Freshservice vs HaloITSM vs InvGate Service Desk

Freshservice, HaloITSM, and InvGate Service Desk all deliver ITIL-aligned incident, change, and problem management, but they package and price that…

Freshservice

Subscription · From $19/agent/month billed annually

Best for: IT teams that want the broadest ITIL process coverage plus a natural extension into enterprise service management for non-IT departments, backed by a large partner and integration ecosystem.

HaloITSM

Subscription (custom quote) · From Custom pricing, typically around $50 per agent per month

Best for: Organizations that want essentially all ITIL modules, including CMDB and AI-assisted triage, in a single all-inclusive per-agent price with flexible on-premise or private-cloud deployment.

InvGate Service Desk

Subscription (per-agent tiered) plus Enterprise custom pricing · From $1,499/year (Starter plan, up to 5 agents)

Best for: Growing IT teams that want transparent published pricing, unlimited end users on every plan, and a fast, low-code implementation without a lengthy sales cycle.

At a Glance

	Freshservice	HaloITSM	InvGate Service Desk
Primary category	Help Desk	Help Desk	Help Desk
Rating	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
Pricing model	Subscription	Subscription (custom quote)	Subscription (per-agent tiered) plus Enterprise custom pricing
Starting price	$19/agent/month billed annually	Custom pricing, typically around $50 per agent per month	$1,499/year (Starter plan, up to 5 agents)
Free plan	Yes	Not documented	Not documented
Free trial	Yes	Yes	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web	Web
Team collaboration	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
AI features	Yes	Yes	Yes
Public API	Yes	Yes	Yes

Standout Differences

Transparent Pricing vs Custom Quotes

InvGate Service Desk publishes its per-agent pricing outright and Freshservice publishes tiers up through Pro, while HaloITSM keeps its per-agent rate behind a sales quote even though third parties estimate it around $50 to $70 per agent per month.

Freshservice, HaloITSM, InvGate Service Desk

All-Inclusive Licensing vs Tiered Add-Ons

HaloITSM bundles CMDB, change management, and its AI assistant into one price with no separate module fees, while Freshservice and InvGate Service Desk gate change management, advanced AI, and channel integrations behind higher-priced tiers.

Freshservice, HaloITSM, InvGate Service Desk

AI-Assisted Ticket Triage, at a Cost

Each platform ships an AI layer, Freddy AI, Halo AI, and the AI Service Agent, but Freshservice and InvGate Service Desk reserve their fullest AI capability for Enterprise or Pro-and-above plans, while HaloITSM includes Halo AI as part of its single all-inclusive quote.

Freshservice, HaloITSM, InvGate Service Desk

Deployment Flexibility

HaloITSM offers on-premise or private-cloud deployment from the start, InvGate Service Desk only unlocks on-premise hosting at its costliest Enterprise tier, and Freshservice is a cloud-only platform with no stated on-premise option.

Freshservice, HaloITSM, InvGate Service Desk

Feature-by-Feature

Core ITSM Capabilities

Feature	Freshservice	HaloITSM	InvGate Service Desk
Incident and problem management	Available	Available	Available
Change and release management	Limited	Available	Limited
CMDB and asset management	Available	Available	Not documented

AI and Automation

Feature	Freshservice	HaloITSM	InvGate Service Desk
AI-assisted ticket triage	Limited	Available	Limited
Low-code workflow builder	Available	Not documented	Available

Deployment and Pricing

Feature	Freshservice	HaloITSM	InvGate Service Desk
On-premise or private-cloud deployment	Not documented	Available	Limited
Published, transparent per-agent pricing	Available	Unavailable	Available

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Freshservice

Starter — $19/agent/month Annual

Growth — $49/agent/month Annual

Pro — $99/agent/month Annual

Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) Annual

HaloITSM

HaloITSM (Per-Agent) — Custom quote, typically around $50 to $70 per agent per month Monthly or annual contract

Enterprise Package — Custom, promoted as an all-inclusive offer for qualifying organizations Custom contract

InvGate Service Desk

Starter — $1,499/year Annual

Pro — From $500/agent/year (from $2,500/year) Annual

Enterprise — Custom (from $12,000/year) Annual

Pros & Cons

Freshservice

Pros

Faster implementation and simpler administration than ServiceNow
Full ITIL process coverage (incident, problem, change, release) even outside the top tier
Integrated CMDB and asset management included without third-party tools
Extends naturally into enterprise service management for non-IT departments

Cons

Freddy AI's full capability set is concentrated in the costly Enterprise tier
Enterprise plan pricing is not public, requiring a sales conversation to budget accurately
Less configurable and less deep than ServiceNow for very large, complex enterprises
Change and release management require upgrading to the Pro tier or above

