Prioritise, track, and resolve customer and employee support tickets efficiently with help desk software. Discover the benefits of an AI-powered solution today.
Customer expectations are rising, and businesses must implement systems that help their teams deliver outstanding customer experiences (CX). Whether you’re still using people to make first contact with customers or leveraging AI to increase efficiency, you need the right help desk software to achieve it.
Help desk software empowers businesses to deliver more efficient and higher-quality service, whether managing customer conversations or handling IT support requests. Read on to learn about some options on the market so you can find the right fit for your needs.
Help desk software is a tool designed to assist support teams in tracking, prioritising, and resolving service queries from customers, employees, or business partners. The right help desk system empowers agents to collaborate on requests and personalise conversations across channels. Additionally, with AI and automation, help desk software can help teams automate resolutions, boost agent productivity, and optimise workflows.
Help desk software comparison chart
Below is a brief overview of the help desk options on the list, including starting prices, key features, and free trial length, if applicable.
Software
Starting price
Free trial
Best for
Zendesk
$55 per agent/month (billed annually)
14 days
Customer experience and employee service
HappyFox
$24 per agent/month (billed annually)
14 days
Marketing teams
Help Scout
$0 per technician/month (one inbox)
15 days
Collaboration
SolarWinds Service Desk
$0 per user/month (one technician)
30 days
Enterprise service management
Jira Service Management
$0 per year (three agents)
7 days
Project management
Salesforce Service Cloud
$25 per user/month
30 days
Sales support
SysAid
Contact sales
Available
Codeless interface customisation
Vivantio
$59 per user/month (billed annually)
Available
Concurrent licensing
Zoho Desk
$0 per user/month (three agents)
15 days
Mobile app issue resolution
Freshdesk
$0 per agent/month (two agents)
14 days
Agent day passes
HubSpot Service Hub
$0 per seat/month (limited tools)
Unavailable
Teams using HubSpot’s CRM
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Free (ad supported)
Not applicable
Teams looking for a free product
LiveAgent
$15 per agent/month (billed annually)
14 or 30 days
Live chat support
The 13 best help desk systems
Next, we’ll dive into more comprehensive product overviews. Below, you’ll find expanded product descriptions, pros and cons, and other information that can help you make your selection.
Zendesk: Best for customer experience and employee service
Zendesk provides a comprehensive help desk solution for the AI era. Designed specifically for service teams, it prioritises ease of use and scales to any use case, whether supporting customers, employees, or both.
Enable agents to provide fast, personalised service on any channel with the Zendesk Agent Workspace. This omnichannel ticketing system is fused with AI features like agent copilot—an AI-powered assistant that proactively anticipates and suggests next steps and can even take action on behalf of an agent based on defined business procedures.
Zendesk AI agents are pre-trained on over 18 billion real customer interactions and integrate with your business systems. It empowers you to offer personalised support to even the most complex customer questions like your human agents would. AI agents can autonomously resolve requests, share knowledge base content, and execute tasks such as refunds and order tracking.
Routing and intelligence can automatically forward requests to the right agent based on their availability, workload, and expertise. Additionally, Zendesk QA can review 100 percent of your tickets to ensure your agents—both human and AI—are operating as efficiently as possible.
Zendesk seamlessly integrates with your existing tech stack and is easily customisable with the over 1,800 apps and integrations in the Zendesk Marketplace. Keeping your company and customer data is our top priority, and we have the compliance certifications and memberships to prove it.
Who is it for?
Zendesk excels for businesses seeking an AI-powered help desk solution that effectively serves customers and employees. Its robust AI capabilities automate customer experiences, assist agents for faster ticket resolution, and streamline operations. This leads to improved response times and enhances customer satisfaction.
