Freshdesk SSO: A complete guide

Let's be honest, juggling passwords is a chore. For a busy support team, it’s more than just annoying, every forgotten password is a few minutes you could have spent with a customer. That's where Single Sign-On (SSO) comes in. It's a straightforward fix that makes your team's workflow more secure and a whole lot smoother.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Freshdesk SSO. We'll cover what it is, why it helps, what the setup involves, and how it fits into your budget.

What is Freshdesk SSO?

Think of Single Sign-On (SSO) as a master key for all your work apps. Instead of fumbling for a different key for every door, you use one to get into everything you need.

In the context of Freshdesk, it works with two main parts:

• Service Provider (SP): This is Freshdesk itself (the app you want to access).

• Identity Provider (IdP): This is the system that checks your ID, like Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Okta, or Google Workspace.

When an agent tries to log into Freshdesk, they get sent over to the IdP. After they put in their credentials, the IdP tells Freshdesk, "Yep, they're good to go," and they're in. It all happens securely in the background using protocols like SAML or OAuth 2.0.

Key benefits of setting up Freshdesk SSO

Switching to SSO is about more than just convenience; it brings some real, practical advantages to your entire support operation.

Enhanced security and compliance

Putting all your logins in one place gives you a central control panel for security. It's way easier to require things like multi-factor authentication (MFA) for everyone. And when someone leaves the team, you can cut off their access to Freshdesk and everything else with a single click. No more worrying about lingering accounts.

Improved agent productivity and experience

Your agents will feel this one daily. No more password reset requests, no more getting locked out, and less time wasted just trying to log in. It’s a small thing that makes a big difference, especially for new hires who can get access to Freshdesk on day one without any hassle.

A simple login is a great start, but you can streamline their work even more. For instance, an AI tool like eesel AI can be added with a single click to help with drafting replies and finding info, without another complicated setup process.

Simplified IT administration

Your IT department will definitely thank you for this one. SSO slashes the number of password-reset tickets they get, freeing them up for bigger projects. It's just so much easier to manage everyone's access from one dashboard instead of logging into dozens of different apps.

How to configure Freshdesk SSO: An overview of the process

You don't need to be a developer to understand the basics. This is just a high-level look at the steps involved, which usually require a bit of teamwork between your Freshdesk admin and IT.

Choosing an identity provider (IdP)

Freshdesk plays well with all the major IdPs. If your company already uses a platform like Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, OneLogin, or Google Workspace to manage logins, you're already halfway there. Most of the time, you'll just use whatever your company has already standardized on.

Understanding the Freshdesk SSO setup in the Freshworks neo admin center

You'll set up SSO at the organization level in the Freshworks platform, which is nice because the policy applies to any other Freshworks tools you use. The process involves copying some details (like a "SAML SSO URL") from your IdP into Freshdesk and vice-versa.

The basic login flow looks something like this:

1. An agent heads to your Freshdesk URL.

2. Freshdesk sends them to your company's IdP login page.

3. The agent types in their usual company password (e.g., their Microsoft 365 or Google login).

4. The IdP confirms who they are and sends a secure token back to Freshdesk.

5. Freshdesk accepts the token and logs the agent in.

While the SSO setup requires some technical back-and-forth, not all powerful tools have to be that complicated. For example, eesel AI is built so a support manager can connect it to Freshdesk and get AI help running in minutes, no developers needed.

Differentiating between agent SSO and contact SSO

It’s worth knowing that Freshworks lets you create separate SSO rules for your internal agents and your external customers. This allows your team to log in with their corporate account while customers can use a normal email and password, or even sign in with Google or Facebook. It's a flexible way to manage different types of users.

Freshdesk pricing and SSO availability

SSO isn't available on every Freshdesk plan, so it's important to know where it's included before you make a decision.

Freshdesk pricing plans

Here's a quick look at the main plans offered by Freshdesk. These prices assume you're billing annually.

Plan	Price (Billed Annually)	Key Features
Free	$0 for up to 2 agents	Ticketing, Knowledge Base, Reporting
Growth	$15/agent/month	Automation, Custom Ticket Views, SLAs
Pro	$49/agent/month	Custom Roles, Round-Robin Routing, CSAT Surveys
Enterprise	$79/agent/month	Skill-based Routing, Sandbox, Audit Log

(Pricing information is from the official Freshworks pricing page and may change.)

Which plans include Freshdesk SSO?

Here's the key takeaway: Freshdesk SSO is only available on the Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans. The Free plan doesn't include it. If your business is focused on security and wants to grow, having SSO is a pretty strong reason to choose a paid plan.

Considering the total cost of your support stack

The cost of the helpdesk subscription is just one part of your overall budget. When you factor in add-ons, especially for AI, the numbers can climb. For instance, Freshdesk’s own AI assistant, Freddy AI Copilot, costs an extra $29 per agent, per month on top of your plan. That per-agent pricing can get expensive as your team gets bigger.

It's helpful to know there are other ways to price AI. Tools like eesel AI offer a full suite of features (like an AI agent and a copilot) with usage-based plans. This means you aren't charged per person, which can make costs easier to predict and manage as you grow.

A look at eesel AI's transparent, usage-based pricing plans, which can be more predictable than per-agent models when considering Freshdesk SSO.

What's next after setting up Freshdesk SSO?

Getting Freshdesk SSO set up is a great first step. It builds a more secure and efficient foundation for your support team by taking away the login headaches.

But once you've streamlined access, you can focus on the work itself. This is where you can really help your team by automating some of the repetitive tasks that eat up their day. With SSO handling the login, a tool like eesel AI can work right inside Freshdesk to improve workflows. It learns from your past tickets to help automate frontline support, draft quality replies, and keep your queues tidy.

This workflow shows how an AI tool can automate support tasks after Freshdesk SSO is implemented.

If you're curious how easy it is to add AI to your now-secure Freshdesk setup, you can get started with eesel AI in just a few minutes.