Have you ever experienced the frustration of missing important emails or struggling to keep your customers satisfied? If these challenges sound familiar, you’re not alone.
Many businesses face these obstacles, leading them to explore the best help desk software.
Every business aims to assist its customers in the best way possible, and a significant part of that is providing prompt answers and solutions to their inquiries and issues.
This is where help desk software becomes invaluable. It serves as a tool that streamlines interactions with customers and facilitates support.
However, with so many help desk software options available today, it can be daunting to determine which one is the most suitable for your business needs.
In this article, we’ll delve into the 10 most popular help desk software, discussing their features and how they can benefit various businesses.
What is help desk software?
Help desk software serves as a virtual front desk for businesses, providing a centralized platform for customer support. It’s the go-to place for customers when they encounter issues, have questions, or require assistance.
The primary function of help desk software is customer service management, managing and organizing customer inquiries effectively. It does this by converting each customer interaction into a “ticket” or “case,” which contains all the necessary details about the customer’s issue.
This system enables businesses to track, prioritize, and respond to these tickets efficiently, ensuring that every customer receives timely and appropriate support.
Moreover, help desk software often comes with additional features such as automation, knowledge bases, and reporting tools, which further streamline the support process and enhance the overall customer experience.
Recommended Reading – 14 Key Helpdesk Software Features
A comparison chart of the best help desk system
The top helpdesk software options come equipped with features to assist your team in managing customer inquiries efficiently. Our comparison chart highlights the leading best helpdesk software, enabling you to select the most suitable option for your business needs.
Software
Price
Free Trial
Key Features
Desk365
All features for just $10 /agent /month
21 days
- Shared Inbox
- Ticket Tracking and Escalation
- Collaborating on Tickets
- Automation Capabilities
- Collision Detection
- Reporting and Analytics
- CSAT Surveys
- Email Templates
- Knowledge Base Integration
- SLA Management
Zoho Desk
Starts at $20/agent/month
15 days
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Freshdesk
Starts at $15 - $65 /user/month
21 days
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Zendesk
Pricing scales from $55 to $115/agent/month
14 days
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Hiver
Starts at $10 - $40 /user/month
14 days
- Multi-channel Engagement tooltip
- Email Management tooltip
- Team Collaboration tooltip
- Usage Limits tooltip
- iOS & Android Mobile Apps
- Onboarding Support
- 24x7 Chat & Email Support
Help Scout
Starts at $20 - $65 /agent/month
14 days
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Front
Starts at $59 - 229 /user/month
7 days
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Spiceworks
Completely free to use
NA
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
LiveAgent
All features for just $9 - 69 /agent /month
14 days
- Automation Capabilities
- Reporting and Analytics
- Live chat
- Ticketing
- Social Media integration
- Knowledge Base Integration
- SLA Management
HubSpot Service Hub
Starts at $18 - $1200 /agent/month
unavailable
- Ticketing
- Live chat
- Knowledge base
- Call center
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements)
- Reporting
- Automation
Top 10 Help Desk Software in 2024
Desk365
Zoho Desk
Freshdesk
Zendesk
Hiver
Help Scout
Front
Spiceworks
LiveAgent
HubSpot Service Hub
1. Desk365
Desk365 offers an efficient cloud-based ticketing system that is both user-friendly and simple to set up. It boasts an array of features such as ticket management, tools for team collaboration, automation, and SLA capabilities, among others. With Desk365, businesses can optimize their customer support processes, ensuring that every ticket is addressed and resolved promptly.
Desk365’s responsive mobile version allows support teams to stay connected and respond to customer inquiries from anywhere, at any time. This feature ensures that businesses can provide exceptional customer support, even when their team members are on the go.
Shared Inbox
A standout feature of any help desk software is the shared inbox. Desk365 provides a shared inbox that enables several team members to simultaneously access and handle customer emails through a single, centralized interface. This ensures that no emails go unnoticed and all customer inquiries receive prompt responses. Additionally, Desk365 supports omnichannel communication, integrating customer interactions from different channels into the shared inbox for streamlined support..
Ticket Creation and Assignment
Desk365 allows you to assign emails to specific individuals or teams, ensuring that the right person addresses customer inquiries. When a customer sends an email, Desk365 automatically turns it into a ticket, capturing key details like contact information and issue description. The ticket is then assigned to the suitable support agent for resolution.
Ticket Categorization and Prioritization
Desk365 allows you to categorize tickets based on the nature of the enquiry or the product/service involved. This helps support teams to prioritize and allocate resources accordingly. By assigning different levels of priority, urgent issues can be addressed promptly, preventing any potential escalations. This helps to ensure that customer enquiries are handled in the most appropriate manner.