Features
Omnichannel support
Security
AI-powered self-service
Workflow automation
AI copilot
Quality assurance
Workforce management
Reporting and analytics
Apps and integrations
Pros
Cons
Provides detailed reports and analytics on customer interactions, agent performance, and key metrics
Offers robust customisation options, including workflows, ticket forms, and automated triggers
Accessible to small businesses and enterprise-level organisations
Includes a knowledge base and community forum tools, empowering customers to find answers independently
HappyFox is a cloud-based help desk solution that helps support and marketing teams track and manage customer issues. The help desk features a ticketing system that creates tickets from email, voice, live chat, messaging, social media and web form requests and routes them to its shared inbox.
HappyFox’s help desk offers a few options for its self-service knowledge bases. These include an internal knowledge base for support teams and HR, an external knowledge base software for customers, and a multilingual knowledge base for global self-service.
Who is it for?
The HappyFox help desk is a tool for marketers to consolidate internal and external communication. It allows for automated task assignment, progress tracking, and centralised communication within marketing teams, ensuring projects stay on schedule and deliverables are met.
Help Scout offers a customer help desk that enables support teams to collaboratively manage customer conversations. The tool consolidates requests from email, live chat, self-service portals and other channels into a shared inbox. All requests filter into this centralised location, where the system can tag, update, and assign tickets to agents or teams.
Other features of Help Scout’s help desk include a help centre, live chat and messaging software, automation, custom workflows, prebuilt reporting dashboards and collaboration tools. Help Scout also offers integration options in their app marketplace.
Who is it for?
Help Scout’s shared inbox supports teams wanting to increase collaboration. It allows multiple team members to access and respond to customer enquiries, fostering knowledge sharing and preventing messages from falling through the cracks. Additionally, its built-in communication tools, such as internal notes and tags, can help internal coordination.
Features
Omnichannel support
Security
AI-powered self-service
Workflow automation
Reporting and analytics
Apps and integrations
Pros
Cons
Has a sidebar that provides conversation history
All plans support unlimited users
Supports a customisable help widget for websites and apps
SolarWinds Service Desk lets users manage and track support tickets in one centralised interface. It features reporting tools that allow users to analyse business metrics and agent performance. It’s also an incident management software, letting users manage tickets from different channels, including mobile apps, phone calls and live chats.
Finally, SolarWinds’ ITSM system enables businesses to standardise their service requests and processes. It helps teams manage daily IT tasks, collaborate internally and offer customer portals for self-service. SolarWinds also helps users automate ticket creation, escalation and routing.
Who is it for?
SolarWinds Service Desk is an ITSM platform designed for enterprise environments. Capabilities like incident management, change management, and asset management make it suitable for organisations with complex IT infrastructures.
Jira Service Management from Atlassian offers a help desk programme for project management and customer service. The software features a self-service portal that offers customisable request forms and gives customers and employees a place to create requests, find answers, and get help.
Jira offers conversational ticketing, meaning agents have a single view of requests from email, chat and its service desk. Users can triage, track and route incoming requests to agents or teams and use bulk ticket actions to group similar tickets.
Who is it for?
Jira Service Management, while primarily an ITSM solution, can be effectively utilised for project management, particularly for agile teams. Its customisable workflows, Kanban boards, and integration with other Atlassian tools enable task tracking, progress visualisation, and streamlined collaboration.
Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer service platform that provides a single view of customer information and history. It features automated workflows, AI-powered productivity tools and a single ticketing system for issue resolution.
Self-service options allow customers to find articles in the help centre. Teams can build their help centre via a no-code interface and customise it with their logo and branded colours. From there, the Einstein Service Agent chatbot can direct customers to relevant articles and solve problems.
Remember that Salesforce can be intricate, requiring a longer learning curve for first-time users. Salesforce isn't solely dedicated to customer experience, providing a comprehensive suite for sales and marketing. That means businesses seeking to enhance their customer service may find it easier to achieve their goals by opting for software specifically designed for CX.
Who is it for?
Salesforce Service Cloud is particularly advantageous for sales teams already using other Salesforce products since they natively integrate. This allows sales teams to access customer data within the same platform, including service history, support interactions, and case resolutions.
