12 Best Help Desk Software & Tools for 2024 [Updated]

Try searching for the “best help desk software” on Google, and you will likely get a billion results.

In a world where every software vendor claims to be the best, thankfully, I haven’t fallen for marketing gimmicks and got to try the best tools on my own. 

Like many others, if you, too, are on the lookout for the right tool for your customer service team, allow me to share the 12 best options with you. 

What Is Help Desk Software?

Help desk software is a tool designed to provide support and manage customer service requests within an organization. It features ticketing system to track and resolve issues, automated workflows to streamline processes, and knowledge bases for self-service support. 

Help desk management software improve efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and ensure timely and consistent issue resolution by centralizing and automating various support functions.

Which Is the Best Help Desk Ticketing System Software [Updated 2024]?

The perfect option for your team depends on multiple factors, including budget, team size, features needed, etc. 
If you are in a hurry, let me spill the beans without wasting any time. Here are my top 3 picks: 

Option A: ProProfs Help Desk 

ProProfs Help Desk’s AI and automation features (at such a nominal price range) make it a top choice. You can automatically assign tickets to agents, communicate with customers on multiple channels, and encourage self-service with a knowledge base. Also, I’m sure you will love its simplistic UI and overall design. 

Option B: Zendesk

If you do not mind spending a decent amount of money on a help desk system, Zendesk can be a good option. The tool allows you to create a vast help center and community forum to promote self-service and reduce ticket volume. 

Option C: Help Scout 

Help Scout is another option that deserves your attention. Your agents can interact with customers via live chat and share relevant links to FAQ pages or articles from within the chat window. 

List of Top 12 Help Desk Software in 2024 [with Pricing]

Over the course of my tenure, I have worked with almost every tool – from open-source solutions to industry-leading help desk support software. In addition to my own experience, I have capitalized on review platforms and peer suggestions to create this comprehensive list. 

Let’s explore the unique features and pricing details of these 12 help desk support software. 

1. ProProfs Help Desk – Best for AI Help Desk & Support Ticketing for Customer Delight

I think ProProfs Help Desk does a great job of combining affordability with powerful features, making it the top choice on this list.

This free help desk software allows my team members to monitor communications across channels like email, live chat, web forms, and the help center.

The best part? ProProfs AI summarizes a long complaint or inquiry and helps me understand the customer’s intent. Also, it offers auto-generated responses that can be used for one-click replies.

Implementing helpdesk automation workflows is effortless. I can automate tedious tasks like ticket assignments, survey sharing, notifications and alerts, and more. This effortless automation lightens the workload on my team.

Additionally, you can build an online knowledge base using pre-designed templates, empowering customers to find solutions independently and lowering ticket volume.

What you’ll like: 

• Internal notes to seek advice and discuss complex issues with team members
• Agent roles and permissions to restrict access to the help desk system
• Intelligent chatbots help you offer uninterrupted, 24/7 assistance to customers 
• Track ticket response time, resolution time, agent ratings, and other help desk metrics

What you won’t like:

• A wide array of features can be overwhelming for some users
• Channel-specific reporting metrics should be added for better insights

Pricing:

FREE for a single user. Plans start at $19.99/user/month for 2 or more users. No hidden fees. A 15-day money-back guarantee.

2. SolarWinds Service Desk – Best for Asset Management

SolarWinds Service Desk is a comprehensive IT service management solution with robust features. 

If you ask me, my favorite is the IT asset management feature that helped us streamline inventory control, offering us insights into hardware and software assets in usage throughout the company. 

The tool also allows businesses to set up a knowledge base quickly. Whether it’s your internal employees or customers, you can empower end-users with self-help resources, reducing support ticket volume. 

Besides this, to date, I find its overall user interface quite outdated. If you are looking for support desk software that looks and feels good, you may want to skip SolarWinds Service Desk. 

What you’ll like: 

• Service catalog to display all the services on offer
• Custom roles to determine who can access what features in the help desk system
• Schedule reports to receive them directly in your inbox
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can be enabled for maximum data security 

What you won’t like:

• The UI seems quite outdated and needs improvement
• The company should offer more support materials like video tutorials to assist first-time users

Pricing: 

Starts at $39/user/month. 

3. HubSpot Service Hub – Best for Customer Portal

HubSpot Service Hub was recommended to me by our VP, and within a few days, I was impressed by its customer portal feature. 

HubSpot’s customer portal empowers businesses by providing customers with a centralized platform for seamless interaction. With personalized access, our customers could effortlessly track their support requests, access knowledge base resources, and engage in real-time communication. 

Also, the live chat feature will enable you to route support inquiries and leads to the right agents or departments. This helps you give adequate attention to each website visitor. 

What you’ll like: 

• HubSpot CRM integration will help you access all important customer information in one place
• CSAT and NPS surveys to capture customer service feedback
• Multiple integration options with Mailchimp, Aircall, Google Contacts, etc.
• Shared inbox to centralize all inquiries in one place 

What you won’t like:

• HubSpot Service Hub’s subscription plans are quite expensive 
• The Single Sign-on feature is only available in the Enterprise Plan

Pricing: 

Starts at $15/user/month

4. Zendesk – Best for Self-Service 

In my quest for a help desk solution to decrease my ticket volume, a close friend suggested Zendesk and I was immediately captivated by its self-service features.