Ticket Tracking and Escalation
Desk365 allows support agents to track the progress of each ticket from submission to resolution. This ensures transparency and accountability throughout the support process. In cases where a ticket requires escalation to a higher-level support agent or supervisor, our system provides an easy mechanism for such escalations.
You can configure SLA rules to send reminders before the Response Time and Resolve Time are reached. Also, you can configure escalation rules that specify when and who to notify in case of SLA violations.
Collaborating on Tickets
Collaboration is an important aspect of Desk365. It allows team members to work together on customer issues, discuss the issue using private notes and comments, and provide feedback. This helps to ensure that all team members are on the same page and that customer conversations are handled efficiently and effectively. This promotes knowledge sharing and enhances problem-solving capabilities.
Automation
Desk365’s automation feature allows teams to automate repetitive tasks such as assigning tickets, sending notifications, setting SLAs, and more. With helpdesk automation, teams can streamline their workflows, reduce manual effort, and ensure that customer support processes run smoothly and effectively.
Reporting and Analytics
Desk365 provides valuable insights through reporting and analytics features. Using Desk365, teams can track key metrics such as response times, resolution times, and customer satisfaction.
This helps to identify areas for improvement and ensure that customer inquiries are handled effectively. Managers can access data on ticket trends, response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction metrics. By analyzing these metrics, businesses can determine how to improve customer response time, optimize support workflows, and make data-driven decisions to enhance overall customer satisfaction.
Collision Detection
Desk365’s collision detection features notifies team members when multiple people are working on the same ticket. This helps to prevent duplication of effort and ensure that customer enquiries are handled efficiently. With our collision alert feature, team members can avoid stepping on each other’s toes and work collaboratively to resolve customer issues.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $10/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $10/agent/month
- Free trial available.
Learn more about Desk365
2. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a dynamic customer support system designed to empower teams with the necessary tools to effectively prioritize and address customer inquiries. This platform provides a range of features to enhance support operations, including:
- Shared Inbox Management: Centralize customer emails in a shared inbox, allowing for collaborative handling and ensuring no inquiry goes unnoticed.
- Ticket Prioritization: Assign different levels of urgency to tickets, helping teams focus on the most critical issues first.
- Progress Tracking: Monitor the status of each ticket from initiation to resolution, ensuring efficient tracking of the support process.
- Multichannel Conversations: Engage with customers across various service channels, providing a seamless and integrated support experience.
- Workflow Builders: Streamline operations by creating custom workflows that automate routine tasks and optimize support processes.
- Task Automation: Reduce manual effort with automation rules for ticket assignments, notifications, and other repetitive tasks.
- Custom Automatic Ticket Views: Personalize the ticket interface with customizable views that automatically organize tickets based on specific criteria.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $20/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $50/agent/month
3. Freshdesk
Freshdesk, a prominent product from Freshworks, revolutionizes customer service by transforming incoming customer queries into manageable tickets. This ticketing software facilitates efficient tracking, prioritization, and collaboration among support agents. It offers a comprehensive suite of features including knowledge base publishing, collaboration tools, email and social ticketing, and rule-based ticket routing for streamlined support operations.
By upgrading to Freshdesk’s Support Desk, users gain access to omnichannel capabilities, enhancing the support experience. This includes chatbot builders for automated responses, social media messaging integration, advanced analytics for data-driven insights, and SLA rules to ensure timely responses.
Key Features:
- Proactive Collision Avoidance: Prevents multiple agents from working on the same ticket simultaneously, ensuring efficient resolution.
- Help Desk Performance Analytics: Provides insights into support operations, helping identify areas for improvement and optimize performance.
- Email-based Ticket Routing: Automatically routes tickets to the appropriate agents or teams based on predefined rules, ensuring quick and effective responses.
- Mobile Applications: Enables support agents to manage tickets and respond to customer inquiries on the go, ensuring continuous support.
- Connect with 500+ Apps: Integrates with a wide range of applications, enhancing the functionality and flexibility of the support system.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $15/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $79/agent/month
Recommended Reading – Freshdesk vs Zendesk: Which is the best Helpdesk in 2024
4. Zendesk
Zendesk is designed to provide an exceptional customer experience by streamlining customer service operations. It features automated notifications that alert agents as soon as customer requests are received, ensuring prompt responses. The platform is equipped with AI-powered routing that intelligently directs tickets to the most suitable agent based on various criteria such as priority, expertise, capacity, or availability.
The agent workspace in Zendesk is engineered to consolidate tickets into a unified view, bringing critical conversations to the forefront and automatically surfacing relevant customer information. This centralized approach enables agents to manage interactions efficiently and effectively.
Key Features:
- Email Templates: Streamline responses with pre-designed templates for common inquiries.
- Email Tracking: Monitor the status of emails to ensure timely follow-ups.
- Macros for Tickets: Automate repetitive responses and actions to enhance efficiency.
- Email Triggers: Set up automated responses based on specific ticket conditions.
