Compare · help desk ticketing

Freshdesk VS Zendesk_

As of 4 November 2026, Zendesk is named by 2,445 companies and Freshdesk by 523; Freshdesk skews to companies under 200 people (54% vs 51%), Zendesk to companies over 1,000 (18% vs 14%).

As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.

The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Freshdesk's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Zendesk rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.

Freshdesk: 2–200 employees
54%
Zendesk: 2–200 employees
51%
Freshdesk: 1,000+ employees
14%
Zendesk: 1,000+ employees
18%
Postings per company, 90 days
1.5 · 2.7
Website or DNS footprint
16,874 · 100,692
523companies name Freshdesk
2,445companies name Zendesk
359name both
777 · 6,620postings in 90 days, Freshdesk · Zendesk
02 — Side by side

Who chooses which

Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.

By company size
SegmentFreshdeskshareZendeskshareLeans
Self-employed214%914%even
2-10 employees6112%1998%Freshdesk
11-50 employees9218%40617%even
51-200 employees13125%64426%even
201-500 employees9117%42417%even
501-1000 employees5611%24810%even
1001-5000 employees5511%28512%even
5001-10000 employees41%552%even
10,001+ employees122%934%even
By industry
SegmentFreshdeskshareZendeskshareLeans
Technology & software21741%1,09745%Zendesk
Business & finance services11923%44718%Freshdesk
Manufacturing & industry357%1827%even
Consumer services & leisure316%904%Freshdesk
Media & content245%1416%even
Commerce & trade224%1546%Zendesk
Public, community & associations153%663%even
Health care153%612%even
Transport, logistics & rental143%472%even
Property & construction112%482%even
Hospitality & travel92%452%even
Utilities & infrastructure82%402%even
By country
SegmentFreshdeskshareZendeskshareLeans
United States27052%1,56264%Zendesk
United Kingdom5410%1868%Freshdesk
India326%422%Freshdesk
Germany245%864%even
Canada122%633%even
Brazil112%653%even
United Arab Emirates92%––outside top 12
France92%552%even
Australia82%382%even
Switzerland82%––outside top 12
PH82%––outside top 12
Singapore82%161%even
Netherlands––291%outside top 12
Spain––161%outside top 12
Belgium––131%outside top 12
Postings by team (share of each tool's postings)
SegmentFreshdeskshareZendeskshareLeans
Customer service & success60356%3,57643%Freshdesk
IT operations & business systems12211%1,56119%Zendesk
Sales373%4405%even
Product, program & project management192%2483%even
Finance & accounting141%1342%even
Marketing & communications141%1021%even
Software engineering111%2173%even
Administration & office101%631%even
Human resources91%901%even
logistics warehouse and transport81%310%even
Data & AI71%1712%even
General management & consulting71%621%even
Legal, compliance & risk61%531%even
Travel, leisure & events50%400%even
social care and community40%210%even
Business development & strategy30%330%even
Education & training30%140%even
Quality, safety & environment30%260%even
Retail & store operations30%140%even
Unclassified30%250%even
arts media and entertainment20%220%even
skilled trades and field service20%370%even
Engineering (non-software)10%320%even
healthcare clinical10%140%even
healthcare support and caregiving10%130%even
hospitality and food service10%130%even
procurement and purchasing––160%outside top 12
facilities cleaning and security––130%outside top 12
Design & UX––80%outside top 12
personal care and wellness––80%outside top 12
Cite this

Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.

Zendesk is named by 2,445 companies in job postings and Freshdesk by 523; 359 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/freshdesk-vs-zendesk)
How we know

Read from the source, not self-reported

Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →

  • Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
  • Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
  • SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
  • Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
FAQ

Freshdesk vs Zendesk: questions

Which is more used, Freshdesk or Zendesk?

By companies naming it in their own job postings, Zendesk (2,445) over Freshdesk (523). By website-and-DNS footprint, Zendesk (100,692 vs 16,874), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.

Who chooses Freshdesk?

54% of Freshdesk companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 51% for Zendesk. 14% of Freshdesk companies have over 1,000 employees, against 18% for Zendesk.

Do companies run both?

359 companies name both in their postings, usually Freshdesk in marketing and Zendesk in sales, or during a migration.

Where do these numbers come from?

From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.

Companies and people

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