This renowned support desk software system platform allowed our customers to access an advanced knowledge base that my team had accumulated over time. We also used the tool to create an online community and a customer portal to further encourage self-service. 

By utilizing Zendesk’s self-service features, your customers can effortlessly locate answers to simple queries in FAQs, self-help articles, video tutorials, etc. This will further allow your agents to focus on high-priority customers and improve the customer experience.

The real game-changer is this – support agents can draw in customer inquiries from almost any channel and leverage the ticket history to respond more quickly with the appropriate context. It’s like having all the necessary resources you need at your disposal.

What you’ll like: 

• Customer service reports & graphs to track individual and team performance
• Zendesk’s Android and iOS apps to never miss out on urgent support requests
• AI-powered bots to automate your customer service process
• Pre-chat forms help your agents capture relevant details about an inquiry or complaint

What you won’t like: 

• Zendesk’s subscription plans are quite expensive, making it an unsuitable option for startups or small businesses
• Ticket file attachment size is limited to just 50 MB

Pricing: 

Starts at $55/user/month. 

5. Freshdesk – Best for Omnichannel Support

Over time, I’ve observed that customers have diverse preferences when contacting businesses for support. In this aspect, Freshdesk has performed admirably. 

It serves as an omnichannel solution tailored to the requirements of small to mid-sized businesses. I used the tool to engage with customers across various channels like email, phone, live chat, social media, etc.

I could secure customer data and our help desk ticketing system by assigning distinct roles and permissions to my agents. Also, if you have field agents, Freshdesk offers valuable features. You can effortlessly track agents’ fieldwork time through a dedicated mobile app and record billable hours automatically.

On the contrary, I wasn’t overly impressed with its customer support team. They took an extended period to address my ticket, resulting in a poor experience.

What you’ll like: 

• Canned responses to share consistent replies to customer emails 
• Live chat to offer instant assistance to visitors and existing customers
• SLA management helps you set deadlines for ticket response and resolution 
• Automated alerts to keep support reps updated on ticket progress

What you won’t like: 

• Many online reviews reveal that Freshdesk’s support team is slow to respond at times
• Attaching images to a help desk ticket can be time-consuming 

Pricing:

Starts at $15/user/month. 

6. Zoho Desk – Best for Social Media Service 

Let me share an eye-opening statistic with you – by the year 2027, there will be a whopping 5.58 billion social media users across the globe. 

So, what does this mean for your business? You need to invest in a help desk system that lets you centralize all social media conversations in one place. This is where Zoho Desk calls for your attention.

While using Zoho Desk around a year back, I realized it seamlessly combined the leading social media platforms, including F acebook, Instagram, and Twitter, with our conventional customer support channels. This allowed us to manage calls, emails, and social media messages from the same interface.

While this sounds great, there is a major drawback I need to share. Zoho Desk’s live chat feature is only available in the Enterprise Plan. So, you will have to pay a lot of extra dollars just to access live chat capabilities. 

What you’ll like: 

• Custom fields to include additional information on tickets
• Multi-branded help centers can be created for your different brands
• Zoho Desk seamlessly integrates with Zoho CRM, helping you offer personalized assistance
• Time tracking to calculate the time spent on each conversation

What you won’t like:

• Some customization features can be overwhelming for new users
• The live chat feature is exclusively offered in the Enterprise Plan 

Pricing: 

Starts at $14/user/month. 

7. AzureDesk – Best for an Unlimited Mailbox 

If your customer service primarily depends on email, you can try AzureDesk Ticketing System Software. 

You will be surprised to know that AzureDesk offers an unlimited mailbox, which can encompass all your support-related email accounts (such as billing@, info@, contact@, etc.) in one place. 

I also like how the platform made it easier for my agents to communicate with customers in over 50+ languages. They could easily translate their response text into a foreign language or detect the language of a customer’s reply. 

On the downside, AzureDesk offers a limited range of third-party integrations. This can be a problem if you wish to connect your help desk with some popular business tools. 

What you’ll like: 

• Customer portal to allow customers to track their requests independently
• Agent signatures help your team share professional email replies
• Managers can track the number of tickets generated through different customer service channels
• Ticket tags to easily search and locate the tickets you need 

What you won’t like:

• Integration options are limited to just a few tools
• There is no feature to build custom chatbots

Pricing: 

Starts at $33/user/month. 

8. Vision Helpdesk – Best for Mobile Application

Unlike many help desk management software available in the market, Vision Helpdesk has a unique advantage. 

I’m quite intrigued by its mobile applications built for different platforms – Android, iOS, and even Windows. 

The native mobile apps from Vision Helpdesk will enable your support agents to access and resolve tickets while on the go. The mobile app provides all the admin and staff portal features, so you don’t miss out on key capabilities.

