{
 "schema_version": "1.0",
 "id": "freshchat",
 "name": "Freshchat",
 "research_status": "researched",
 "vendor_domain": "freshchat.com",
 "category": "Communication & Voice",
 "task": "Website or Shopify chat & FAQ deflection",
 "summary": "AI-powered customer messaging from Freshworks: live chat and chatbots across your website, app, WhatsApp and Instagram, with a unified agent inbox and automation that deflects repetitive questions.",
 "best_for": "small-to-mid support teams that want live chat and messaging with a real free tier to start",
 "skip_if": "you need a full help-desk and ticketing system, not just chat — look at a complete support suite instead of bolting on channels",
 "honest_knock": "The free tier is genuinely useful for small teams, but AI features and higher-tier routing sit behind paid plans and add-ons — and being part of the wider Freshworks suite means you'll be nudged toward the full platform.",
 "pricing": {
  "status": "public",
  "entry_price": "$19",
  "entry_price_terms": "per agent a month billed annually ($23 monthly)",
  "from_price_usd_month": 19.0,
  "plans": null,
  "plans_source": null,
  "notes": "Read 1 Sep 2026 and re-read 16 Oct 2026 on freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/ (USD, both the Annually and Monthly views). Free is $0 for up to 10 agents. Per agent per month: Growth $19 billed annually or $23 monthly, Pro $49 or $59, Enterprise $79 or $95. Freddy AI is a separate bill, and both rates are published: the Freddy AI Copilot add-on is $29/agent/mo billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once. Other add-ons on the same page: Freshcaller at $15/$39/$69 per agent per month annually ($18/$47/$83 monthly) on Growth/Pro/Enterprise, campaign contacts at $100, connector app tasks at $80, and day passes at $2/$7/$12.",
  "verified_at": "2026-10-16",
  "source_url": null,
  "schema_offer": null,
  "source_quotes": [
   {
    "field": "price",
    "plan": "Growth annually",
    "quote": "$19 /agent/month, billed annually",
    "source_url": "https://www.freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-16"
   },
   {
    "field": "price",
    "plan": "Pro annually",
    "quote": "$49 /agent/month, billed annually",
    "source_url": "https://www.freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-16"
   },
   {
    "field": "price",
    "plan": "Enterprise annually",
    "quote": "$79 /agent/month, billed annually",
    "source_url": "https://www.freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-16"
   },
   {
    "field": "free_trial",
    "plan": null,
    "quote": "If you choose not to continue, your account will be suspended.",
    "source_url": "https://www.freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/",
    "read_on": "2026-10-16"
   }
  ],
  "recent_change": null,
  "price_history": null
 },
 "free_plan": true,
 "free_plan_evidence": "Free is $0 for up to 10 agents.",
 "cost_traps": [
  {
   "id": "per_seat",
   "label": "Per-seat pricing",
   "evidence": "Per agent per month: Growth $19 billed annually or $23 monthly, Pro $49 or $59, Enterprise $79 or $95.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-16",
   "source_url": null
  },
  {
   "id": "addons_extra",
   "label": "Key features are paid add-ons",
   "evidence": "Freddy AI is a separate bill, and both rates are published: the Freddy AI Copilot add-on is $29/agent/mo billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once.",
   "verified_at": "2026-10-16",
   "source_url": null
  }
 ],
 "compare_with": {
  "name": "Intercom or Tidio",
  "why": "other live-chat and messaging tools"
 },
 "links": {
  "record": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/api/v1/products/freshchat.json",
  "review": "https://zerotouchsupport.com/freshchat-review.html",
  "marketplace": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/marketplace/freshchat/",
  "vendor_site": "https://freshchat.com"
 },
 "purchase": {
  "seller": "the vendor",
  "how": "AIBuilder Marketplace does not sell this software. Sign up, start a trial or buy on the vendor's site.",
  "handoff_url": "https://affiliatepartner-freshchat.freshworks.com/613iz3k6u70i",
  "affiliate": true,
  "disclosure": "Where purchase.affiliate is true, purchase.handoff_url is an affiliate link: AIBuilder Marketplace may earn a commission at no extra cost to the buyer. Commission never changes what a record says, and products are not ranked by commission. Where it is false the link is the vendor's plain site."
 },
 "provenance": {
  "research": "hand-researched dossier, read on the vendor's own pages",
  "researched_since": "2026-07",
  "method": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/how-we-review/",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0. Credit 'AIBuilder Marketplace' with a link to https://aibuildermarketplace.com/atlas/.",
  "note": "A rebuild is not a new measurement: pricing.verified_at is the date that matters."
 },
 "cost": {
  "status": "available",
  "engine": "https://aibuildermarketplace.com/agents/#cost",
  "rules": {
   "currency": "USD",
   "unit": "agent",
   "axis": "users",
   "plans": [
    {
     "id": "free",
     "name": "Free",
     "model": "free",
     "max_units": 10,
     "evidence": "Free is $0 for up to 10 agents."
