Help Desk Software

TrustRadius Top Rated for 2023

Top Rated Products

(1-5 of 7)

1
NinjaOne

NinjaOne (formerly NinjaRMM) is a security-oriented remote monitoring and management platform. It allows for manual customization as well as scripting and automation.

2
Intercom

Intercom creates modern Customer Service software that aims to redefine how businesses support their customers. The platform connects businesses directly to customers using powerful messaging and automation. According to the vendor, Intercom enables teams to scale support without…

3
SAP Service Cloud

SAP Service Cloud helps deliver customer value and protect the brand with intelligent customer service. It enables the user to engage with customers at their convenience, connect service with the value chain and deliver greater profitability.

4
Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer service software that helps businesses of all sizes to deliver customer support. Freshdesk converts requests coming in via email, web, phone, chat, and social into tickets, and unifies ticket resolution across channels. Additionally, Freshdesk…

5
Desk.com (discontinued)

Desk.com was a helpdesk, ticketing, and customer support product offered by Salesforce, and oriented towards the needs of small businesses. It is no longer sold and support has been discontinued. Salesforce recommends its modern Service Cloud as a replacement.

All Products

(1-25 of 288)

1
Intercom

Intercom creates modern Customer Service software that aims to redefine how businesses support their customers. The platform connects businesses directly to customers using powerful messaging and automation. According to the vendor, Intercom enables teams to scale support without…

2
Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer service software that helps businesses of all sizes to deliver customer support. Freshdesk converts requests coming in via email, web, phone, chat, and social into tickets, and unifies ticket resolution across channels. Additionally, Freshdesk…

3
SysAid

SysAid is presented as comprehensive ITSM platform with generative AI baked into every element of service management. With a fully conversational experience wrapped into the UI, SysAid aims to empower organizations to unleash their full potential for productivity.

Get a Demo

Explore recently added products

4
Zendesk Suite

The Zendesk Support suite is a cloud-based customer support software built for better customer relationships. Designed to improve customer satisfaction and to support customers on any channel: text SMS, web, mobile app, phone, email, social media. The vendor states more than 200,…

5
LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a help desk software designed to help users bring personalization to customer interactions. LiveAgent presents an omnichannel universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in call center, and a customer service portal. It offers customer segmentation, automation, built-…

6
ConnectWise PSA

ConnectWise PSA (formerly Manage) is a business management platform for companies that sell, service, and support technology. The platform is cloud-based and integrates automation, help desk and customer service, sales, marketing, project management, and business analytics. It is…

7
Gist

Gist is a unified marketing, sales, and support platform. It includes live chat, a help desk, knowledge base, email marketing, marketing automation, opt-in forms, and more.

8
GoTo Resolve

GoTo Resolve is an all-in-one IT management and support software built for today's small-to-medium-sized businesses. It helps IT professionals streamline their help desk by bringing together the tools they need to engage, identify problems, and fix issues faster—all in one place.…

9
Oracle Fusion Service

Oracle Service Cloud is the help desk and customer experience management platform from Oracle. The technology was developed and supported by RightNow Technologies as RightNow CX for cloud-based call center automation, until that company's acquisition by Oracle in 2011 for about $1.…

10
Spiceworks Help Desk

Spiceworks offers a set of free tools for IT network management and help desk support ticketing. The inventory management system essentially provides comprehensive device information for asset management. The Spiceworks Network Monitor provides information on observed IT for problem…

11
Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management (formerly Jira Service Desk, now including features from the former Mindville Insight, acquired by Atlassian in June 2020) is a service desk software that is purpose-built for IT, service, and support teams. The software provides everything IT and support…

12
Salesforce Service Cloud

Service Cloud is a customer service platform that helps businesses manage and resolve customer inquiries and issues. It provides tools for case management, knowledge base, omni-channel support, automation, and analytics, enabling companies to deliver exceptional customer service…

13
SAP Service Cloud

SAP Service Cloud helps deliver customer value and protect the brand with intelligent customer service. It enables the user to engage with customers at their convenience, connect service with the value chain and deliver greater profitability.

14
TeamSupport

TeamSupport is customer support software built for B2B software and technology companies. The solution offers ticket management, a customer and contact database, reporting and analytics, multi-channel support, built-in collaboration tools, and many native integrations.

15
Desk.com (discontinued)

Desk.com was a helpdesk, ticketing, and customer support product offered by Salesforce, and oriented towards the needs of small businesses. It is no longer sold and support has been discontinued. Salesforce recommends its modern Service Cloud as a replacement.

