Customer Experience 
What Is a Support Desk Software?
Support desk software is a customer support platform that unifies multiple communication channels, allowing support teams to effectively handle customer requests from a centralized location. It’s a worthwhile investment if your team is struggling with a high volume of customer requests or is slowed down by time-consuming tasks. You get a unified communications platform for tracking, managing, and resolving customer issues to build a more organized and efficient customer service process.
Finding the right support desk platform isn’t easy. There are many providers, all claiming to be the best. So how do you know which one is right for you? Read on to learn about the 10 best support desk platforms and what to look for to choose the right one for your business.
TL;DR: The Most Popular Support Desk Software
- Best for unified communications: Nextiva combines phone, video, chat, and support tools in one platform.
- Best for large businesses: Zendesk offers a powerful, all-in-one solution for teams of any size.
- Best for IT support: ServiceNow is a good choice for enterprise IT teams needing a full ITSM solution.
- Best value for small businesses: Freshdesk provides a scalable and intelligent ticketing system with a great free plan.
- Best for CRM integration: HubSpot Service Hub is the top choice for teams that want deep integration with their sales and marketing data.
- Best for e-commerce: Gorgias is built specifically for online stores on platforms like Shopify and Magento.
- Best free plan: Zoho Desk offers a generous free-forever plan with multi-channel capabilities.
Comparison of the Best Support Desk Software
| Software | Best for | Pricing | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nextiva | Businesses of all sizes looking for a unified communications system. | Starts at $15/user/month | Contact for details |
| Freshdesk | Small to medium-sized businesses needing a smart and scalable ticketing system. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $15/user/month | 14-day free trial |
| Zendesk | Medium-sized and enterprise teams that need an all-in-one customer service management tool. | Starts at $19/user/month | 14-day free trial |
| ServiceNow | Enterprise teams looking for AI-powered and IT help desk software. | Contact for details | Contact for details |
| Help Scout | Teams that want to improve collaboration and quickly resolve customer issues. | Starts at $50/user/month (100 contacts per month and unlimited users) | 15-day free trial |
| Zoho Desk | Businesses looking for a context-aware help desk with multi-channel capabilities. | Free plan available; paid plans start at $7/user/month | 15-day free trial |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Teams that want to integrate their customer service with a CRM. | Free tools available; paid plans start at $20/seat/month | Free trial available |
| Intercom | Businesses that want to use AI and automation for customer support. | Starts at $29/seat/month | 14-day free trial |
| Gorgias | E-commerce businesses that want to provide customer support on multiple channels. | Starts at $10/month (for 50 helpdesk tickets) | 7-day free trial |
| LiveAgent | Businesses that want a versatile and balanced plan for full-scale customer support. | Starts at $9/agent/month | 30-day free trial |
The 10 Best Support Desk Software Platforms
Here’s a closer look at the top support desk providers you can choose from.
1. Nextiva
A cloud-based unified communications system, Nextiva allows you to coordinate all your customer interactions from one place. Support agents can monitor inbound and outbound calls, respond to emails, and track social media messages within the same platform instead of switching from one channel to another — improving productivity and eliminating errors.
Top features:
- A simple ticket management system to track customer requests and assign support tickets to agents
- Automated surveys, email reminders, and macros for task automation
- Real-time customer intelligence with the Call Pop feature
- Third-party integrations, including Outlook and CRM software like Salesforce
2. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is smart and scalable ticketing software for small businesses. It automatically classifies tickets, assigns them to agents with the right skills to handle them, and monitors progress until resolution.
It also has other features, such as a self-service knowledge base that helps customers resolve issues independently and custom dashboards to track ticket trends and agent response time.
Top features:
- Team inboxes to track and manage support tickets for all agents
- Intelligent ticket assignment based on agent workload
- Omnichannel support ticket routing
3. Zendesk
Zendesk is an all-in-one customer service management tool that efficiently streamlines your support workflow. It’s better suited to medium-sized and enterprise teams because of its extensive capabilities, integrations, and higher pricing plans.
Top features:
- Agent workspaces to track support conversations from multiple channels in one place
- Intelligent routing to assign tickets and inbound calls to the best customer service agent
- AI agents and chatbots to speed up interactions and resolve customer issues promptly
4. ServiceNow
ServiceNow is an AI-powered help desk software for enterprise teams. It unifies communication channels, allowing you to assign, monitor, and resolve customer inquiries from a single system.
It also creates visibility for support team tasks, helping you track agents’ interactions with customers, the number of cases they handle every day, and the issues they’re struggling with. With this information, you can adjust your support workflow and provide resources to boost agent productivity.
