Comparison

Zendesk Chat vs Freshchat

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

Head to head
About

Zendesk Chat

This app enables businesses to engage with website visitors in real-time through live chat. It allows for managing conversations, monitoring online users, and providing enhanced customer support from any location. Features include push notifications, agent collaboration tools, and chat history access.

Highlights
  • Manage conversations on the go
  • Monitor website visitors in real-time
  • View visitor website activity
  • Push notifications for new messages
  • Agent-to-agent chat collaboration
  • Pre-written response shortcuts
Features
Read full description

Zendesk Chat is the live chat software trusted and loved by enterprises and small business worldwide. The iPhone & iPad app provides many of the great features available on the web dashboard. Customers are 3 times more likely to make a purchase when you reach out with a chat. Join over 200,000 websites already using Zendesk Chat to better support their customers through the live chat app. Benefits of using the app: - Manage, monitor, and reply to visitor conversations from anywhere - Provide better live customer support with the ability to see the recent pages visited on your website and the past chat history of the visitor - See who's online on your website in real-time and engage with new leads on your website - Never miss a chat message from a customer and be notified when a visitor is on your website with full push notification support - Encourage better agent collaboration on the go with agent-to-agent chats - Improve agent response time and reduce typing time with the shortcuts feature - Easily switch between our online web dashboard and the mobile apps while continuing the conversations from where you left off - On the iPad, continue chatting with a customer while using another application with full support for multi-tasking with Slide Over and Split View Learn more about Zendesk Chat (formerly Zopim) and create a free account here:https://www.zendesk.com/chat/

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.

Screenshots

Zendesk Chat4 screens
Freshchat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Zendesk Chat at 69% against Freshchat's 20%. Zendesk Chat also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.7) and monetization model (free vs freemium). Freshchat's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Zendesk Chat holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zendesk Chat has 758 ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of Zendesk Chat's written reviews are positive against 20% of Freshchat's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zendesk Chat ships an update every 6 weeks, Freshchat every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Zendesk Chat versus Freshchat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZendesk ChatFreshchat
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (758 ratings) — better3.7 (52 ratings)
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews — better19.6% of reviews
Number of ratings758 — better52
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB244 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZendeskFRESHWORKS TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED

Customer experience

Zendesk Chat

All ratings758 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.4%
Written reviews845 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral8.3%
Negative22.8%

Freshchat

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

User reviews

Zendesk Chat

From 758 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Instant notifications
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 👍 Great for small businesses
  • 👍 Excellent customer service

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections and login issues
  • 🐛 Inconsistent push notifications
  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
  • 🐛 Limited functionality compared to desktop
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly

Freshchat

From 52 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Simple UI
  • 👍 Lightweight and snappy
  • 😍 Loved the new UX/UI
  • 👼 Great app design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notifications rarely work
  • 🐛 Slow message delivery
  • 🐛 App logs out frequently
  • 🐛 In-app features missing
  • 🐛 Audio playback issues

Bugs and requests

Zendesk Chat

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App freezes and crashes
  • Login button not working
  • Inability to see full chat messages
  • Disconnections and lost chats
  • Incorrect online/offline status display

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to stay logged in and receive notifications in the background
  • Improved chat history and visitor tracking
  • iPad app support
  • Customization options for alerts and notifications

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

In-app purchases

None

Zendesk Chat

No in-app purchases

None

Freshchat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zendesk Chat free?
Zendesk Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Freshchat free?
Freshchat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Zendesk Chat or Freshchat?
Zendesk Chat is rated higher. Zendesk Chat averages 4.5 out of 5 from 758 ratings, while Freshchat averages 3.7 from 52 ratings.
Do Zendesk Chat or Freshchat have ads?
Neither Zendesk Chat nor Freshchat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zendesk Chat or Freshchat?
Zendesk Chat ships an update every 6 weeks, and Freshchat every 3 weeks. Most recently, Zendesk Chat was updated on October 16, 2026 and Freshchat on October 5, 2026.

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