Comparison

Freshchat vs respond.io

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Freshchat

This app allows businesses to engage with website visitors and users through a modern messaging interface. It provides tools to manage conversations, view visitor profiles, and receive instant notifications to ensure timely responses and enhance customer satisfaction.

Highlights
  • Manage conversations on-the-go
  • View visitor profiles
  • Receive push notifications
  • Share FAQ articles
  • Assign conversations
Read full description

Engage with website visitors and users on the go with the Freshchat (formerly Freshdesk Messaging) iOS app. Freshchat is a modern messaging app for sales and customer engagement teams. A leap from legacy live-chat systems, it brings the continuity and experience of consumer messaging apps to businesses to help them convert visitors and delight users. With the iOS app, teams can: • Ace Conversations - View, reply to, assign, and manage conversations from anywhere, anytime. • Know who you’re talking to - Get access to the visitor profile with details like contact information, event timeline, and usage history to make relevant conversations. • Never miss a message - With Push Notifications, get notified when you receive replies on conversations or when a user proactively reaches out. Stay on top of messages even when you’re not inside the app. • Enable a faster response time - Optimize team productivity even while on the go by sharing FAQ articles with visitors and users.

About

respond.io

Manage customer conversations from multiple messaging channels in one unified inbox. Empower your team with AI-assisted replies, real-time updates, and contact management to enhance marketing, sales, and support efforts.

Highlights
  • Unified inbox for all channels
  • Team collaboration on conversations
  • AI-assisted replies and translation
  • Real-time message notifications
  • Contact management and updates
  • Spam message filtering
Features
Read full description

Connect with customers anytime, anywhere with the respond.io mobile app. Respond.io is a customer conversation platform where human teams and AI Agents manage WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, voice, and email conversations — all from one inbox, on your phone. Key features: - Unified inbox: See every WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and email conversation in one inbox, alongside your team. - AI Agents: Let AI Agents answer, qualify, and hand off conversations to your team the moment a human needs to step in — with the full conversation history carried over. - Team collaboration: Assign or reassign conversations to Agents or AI Agents, add internal comments for context, and see AI-generated conversation summaries and closing notes automatically. - Calls: Answer and return voice calls in the same thread as your chats — for your team, and your AI Agents. - Reply with AI Assist: Draft accurate replies and translate conversations in real time, so language differences don't slow down a response. - Lifecycle stages: Move a contact through Lifecycle stages — New Lead, Hot Lead, Customer, and more — right from the conversation, so pipeline progress stays current wherever your team is. - Real-time updates: Get instant notifications for new messages, so you can respond quickly and keep conversations moving, wherever you are. - Add & update contacts: Add new contacts on the spot and keep existing contact data current, so every reply is based on accurate information. - Spam management: Block spam automatically, so your inbox only shows genuine conversations. Download the respond.io mobile app to keep every conversation — and every deal — moving, wherever your team is. New to respond.io? Sign up for an account on desktop to get started.

Screenshots

Freshchat4 screens
respond.io4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: respond.io at 4.3 against Freshchat's 3.7. respond.io also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). Freshchat's advantage is review sentiment (20% vs 0%) and ratings volume (52 vs 16). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

respond.io holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 16 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of Freshchat's written reviews are positive against 0% of respond.io's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Freshchat ships an update every 3 weeks, respond.io every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Freshchat versus respond.io: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFreshchatrespond.io
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (52 ratings)4.3 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews19.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings52 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size244 MB98 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFRESHWORKS TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITEDRocketbots

Customer experience

Freshchat

All ratings51 ratings
Positive58.8%
Neutral13.7%
Negative27.5%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive19.6%
Neutral13.0%
Negative67.4%

respond.io

All ratings16 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Freshchat

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • Messages don't come through
  • Audible notifications rarely work
  • Long lag in message display
  • App logs out after a few days
  • Resolve status button shows error
Show 23 more
  • Cannot put links on text
  • Chat messages/notifications are slow
  • App stopped displaying all notifications
  • Apple Watch does not ring
  • Audios cannot be heard in Freshchat
  • Send option not visible after update
  • Apple keyboard covers buttons
  • Attachment and canned msgs tab missing
  • Notifications are NEVER working
  • Notifications do not work consistently
  • Error code 103 on login
  • Cannot login without long URL
  • Automation not working properly
  • User ID removed in update
  • App not showing badges on icon
  • Billing errors freezing chats
  • Notifications disappear too fast
  • Text entry displays single line
  • Resolved chats remain in 'new' folder
  • App crushes after updating
  • Cannot update app on iPhone
  • Session keeps signing out
  • Chat support integration with other channels is not good

Requested features

7 requests
  • Enable Apple Watch ringing for calls
  • Add audible notifications for customer responses
  • Ability to put links on text
  • Auto-email customer missed responses
  • Add user IDs back to the app
Show 2 more
  • Fix Gmail login
  • Integrate with Freshservice

respond.io

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Freshchat

No in-app purchases

None

respond.io

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Freshchat free?
Freshchat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is respond.io free?
respond.io is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Freshchat or respond.io?
respond.io is rated higher. Freshchat averages 3.7 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while respond.io averages 4.3 from 16 ratings.
Do Freshchat or respond.io have ads?
Neither Freshchat nor respond.io shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Freshchat or respond.io?
Freshchat ships an update every 3 weeks, and respond.io every 9 days. Most recently, Freshchat was updated on October 14, 2026 and respond.io on October 5, 2026.

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