Top features:
- An automated ticketing system to assign and track support tickets
- A performance analytics dashboard to monitor customer interactions and workplace engagement
- Customizations and integrations to build a robust customer support workflow
5. Help Scout
Help Scout improves support team collaboration, making it easier for your agents to work together and quickly resolve customer issues. Its standout feature is a shared inbox that tracks inbound and outbound conversations across channels. Agents can easily transfer support requests to their teammates for help or share AI-generated summaries, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Top features:
- A self-service portal where customers can find answers to questions independently
- An easy-to-understand interface suitable for nontechnical users
- A mobile app for on-the-go customer support
6. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a help desk solution, providing support teams with a streamlined way to manage customer requests from start to finish. Agents can view customer history, assign tickets, and respond via email, phone, chat, or social media without leaving the user interface. Smaller teams can start with the basics, while larger companies can add automation and advanced workflows.
Top features:
- A multichannel support across email, phone, live chat, and social media
- AI-driven assistant (Zia) to suggest responses and detect sentiment
- SLA management to track deadlines and resolution quality
- Smooth integration with Zoho CRM and third-party apps like Slack and external software
7. HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot Service Hub is built on the same CRM used by sales and marketing teams. This means all customer data is stored in one place. Support agents can view complete customer histories, create tickets, and set up workflow automations for follow-up requests without having to juggle different systems.
Top features:
- A shared inbox for visibility across the support team
- Ticket pipelines to organize cases from open to resolved
- A knowledge base builder for customizable customer self-service
- Feedback surveys to measure and improve customer satisfaction
8. Intercom
Intercom is built on live chat and conversational support, making it a great choice for businesses that need fast, direct communication. Customers can connect with agents via websites, apps, or email, and automation handles common queries instantly.
Top features:
- A business messenger widget for websites, apps, and email
- Custom chatbots for FAQs and lead qualification
- Customer segmentation for personalized outreach and notifications
- Integrations with Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, and more
9. Gorgias
Gorgias focuses on e-commerce businesses that face high volumes of customer inquiries. It connects directly to Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce, allowing agents to view order details, process refunds, or make updates without leaving the support desk.
Top features:
- Macros and templates for quick responses
- Multi-channel inbox to track all support requests
- Revenue tracking to measure how support impacts sales
- Automation for repetitive tasks like order updates
10. LiveAgent
LiveAgent offers a cost-effective support desk solution for small and medium-sized businesses. It consolidates tickets from email, phone, chat, and social media into one system, eliminating delays and confusion.
The platform also includes call center tools and live chat capabilities, supporting real-time business communication. It’s simple enough for smaller teams, but offers automation and self-service options as the business grows.
Top features:
- Real-time live chat with website visitors
- Ticket routing and automation to reduce response delays
- Knowledge base and customer portal for self-service
- Reporting tools for agent performance and workload tracking
Key Features of Support Desk Software
A support desk platform provides everything you need to centralize customer interactions and efficiently respond to requests and inquiries.
1. Ticketing system
Support desk software manages inbound customer inquiries through an automated ticketing system. This reduces wait times and ensures that no inquiry is overlooked. It also helps your support team efficiently manage its workload.
When a support request comes in through any of your communication channels, a ticket is automatically created in the help desk system. The ticket captures details such as the customer’s contact information, the nature of the issue, and any previous interactions.
The ticket is then assigned a unique identifier and routed to the appropriate support agent or team based on predefined rules or manual assignment. Support agents can update the ticket with notes, status changes, and resolutions as they work on the issue.
When an agent resolves the issue and closes the ticket, the support desk emails the customer. Depending on the settings, your ticketing system might also share a follow-up survey to collect feedback on the experience and gauge customer satisfaction.
2. Automation
A support desk system automates repetitive tasks, giving your agents time to focus on meaningful customer interactions.
Take help desk ticketing, for example. Without it, you have to sort through customer inquiries manually, assign each query to the right agent, and follow up with agents in person to ensure they resolve the issue promptly. This process is very exhausting, error-prone, and inefficient.
Other help desk automation features include:
- Prewritten or canned responses: When a ticket includes a frequently asked question, the help desk software can automatically offer the appropriate canned reply, reducing response times.
- Service level agreement (SLA) management: Customer service automation prioritizes and escalates tickets based on your SLA policies. For instance, if a high-priority ticket is not addressed within a specific time frame, the help desk can automatically reassign it to a higher support level.
3. Knowledge base
Nearly 70% of customers try to resolve their issues independently before contacting your support team. Consider using your help desk software to create a searchable knowledge base to address this need. You can publish help articles, troubleshooting videos, and walk-through tutorials to provide ongoing customer support asynchronously.
