Data as of:
brimindinvest.com / compare / zendesk-zd-freshworksLIVE
FRSH
Freshworks Inc. · Information Technology - CRM & Customer Service Software
$12.38
-5.28% this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
CRM
Salesforce, Inc. · Information Technology - CRM & Enterprise Software
$242.85
+23.81% this month
Comparison scoreboard
CRM LEADS 3/5
AI Scorei
FRSH 22.6
CRM 51.4
1Y Returni
FRSH -6.00%
CRM +1.48%
Fwd P/Ei
FRSH 15.87
CRM 16.19
Target Up.i
FRSH +8.77%
CRM +2.56%
Op. Margini
FRSH 5.53%
CRM 21.38%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/18/2026
Quick take

FRSH vs CRM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside

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CRM is the dominant, large-scale enterprise CRM and customer engagement leader, while FRSH is a much smaller, value-oriented challenger positioned as a simpler, more affordable alternative for small and mid-sized businesses. Both are incorporating AI assistants into their platforms, but differ enormously in scale and target customer segment.

FRSH vs CRM contrasts a smaller, value-positioned customer engagement software challenger against the dominant, large-scale enterprise CRM market leader.

Live analysis · updated 9/18/2026

CRM holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CRM has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+1.48% vs -6.00%), though FRSH has the better forward P/E setup (15.87x vs 16.19x for CRM). On fundamentals, FRSH is growing revenue faster (16.00%), while CRM maintains the higher operating margin (21.38%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for FRSH (+8.77%) than for CRM (+2.56%).

Want a full valuation workup? 46-section report — AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, bull/bear case, DCF, and more.
Normalized 1Y performance
FRSH
CRM
Recent returns
FRSH
CRM
Analyst price targets & sentiment

Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.

FRSH
Price target range
analyst mean$14.38
current price$12.38
+8.8% upside to analyst mean
CRM · 52 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (1.7/5.0)
39 Buy / 15 Hold / 2 Sell
Price target range
analyst low$225.00
analyst high$442.00
analyst mean$262.54
current price$242.85
+2.6% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
FRSH may suit investors who:
  • Want exposure to a value-oriented, simpler-to-implement customer engagement platform
  • Believe Freddy AI features can drive continued differentiation against larger competitors
  • See value in Freshworks' improving path to sustained profitability
CRM may suit investors who:
  • Want exposure to the dominant global enterprise CRM software leader
  • Believe Agentforce AI agents will become a significant new monetization opportunity
  • Prefer a company with broader, more diversified enterprise product offerings
Performance & AI score
Performance & AI score
MetricFRSHCRM
AI scorei22.651.4
AI ranki#4094#454
Latest closei$12.38$242.85
1M returni-5.28%+23.81%
6M returni+54.17%+24.54%
1Y returni-6.00%+1.48%
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)

How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?

$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
PeriodFRSHCRM
1Y ago$9.4K (-6.0%)
started 2025-09-18
$10.03K (+0.3%)
started 2025-09-17
5Y ago$2.6K (-74.0%)
started 2021-09-22
$9.54K (-4.6%)
started 2021-09-20
10Y ago$2.6K (-74.0%)
started 2021-09-22
$33.75K (+237.5%)
started 2016-09-19

Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.

Valuation & upside potential
Valuation & upside potential
MetricFRSHCRM
Market capi$3.45B$210.69B
Trailing P/Ei20.9923.42
Forward P/Ei15.8716.19
Price/SalesiN/A6.80
EV/Revenuei3.195.50
Analyst targeti$14.38$262.54
Target upsidei+8.77%+2.56%
Growth, profitability & risk
Growth, profitability & risk
MetricFRSHCRM
Revenue growthi16.00%10.80%
Earnings growthiN/A118.90%
EPS growthiN/A+118.90%
FCF margini+28.85%+40.36%
Operating margini5.53%21.38%
Profit margini20.49%21.99%
ROIC proxyi19.70%19.38%
Return on equityi19.70%19.38%
Dividend yieldiN/A0.69%
Payout ratioi0.00%15.68%
Dividend growth streakiN/ANo increase yet
Betai0.861.15
Debt/equityi3.86110.42
Current ratioi1.690.84
Quick ratioi1.510.67
Correlation

Over the past year, FRSH and CRM have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.71), based on daily returns.