16
Kustomer

Kustomer is a customer service CRM platform built for managing high support volume by optimizing experiences throughout the customer service journey. Kustomer was acquired by Facebook in late 2020, but spun out in 2023 and re-launched as an independent entity, Kustomer, LLC.

17
NinjaOne

NinjaOne (formerly NinjaRMM) is a security-oriented remote monitoring and management platform. It allows for manual customization as well as scripting and automation.

18
Front

Front is a communication hub that helps businesses keep the human touch in every interaction.

19
Sprinklr Service

Sprinklr Service is a cloud-native unified customer service platform powered by AI that enables seamless customer & agent experience across 30+ digital, social and voice channels, and delivers real-time actionable & scalable insights. Sprinklr Service – Enables customers…

20
Zoho Desk

Zoho Support is a Saas help desk / ticketing system aimed at SMBs. I competes most often with Zendesk, and Desk.com.

21
Kayako

Kayako is a help desk / ticketing product and is available is both SaaS and on-premise configurations. Is is built in PHP and uses my SQL. The product competes with HelpSpot, ZohoSupport, Freshdesk and Zendesk. The Kayako Engage edition may be deployed as a live chat system without…

22
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD)

SolarWinds Web Help Desk is ticketing and IT asset management software. It is designed to simplify help desk management. This solution includes built-in ticketing management, asset management, change management, and knowledge base capabilities.

23
Help Scout

Help Scout is help desk software. The vendor’s value proposition is that that their solution reduces time spent on training users because Help Scout is simple to use and set up and scales like any enterprise product. This solution includes multiple mailboxes to support as many email…

24
Agiloft Flexible Service Desk Suite

Agiloft's Flexible Service Desk Suite includes the elements needed to manage a complex service desk: Internal Help Desk, External Customer Support, Change Management, Asset Management, RMA Management, and complete ITIL/ITSM capability. According to the vendor, these fully integrated…

25
BMC Helix Remedyforce

BMC Helix Remedyforce is a cloud-delivered SaaS solution for IT Helpdesk and Ticketing Management.

Help Desk Software TrustMap

TrustMaps are two-dimensional charts that compare products based on trScore and research frequency by prospective buyers. Products must have 10 or more ratings to appear on this TrustMap.

Learn More About Help Desk Software

What is Help Desk Software?

Help Desk software organizes and automates customer support processes. Other names for Help Desk software include:

  • Customer service management software
  • Service desk software
  • Customer support software

The goal of software under any of these names is the same. It creates a single point of contact for users to connect with a company. When customers cannot solve a problem, they can easily reach out for support and self-help knowledge.

Some help desk solutions offer both self-service and ticketing for support personnel. Others only provide ways for service desk employees to directly support customers. Standalone knowledge management systems can be used as self-service-only solutions.

Most help desk software integrates with live chat software and call center software. Alternatively, some customer service suites offer these capabilities built-in. Most will also integrate with related platforms, like a CRM.

Integration makes the software more functional and information more accessible, contributing to a smoother experience for the support agent and the customer requesting help.

Ticketing and Service Desk Issue Tracking System

The ticketing system is the most important part of help desk software. Customers use a portal to create a support ticket. The ticket is then submitted to the right person or department.

With a project management approach, help desk software lets users track, prioritize, and route tickets. This process can be automated or directed manually, often with collaboration across departments.

Multi-channel support uses the same issue tracking system across multiple channels. This includes live chat, email, web forms, and phone, and may also include social or other channels. The system integrates the progress of a ticket into a single interface, regardless of where the issue originated.

Based on user feedback in reviews, there are certain things to keep in mind. Look for these features as you’re determining whether a ticketing system is right for your use case:

  • Customer ticket fields
  • Billing based on support usage
  • Differentiated support for various accounts

Knowledge Base Systems

Help desk software often lets teams create self-help resources. This helps customers to answer questions on their own, without submitting a ticket. These are known as knowledge bases, a type of self-service knowledge management system.

A knowledge base can take different forms, including:

  • Discussion boards and forums
  • FAQs
  • How-to articles
  • Pop-up tips & recommendations

Customers can often answer their own questions using these resources. This means fewer support tickets and more efficient work for support agents. Many help desk tools also include the ability to create an internal knowledge base that can help agents answer questions more quickly and accurately.

Platforms like Zendesk include both self-help and customer service options. Point solutions for knowledge base systems, like Document360, are also available. Knowledge management point solutions let users create and share self-help knowledge with customers and support agents.

Social Support

Social support integrates your help desk with social media platforms to bring a new level of service to customer support. This integration allows for social monitoring, issue tracking, and engagement. Examples of products that enable social support include Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, and HappyFox Help Desk.