- Unified Agent Workspace: Manage all customer interactions from a single interface.
- Ticket Routing/Categorization/Tagging: Organize tickets effectively for easier management.
- Context Panel Intelligence: Access relevant customer information and insights within the workspace.
- API & Integrations: Connect with other tools and systems for a seamless workflow.
- Unlimited Email Addresses: Manage multiple support email addresses from one account.
- Knowledge Base: Provide customers with self-service options through a comprehensive knowledge base.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $19/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $99/agent/month
5. Hiver
Hiver is a customer service email ticketing system specifically designed for Gmail, aimed at enhancing communication across multiple channels. It offers a suite of features that simplify email management, including agent assignment, email delegation, ticket tagging, and workflow automation. With Hiver, teams can gain a comprehensive 360-degree view of customer interactions, complete with live status updates, ensuring that no query goes unnoticed.
One of the key strengths of Hiver is its ability to automate routine tasks through manual configurations, saving time and reducing the chances of human error. The platform’s reporting and analytics capabilities provide valuable insights into customer service metrics, with customizable built-in reports that can be tailored to meet specific business needs.
Key Features:
- SLAs (Service Level Agreements): Set and monitor service level agreements to ensure timely responses.
- 24/7 Chat and Email Support: Get round-the-clock support for any issues or queries.
- Shared Inboxes: Collaborate seamlessly with team members using shared inboxes.
- Unlimited Email Templates: Create and use an unlimited number of email templates for consistent responses.
- Shared Drafts: Work on email drafts collaboratively with team members.
- Email Notes: Add notes to emails for internal communication and better context.
- Easy-to-Analyze Reports: Access comprehensive reports for data-driven decision-making.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $15/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $59/agent/month
6. Help Scout
Help Scout, beyond its comprehensive ticketing system, equips customers with built-in tools like a knowledge base and live chat to enhance support capabilities. The platform’s seamless integrations enable easy collaboration with both new and existing customer channels and databases, making it a versatile solution for customer service needs.
Designed with a focus on simplicity and collaboration, Help Scout is particularly well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers a shared inbox feature that allows teams to work together efficiently in resolving customer inquiries.
Key Features:
- Customizable Workflows: Tailor workflows to match your team’s specific processes and needs.
- Customer Feedback Mechanisms: Gather valuable feedback directly from customers to improve service quality.
- Team Collaboration Features: Collaborate seamlessly with team members to provide unified support.
- Rule-based Automation: Automate repetitive tasks based on predefined rules to save time and enhance efficiency.
- Response Templates: Utilize pre-written templates for common inquiries to ensure consistent and quick responses.
- Robust Analytics: Gain insights into team performance and customer satisfaction with comprehensive analytics.
- Live Chat: Engage with customers in real-time via live chat for immediate assistance.
- Knowledge Base: Offer self-service options to customers through an informative knowledge base.
- Ticket Routing, Tagging, and Prioritization: Organize and manage tickets effectively to ensure timely resolutions.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $20/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $65/agent/month
7. Front
Front is a versatile customer service platform that expertly combines email capabilities with help desk functionality. Its shared inbox feature enables teams to efficiently manage multiple communication channels, including email, messaging apps, SMS, and live chat, all from one unified view.
Front’s versatility extends to its management of various channels, offering collaborative features such as email assignments, canned responses, shared drafts, and internal discussions. Tags, automations, and reporting dashboards further enhance ticket management, providing a comprehensive overview of customer interactions.
Key Features:
- Shared Inbox: Centralize communications from various channels for streamlined management.
- Multichannel Support: Handle customer interactions across email, messaging apps, SMS, and live chat.
- Effective Conversation Routing: Automatically assign and tag conversations to the appropriate representatives.
- Collaboration on Tickets: Work together as a team on tickets to ensure efficient resolution.
- High-Priority Ticket Escalation: Quickly escalate urgent issues to prioritize resolution.
- Automations: Streamline workflows with automated actions and triggers.
- Reporting Dashboards: Gain insights into performance and customer interactions with detailed analytics.
- Calendar Integration: Seamlessly integrate with calendars for scheduling and reminders.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: $19/agent/month
- Highest Paid Plan: $229/agent/month
8. Spiceworks
Spiceworks is a cost-effective ticketing solution tailor-made for small businesses. It provides a suite of features to streamline ticket management, enhance team collaboration, and automate routine tasks, all at no cost.
With Spiceworks Help Desk, businesses can leverage the User Portal to allow users to easily submit new tickets and track the progress of existing ones, reducing the need for constant back-and-forth communication.
The Knowledge Base acts as a central repository for frequently asked questions, offering quick answers to common queries and saving valuable time for both users and support teams.