1Y
0.71
-1.0+1.0
5Y
0.55
-1.0+1.0
10Y
0.55
-1.0+1.0
Drawdown & downside risk

Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.

1Y risk snapshot
FRSH max drawdowni48.81%
CRM max drawdowni43.61%
FRSH max wkly dropi22.91%
CRM max wkly dropi15.16%
5Y risk snapshot
FRSH max drawdowni86.31%
CRM max drawdowni59.08%
FRSH max wkly dropi28.50%
CRM max wkly dropi23.19%
10Y risk snapshot
FRSH max drawdowni86.31%
CRM max drawdowni59.08%
FRSH max wkly dropi28.50%
CRM max wkly dropi23.19%
Performance metrics by period
Performance metrics by period
PeriodMetricFRSHCRM
1YGrowthi-6.00%+0.26%
CAGRi-6.00%+0.26%
Volatilityi48.95%47.52%
Sharpe ratioi0.030.14
Sortino ratioi0.040.23
Max drawdowni48.81%43.61%
Current drawdowni11.06%8.78%
Avg drawdowni21.64%20.26%
Ulcer Indexi25.48%24.55%
Max daily dropi16.38%8.69%
Max wkly dropi22.91%15.16%
5YGrowthi-73.96%-5.28%
CAGRi-23.64%-1.08%
Volatilityi58.04%39.46%
Sharpe ratioi-0.250.06
Sortino ratioi-0.360.08
Max drawdowni86.31%59.08%
Current drawdowni75.36%33.81%
Avg drawdowni67.84%30.18%
Ulcer Indexi69.16%33.99%
Max daily dropi19.62%19.74%
Max wkly dropi28.50%23.19%
10YGrowthi-73.96%+235.05%
CAGRi-23.64%+12.86%
Volatilityi58.04%36.58%
Sharpe ratioi-0.250.39
Sortino ratioi-0.360.57
Max drawdowni86.31%59.08%
Current drawdowni75.36%33.81%
Avg drawdowni67.84%18.81%
Ulcer Indexi69.16%25.11%
Max daily dropi19.62%19.74%
Max wkly dropi28.50%23.19%
AI Prediction Signali
Members only
Next 5 trading days
FRSH
+2.8%BUY
CRM
+1.1%HOLD
Next 30 trading days
FRSH
+6.4%BUY
CRM
+3.2%HOLD

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Business comparison
Business comparison
CategoryFRSHCRM
CompanyFreshworks Inc.Salesforce, Inc.
SectorTechnologyTechnology
IndustrySoftware - ApplicationSoftware - Application
Core businessFreshworks provides customer service, sales, and IT service management software, positioning itself as a more affordable, easier-to-implement alternative to larger, more complex enterprise software platforms.Salesforce is the world's largest customer relationship management software provider, offering a broad platform spanning sales, service, marketing, commerce, and a growing suite of AI agent products (Agentforce) for enterprise customers.
Investor focusInvestors track Freshworks' customer growth among small and mid-sized businesses, AI feature adoption (Freddy AI), and progress toward sustained GAAP profitability.Investors track Salesforce's Agentforce AI agent adoption and monetization, core subscription revenue growth, and operating margin expansion as the company balances growth investment with profitability.
FRSH strengths
  • Positioned as a more affordable, simpler-to-implement alternative to larger enterprise platforms
  • Growing AI assistant (Freddy AI) features add product differentiation
  • Improving path toward sustained profitability while maintaining reasonable growth
CRM strengths
  • Dominant global market share in enterprise CRM software
  • Agentforce AI agent platform represents a significant new monetization opportunity layered onto existing customer relationships
  • Broad, diversified product portfolio spans the full customer engagement lifecycle
Risks to watch — FRSH
  • Significantly smaller scale than larger CRM and customer service competitors like Salesforce
  • Faces intense competition from both larger platforms and other value-oriented challengers like HubSpot
  • Growth has moderated from earlier hyper-growth rates as the market matures
Risks to watch — CRM
  • Large size makes sustaining high percentage growth rates more challenging
  • Agentforce and other AI products are still in relatively early stages of enterprise monetization
  • Faces competition from both specialized point solutions and other large enterprise software platforms
Frequently asked questions
Freshworks positions itself as a simpler, more affordable, and easier-to-implement alternative to larger, more complex platforms like Salesforce, primarily targeting small and mid-sized business customers.
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