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Freshdesk vs ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Freshdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (5th), Field Service Management (3rd), Knowledge Management Software (4th)
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Ranking in Help Desk Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of Freshdesk is 3.7%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is 7.6%, down from 8.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Alexey Timchenko - PeerSpot reviewer
Incredibly user-friendly, flexible, and affordable
Automation and ticket routing rules in Freshdesk save us daily by streamlining routine tasks. We use reports to identify issues, allocate resources, and continuously improve our processes. It is a vital part of our daily operations, helping us stay proactive and efficient in handling various types of tickets. The reporting and analytics tools in Freshdesk are effective for measuring customer service performance. While our current subscription level has some limitations in terms of reporting, the next level provides more options. Budget constraints currently prevent us from upgrading, but the available reporting features still meet our basic needs. I highly recommend Freshdesk, especially for companies in their early stages. It is user-friendly, easy to configure, and great for those with a moderate volume of customer requests. The cost is reasonable, making it a quick and efficient solution to implement. Overall, I would rate Freshdesk as an eight out of ten.
Anil  Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved problem-solving and has a user-friendly knowledge base
The primary benefit of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is its ease of use. It provides a simpler and more intuitive interface for creating semi-automated use cases and managing problem solutions. This simplicity makes it particularly suitable for less technical staff to use effectively. Additionally, its ability to interpret issues and offer solutions based on its knowledge base makes problem-solving faster. The deployment and use of all policies and user cases are seamless.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"There is the option to create different roles for specific users. We make use of groups for each customer service team which has been very effective. We are able to apply different sets of rules for each group which determines how they interact with customers and escalate issues."
"We have made use of the training academy and the technical support team from Freshdesk. Both have been very good resources."
"Its simplicity is most valuable. It is easy and simple, and it requires negligible training effort. I don't spend all my time goofing around trying to find stuff in the ticketing system."
"Freshdesk has allowed us to measure and track the response and resolution time of tickets which has been reduced from seven to eight hours down to 30 minutes to one hour."
"Their knowledge base is phenomenal. The way that it learns from our users is awesome, and responses are really awesome as well. It does a pretty good job of picking up what's needed. The knowledge bases are great."
"Technical support is outstanding."
"It generated reports for us, which helped us identify the status of requests and the aging of requests."
"It's easy to use and integrates with other tools. We can embed Jira into it, link Jira tickets with Freshdesk tickets, and use it for our knowledge base."
"ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is meeting all my needs, it is a good solution. The integration and security are good. The solution is under-friendly."
"The software deployment we find quite valuable - being able to deploy software to multiple endpoints without having to worry about getting in touch with the end users."
"The platform's most beneficial features are incident management, change management, request management, and asset management."
"ServiceDesk Plus manages all our requests, both internal and external requests, for not only ticketing but users' requests."
"What I found most valuable in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is its ticketing function plus change management, which helps us monitor all service requests within the team and even extend the requests to level two support."
"Overall this is an easy and convenient solution to use."
"The tool's most valuable feature is task creation. The tickets get timestamps as well."
"This solution has helped a lot by freeing up valuable time allowing the IT personnel to work on other more critical areas, key projects, and perform their fundamental job requirements on time without interruption."
 

Cons

"Technical support is not the best. It could be much, much better and offer better support to users."
"If Freshdesk had forms in it so that I could go to the portal and fill out a service request, that would improve it immensely and make it more valuable for enterprise customers, but that's not a current functionality. You can't have a certain catalog of any type. You can't be like, "Hey, I want to just go submit a ticket," and then type in. You can't prompt them to ask anything. It is just a blank form."
"Sometimes our requirements are not matched with Freshdesk's free version as most of the advanced features are not available to us."
"Asset management and branding are two areas in the solution that have scope for improvement."
"I would like to see a little bit more color in the solution."
"We have many cases where a ticket comes in, and it ends up having multiple team members working on it. It would be really nice to be able to assign a single ticket to multiple people, rather than having to create the parent-child hierarchy that they have set up. It generates a proliferation of tickets that I really don't want to have. Having to jump from a parent to one child and then to another child makes it harder for me to be able to see the entire case from end to end. A simple example is our new hire process or our termination process. We have people who leave. We also have people who come on board. We have got multiple people participating and doing things related to the leaving or onboarding process. Currently, I have to go to different tickets to be able to see whether all tasks are really done or not. If I could assign lots of people to one ticket, it would be really nice."