Features
Omnichannel support
Security
AI-powered self-service
Workflow automation
AI copilot
Workforce management
Reporting and analytics
Apps and integrations
Pros
Cons
Can link with sales processes
Can create sales quotes for different combinations of products
All plans include customisable reporting dashboards
The Starter Suite has limited features like case and knowledge management tools
SysAid’s help desk software offers a suite of ITSM capabilities. The platform provides ticketing functionality, allowing users to log, prioritise and track support requests. SysAid can help teams with asset management so businesses manage and monitor their IT assets throughout their life cycle.
The software includes a knowledge base with automation features to handle repetitive tasks, and its reporting and analytics tools provide metrics for help desk performance and customer support trends. SysAid is also customisable and offers integrations with third-party tools and applications.
Who is it for?
SysAid’s drag-and-drop functionality allows administrators to configure workflows, customise forms, and create reports without extensive technical expertise. This makes SysAid a suitable option for businesses that prioritise a no-code approach to IT service management, enabling them to implement and adapt the platform with minimal IT support.
Vivantio's help desk software assists businesses with service management. Teams can integrate Vivantio with a support mailbox to automatically tag and categorise incoming emails. It also offers email templates for automated responses, ensuring customers receive acknowledgment.
The product’s portal widget builder features custom themes and designs, and the software’s searchable online knowledge base comes with custom forms and fields. Its help desk also features pre-built and customisable reporting and analytics dashboards and a report builder that allows teams to create custom charts to display data and metrics.
Who is it for?
Vivantio offers flexible licensing options, including concurrent licensing models. This allows businesses to purchase a specific number of concurrent users, enabling multiple employees to access the platform with a single licence. This model particularly benefits businesses with fluctuating user needs, such as businesses with multiple work shifts.
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based help desk software that assists businesses with customer support operations. The platform offers a ticketing system, allowing users to create, categorise and prioritise support tickets. Zoho Desk features a knowledge base so users have access to self-service resources.
The help desk also features automation tools that allow users to set predefined rules and workflows for ticket routing. Additionally, its reporting and analytics tools track ticket volumes, response times, and agent performance. Zoho Desk offers integration with other Zoho applications and third-party tools.
Who is it for?
Zoho Desk is for agents who regularly respond to help desk requests from their mobile devices. The iOS and Android apps let teams manage customer enquiries, track tickets, and resolve issues on the go. The platform offers real-time notifications and access to customer histories, enabling timely responses.
The Freshworks cloud-based help desk tool, Freshdesk, serves as a centralised platform for support teams to manage and respond to customer requests. Its ticketing system consolidates requests from various channels into a shared team inbox.
It offers automation capabilities and customisable ticket fields to help categorise and route incoming customer enquiries and requests. Additionally, users can define customised ticket statuses for greater visibility into the ticket’s progress.
It’s worth noting that the Freshworks platform comprises three systems: Freshdesk, Freshchat and Freshcaller. Each system operates within its own workspace, requiring agents to navigate between multiple tabs to access customer information. This setup may impact customer service efficiency, potentially leading to delays and oversight of important information.
Who is it for?
Freshdesk is best for businesses with seasonal workload changes or who are regularly hiring contractors. For a nominal fee, it provides day passes that grant temporary access to agents without committing to a full licence.
Features
Omnichannel support
Security
AI-powered self-service
AI copilot
Workflow automation
Reporting and analytics
Apps and integrations
Pros
Cons
Users can invite external collaborators to assist with customer issues
Provides a customer portal for self-service and ticket submission
HubSpot Service Hub provides a single dashboard that lets your support team log, organise and track all customer issues in one place. Agents can view customer data, ticket status, queue location, and the time it takes to resolve an issue. Reporting and analytics help you monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) like ticket volume and first contact resolution time.
The software offers ticket routing and automation features that allow your team to automate tasks. The platform also automatically creates tickets when a customer submits a form, email or chat.
Who is it for?
HubSpot Service Hub is a natural extension for businesses already leveraging the HubSpot CRM. It allows for a unified customer view across sales, marketing, and service departments. This shared data provides a 360-degree understanding of customer interactions.
