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BMC Helix ITSM vs Freshdesk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.4
BMC Helix ITSM offers technical reliability, financial benefits, and user satisfaction, though ROI clarity and cost savings proof vary.
Sentiment score
6.5
Freshdesk boosts ROI by automating ticket analysis, improving productivity, and integrating with tools like Salesforce for efficient support management.
People who initially find ServiceNow to be on the higher side, but when you do the value gain comparison in the next few years, you see that it does give you the returns, with the AI capabilities and everything it brings.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
Automation of assigning tickets helps in reducing overall operational costs for the company, which frees up agents to do other complex and much-needed tasks.
Project Manager at Yohanna
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
BMC Helix ITSM's customer service is skilled but inconsistent, needing improved communication, responsiveness, and accent comprehension.
Sentiment score
6.3
Freshdesk offers prompt support with helpful documentation, though complex issues face delays and integration setup can be challenging.
There are issues with misrouting and a preference for email rather than direct communication via phone calls.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
We have not needed to contact technical support, as Freshdesk has met our needs efficiently.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
From my experience, once it is set up, we have never had problems.
Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors
The first-time response should be within 30 seconds.
NOC SOC ANALYST at SAVIC Inc.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
BMC Helix ITSM is scalable for enterprises, despite challenges, offering flexibility and positive feedback on handling large user bases.
Sentiment score
6.9
Freshdesk's scalability and adaptability make it ideal for small to mid-sized organizations, though larger enterprises may face integration challenges.
The product's scalability is adequate for us, yet its complex customization sometimes restricts extensive adaptability.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
Additional features like email, WhatsApp, and SMS ticketing, along with Slack integration, can be enabled as required.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
For small to medium-sized businesses, you can look at Freshdesk, but for larger enterprise levels, you look at ServiceNow.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
They can easily send an email to support, and a ticket gets generated for the IT person.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
BMC Helix ITSM is praised for stability, performs well with proper implementation, and has minor application-specific concerns.
Sentiment score
7.6
Freshdesk is reliable with minimal downtime, though occasional lags and integration challenges may occur during high traffic.
I find BMC Helix ITSM stable, and that is why we have been with the product for the past 15 years.
Associate Director at a media company with 10,001+ employees
Over the past five years, we have experienced no major issues or downtime during upgrades.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
The goal is always to respond to customer tickets in a timely fashion, ensuring that customers feel seen and heard while also providing solutions.
Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors
After installation and continuous operation, I have encountered no problems.
Head Advisor Infrastructure Cloud Architect at Adrienutech
Freshdesk has been quite stable in the market.
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
 

Room For Improvement

BMC Helix ITSM needs usability, performance, integration improvements, and better support to enhance user experience and affordability.
Freshdesk needs improvements in customization, integration, support, scalability, and transparency to enhance user experience and cater to enterprises.
BMC Helix ITSM is difficult for us to customize, and most customizations require vendor support, which leads to extra costs.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
We lack access to a sandbox for in-house development, which was very helpful for hands-on work with new features.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
Currently, some features like SMS or WhatsApp integration are only available to larger user groups, but even smaller teams should have access based on their specific needs.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
The current integration is more complicated and doesn’t work as well.
Development Manager at Horizon Software
More automation would be beneficial, as it could greatly improve our efficiency and reduce manual tasks.
Call Centre Manager at a retailer with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

BMC Helix ITSM is costly but offers reliability and features that large enterprises find justifiable, with careful license management.
Freshdesk offers competitive pricing with scalable costs, benefiting from a per-agent model, but advanced features may increase expenses.
The pricing of BMC Helix ITSM and its implementation costs are quite high, including subscription and maintenance costs per year.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
Our organization pays about 200,000 Indian rupees per year for the license.
VP - Technology and Solutions at Ninth Dimension IT Solutions (P) Ltd
The pricing experience is relatively competitive, so it is cost-effective.
Project Manager at Yohanna
The setup cost and licensing are very good.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
 