"The reporting, analysis modules and insights capabilities for this solution could be improved."
"I would like to see improvements in the account management aspect, having a customer portal for better visibility into my subscription, invoices, and trouble tickets."
"There is a limitation when assigning an approval; it has to be a single user."
"ManageEngine needs to improve its handling of large volumes, as it cannot manage transaction volumes as effectively as ServiceNow."
"I would also like to see better integration with external software. It is possible, but it is tough. The APIs are not very flexible, so you really have to write a lot of code to create that integration. Opening it up for external integration would allow for easier customization of the existing autobox workflows. It would help with the user's perception."
"ManageEngine has developed and implemented new features in its cloud version. I would like to see the features extended to the on-premises version."
"There is room for improvement in the automation. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus should take note of repeated incidents and automatically offer solutions to them."
"Compared to other ITSM tools, ServiceDesk will have to step up their knowledge base tools. If they could make it open enough to be integrated with other applications or other systems it would be very useful."
"ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus could improve by making asset management better. The professional version has asset management but it should be available in the free version, it would help my organization."
"The timing reporting module, and how it's used is a bit difficult to understand."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Freshdesk was the best solution with the best price. It was cost efficient and included all the features that we needed."
"The best system plan is enterprise. It costs basically 79 Euros per agent per month when it's billed annually and 95 Euros per agent per month when it's billed monthly."
"We use a combination of Freshdesk, Freshservice, and Freshchat. We use the whole suite. Weirdly enough, we pay more for Freshdesk than we do for Freshservice. I would rate it a three out of five in terms of pricing. You can get different bundles, and you can always move to different plans that are standard. Freshservice can go anywhere from $19 up to $120 per agent, per month. There is such a wide range, and it is very customizable to your needs."
"It was definitely not expensive. It was two grand or maybe three grand total for a year. It has just straight and simple standard licensing fees. There is no additional fee."
"The price could be better, but it's okay. Compared to ServiceNow and JIRA, Freshworks offers a competitive price. There are also additional licensing costs because you need Microsoft Outlook. Each new email account costs around $15 to $19."
"The pricing is pretty manageable and acceptable."
"We use a licensing model only so we pay for the number of agents we have configured in the system only."
"It is costly."
"The prices are attractive. Customer can use a subscription if they do not have enough budget."
"The platform has good pricing."
"The cost of licensing is approximately ten dollars per suite, per month. When scaling up, there are a lot of other expenses such as infrastructure, the telecommunication companies, etc."
"ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus' price is very reasonable."
"We use the cloud model, which is subscription-based, and each year, the subscription fees seem to go up, making it a more expensive solution."
"The licensing is around $10,000 per year."
"The tool's price is okay and in line with other products, maybe even cheaper than some products."
"It is above average. But it is neither cheap nor expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
22%
Retailer
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
61%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Freshdesk?
Freshdesk significantly improved our customer issue resolution process. We can now easily record and track all customer requests, ensuring that no tickets are lost.
What needs improvement with Freshdesk?
Freshdesk's major drawback is its limitation in integrating tools for App Store and Play Store reviews, and social channels like Twitter, which come with additional costs. Despite having third-part...
What is your primary use case for Freshdesk?
The customer's primary use case for Freshdesk is handling emails and social media queries. It is mostly used for managing transactional queries such as deposits and withdrawals. Our support team is...
What do you like most about ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
The platform's most beneficial features are incident management, change management, request management, and asset management.
What needs improvement with ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?
There is a limitation when assigning an approval; it has to be a single user. It would be beneficial to have an option to assign approvals to a user group or a variable.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Honda, 3M, Hugo Boss, Petronas, Sony Pictures, The Atlantic, goodreads, Clear Channel Radio, Penn University of Pennsylvania, unicef, Kuoni, Movember
Tranter IT Infrastructure Services Limited, Sterlite Technologies, averda, Radiology Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Freshdesk vs. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.