Comprehensive Stock Comparison
Compare Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) vs Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) Stock
Analyze side-by-side fundamentals, valuation, growth, and profitability to decide which stock is the better buy.
Selected Stocks
Add up to 10 tickers. Use presets or search to get started.
Quick Verdict
| Category | Winner | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | FRSH | 20.8% revenue growth vs PEGA's 16.6% |
| Value | FRSH | Lower P/E (13.7x vs 16.2x) |
| Quality / Margins | FRSH | 21.9% net margin vs PEGA's 16.0% |
| Stability / Safety | FRSH | Beta 1.31 vs PEGA's 1.43, lower leverage |
| Dividends | PEGA | 0.2% yield; 1-year raise streak; FRSH pays no meaningful dividend |
| Momentum (1Y) | PEGA | +11.7% vs FRSH's -54.2% |
| Efficiency (ROA) | PEGA | 21.5% ROA vs FRSH's 11.5%, ROIC 27.5% vs -17.8% |
Who Each Stock Is For
Income & stability
Growth exposure
Long-term compounding (10Y)
Sleep-well-at-night portfolio
Defensive / Recession hedge
Business Model
What each company does and how it makes money
Pegasystems is a software company that provides enterprise applications and platforms for customer engagement and business process automation. It generates revenue primarily through software licensing and cloud subscriptions — with its Pega Platform and Pega Infinity solutions — along with related consulting and support services. The company's key advantage is its unified low-code platform that combines customer relationship management, artificial intelligence, and process automation into a single system, creating switching costs for enterprise clients.
Freshworks provides cloud-based customer engagement software for businesses of all sizes. It generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its suite of products — including Freshdesk for customer support (~40% of revenue), Freshsales for CRM (~30%), and other tools for marketing and IT service management. The company's key advantage is its unified, user-friendly platform that integrates multiple business functions, allowing customers to avoid the complexity of managing separate point solutions from different vendors.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
How each company's revenue is distributed across its business units
Financial Metrics Comparison
Side-by-side fundamentals across 2 stocks. BestLagging
Financial Scorecard
FRSH leads in 2 of 6 categories (Financial Metrics, Valuation Metrics). PEGA leads in 2 (Profitability & Efficiency, Total Returns). 1 tied.
Financial Metrics (TTM)
PEGA is the larger business by revenue, generating $1.7B annually — 2.1x FRSH's $839M. FRSH is the more profitable business, keeping 21.9% of every revenue dollar as net income compared to PEGA's 16.0%.
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| RevenueTrailing 12 months | $1.7B | $839M |
| EBITDAEarnings before interest/tax | $342M | $30M |
| Net IncomeAfter-tax profit | $278M | $184M |
| Free Cash FlowCash after capex | $439M | $232M |
| Gross MarginGross profit ÷ Revenue | +75.7% | +85.0% |
| Operating MarginEBIT ÷ Revenue | +17.4% | +1.6% |
| Net MarginNet income ÷ Revenue | +16.0% | +21.9% |
| FCF MarginFCF ÷ Revenue | +25.4% | +27.7% |
| Rev. Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +17.3% | +14.5% |
| EPS Growth (YoY)Latest quarter vs prior year | +3.9% | +10.3% |
Valuation Metrics
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Market CapShares × price | $7.5B | $2.4B |
| Enterprise ValueMkt cap + debt − cash | $7.3B | $1.8B |
| Trailing P/EPrice ÷ TTM EPS | 20.53x | -24.44x |
| Forward P/EPrice ÷ next-FY EPS est. | 16.16x | 13.75x |
| PEG RatioP/E ÷ EPS growth rate | — | — |
| EV / EBITDAEnterprise value multiple | 27.77x | — |
| Price / SalesMarket cap ÷ Revenue | 4.27x | 3.29x |
| Price / BookPrice ÷ Book value/share | 10.26x | 2.07x |
| Price / FCFMarket cap ÷ FCF | 14.76x | 16.25x |
Profitability & Efficiency
PEGA delivers a 46.6% return on equity — every $100 of shareholder capital generates $47 in annual profit, vs $18 for FRSH. FRSH carries lower financial leverage with a 0.03x debt-to-equity ratio, signaling a more conservative balance sheet compared to PEGA's 0.08x. On the Piotroski fundamental quality scale (0–9), PEGA scores 8/9 vs FRSH's 5/9, reflecting strong financial health.