Valuable Features

BMC Helix ITSM enhances service delivery and efficiency with flexible workflows, customizable dashboards, and strong integration support.
Freshdesk streamlines communication and boosts efficiency with automation, analytics, integration, and user-friendly features for improved collaboration.
Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal.
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
These features are crucial as we complete the implementation and maintain data accuracy in the CMDB.
Head of IT, Service & Operation Department at National ITMX Co., Ltd.
These features drastically impact my day-to-day work and my team's efficiency by reducing the resolution time significantly, as issues that once took days to resolve are now handled in hours and even minutes.
Works at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Freshdesk has positively impacted my organization as it has saved a considerable amount of time and has enabled us to focus better on customers, which resulted in lesser churn.
Project Manager at Yohanna
Now, with Freshdesk, tickets can be easily assigned to any engineer, who will provide the cause, explain why it happened, and give us the answer on how they resolved the issue.
Project Engineer at IT Solution
 

Categories and Ranking

BMC Helix ITSM
Ranking in Help Desk Software
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th)
Freshdesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Customer Experience Management (5th), Field Service Management (3rd), Knowledge Management Software (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of BMC Helix ITSM is 4.9%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Freshdesk is 3.1%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Freshdesk3.1%
BMC Helix ITSM4.9%
Other92.0%
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

KN
Senior Application Developer BMC at Balfour Beatty
Self-service portal significantly reduces resolution time and transforms service process with advanced features
We initially had a lot of tickets generated via the service desk through calls and emails. Now, we have almost moved out of email creations by introducing the DWP features on the Studio pages, with about 90% of the tickets coming in via our self-service portal. Recent upgrades offer different types of views for particular business lines, which was missing earlier. The new landing pages have allowed us to add banners, images, and internal videos, encouraging most customers to use these DWP self-service features. Resolution time has decreased significantly since implementing the self-service portal. Additionally, the availability of knowledge articles, chatbots, and the new Helix GPT feature has improved service processes.
Gauri Thakur - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, Portfolio Projects at Microland Limited
Integrated support workflows have provided a unified view but need broader enterprise flexibility
Freshdesk's scalability could be improved for larger businesses across departments. Its intuitive interface is appealing for small to medium-sized businesses. However, when you look at larger enterprise levels, ServiceNow operates more efficiently. This scalability is an area where Freshdesk could expand its offerings. Additionally, I don't have too much hands-on experience with Freshdesk ticket routing. I need to check with the service desk team if they've used it. Similarly, for analytics capability, I haven't explored much on Freshdesk, but I have done it for ServiceNow. I have seen a lot on ServiceNow and the BMC Remedy, so I can speak better for them. I haven't had the chance to look at it so much that I can do a comparison. I haven't had much experience with Freshdesk's reporting. Within its paradigm of customer service management, Freshdesk is quite scalable. But I've said that inter-department and the interoperability is better off in ServiceNow than in Freshdesk.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
10%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Marketing Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise55
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about BMC Helix ITSM?
If we consider major players like Ford or BMW, their core focus is manufacturing products like cars. To ensure smooth operations, any arising issues, be it security concerns or issues within depart...
What needs improvement with BMC Helix ITSM?
Although BMC Helix ITSM is a strong enterprise platform, there are areas where it could be improved. One key area is usability and simplification of configuration, especially for new administrators...
What is your primary use case for BMC Helix ITSM?
My main use case for BMC Helix ITSM is validating and automating core ITSM workflows, such as incident, change, and service request management. I focus on ensuring that these workflows function cor...
What needs improvement with Freshdesk?
Freshdesk can be improved by addressing the lack of a custom dashboard, which would help design it to the client's requirement, and the API rate limit, which would be best if they provided an optio...
What is your primary use case for Freshdesk?
Our main use case of Freshdesk includes using it as a ticketing platform with live chat and support email for customers to send us tickets. We have agents on Freshdesk monitoring traffic and respon...
What advice do you have for others considering Freshdesk?
My advice to others looking into using Freshdesk is that when customers themselves want to contact a company for an issue, Freshdesk is best at helping them create tickets and reach out to the comp...
 

Also Known As

Remedy ITSM, Remedy, Helix Remedy, BMC Helix IT Service Management
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Brookfield, HealthSouth Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Mercator, SAP, Stanford University
Honda, 3M, Hugo Boss, Petronas, Sony Pictures, The Atlantic, goodreads, Clear Channel Radio, Penn University of Pennsylvania, unicef, Kuoni, Movember
Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix ITSM vs. Freshdesk and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.