Comparison · 2026
Freshdesk doesn't offer a free plan — just a 14-day trial, then $19/agent/month minimum. A 5-person team starts at $95/month before AI add-ons. Smailor's permanent free tier and flat pricing are built for teams that don't want to pay per head.
Last updated: September 2026 · Pricing sourced from freshworks.com and smailor.com
Best for
Indie founders & small teams
Flat-rate pricing means costs don't grow with headcount.
Pricing model
Flat workspace vs per-agent
Freshdesk: $19–$89/agent/mo, no free plan. Smailor: from €19.90/yr (Solo) to €24.99/mo (Business) — flat rate, not per seat.
AI approach
Self-hosted vs paid add-on
Freddy AI Copilot is a $29/agent/month add-on. Smailor's AI is included in the flat price.
As of September 2026. ✅ included · ⚠️ partial/add-on · ❌ not available.
| Feature | Smailor | Freshdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✅ Permanent | ❌ 14-day trial only |
| Pricing model | ✅ Flat workspace rate | ❌ Per agent/month |
| Custom domain (own domain) | ✅ From free tier | ⚠️ Available on paid plans |
| Shared inbox | ✅ Groups | ✅ Ticketing inbox |
| AI triage & routing | ✅ Pro+ (self-hosted Qwen 2.5) | ⚠️ Freddy AI Copilot ($29/agent/mo add-on) |
| AI spam filtering | ✅ Pro+ (on-server) | ❌ Not a dedicated feature |
| EU data residency | ✅ Hetzner DE/FI | ⚠️ EU hosting available on request |
| GDPR / DPA | ✅ DPA available | ✅ DPA available |
| Email templates | ✅ Solo+ | ✅ Canned responses |
| Auto-reply | ✅ Solo+ | ✅ All plans |
| Routing rules | ✅ Incl. AI-based (Pro+) | ✅ Intelligent routing (Pro+) |
| Knowledge base | ❌ Not included | ✅ Customer portal (Growth+) |
| Multi-brand / multilingual helpdesk | ❌ Not included | ✅ Pro+ |
| Discord notifications | ✅ Native (Solo+) | ❌ Via marketplace app only |
| REST API | ✅ All plans | ✅ All plans |
| No-code setup (<5 min) | ✅ Centralised catch-all | ⚠️ Ticket/portal config required |
| SSO / SAML | ✅ Business plan | ✅ Enterprise plan |
| Sandbox environment | ❌ Not included | ✅ Enterprise plan |
Freshdesk has no free tier — only a 14-day trial. Smailor's free plan is permanent, and every paid tier is a flat workspace price, not per agent.
Smailor — flat rate
All plans include unlimited team members above Free. No per-seat charges.
Freshdesk — per agent
Freddy AI Copilot is a $29/agent/month add-on. No permanent free plan — 14-day trial only.
Real cost at 5 users
Smailor Pro
€9.99/mo
Same price for 1 user or 15 users.
Freshdesk Growth
$95/mo
5 agents × $19/agent, billed annually. Excludes AI Copilot.
The four areas that matter most for small teams choosing between the two.
Free tier — permanent vs trial only
Freshdesk has no free plan: you get a 14-day trial on Enterprise features, then you must pay from $19/agent/month. Smailor's free tier is permanent — no expiry, no forced upgrade.
Pricing model — flat vs per-agent
Freshdesk bills per agent, so a 5-person team on Growth pays $95/month, and Pro jumps to $275/month for the same headcount. Smailor Pro covers up to 15 team members for €9.99/month — the same price whether you have 2 or 15 people.
AI — included vs billed add-on
Freddy AI Copilot on Freshdesk is a separate $29/agent/month add-on on top of the base plan. Smailor's self-hosted AI triage and spam filtering run on their own servers and are included in the flat plan price — no per-agent AI surcharge.
Knowledge base & multi-brand — Freshdesk wins here
Freshdesk ships with a customer portal, knowledge base, and multilingual/multi-brand helpdesk support on its higher tiers — built for support teams managing multiple products or regions. Smailor is a focused shared inbox without a public-facing help center.
Choose Smailor if…
Choose Freshdesk if…
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Permanent free tier. Your own domain. No credit card. Up in under 5 minutes. — Not a 14-day trial.