    },
    {
     "id": "growth",
     "name": "Growth",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 19,
     "monthly": 23,
     "evidence": "Per agent per month: Growth $19 billed annually or $23 monthly, Pro $49 or $59, Enterprise $79 or $95."
    },
    {
     "id": "pro",
     "name": "Pro",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 49,
     "monthly": 59,
     "evidence": "Per agent per month: Growth $19 billed annually or $23 monthly, Pro $49 or $59, Enterprise $79 or $95."
    },
    {
     "id": "enterprise",
     "name": "Enterprise",
     "model": "per_unit",
     "annual_month": 79,
     "monthly": 95,
     "evidence": "Per agent per month: Growth $19 billed annually or $23 monthly, Pro $49 or $59, Enterprise $79 or $95."
    }
   ],
   "not_computable": [
    "Freddy AI is a separate bill: the Copilot add-on is $29 per agent a month billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once.",
    "Freshcaller, campaign contacts, connector app tasks and day passes are separate add-ons."
   ],
   "rules_verified_at": "2026-10-31"
  },
  "growth": {
   "annual": {
    "product_id": "freshchat",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "annual",
    "rows": [
     {
      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 19.0,
       "pro": 49.0,
       "enterprise": 79.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 38.0,
       "pro": 98.0,
       "enterprise": 158.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 57.0,
       "pro": 147.0,
       "enterprise": 237.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 95.0,
       "pro": 245.0,
       "enterprise": 395.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 190.0,
       "pro": 490.0,
       "enterprise": 790.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 285.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 3420.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 285.0,
       "pro": 735.0,
       "enterprise": 1185.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 380.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 4560.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 380.0,
       "pro": 980.0,
       "enterprise": 1580.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 475.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 5700.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 475.0,
       "pro": 1225.0,
       "enterprise": 1975.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 950.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 11400.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 950.0,
       "pro": 2450.0,
       "enterprise": 3950.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 1900.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 22800.0,
       "every": "year"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 1900.0,
       "pro": 4900.0,
       "enterprise": 7900.0
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [
     {
      "from_units": 10,
      "to_units": 15,
      "from_plan": "free",
      "to_plan": "growth",
      "from_plan_name": "Free",
      "to_plan_name": "Growth"
     }
    ],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Freddy AI is a separate bill: the Copilot add-on is $29 per agent a month billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once.",
     "Freshcaller, campaign contacts, connector app tasks and day passes are separate add-ons."
    ]
   },
   "monthly": {
    "product_id": "freshchat",
    "currency": "USD",
    "axis": "users",
    "unit": "agent",
    "billing": "monthly",
    "rows": [
     {
      "units": 1,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
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       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "growth": 23.0,
       "pro": 59.0,
       "enterprise": 95.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 2,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
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      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "growth": 46.0,
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       "enterprise": 190.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 3,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
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       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 69.0,
       "pro": 177.0,
       "enterprise": 285.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 5,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 115.0,
       "pro": 295.0,
       "enterprise": 475.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 10,
      "cheapest_plan": "free",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Free",
      "total_month": 0.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 0.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": 0.0,
       "growth": 230.0,
       "pro": 590.0,
       "enterprise": 950.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 15,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 345.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 345.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 345.0,
       "pro": 885.0,
       "enterprise": 1425.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 20,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 460.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 460.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 460.0,
       "pro": 1180.0,
       "enterprise": 1900.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 25,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 575.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 575.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 575.0,
       "pro": 1475.0,
       "enterprise": 2375.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 50,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 1150.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 1150.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 1150.0,
       "pro": 2950.0,
       "enterprise": 4750.0
      }
     },
     {
      "units": 100,
      "cheapest_plan": "growth",
      "cheapest_plan_name": "Growth",
      "total_month": 2300.0,
      "billed": {
       "amount": 2300.0,
       "every": "month"
      },
      "ranges": [],
      "per_plan": {
       "free": "not_eligible",
       "growth": 2300.0,
       "pro": 5900.0,
       "enterprise": 9500.0
      }
     }
    ],
    "switch_points": [
     {
      "from_units": 10,
      "to_units": 15,
      "from_plan": "free",
      "to_plan": "growth",
      "from_plan_name": "Free",
      "to_plan_name": "Growth"
     }
    ],
    "conflicts": [],
    "unknowns": [
     "Freddy AI is a separate bill: the Copilot add-on is $29 per agent a month billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once.",
     "Freshcaller, campaign contacts, connector app tasks and day passes are separate add-ons."