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| ROE (TTM)Return on equity | +46.6% | +17.8% |
| ROA (TTM)Return on assets | +21.5% | +11.5% |
| ROICReturn on invested capital | +27.5% | -17.8% |
| ROCEReturn on capital employed | +33.4% | -11.9% |
| Piotroski ScoreFundamental quality 0–9 | 8 | 5 |
| Debt / EquityFinancial leverage | 0.08x | 0.03x |
| Net DebtTotal debt minus cash | -$152M | -$582M |
| Cash & Equiv.Liquid assets | $212M | $620M |
| Total DebtShort + long-term debt | $61M | $38M |
| Interest CoverageEBIT ÷ Interest expense | 112.43x | — |
Total Returns (with DRIP)
A $10,000 investment in PEGA five years ago would be worth $6,478 today (with dividends reinvested), compared to $1,645 for FRSH. Over the past 12 months, PEGA leads with a +11.7% total return vs FRSH's -54.2%. The 3-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) favors PEGA at 23.8% vs FRSH's -19.4% — a key indicator of consistent wealth creation.
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| YTD ReturnYear-to-date | -21.9% | -32.6% |
| 1-Year ReturnPast 12 months | +11.7% | -54.2% |
| 3-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +89.5% | -47.7% |
| 5-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | -35.2% | -83.6% |
| 10-Year ReturnCumulative with dividends | +265.1% | -83.6% |
| CAGR (3Y)Annualised 3-year return | +23.8% | -19.4% |
Risk & Volatility
FRSH is the less volatile stock with a 1.31 beta — it tends to amplify market swings less than PEGA's 1.43 beta. A beta below 1.0 means the stock typically moves less than the S&P 500. PEGA currently trades 64.2% from its 52-week high vs FRSH's 45.4% drawdown — a narrower gap to the peak suggests stronger recent price momentum.
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Beta (5Y)Sensitivity to S&P 500 | 1.43x | 1.31x |
| 52-Week HighHighest price in past year | $68.10 | $17.21 |
| 52-Week LowLowest price in past year | $29.84 | $6.79 |
| % of 52W HighCurrent price vs 52-week peak | +64.2% | +45.4% |
| RSI (14)Momentum oscillator 0–100 | 49.5 | 40.1 |
| Avg Volume (50D)Average daily shares traded | 1.7M | 4.6M |
Analyst Outlook
Wall Street rates PEGA as "Buy" and FRSH as "Buy". Consensus price targets imply 46.2% upside for FRSH (target: $11) vs 33.2% for PEGA (target: $58). PEGA is the only dividend payer here at 0.19% yield — a key consideration for income-focused portfolios.
| Metric | PEGAPegasystems Inc. | FRSHFreshworks Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst RatingConsensus buy/hold/sell | Buy | Buy |
| Price TargetConsensus 12-month target | $58.25 | $11.43 |
| # AnalystsCovering analysts | 23 | 18 |
| Dividend YieldAnnual dividend ÷ price | +0.2% | — |
| Dividend StreakConsecutive years of raises | 1 | — |
| Dividend / ShareAnnual DPS | $0.08 | — |
| Buyback YieldShare repurchases ÷ mkt cap | +0.2% | +0.6% |
Historical Charts
Charts are rendered on first load. Hover for details.
Chart 1Total Return — 5 Years (Rebased to 100)
| Stock | Oct 21 | Feb 26 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 100 | 67.75 | -32.3% |
| Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) | 88.1 | 22.42 | -74.6% |
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) returned -35% over 5 years vs Freshworks Inc. (FRSH)'s -84%.
Chart 2Revenue Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | $750M | $1.7B | +132.7% |
| Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) | $127M | $720M | +467.8% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s revenue grew from $750M (2016) to $1.7B (2025) — a 9.8% CAGR.
Chart 3Net Margin Trend — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 3.6% | 22.5% | +526.5% |
| Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) | 2.1% | -13.2% | -734.1% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s net margin went from 4% (2016) to 23% (2025).