Besides this, I’m sure you will like the time-tracking feature. With accurate time-based entries, you calculate the total time spent resolving issues and charge your customers accordingly. 

What you’ll like: 

• SLA management to offer consistent quality service to customers
• Automated ticket escalations when SLAs are violated
• Custom email notifications to keep agents and customers updated
• Ticket auto close can be turned on to automatically close tickets when there is no response from the customer

What you won’t like:

• Vision Helpdesk comes with a steep learning curve
• While there are some options, it’s not that simple to integrate it with other platforms

Pricing: 

Starts at $12/user/month. 

9. TeamSupport – Best B2B Ticketing System Software 

For any B2B enterprise, losing a single client translates to a potential multimillion-dollar setback. Having utilized TeamSupport, I find it uniquely tailored to the needs of B2B firms. 

As soon as I log in to my account, everything essential—live chat, customer self-service portals, screen recordings, ticket management, and automation—is conveniently consolidated in one place. 

Also, TeamSupport elevates teamwork, fostering a unified approach to handling customer issues across diverse channels. This means seamless collaboration between customer service, sales, technical, and finance teams, ensuring a more efficient and integrated operation. 

What you’ll like: 

• TeamSupport can be easily connected to your in-house CRM and other developer tools
• Ticket reminders help agents avoid sharing late responses with customers 
• Monitor Customer Distress Index (CDI) to minimize churn
• Shared calendars help team members view task assignments and dependencies 

What you won’t like: 

• The agent collision feature is slow to work at times, leading to duplicate responses 
• More designs for the live chat widget should be available for enhanced branding and customization

Pricing: 

Starts at $29/user/month

10. Deskpro – Best for On-Premise Deployment 

I had the opportunity to use Deskpro’s on-premise version in my last organization, which happened to be a Fortune 500 company. 

In my opinion, Deskpro help desk software is frequently used by larger organizations equipped with ample IT resources. 

It is possible to achieve maximum availability and performance by hosting it on a multiple-server configuration. Deskpro has a demonstrated ability to scale effectively, catering to the demands of even the busiest customer support teams. 

One thing that stood out to me was the Approvals tab. It makes it easier for anyone to track the status of all their approvals in one place. 

What you’ll like: 

• Your agents can manage support conversations on WhatsApp and Twitter
• Automated call distribution to specific agents and departments
• Custom ticket filters to keep your help desk inbox clutter-free
• Drag-and-drop file attachments to support tickets

What you won’t like:

• There is no feature to build your own chatbot
• You will have to pay a high one-time fee for the on-premise version

Pricing: 

The cloud version starts at $29/user/month. Custom pricing is offered for the on-premise version. 

11. Help Scout – Best for Live Chat Support

While email is a great channel, I always tell my entrepreneur friends to prioritize live chat for its ability to foster instant connections with customers. 

This is where Help Scout comes to my mind. The ticketing system tool allowed me to view live chat conversations and track the right metrics easily. 

The best part was that my agents could share help center docs and FAQ pages directly from within the live chat window. This small feature helped us reduce our ticket volume significantly. 

Having said that, I hope Help Scout comes out with their own chatbot soon. 

What you’ll like: 

• Tags can be used to categorize tickets or trigger automation
• Saved replies or canned responses will help you reduce response times 
• Custom fields to add custom data for tickets
• Help Scout’s Android and iOS mobile apps help you offer support on the go

What you won’t like:

• The Standard Plan is limited to just two shared inboxes
• The platform does not offer a chatbot feature

Pricing: 

Starts at $22/user/month

12. LiveAgent – Best for Ticket Management 

I used LiveAgent as my go-to help desk solution, and it came equipped with a variety of customer communication and organizational tools, such as live chat and a ticket management system. 

With LiveAgent, my agents could access a multichannel interface that supported voice, chat, social media, SMS, and email communication. 

One of the features I appreciate the most is its ticketing system, which can efficiently distribute tickets to agents based on predefined rules. This helped streamline my workflow and ensured customer inquiries were promptly and effectively addressed.

On the downside, LiveAgent misses out on some key reporting and analytics features. 

What you’ll like: 

• Canned responses to save your agents from the pain of typing similar responses
• Built-in contact forms to gather the right information
• Agents can perform mass actions on tickets for faster issue resolution
• The real-time typing-view lets you see what customers are typing

What you won’t like:

• The Small Business Plan is limited to just 3 email accounts
• The platform misses out on some important reporting and analytics features

Pricing: 

Starts at $9/user/month. 

Conclusion: Delight Customers With the Best Help Desk Software 

Choosing the best help desk software can significantly enhance customer support operations, improving efficiency, faster issue resolution, and higher customer satisfaction. Depending on your specific needs, budget, and business goals, several help desk tools are worth considering.

In the end, I would recommend ProProfs Help Desk for its simplistic UI, powerful AI and automation features, and omnichannel capabilities. If you are still undecided, feel free to take a free trial or product demo of the tool that ticks the most boxes. Got more questions? Feel free to go through this small FAQ section below. 

FAQ’s