Freshworks vs Zoho
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Freshworks is the stronger AI pick in Help Desk: it has a visibility score of 61.5 versus 35.4 for Zoho, and ranks ahead in 76% of the answers that name both.
Choose Freshworks if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (61.5 vs 35.4)
- You need ISO 27001 or ISO 27701 or PCI DSS coverage
- Affordable pricing and good value
- Free tier or free trial available
Choose Zoho if…
- AI answers describe it more positively (50% vs 26% positive)
- You need ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO/IEC 27017 or ISO/IEC 27018 coverage
- Strong value for money and low cost
- Free tier for small teams
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 3
| Metric | Freshworks | Zoho |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 61.5% | 35.4% |
| Change vs last week | up+1.7% | up+0.6% |
| Rank in Help Desk | #1 | #3 |
| Share of voice | 12.9% | 8.5% |
| Mentions this run | 65 | 44 |
| Positive in AI answers | 26% | 50% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Freshworks +1.7000000000000028pp · Zoho +0.6000000000000014pp over 1 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Freshworks leads on 3 of 3 engines
Head to head in AI answers
42 engine answers name both brands
| Prompt | Engine | Freshworks | Zoho |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do I choose a help desk platform for a mid-market team? | ChatGPT | #3 | #7 |
| How do I choose a help desk platform for a mid-market team? | Perplexity | #2 | #5 |
| How do companies resolve customer tickets without a dedicated tool? | ChatGPT | #5 | #6 |
| What are the best Help Desk tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #2 | #3 |
| What are the best Help Desk tools in 2026? | Perplexity | #2 | #3 |
| Top help desk platform options for B2B SaaS companies | ChatGPT | #5 | #9 |
| Top help desk platform options for B2B SaaS companies | Perplexity | #7 | #9 |
| Best help desk platform for startups | ChatGPT | #3 | #5 |
| Best help desk platform for startups | Perplexity | #4 | #3 |
| Which help desk platform has the best reviews? | ChatGPT | #1 | #2 |
| Which help desk platform has the best reviews? | AI Mode | #1 | #3 |
| Which help desk platform has the best reviews? | Perplexity | #4 | #1 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Freshworks | Zoho |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, PCI DSS | ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, SOC 2 Type II |
| Founded | 2010 | 1996 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California, United States | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Employees | 5,000+ | 5,000+ |
| Funding | IPO | Bootstrapped |
| Best for | — | Businesses of all sizes, from startups to enterprises, wanting one suite for sales, support, finance and HR |
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Freshworks
- Affordable pricing and good value
- Free tier or free trial available
- Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
- Fast deployment and quick time-to-value
- Strong AI and automation features
- Per-minute charges for advanced calling features
Zoho
- Strong value for money and low cost
- Free tier for small teams
- Broad functionality and integrated app ecosystem
- Good customization options
- Scales well as businesses grow
- Less premium user experience
- Pricing varies dramatically across products
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Freshworks vs Zoho”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/freshworks-vs-zoho, data of Nov 3, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.