# Gorgias vs Freshdesk: how do they compare for a Shopify store's order-refund workflow?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 11, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/gorgias-vs-freshdesk-refund-workflow

## Short answer

Gorgias and Freshdesk both refund a Shopify order, in full or in part, inside the ticket, not in Shopify admin, so the comparison turns on access and limits. Gorgias installs from the Shopify App Store with order-edit access ([Gorgias's listing](https://apps.shopify.com/helpdesk), October 2026). Freshdesk connects through a Freshworks Marketplace app and a custom Shopify app ([Freshdesk Support](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk), October 2026).

- **Gorgias's Shopify access:** Edit orders, granted at install. The App Store listing's data access covers draft orders, order fulfillments, order edits, all order history and returns (October 2026) ([Gorgias Inc., Gorgias: AI, Helpdesk & Chat on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/helpdesk))
- **Freshdesk's Shopify access:** Custom app with order write access. Read_customers, read_orders and write_orders on an app the store owner creates in Shopify's Dev Dashboard; custom apps need no Shopify approval (October 2026) ([Freshdesk Support, Integrating Shopify with Freshdesk](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk); [Shopify developer docs, About app distribution](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/launch/distribution))
- **Refunds Gorgias won't run:** Orders split across two cards. Gorgias can't refund an order paid by two different methods, such as two cards, and refunds only the card share when a gift card paid part; Freshdesk documents no such limit (October 2026) ([Gorgias Help Center, Shopify Actions](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/shopify-actions-461552); [Freshdesk Support, Integrating Shopify with Freshdesk](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk))
- **Freshdesk per-agent price:** $19 to $89 a month, billed annually. Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Four Pro agents cost $220 a month against $300 for Gorgias Pro at 2,000 tickets (Deploi arithmetic from the published prices) ([Freshworks, Freshdesk pricing](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/); [Gorgias, Pricing](https://www.gorgias.com/pricing))

## Deploi's call

Both tools can refund from the ticket, so this comparison turns on which side of the integration you install from. Gorgias's order-edit access is granted on its Shopify listing; Freshdesk's refund actions come from a Freshworks Marketplace app that Freshworks lists and supports. If refunds are the workflow you are optimizing, time both on your own refund cases before the per-agent versus per-ticket price comparison decides it.

**BUY: Choose Gorgias for refunds when**

- Shopify is the whole support surface, where [Deploi's Gorgias vs. Freshdesk record](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/gorgias-vs-freshdesk) scores Gorgias BUY (October 2026).
- Agents need custom refund amounts or order edits ([Gorgias Help Center](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/shopify-actions-461552), October 2026), or refunds inside macros ([Gorgias Help Center](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/macro-actions-81913)).
- You want the integration installed through the Shopify App Store rather than as a custom app.

**BUY: Choose Freshdesk when**

- Shopify is one channel of a wider service desk, the record's only Freshdesk case.
- Freshworks's free app, rated 3.0 from 62 ratings, passes your own refund cases in a trial ([Freshworks Marketplace](https://www.freshworks.com/apps/shopify/), October 2026).
- A small permanent team carries high volume per agent, which Freshdesk's per-agent pricing rewards.

## Where does each helpdesk get its Shopify refund access?

Gorgias gets its Shopify refund access from its App Store listing, and Freshdesk from a custom app the store owner creates in Shopify. Gorgias's listing asks to edit orders, covering "Draft orders, order fulfillments, order edits, all order history, returns" ([Gorgias listing](https://apps.shopify.com/helpdesk), October 2026). That write access is granted at install, so agents can refund from the ticket.

Freshdesk goes the other way. Its Shopify app is published free by Freshworks on the Freshworks Marketplace, with about 1,700 installs and a rating of 3.0 from 62 ratings ([Freshworks Marketplace](https://www.freshworks.com/apps/shopify/), October 2026). Freshdesk's guide has the store owner create a custom app in Shopify's Dev Dashboard, Shopify's developer console. The app takes read access to customers and read and write access to orders ([Freshdesk Support](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk), October 2026). An admin then switches on the "Perform cancelation and refund from Freshdesk Support" setting ([Freshworks Marketplace](https://www.freshworks.com/apps/shopify/)). The wider choice between ticket and seat pricing sits in [the Gorgias versus Zendesk answer](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/gorgias-vs-zendesk-helpdesk).

## Does Freshdesk's missing App Store listing mean it dropped Shopify?

No: Freshdesk's missing App Store listing reflects how Freshworks distributes the integration, not a retreat from Shopify. Freshdesk has no Shopify App Store listing ([Deploi's Gorgias vs. Freshdesk record](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/gorgias-vs-freshdesk), October 2026), so Freshworks lists, supports and installs its own app instead. In our experience that is a normal pattern for horizontal platforms that integrate with dozens of ecommerce systems.

The operational consequence is real, because a custom app sits outside Shopify's app review. Shopify's developer docs mark custom distribution "No" for approval required ([Shopify developer docs](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/launch/distribution), October 2026). Since 1 January 2026, new connections need an app built in the Dev Dashboard, because legacy custom app creation ended ([Freshdesk Support](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk), October 2026). So test the connection on a development store first, and add the custom app to your app inventory.

## How does a refund run, step by step, in each helpdesk?

A refund runs in both helpdesks from a Shopify panel beside the ticket, and the documented limits differ more than the steps do. Intercom's inbox takes a third approach, [calculating each refund from line items](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/gorgias-vs-intercom-order-context-support).

