Freshworks Inc. vs ZoomInfo: Strategic Comparison

This in-depth comparison examines Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo across revenue, market value, business model, competitive positioning, and long-term growth strategy. Whether you are researching Freshworks Inc. on its own, evaluating ZoomInfo, or weighing the two companies side by side, the breakdown below highlights where each company leads and where the gap between Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo is widest.

On the headline numbers, annual revenue is $838.8M (FY2025) for Freshworks Inc. and $1.2B (FY2025) for ZoomInfo, while their respective market capitalizations stand at $3.3B and $1.1B. Both Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo are headquartered in United States. Their local markets and applicable rules may still differ.

Freshworks Inc.: Freshworks is one of the best-known software companies founded in India. It started as a cheaper, simpler alternative to Zendesk, then expanded into IT service management with Freshservice, which is now its largest growth engine. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, California, while much of its product and engineering work happens in Chennai and Bengaluru.

ZoomInfo: ZoomInfo started in 2007 as DiscoverOrg. Founders Henry Schuck and Kirk Brown put $25,000 on their credit cards while Schuck was still in law school, and they set out to compile accurate org charts and contact details for sales teams. With backing from TA Associates, The Carlyle Group and Great Hill Partners, DiscoverOrg acquired Zoom Information, Inc. in February 2019 and adopted its name. ZoomInfo went public on Nasdaq on June 4, 2020, the first major tech IPO of the COVID-19 period. A series of acquisitions followed, including Chorus.ai and RingLead in 2021. Revenue passed $1 billion in 2022 but has hovered around $1.2-1.25 billion since. In May 2025 the company changed its ticker from ZI to GTM, and it now pitches itself as an AI go-to-market platform. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo pursue distinct approaches to generating revenue, and understanding how each company operates is the foundation of any fair comparison between Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo.

Freshworks Inc. business model: Freshworks sells subscriptions, mostly priced per agent or per user, across tiered plans (Growth, Pro, Enterprise). Revenue comes from two segments: employee experience (Freshservice for IT service management, IT asset management via the 2024 Device42 acquisition, and service management for HR and facilities) and customer experience (Freshdesk ticketing, Freshchat messaging and Freshsales CRM). Freddy AI copilot and AI agent features are sold as paid add-ons. Small customers often start with free trials or self-serve plans; larger mid-market and enterprise deals go through a direct sales team and channel partners. Growth comes from adding seats, upgrading tiers and cross-selling Freshservice to Freshdesk customers.

ZoomInfo business model: ZoomInfo sells subscriptions, mostly annual or multi-year contracts priced by seats, data credits and product modules. Customers use the platform to find companies and contacts, enrich CRM records, track buyer intent and record sales calls (Chorus). Management splits the base into upmarket customers and down-market small businesses. As of June 30, 2026, 76% of annual contract value (ACV) came from upmarket customers and 1,891 customers paid $100,000 or more in ACV. Net revenue retention was 89% in Q2 2026. The data-as-a-service business, which delivers ZoomInfo data straight into customers' warehouses and systems, grew more than 20% in 2025 and made up nearly a fifth of ACV.

The durability of a company's moat often decides long-term winners. Here is how the competitive advantages of Freshworks Inc. stack up against those of ZoomInfo.

Freshworks Inc. competitive advantage: Freshworks' main advantage is a lower total cost of ownership: Freshservice and Freshdesk are designed to be configured by in-house admins in weeks rather than through multi-month integrator projects common with ServiceNow or Salesforce. A large engineering base in India keeps R&D costs lower than Silicon Valley peers, and a shared platform lets one vendor cover IT, HR and customer support desks.

ZoomInfo competitive advantage: ZoomInfo's main assets are its large, continuously updated B2B data set, its integrations with CRM and marketing systems, and a base of large enterprise customers that make up most of its contract value.

Future prospects matter as much as current results. The growth strategies below explain how Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo each plan to expand from here.

Freshworks Inc. growth strategy: Under Dennis Woodside, Freshworks narrowed its focus to service software. It pushes Freshservice upmarket into mid-sized and larger enterprises, cross-sells IT asset management, sells Freddy AI add-ons into the installed base, and relies more on partners and resellers. In 2024 it de-emphasized standalone sales and marketing CRM products to concentrate investment on IT and customer service.

ZoomInfo growth strategy: Management is focused on enterprise accounts, data-as-a-service delivery, Copilot and GTM.AI. It is also returning cash to shareholders through buybacks and has been repurchasing senior notes at a discount.

A closer look at the financial trajectory of Freshworks Inc. and ZoomInfo rounds out the comparison.

Freshworks Inc.: Freshworks grew revenue from $172.4 million in 2019 to $838.8 million in 2025. Losses peaked at a $232 million net loss in 2022, then narrowed as the company cut costs and slowed hiring. In 2025 it posted GAAP operating income of $13.2 million (versus a $138.6 million loss in 2024), non-GAAP operating income of $178.0 million, and $242.4 million in operating cash flow; GAAP net income of about $184 million was boosted by a fourth-quarter tax benefit. Cash and marketable securities were $843.7 million at year-end 2025. In Q2 2026 revenue rose 16% to $237.4 million with a 24% non-GAAP operating margin. Freshworks Inc. is a major SaaS company providing customer and employee engagement solutions, maintaining a market valuation typically around $4 billion to $5 billion.

ZoomInfo: Revenue climbed from $144.3 million in 2018 to $1,098.0 million in 2022, then levelled off: $1,239.5 million in 2023, $1,214.3 million in 2024 and $1,249.5 million in 2025. FY2025 net income was $124.2 million, with GAAP operating income of $225.7 million, adjusted operating income of $445.9 million (36% margin) and unlevered free cash flow of $454.9 million. ZoomInfo bought back more than $400 million of stock in 2025 and authorized another $1 billion. In Q2 2026, revenue was $310.4 million (up 1.2%), and a $650.5 million goodwill impairment produced a GAAP operating loss of $622.0 million. Adjusted operating income was $110.0 million.