Comparison

Zoho Desk vs Freshchat

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

Head to head
About

Zoho Desk

This mobile help desk software provides a flexible ticketing system to manage customer service on the go. It offers features like ticket prioritization, contextual information, team collaboration, and real-time notifications to ensure efficient customer support.

Highlights
  • Mobile ticketing system
  • Ticket prioritization
  • Contextual ticket information
  • Team collaboration
  • Push notifications
  • Time tracking
Read full description

Put your customers at the heart of your business, even when you're on the move. Zoho Desk is award-winning, context-aware help desk software that helps you provide great customer service and keep your customers happy! The Zoho Desk mobile app is a flexible and efficient ticketing system that helps you resolve tickets with the same ease and functionality as your desktop version. Here's how Zoho Desk makes your customer support help desk truly mobile: Prioritize easily: Automatically organize your tickets by your chosen criteria using Custom Views and Work Modes, so you can start working on the tickets that really need your attention. See more context with each ticket: Resolve tickets with relevant and actionable information at your fingertips. Literally. Put a face to each ticket by bringing contact information from Zoho CRM into Zoho Desk. Collaborate seamlessly: Work seamlessly with other departments, tag your team on tickets, and collaborate with them on the Team Feed to close tickets faster than ever before. Stay notified: Constantly stay in the loop, wherever you go, with the Notification Center—get notified through push notifications about ticket updates, comments, and mentions. Do more with gestures: Simplify frequently performed ticket actions like editing, closing, and moving tickets with quick and easy swipes. Track tasks and ticket times: Follow up with tasks for each ticket and track how much time your agents spent on tickets with Time Tracking. We're always working to make your Zoho Desk mobile app experience as smooth as possible. If you face any issues, write to us at desk@zohomobile.com and we'll get back to you right away.

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

Zoho Desk4 screens
Freshchat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Zoho Desk at 4.7 against Freshchat's 3.7. Zoho Desk also leads on review sentiment (53% vs 20%) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 52). 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

Zoho Desk holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Zoho Desk has 1.6K ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 53% of Zoho Desk's written reviews are positive against 20% of Freshchat's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Zoho Desk ships an update every 2 weeks, Freshchat every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Zoho Desk versus Freshchat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZoho DeskFreshchat
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.6K ratings) — better3.7 (52 ratings)
Positive reviews52.8% of reviews — better19.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K — better52
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB244 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperZoho CorporationFRESHWORKS TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED

Customer experience

Zoho Desk

All ratings1,636 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews180 reviews
Positive52.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative36.1%

Freshchat

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

User reviews

Zoho Desk

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient app for managing tickets on the go
  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 💡 Integrates well with Zoho Desk web version

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs, especially with certain ticket features
  • 🔍 Limited functionality compared to web version
  • 🔔 Notification issues, such as not receiving alerts for new tickets
  • 🔧 Poor customer support responsiveness

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

Zoho Desk

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Ticket links not opening the app
  • Widgets not displaying correct information
  • Ticket assignment issues, where assignments revert to unassigned
  • Crashes when opening certain ticket tabs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Drag and drop functionality for inserting images and data
  • Inline image editing capabilities
  • Knowledge base access and article management
  • Deeper customization options for dashboard and views
  • Ability to delete or edit sent responses

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

Zoho Desk

No in-app purchases

None

Freshchat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Zoho Desk free?
Zoho Desk 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, Zoho Desk or Freshchat?
Zoho Desk is rated higher. Zoho Desk averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Freshchat averages 3.7 from 52 ratings.
Do Zoho Desk or Freshchat have ads?
Neither Zoho Desk nor Freshchat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zoho Desk or Freshchat?
Zoho Desk ships an update every 2 weeks, and Freshchat every 3 weeks. Most recently, Zoho Desk was updated on October 15, 2026 and Freshchat on October 14, 2026.

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