Chart 4P/E Ratio History — 5 Years
| Stock | 2017 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 39.6 | 28 | -29.3% |
Pegasystems Inc. has traded in a 28x–374x P/E range over 5 years; current trailing P/E is ~21x.
Chart 5EPS Growth — 10 Years
| Stock | 2016 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) | 0.17 | 2.13 | +1152.9% |
| Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) | 0.16 | -0.32 | -300.0% |
Pegasystems Inc.'s EPS grew from $0.17 (2016) to $2.13 (2025) — a 32% CAGR.
Chart 6Free Cash Flow — 5 Years
Pegasystems Inc. generated $505M FCF in 2025 (+1663% vs 2021). Freshworks Inc. generated $146M FCF in 2024 (+6131% vs 2021).
PEGA vs FRSH: Frequently Asked Questions
9 questions · data-driven answers · updated daily
01Is PEGA or FRSH a better buy right now?
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) offers the better valuation at 20.5x trailing P/E (16.2x forward), making it the more compelling value choice. Analysts rate Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) a "Buy" — based on 23 analyst ratings — the highest consensus in this comparison. The "better buy" depends entirely on your goals: growth investors should weight revenue trajectory, value investors should weight P/E and PEG, and income investors should weight dividend yield and streak.
02Which has the better valuation — PEGA or FRSH?
On forward P/E, Freshworks Inc. is actually cheaper at 13.7x — notably different from the trailing picture, reflecting expected earnings growth.
03Which is the better long-term investment — PEGA or FRSH?
Over the past 5 years, Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) delivered a total return of -35.2%, compared to -83.6% for Freshworks Inc. (FRSH). A $10,000 investment in PEGA five years ago would be worth approximately $6K today (assuming dividends reinvested). Over 10 years, the gap is even starker: PEGA returned +265.1% versus FRSH's -83.6%. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the stock with the higher historical return may already have its best growth priced in.
04Which is safer — PEGA or FRSH?
By beta (market sensitivity over 5 years), Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) is the lower-risk stock at 1.31β versus Pegasystems Inc.'s 1.43β — meaning PEGA is approximately 9% more volatile than FRSH relative to the S&P 500. On balance sheet safety, Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) carries a lower debt/equity ratio of 3% versus 8% for Pegasystems Inc. — giving it more financial flexibility in a downturn.
05Which has better profit margins — PEGA or FRSH?
Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) is the more profitable company, earning 22.5% net margin versus -13.2% for Freshworks Inc. — meaning it keeps 22.5% of every revenue dollar as bottom-line profit. Operating margin tells a similar story: PEGA leads at 15.1% versus -19.2% for FRSH. At the gross margin level — before operating expenses — FRSH leads at 84.3%, reflecting greater pricing power or product mix advantage. Stronger margins indicate durable pricing power, lower cost of revenue, or higher mix of software/services. They are one of the clearest signs of business quality.
06Is PEGA or FRSH more undervalued right now?
On forward earnings alone, Freshworks Inc. (FRSH) trades at 13.7x forward P/E versus 16.2x for Pegasystems Inc. — 2.4x cheaper on a one-year earnings basis. Analyst consensus price targets imply the most upside for FRSH: 46.2% to $11.43.
07Which pays a better dividend — PEGA or FRSH?
In this comparison, PEGA (0.2% yield) pays a dividend. FRSH does not pay a meaningful dividend and should not be held primarily for income.
08Is PEGA or FRSH better for a retirement portfolio?
For long-horizon retirement investors, Pegasystems Inc. (PEGA) is the stronger choice — it scores higher on the combination of lower volatility, dividend reliability, and long-term compounding (+265.1% 10Y return). Both have compounded well over 10 years (PEGA: +265.1%, FRSH: -83.6%), confirming both are viable long-term holds — but the lower-volatility option typically results in less emotional selling during corrections. Retirement portfolios generally favour predictability over maximum returns. Consult a financial advisor before making allocation decisions.
09What are the main differences between PEGA and FRSH?
Both stocks operate in the Technology sector, making this a peer-level intra-sector comparison — the same macro tailwinds and headwinds will affect both. These fundamental differences mean investors should not choose between them on a single metric — the "better stock" depends entirely on which of these characteristics aligns with your investment strategy.
Find Stocks Like These
Explore pre-built screens for each stock's profile, or build a custom screen to find stocks that beat both.