HaloITSM

Pros

All-inclusive pricing with no separate module fees
Flexible deployment options including on-premise and private cloud
Extensive out-of-the-box reporting library
AI-assisted ticket triage and automation via Halo AI
Scales from smaller IT teams to large enterprise deployments

Cons

Pricing is not published and requires a sales quote
Breadth of ITIL functionality can create a steeper configuration curve
Per-agent pricing can become costly for larger agent counts
Advanced ITIL workflows may require significant onboarding time
Third-party pricing estimates vary, making budgeting less predictable upfront

InvGate Service Desk

Pros

Transparent published pricing, unusual among enterprise ITSM vendors
Unlimited free end-users and requesters on every plan
Fast, low-code implementation measured in weeks rather than months
ITIL-aligned processes without ServiceNow-level cost
AI Service Agent helps automate first-line triage

Cons

Starter plan is limited to 5 agents, requiring an upgrade for growing teams
Advanced integrations like Teams, WhatsApp and the AI agent are gated behind Pro/Enterprise tiers
On-premise deployment is only available at the highest-cost Enterprise tier
Smaller third-party integration ecosystem than ServiceNow or Jira Service Management
Some reviewers note reporting customization is less flexible than larger competitors

Use Cases

Choose Freshservice: IT teams that want the broadest ITIL process coverage plus a natural extension into enterprise service management for non-IT departments, backed by a large partner and integration ecosystem.

Choose HaloITSM: Organizations that want essentially all ITIL modules, including CMDB and AI-assisted triage, in a single all-inclusive per-agent price with flexible on-premise or private-cloud deployment.

Choose InvGate Service Desk: Growing IT teams that want transparent published pricing, unlimited end users on every plan, and a fast, low-code implementation without a lengthy sales cycle.

Freshservice

IT help desk and incident management — IT teams use Freshservice to log, prioritize, and resolve employee IT issues through structured incident management workflows.
IT asset and configuration tracking — Organizations use Freshservice's CMDB and asset management to track hardware and software inventory and relationships.
Enterprise service management beyond IT — Non-IT departments like HR and facilities adopt Freshservice's service catalog and ticketing model for their own internal service requests.

HaloITSM

Enterprise ITIL service desk — Enterprise IT teams implement HaloITSM to run compliant incident, request, change and problem management processes.
Managed service provider operations — MSPs use Halo's product family, including HaloITSM and HaloPSA, to support multiple client organizations from one platform.
Regulated sector service management — Government, healthcare and education organizations use HaloITSM's on-premise and private cloud options to meet compliance requirements.

InvGate Service Desk

IT help desk incident management — IT teams handle and track incident and request tickets with ITIL-aligned workflows.
Higher education IT services — Universities manage large volumes of unlimited free end-user requests across departments.
Mid-size enterprise ITSM migration — Growing enterprises replace legacy or overpriced ITSM tools with a faster, more affordable platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between Freshservice, HaloITSM, and InvGate Service Desk?

Freshservice leans into broad enterprise service management with published tiered pricing, HaloITSM bundles nearly all ITIL modules into one all-inclusive per-agent quote with flexible on-premise options, and InvGate Service Desk emphasizes transparent published pricing with a fast, low-code implementation.

Which of these three ITSM tools is most affordable for a small IT team?

InvGate Service Desk's Starter plan is $1,499 per year for up to 5 agents with unlimited end users, and Freshservice's Starter plan begins at $19 per agent per month, both of which are published prices; HaloITSM's custom quote is estimated around $50 to $70 per agent per month, which typically makes it costlier for very small teams.

Does HaloITSM publish its pricing online?

No. HaloITSM pricing is only available through a custom sales quote, though third-party estimates put it around $50 to $70 per agent per month, compared to Freshservice and InvGate Service Desk, which both publish tiered pricing.

Which of these tools supports on-premise deployment?

HaloITSM offers on-premise and private-cloud deployment as a standard option, InvGate Service Desk only enables on-premise hosting on its highest-cost Enterprise tier, and Freshservice is documented as a cloud-based platform with no stated on-premise option.

Do all three platforms include AI-assisted ticket triage?

Yes, each has an AI layer, Freddy AI Agent for Freshservice, Halo AI for HaloITSM, and the AI Service Agent for InvGate Service Desk, but Freshservice and InvGate concentrate their fullest AI capabilities in higher-priced tiers while HaloITSM includes Halo AI in its single all-inclusive quote.

Is CMDB and asset management included by default?

Freshservice includes CMDB and asset management starting at its Growth tier and HaloITSM includes CMDB as part of its all-inclusive per-agent pricing; CMDB is not documented as a named capability in InvGate Service Desk's published feature set.

Read the full Freshservice review · Read the full HaloITSM review · Read the full InvGate Service Desk review

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