page does not show a monthly-billing price, so none is shown here. If you plan to pay monthly, check the price at signup.
What you actually pay: tickets versus seats
Work out your monthly ticket count and your headcount first, then price both tools against those two numbers.
Gorgias: a ticket allowance with overage
Each paid Gorgias plan includes a set number of tickets. On annual billing, Basic is $50/month for 300 tickets and Pro is $300/month for 2,000 tickets. On monthly billing, those show as $60 and $360. Extra tickets cost $0.40 each on Starter and Basic, and $0.36 each on Pro and above. Starter is $10/month for 50 tickets, and the page offers it on monthly billing only.
Here is how the arithmetic can bite. A store handling 1,000 tickets a month on annual Basic pays $50 plus 700 extra tickets at $0.40, which is $280, for $330 in total. Annual Pro at $300 would be cheaper at that volume. This is a back-of-envelope calculation from the published rates, not a quote, so confirm against your own account.
Freshdesk: seat price times headcount
Freshdesk lists Growth at $19, Pro at $55 and Enterprise at $89 per seat per month on annual billing. Two agents on Growth come to $38 a month; three agents on Pro come to $165. Ticket volume does not change the base price, but every extra agent does, which matters if you bring in seasonal help for the holidays.
The Freshdesk page's meta description and body text showed different entry prices, so check the price and billing period on screen before you buy.
Same store, two bills
At 300 tickets a month with one agent, Gorgias Basic is $50 on annual billing and Freshdesk Growth is $19. At 2,000 tickets a month with two agents, Gorgias Pro is $300 and Freshdesk Growth is $38. Those base prices exclude AI and any features your plan lacks, so keep reading before drawing a conclusion.
AI costs: automated interactions versus sessions
Per-interaction and per-session pricing are not the same unit, so convert your expected AI volume into each vendor's unit before you compare dollars.
- Gorgias AI Agent: $0.90 per automated interaction on an annual contract, $1.00 on monthly, and $1.50 once you exceed the amount included in your plan. An automated resolution also counts as a Helpdesk ticket.
- Freshdesk Freddy AI Agent: the first 500 sessions are included on all three plans, and extra sessions are sold in packs of 100 for $49. A session is a unique exchange between an end user and the AI Agent. For email, the AI Agent works within a 72-hour window from the first message.
With Gorgias, one question the AI fully resolves can show up twice on the bill: as an AI interaction and as a ticket. With Freshdesk, extra AI cost arrives in 100-session steps. In either case, run a sample of your real questions during the trial and note how many land in each vendor's unit.
Freshdesk also sells Freddy AI Copilot, which helps agents write replies. It is limited to Pro and Enterprise at $29 per seat per month on annual billing. A five-person team adding it would pay $145 a month on top of seat fees.
Shopify order actions: how far can the helpdesk go?
If you want to edit or create orders from the ticket, Gorgias documents more of that; if cancel and refund cover most of your cases, Freshdesk's documented list may be enough.
The Gorgias Shopify integration page lists:
- Order history shown in the customer profile inside the ticket
- Creating orders (including during a phone call), duplicating, editing before shipment, refunding and cancelling
- Discount code generation, product suggestions, automatic order status notifications and custom workflows
The Freshdesk Shopify app help article lists:
- Order number, purchase date, payment and shipping status, items, shipping address, ship date, carrier and tracking number
- Cancelling an order (with a reason), full or partial refunds, restocking inventory and notifying the customer
- Cancellation is available for unpaid orders, or paid orders that have not yet been prepared for shipment; it does not apply once an order is fulfilled
Two caveats. The Gorgias page does not say which actions the AI can perform on its own versus which need a human agent. And the Freshdesk help article may be out of date, so check the app inside a trial account. Ask during the trial: does this action complete by AI alone, or does an agent have to approve it? Our Shopify order actions guide walks through the Gorgias side.
Channels: which inboxes each tool covers
Decide which channels you need first, then check which plan includes them.
Gorgias's pricing page lists email, live chat, SMS, voice, social, contact forms and TikTok Shop. Voice and SMS are add-ons and may carry usage-based charges, though the page is not clear about how they are billed. For connecting other tools, see our Gorgias integrations guide.
Freshdesk's product page lists integrations with WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, LINE, Microsoft Teams and Slack. The pricing page does not break channels down by plan, and it does not say whether phone support is bundled or billed separately. Confirm both with Freshdesk before relying on them.
Which store should pick which
Treat this as a starting point, then trial both with your real tickets.
| Your situation | Trial first | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High ticket volume, one or two support staff | Freshdesk | Seat-based pricing keeps the base fee flat as tickets grow |
| Low volume, tight budget | Gorgias | Starter is $10/month with 50 tickets (AI is billed separately) |
| Edit, duplicate or create orders from the ticket | Gorgias | These actions are documented on its Shopify integration page |
| Larger team that also wants AI reply assistance | Price both | Freshdesk adds Copilot per seat on Pro and above |
| Customers reach you on LINE or similar apps | Freshdesk | Its product page lists LINE and other messaging integrations |
If Shopify order handling is the center of your support work, start by running your own order questions through Gorgias and see how the bill takes shape.
FAQ
Is Gorgias or Freshdesk cheaper for a small Shopify store? It depends on ticket volume and headcount. Few agents and many tickets tends to favor seat pricing; many agents and few tickets tends to favor ticket pricing. Plug your own numbers into the arithmetic above.
Does Freshdesk have a free plan? The pricing page does not list one, and Freshdesk's own comparison page says otherwise, so we do not claim either way. Check the official pages before signing up.
Does Gorgias charge extra for AI? Yes. AI Agent is billed per automated interaction, with some included in each plan (30 on Starter), and each automated resolution also counts as a ticket.
Can I try both for free? Gorgias offers a 7-day trial with all features and no card. Freshdesk offers a 14-day trial at Enterprise level.
Does Freshdesk include phone support? Freshdesk's pricing page does not say whether phone is bundled or billed separately. Ask Freshdesk sales if voice is a requirement.
Next step: run your own order tickets through a Gorgias trial
Pull last month's ticket count, estimate how many the AI could handle, and list the channels you need. Then use the 7-day Gorgias trial to work through real cancellations, refunds and address changes and see how the bill forms. If you are also pricing Freshdesk, run the same tickets through its 14-day trial and add up seats and AI extras on the same basis.
Official sources (checked October 26, 2026)