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk is a web-based ticketing system designed to assist IT professionals in managing and tracking support requests. The platform allows users to create, prioritise and assign tickets. Users can also set alerts and customise ticket attributes and rules to receive ticket activity and status notifications.
The software supports email integration, automatically converting incoming customer emails into tickets. The software includes reporting tools for tracking ticket metrics, response times and overall support performance.
Who is it for?
Spiceworks is a free help desk solution, allowing businesses operating on a tight budget to access the necessary tools to serve their customers. Additionally, its cloud-based nature eliminates the need for infrastructure setup, ensuring quick deployment and ease of use.
LiveAgent is a help desk software that helps customer support teams manage enquiries across multiple communication channels. Its ticketing system supports channels like phone, email, live chat, knowledge base and social media, routing tickets into a shared team inbox. Its chat software allows agents to provide live support and features a real-time typing view so support agents can see what the customer is typing before they hit send.
The software includes automation tools like pre-written responses and automated ticket routing. Additionally, LiveAgent provides a knowledge base for help centre articles, FAQs and self-service resources. The platform also offers collaboration tools, reporting and analytics software, and integrations with third-party applications.
Who is it for?
The LiveAgent help desk solution is for businesses that primarily address enquiries via a chat widget. Its native live chat functionality allows businesses to engage customers in real time through chat windows on their website or app. This integrated approach enables agents to transition between live chat interactions and text-based support channels, providing a more efficient and personalised customer support experience.
Here are a few key features to look for when comparing help desk software:
Omnichannel support: An omnichannel approach creates connected and consistent interactions across channels and touchpoints. With it, customers and employees can get convenient support over their preferred communication mediums, like Slack, Microsoft Teams, email, and live chat.
Security: Help desk systems have access to a tremendous amount of confidential customer and employee information, and you need to be sure that information is safe. Comprehensive security features protect data and can help organisations achieve security compliance.
AI-powered self-service: Using customer service software with self-service capabilities allows them to quickly find resources and resolve issues independently, reducing support tickets. With AI, you can create and optimise new self-service articles through generative AI, deploy AI agents to solve complex user issues, and provide advanced search capabilities that help your users find what they need faster.
Workflow automation: In the context of a help desk, workflows can help businesses establish predefined sequences of actions and rules that automate and guide the processing of support tickets. For example, organisations can establish omnichannel routing to automatically direct customer or employee requests across multiple support channels, factoring in agent status, capacity, skill set, and ticket priority.
AI copilot: These AI-powered assistants can help agents quickly find relevant knowledge base articles, past conversations, and other internal resources. They can also draft responses to customer enquiries, suggesting appropriate language and tone. Furthermore, AI copilots can proactively suggest next steps by analysing interactions and identifying patterns, such as escalating issues or recommending specific solutions.
Quality assurance: Help desk quality assurance tools can automatically analyse conversations across channels for key help desk metrics like response times and adherence to service level agreements. By highlighting areas of excellence and identifying areas for improvement, these tools empower teams to continuously refine their support processes and enhance agent performance.
Workforce management (WFM): WFM tools use sophisticated algorithms to automate shift scheduling, considering factors like employee availability, predicted demand, and budget constraints. These tools can adjust schedules in real time based on current activity levels, such as increased call volume or website traffic. This ensures optimal staffing levels across all shifts, preventing understaffing or overstaffing.
Reporting and analytics: Help desk software that features reporting and analytics gives you fast access to valuable customer insights. This information can help you identify areas of improvement so you can provide better experiences, monitor team and agent performance, and understand your customers better so you can personalise interactions.
Apps and integrations The right integrations can extend the functionality and capabilities of your help desk systems, giving you a 360-degree view of the customer and streamlining your data across systems. This information can help you and your team gain a complete, accurate picture of your customers and understand exactly what they need.
Note that the best help desks will offer all of these tools, whilst a free service or plan may only have a few.