**Both helpdesks refund in full or in part from the ticket, and only Gorgias documents refund limits**

| Step or limit | Gorgias | Freshdesk |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Orders in the ticket | Order history in the sidebar | Current and past orders in the Shopify widget |
| Refund options | Quantities, shipping, custom amount, reason, restock, notify | Quantities, manual amount, reason, restock, notify |
| Cancel an order | With refund, restock and notify options | Only before the items are ready to ship |
| Documented refund limits | No refund on orders paid by two different methods, such as two cards; with a gift card, only the card share refunds | None documented |
| Record of the action | Macro actions logged in the ticket's events | Not documented |

Sources: [Gorgias Help Center, Shopify Actions](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/shopify-actions-461552); [Gorgias Help Center, Macros: Add actions to macros](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/macro-actions-81913); [Freshdesk Support, Integrating Shopify with Freshdesk](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk). Verified October 11, 2026.

Time your ten most common refund cases in a trial of each, including a split payment, a gift card order and a shipped order. In our experience each trip to Shopify admin adds a minute or two, so at a few hundred refund tickets a month it outweighs the price gap.

## What does each cost, and what should decide it?

Freshdesk costs less per agent, but that saving holds only if its app handles your refunds end to end. Freshdesk lists Growth at $19, Pro at $55 and Enterprise at $89 per agent a month, billed annually ([Freshworks](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/), October 2026). A Freshdesk account gets 500 free Freddy AI Agent sessions, once ([Freshworks](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/)). Gorgias Pro is $300 a month for 2,000 tickets, billed annually ([Gorgias](https://www.gorgias.com/pricing), October 2026).

At 2,000 tickets with four agents, Freshdesk Pro costs $220 a month against Gorgias Pro's $300 (Deploi arithmetic from the published prices, at 500 tickets an agent). Beyond the first 500, Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100, and Freddy AI Copilot is $29 per agent a month on Pro and Enterprise, billed annually ([Freshworks](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/)). Gorgias charges $0.90 per AI Agent interaction on annual plans, on top of the ticket fee ([Gorgias](https://www.gorgias.com/pricing)). So price the artificial intelligence (AI) line before comparing totals, because both vendors meter it separately.

## When is Freshdesk the right call anyway?

Freshdesk is the right call when the helpdesk serves more than the store, because per-agent pricing and a general service desk then fit. [Deploi's Gorgias vs. Freshdesk record](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/gorgias-vs-freshdesk) gives Freshdesk that one case: Shopify as one channel of a wider service desk (October 2026).

> **When Gorgias loses the refund comparison**
> - **When you already run Freshworks.** Shared identity, shared reporting and one vendor relationship are worth real money, and a second helpdesk is a governance problem.
> - **When refunds are a small share of the queue.** A brand whose tickets are mostly pre-sale or product questions is optimizing the wrong workflow if refunds decide its helpdesk.
> - **When per-agent pricing is cheaper for your shape.** A small permanent team with high throughput per agent is the profile per-agent pricing rewards.
> - **When the queue spans more than ecommerce.** Gorgias describes its helpdesk as "designed specifically for ecommerce and Shopify" ([Gorgias](https://www.gorgias.com/pricing), October 2026), while Freshworks sells Freshdesk as general customer support software ([Freshworks](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/)).

## Deploi's point of view

**What we've seen.** Refund handle time is the most reliably under-measured number in mid-market support. Teams quote average first response, which the helpdesk reports for them, and almost never measure minutes-per-refund, which is where the tool choice actually shows up. Measure it for two weeks before you choose.

**Where we disagree.** Comparison content routinely puts these two in a feature grid as though they were the same category of product with different prices. They are not. One is an ecommerce support product built around your Shopify orders; the other is a horizontal service desk whose Shopify connector is one integration among many. Both can refund, but pricing them against each other without testing that connector is how a cheap license turns into an expensive quarter.

**What this page adds.** The parent compares Gorgias and Zendesk on billing units. This answer shows that Freshdesk's Shopify integration ships through the Freshworks Marketplace and a custom app the store owner creates outside Shopify's app review, that Gorgias documents refund limits on split-payment and gift card orders, and that Freshdesk cancels an order only before its items are ready to ship.

## When this answer changes

- Freshworks lists Freshdesk's Shopify app on the Shopify App Store.
- Gorgias lifts its one-payment-method refund limit or starts refunding gift card payments.
- Freshworks documents refund limits or an audit trail for its Shopify app.
- Freshdesk or Gorgias changes its prices or AI metering.
- Refunds grow into a large share of your tickets.

## Sources

1. [Gorgias Inc., Gorgias: AI, Helpdesk & Chat on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/helpdesk), checked October 11, 2026
2. [Gorgias Help Center, Shopify Actions](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/shopify-actions-461552), checked October 11, 2026
3. [Gorgias Help Center, Macros: Add actions to macros](https://docs.gorgias.com/en-US/macro-actions-81913), checked October 11, 2026
4. [Freshworks Marketplace, Freshworks Shopify Integration](https://www.freshworks.com/apps/shopify/), checked October 11, 2026
5. [Freshdesk Support, Integrating Shopify with Freshdesk](https://support.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/195382-integrating-shopify-with-freshdesk), checked October 11, 2026
6. [Shopify developer docs, About app distribution](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/launch/distribution), checked October 11, 2026
7. [Freshworks, Freshdesk pricing](https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing/), checked October 11, 2026
8. [Gorgias, Pricing](https://www.gorgias.com/pricing), checked October 11, 2026
9. [Deploi Build vs. Buy, Gorgias vs. Freshdesk for Shopify Support: Which Helpdesk Wins?](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/gorgias-vs-freshdesk), checked October 11, 2026, Deploi research