Freshchat vs Sendbird

Freshchat by Freshworks and Sendbird represent two distinct approaches to customer communication. Freshchat offers a comprehensive customer support suite with live chat, messaging, and ticketing capabilities, while Sendbird specializes in in-app messaging and chat APIs for developers.

This comparison examines their core differences in functionality, target audience, and pricing to help you determine which platform better serves your business needs.

Freshchat excels as an all-in-one customer support platform with features like automated chatbots, team collaboration tools, and seamless integration with Freshworks' ecosystem. It provides pre-built widgets and extensive customization options for customer-facing chat interfaces.

Sendbird focuses on providing robust messaging infrastructure through APIs and SDKs. It offers features like group messaging, file sharing, moderation tools, and real-time notifications, making it ideal for developers building custom chat applications.

The key difference lies in their approach: Freshchat is a ready-to-use support solution, while Sendbird is a platform for building custom messaging experiences.

Freshchat uses a per-agent pricing model starting at $15/month per agent, with higher tiers offering advanced features like custom reports and priority support. Enterprise plans include additional customization and dedicated support.

Sendbird operates on a usage-based model with monthly active user (MAU) pricing starting at $399/month for up to 5,000 MAUs. Additional features like moderation and analytics come with separate pricing tiers.

For small support teams, Freshchat is typically more cost-effective, while Sendbird's pricing scales with user engagement rather than team size.

Choose Freshchat if you need a complete customer support solution with built-in CRM integration and multi-channel capabilities. Choose Sendbird if you're building custom chat experiences and need developer-friendly APIs with real-time messaging infrastructure.

Choose Freshchat if: You need a complete customer support solution with minimal development work, CRM integration, and traditional support team workflows.

Choose Sendbird if: You're building custom applications requiring real-time messaging, have development resources, and need scalable messaging infrastructure.

For teams seeking a simpler alternative, consider Converge at $49/month flat rate - offering essential customer communication features without per-agent fees or complex usage-based pricing.