Benefits of help desk tools
Help desk tools have benefits for customers and employees alike. Here are a few to consider:
Improved service efficiency: Help desk tools can streamline the process of providing fast and easy support options to internal and external customers. An omnichannel ticketing system, for example, consolidates customer requests and IT support tickets in a single location. This eliminates the need to toggle between systems and channels, enabling agents to deliver quick, efficient service.
Upgraded service quality: With this technology, teams can establish and maintain helpful knowledge bases. They can reference information on customer and employee interactions to enhance personalisation. Chatbots and AI agents provide comprehensive, 24/7 support. The result is a faster and more effective experience for customers and employees.
Boosted cost savings: Investing in help desk tools allows teams to take advantage of self-service resources and workflow automation to reduce the pressure on support teams. Additionally, organisations can use help desk software to spot inefficiencies in their support processes, leading to more efficient service and less time wasted on unnecessary tasks.
Refined collaboration: Help desk tools foster better team collaboration by providing a centralised platform where all team members can access and update information. They also help support reps better understand the customer journey so they can focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience at every touchpoint.
Enhanced optimisation: With help desk software, teams can quickly spot inefficiencies and implement improvement opportunities. For example, businesses can use these tools to track customer service key performance indicators, such as first reply time or average resolution time. This information can help organisations stay agile and deliver outstanding service at every turn.
How to choose the right help desk software
With the right help desk system, support teams are equipped with all the tools they need to provide quick, effective service. Here are a few common things to consider when choosing a partner:
Assess its total cost of ownership:The monthly fee isn’t the only cost associated with help desk software. Look for tools that can get you up and running quickly to realise the value of your investment as soon as possible. Also, choose an option with transparent pricing that doesn’t have endless add-ons.
Ensure it has a fast ROI: Help desk software with out-of-the-box functionality can help your business see a faster return on investment (ROI). For example, cosmetics retailer Lush used Zendesk to achieve a 369 percent ROI in less than one year.
Test its ease of use: When you’re shopping for a help desk software take the time to test it with a free trial if it’s offered. Look out for an intuitive, agent-friendly interface, easy customisation options, and simple admin.
Evaluate its scalability and agility: Consider an open, flexible, and agile help desk solution that easily integrates with the rest of your tech stack and helps you make changes at the speed of your business. It should scale with you and evolve with your customer needs.
Be sure to factor in these variables and the features that matter most to you.
Frequently asked questions
Though often referred to interchangeably, help desk software and service desk software have a few differences. A help desk primarily assists and resolves specific user issues or incidents. In contrast, a service desk is a more comprehensive IT support function that addresses incidents, manages service requests, coordinates IT processes, and integrates broader IT help desk software functions.
Yes, Zendesk is a help desk software. We provide an AI-powered help desk solution for organisations to efficiently manage customer support and service requests. Zendesk features include ticketing, workflow automation, knowledge base and omnichannel support, making it a comprehensive solution for help desk operations. Our software enables businesses to streamline customer interactions and enhance overall support processes.
To create a virtual help desk, you should:
Select a cloud-based help desk software and define virtual communication channels for remote interactions.
Implement a ticketing system within the software to log and manage support requests efficiently.
Develop a knowledge base with self-help resources and integrate collaboration tools for remote team communication.
Train support agents, ensure security measures, and continuously monitor and analyse performance for ongoing improvement.
Once you check off these boxes, you’ll be well on your way to providing outstanding service.
Help desk software can improve your business by helping to improve your customer and employee service. With it, you can personalise interactions, reduce costs, foster greater team collaboration, and more.
Stanley Black and Decker chooses Zendesk for omnichannel support
“Zendesk’s Professional Services team were the real driver for our successful, on-time rollout of Zendesk.”
The Zendesk help desk solution enables you to adapt to evolving expectations to continuously provide a great customer experience and employee service. By infusing AI into the entire service experience, Zendesk can help unlock your support team’s potential. Our AI is purpose-built for CX and can help your team resolve even the most complex customer interactions at every touchpoint. Not only that, but Zendesk is easy to use and easy to scale—meaning we can get you started quickly and be there for you as you grow.