The Spiceworks Help Desk mobile app ensures that customer service agents remain connected even when away from their desks. It provides real-time ticket updates and push notifications directly to your phone or tablet, ensuring that support teams can respond promptly to customer needs.
Key Features:
- Customization: Tailor the ticketing system to meet the specific needs of your business.
- Collaboration: Work together as a team to resolve tickets efficiently and share insights.
- Self-Service: Empower users to find answers and resolve issues on their own with the Knowledge Base.
- Automation: Streamline workflows and reduce manual effort with automated ticket routing and responses.
- Remote Support: Provide assistance to users regardless of their location, directly from the ticketing system.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
- Lowest Paid Plan: Free
- Highest Paid Plan: Free
9. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a robust customer support platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools to enhance the customer service experience.
It seamlessly integrates multiple communication channels, including email, live chat, social media, and phone, into a single, unified ticketing system. This allows support teams to manage all customer interactions from one central location, ensuring no query goes unnoticed.
One of the standout features of LiveAgent is its real-time live chat capability, which enables instant communication with customers.
This feature is complemented by a built-in call center solution that allows for efficient phone support directly from the platform. Social media integrations further extend the reach of customer support, enabling teams to respond to queries on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Key Features:
- Multichannel Support: Manage email, live chat, social media, and phone support from one platform.
- Real-Time Live Chat: Engage with customers instantly for immediate support and sales opportunities.
- Built-in Call Center: Provide phone support directly from the platform with the integrated call center solution.
- Social Media Integrations: Monitor and respond to customer queries on social media platforms.
- Advanced Ticketing System: Automatically convert interactions into tickets for organized and efficient management.
- Automation and Rules: Streamline workflows with automated ticket routing, responses, and escalations.
- Knowledge Base: Create self-service resources to reduce incoming queries and empower customers.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
Lowest paid plan – $9/agent
Highest paid plan – $69/agent
10. HubSpot Service Hub
Hubspot Service Hub is a comprehensive customer support platform that forms part of the larger HubSpot ecosystem. It’s designed to help businesses deliver exceptional customer service by integrating support tools with marketing, sales, and CRM functionalities. This unified approach ensures a seamless customer experience across all touchpoints.
At the heart of Service Hub is its ticketing system, which centralizes customer inquiries from various channels, including email, live chat, and social media, into a single view. This allows support teams to efficiently manage and resolve issues, ensuring no customer query is left unanswered.
One of the key features of Service Hub is its live chat and conversational bots. These tools enable real-time communication with customers, providing instant support and guidance. The conversational bots can also automate common tasks, such as qualifying leads or booking meetings, freeing up time for agents to focus on more complex issues.
Key Features:
- Integrated Ticketing System: Centralize customer inquiries from various channels for efficient management.
- Live Chat and Conversational Bots: Engage with customers in real-time and automate common tasks.
- Knowledge Base: Create a self-service resource center for customers to find answers quickly.
- Customer Feedback and Surveys: Collect and analyze customer feedback to improve service quality.
- CRM Integration: Seamlessly connect with HubSpot’s CRM to access customer data and history.
- Reporting and Analytics: Gain insights into support team performance and customer satisfaction.
Review by capterra
Ease of Use
Customer Service
Features
Value for Money
- 4.8
- 4.9
- 4.6
- 4.8
Pricing:
Lowest paid plan – $90/month/agent
Highest paid plan – $130/month/agent
What is the difference between a help desk and a service desk?
When we talk about a help desk and a service desk, it’s easy to think they’re the same thing, but they actually serve different purposes.
A help desk is like the first responder for customer support. It’s there to help users solve immediate problems, answer questions, and provide quick fixes. Think of it as a place where customers can call or write in when they need help with a specific issue, like resetting a password or troubleshooting a software glitch.
On the other hand, a service desk takes a broader view. It’s not just about fixing problems; it’s about managing the entire service lifecycle. This includes handling service requests, such as requests for new software or hardware, as well as providing support for more complex issues. The service desk is more strategic, focusing on improving the overall IT services and ensuring they align with the business’s goals.
In short, while a help desk is more about providing immediate support for specific issues, a service desk is about offering a comprehensive range of IT services and support. Both are important, but they have different roles in keeping things running smoothly.
Choose the perfect help desk
In this blog, we’ve explored some of the top help desk software options available, each with its unique advantages.
However, if you’re in search of a solution that is user-friendly and truly empowers your team to handle customer inquiries efficiently, Desk365 could be the perfect fit for you. Designed with simplicity and organization in mind, Desk365 streamlines support tasks, making it easier for your team to provide top-notch customer service.
When selecting a help desk software, it’s crucial to choose one that aligns with your business requirements and enhances your ability to serve your customers effectively.
Give Desk365 a try and experience firsthand how it can transform your customer support operations. Start your free 21-day trial of Desk365 today and take the first step towards a more organized and efficient support system.