    ]
   }
  }
 },
 "unknowns": [
  "Plan-by-plan prices are not structured in this record yet; pricing.notes has the full text.",
  "Contract terms (cancellation, data export, data location, minimum seats) are not researched as separate fields; pricing.notes mentions them only where the vendor's pricing page does.",
  "Being verified: refund terms are not yet matched to a verbatim line on the vendor's own pages. Not matched does not mean there is none."
 ],
 "verification": {
  "price": "quoted",
  "free_trial": "quoted",
  "refund": "being_verified"
 },
 "status_page": null,
 "third_party_video": {
  "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB2H_4V2qnc",
  "channel": "Nasim Reza",
  "published": "2025-07-18",
  "shows": "An independent tour of the Freshchat dashboard for beginners: signing up for the trial, the inbox, and the AI agents and chatbot templates",
  "independent": true,
  "checked_at": "2026-10-24"
 },
 "task_evidence": {
  "structured_checks": [],
  "sessions": [
   {
    "source": "session",
    "product_name": "Freshchat",
    "product_id": "freshchat",
    "run_date": "2026-10-08",
    "session_type": "hands_on",
    "what": "The Freddy AI Agent in a Freshchat trial account, built in AI Agent Studio. We wrote a short help page for a made-up headset shop (shipping, returns, warranty, two products, opening hours: about 250 words) and gave the agent its URL as the only knowledge source; learning finished in about two minutes. We then ran 13 customer questions through the studio's Test screen: 10 whose answer is on the page, one that needs a small inference (shipping to Japan when the page lists only three countries) and two whose answer is not on the page at all (PayPal, and battery life with noise cancelling on). We scored every reply against the page.",
    "findings": [
     "11 of the 13 replies were correct, and every factual reply linked the help page as its source. That includes the trickier ones: an order at 4pm on a Tuesday ships on Wednesday because of the 15:00 cut-off, a cable broken by pulling is excluded from the warranty, and 'Do you ship to Japan?' got a clear no with the three countries we do ship to.",
     "It did not invent anything where the page was silent. Asked about PayPal, it said the help centre has no information on payment methods. Asked for battery life with noise cancelling on, it gave the documented 40 hours, said that figure is with noise cancelling off, and declined to give a number for the other case.",
     "The one wrong reply was 'Can I call you?'. The page says there is no phone support; the agent answered 'Sure! Assigning your chat to our support agent.' It treated the question as a request for a human and started a handover, and the 'Sure!' reads as a yes. The Test dashboard still counted this reply as Answered.",
     "One reply added something the page does not contain: after correctly refusing the warranty claim, it offered to explain 'replacing the cable at your own cost', which our page never mentions.",
     "The dashboard's totals (12 answered, 1 unanswered) are a useful first filter, but you have to read the replies: the handover counted as an answer, and the correct 'I don't know' about PayPal counted as unanswered."
    ],
    "not_tested": [
     "real chats through the website widget, other languages, larger or contradictory knowledge bases, and what the replies cost, because the Test screen is not live AI Agent sessions"
    ],
    "report": null,
    "disclosure": null,
    "evidence_status": null,
    "result": "reported",
    "note": "Findings as written up after the session; no pass/fail per task was scored.",
    "in_catalog": true
   }
  ]
 },
 "open_questions": [
  {
   "question_id": "freshchat:cancellation_terms",
   "key": "cancellation_terms",
   "question": "Can a customer cancel at any time, and what happens to an annual plan that is cancelled mid-term?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "freshchat:data_export",
   "key": "data_export",
   "question": "Which data can a customer export, in which formats, on which plans?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "freshchat:data_location",
   "key": "data_location",
   "question": "Where is customer data stored, and can a customer choose the region?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "freshchat:pricing_gap_1",
   "key": "pricing_gap_1",
   "question": "Our price check could not put a number on this part of the cost: Freddy AI is a separate bill: the Copilot add-on is $29 per agent a month billed annually ($35 monthly), and Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions beyond the 500 complimentary sessions each paid account receives once. Can you publish the price or the rule?",
   "status": "open"
  },
  {
   "question_id": "freshchat:pricing_gap_2",
   "key": "pricing_gap_2",
   "question": "Our price check could not put a number on this part of the cost: Freshcaller, campaign contacts, connector app tasks and day passes are separate add-ons. Can you publish the price or the rule?",
   "status": "open"
  }
 ],
 "vendor_answers": [],
 "agent_channels": {
  "vendor_mcp": null,
  "agent_checkout": {
   "status": "not_checked",
   "detail": "We could not read the vendor's pages as plain HTML.",
   "checked_at": "2026-10-07",
   "method": "homepage, /pricing and the pricing page we cite, read as plain HTML (no JavaScript) and searched for explicit support of purchases by AI agents: Agentic Commerce Protocol, Instant Checkout, Agent Payments Protocol, buy in ChatGPT, agentic checkout"
  }
 }
}