Social support tools help agents communicate directly on social media. As customers ask questions or share complaints on social media, agents can respond faster and more publicly. Usually, agents can respond to Tweets or Facebook posts within the help desk interface. This helps keep social media support organized alongside other support channels. Even without a ticket, social media communications are an important way to interact with customers.

Customer Service Management

Help desk software also offers plenty of features that can help businesses better manage their customer service teams and make sure things are running smoothly. Managers can set and update service level agreements (SLAs), and track how well expected response and resolution times are being met. Managers can also assign and reassign tickets to specific employees to ensure ideal workload distribution. Reporting and analytics can provide further insight into team performance and ways to improve it.

Help Desk Software Features & Capabilities

Ticket & Issue Tracking

The core of most service desk solutions is the ticketing system. Many customer service management and analytics features fall into this category as well. Common features for ticketing and issue tracking include:

  • Ticket creation - Allows users and agents to enter new support requests
  • Ticket response - Allows agents to follow up with customers. This often includes automated responses
  • Workflow/Escalation - The ability to route tickets to appropriate support personnel
  • Documentation and collaboration - Agents can attach files and notes to tickets
  • Service Level Agreement Management - set rules for when tickets need to be claimed and solved, distribute workloads, etc.
  • Ticketing history, reporting, and analytics - view activity and metrics at the individual ticket level as well as across the organization

Self-Service/Community

Many help desk products support self-service options on top of ticketing. These community resources can take pressure off of agents by reducing incoming requests. Self-service and community features include:

  • Forum functionality for customer discussion
  • A searchable, external knowledge base
  • Public Q&A for the benefit of other customers
  • Internal knowledge base to help agents answer support questions
  • Surveys and polls, for customers to submit ideas and leave feedback

Multi-Channel Communication

Most help desk solutions enable communication via multiple channels. Multi-channel features offer easier access to support for customers. Multi-channel communication also creates a more convenient platform for agents. Common multi-channel features include:

  • A customer portal for users to submit tickets and access self-help resources
  • Live chat within a software product or on a company website
  • Phone support. This includes call recording, contact database, Interactive Voice Response, call routing, and call scripting
  • Social integration with platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This often includes “social listening” tools for brand activity monitoring and reporting

Help Desk Software Comparison

To compare different help desk tools, consider these factors for each product offering:

Number of agents: Keep in mind the size of your team and any planned additions when purchasing help desk software. A majority of customer service management tools are subscription-based and billed per agent.

Analytics: There are a lot of metrics that go into managing customer support ranging from SLAs to CSAT. Leading help desk software provides the most important information to you in automatically curated dashboards.

Integrations: Your help desk software should integrate with the other software your customer service team already uses, particularly your CRM. This will make your support team’s job significantly easier.

Start a Help Desk software comparison

Pricing Information

Help desk software is usually priced per agent per month. This means the price increases the more support agents the organization needs. Vendors typically offer a discount for annual billing. It is also common to find multiple editions, with pricing dependent on features.

For the typical subscription model (per agent per month), pricing starts at under $10 for basic features. Subscriptions can run up to $200 per agent per month for enterprise packages.

Some smaller vendors offer a different pricing model, which requires both a one-time license purchase and a volume-based subscription model.

Some vendors offer limited free plans, allowing companies to use basic features for a limited number of agents. Then they can add more features or more agents when they grow. These plans may work well for startups or small companies that just need the essentials.

Related Categories

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should you use help desk software?

Help desk software allows businesses to effectively manage customer inquiries and issues. Use help desk software to track support tickets from initial request to resolution. Some help desk software tools support knowledge bases and FAQs for self-help purposes that can easily route them to submitting a request should they need further assistance. Help desk software may help improve customer satisfaction scores (CSAT) and adherence to service-level agreements (SLAs) by ensuring no customer inquiries slip through the cracks.

What's the difference between CRM and Help Desk software?

While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and Help Desk Software are similar, they are not the same and work best when integrated.

Use CRM software for managing and maintaining customer data that can help you use your Help Desk software more effectively (name, purchase history, preferences, support history, etc.).

Use Help Desk software when you want to have a system for customers to submit questions that can be responded to and stored. While some CRM platforms have built-in help desk features, it is less common for help desk software to function as a complete CRM.

How do I build a help desk?

You should first decide on if your help desk will feature a knowledge base (FAQs), customer email contact form, integration with calling services, real-time chat, or more. While some companies do opt for using all of these support features, you can choose just one or a combination of these. Keep in mind, however, that it is difficult to answer every possible customer inquiry via a knowledge base alone. We suggest adding an option that allows customers to contact your business via email, chat, or phone.