Having a knowledge base also helps your agents, too. They’ll get fewer inbound requests, reducing their workload and improving team efficiency.
4. Omnichannel support
Support desk software is plugged with omnichannel support capabilities and helps support teams centrally manage customer conversations via email, phone, chat, social media, SMS, and other business communication channels. Agents maintain a unified dashboard and keep track of every request. Unified communications via support desk software simplifies workflows and ensures consistent, more personalized customer communication.
As your business grows, you can also add new channels like WhatsApp or in-app messaging to the same platform without fundamentally changing your support workflows.
5. Integrations
Most support desk platforms integrate well with popular CRM systems, project management apps, or e-commerce software. Business integrations give agents quick access to purchase history, shipping status, or previous support notes while responding to customer inquiries.
If a customer asks about a recent order, the agent doesn’t need to switch screens. They can check the Shopify or HubSpot data directly in the help desk and provide a complete answer immediately.
6. Reporting and analytics
Support desk tools feature reporting dashboards that showcase team performance. Managers can track response times, resolution rates, workloads, and customer satisfaction without having to trawl through spreadsheets. This makes it easier to see what’s working and where the process is slowing down.
The insights go beyond team performance. Analytics highlight common customer issues to resolve before they lead to bigger complaints. They also aid planning, for example, knowing when to add additional staff during peak times.
Most platforms track key customer service metrics like first response time, average resolution time, customer satisfaction scores (CSAT), ticket backlog, and agent utilization. Using this data, agents can plan, identify recurring issues, and develop better long-term support strategies.
Benefits of a Support Desk Platform for Customer Service
The right support desk platform makes it easier for your customer teams to deliver excellent customer experiences at scale.
Improves the customer experience
A support desk platform streamlines all your communication channels into a single platform, allowing your support team to quickly monitor and respond to customer inquiries. Help desk tools equipped with AI also automate time-consuming tasks that your agents would have been occupied with — freeing them up for more meaningful and personalized customer interactions. This leads to better customer experiences and improved satisfaction.
Boosts team collaboration
A support desk provides a centralized platform where all team members can access the same information. This ensures everyone is on the same page and has the latest updates on customer issues.
Many support desk platforms also come with built-in collaboration tools such as shared inboxes, live chat, discussion boards, and document sharing, which help team members exchange ideas and ask for help efficiently.
Supports data-driven decision-making
Support desk software tracks and records insights based on day-to-day agent-customer interactions. You can track the total number of daily inquiries, average agent response time, peak periods, and so much more.
These insights will help you improve your support experience. Suppose you discover that a particular channel receives many customer service requests. In that case, you can assign more agents to it to monitor and respond to inquiries faster.
How To Choose The Right Support Desk Software Vendor
There are several things to consider when evaluating the best support desk software platforms.
1. Features and functionalities
Ensure that the support desk software offers the unique features you need to run a smooth customer service operation. For example, if you want to streamline all your communication channels into a single platform, you need help desk software with omnichannel support. On the other hand, if you’re going to improve how your support team members collaborate and share information, opt for a support desk with a shared inbox.
It’s also crucial for the software to sync with third-party applications like your CRM tool. That way, agents can access real-time information to personalize customer interactions.
2. Scalability
Choose service desk software that can scale up or down according to your changing business needs. During peak seasons, the software should efficiently manage high ticket volumes and calls without compromising response times or service quality. On the flip side, when demand decreases, you should be able to reduce the number of active agent seats to save on costs.
To assess scalability, examine the pricing plans offered. Flexible pricing plans and short-term contracts are good indicators that the software can adapt to rapid changes in your business and support workflow.
3. Pricing
Ensure that the support desk’s pricing plans offer the best value for your budget. If you’re a small team with a limited budget, choose affordable or free help desk software to reduce expenses while meeting your basic customer support needs, such as omnichannel interactions, ticket automation, and self-service.
For larger teams, look for advanced help desk solutions with extensive capabilities to support your complex workflow. For example, you’ll need a platform with workforce engagement features to help you monitor and optimize agent productivity at scale.
Better still, go for a support desk vendor like Nextiva that offers flexible plans for businesses of all sizes. Our Core plan, which starts at only $15 per user per month, is perfect for small teams. As your business scales, you can upgrade to our Engage or Power Suite plan for more advanced, AI-powered features.
4. Ease of use
Make sure your support desk software is easy to deploy and use. It shouldn’t have a significant learning curve or require extensive technical know-how to understand how it works. The best support desk software typically has a quick onboarding process, ensuring that your support desk is up and running as quickly as possible.
Key Takeaway
Managing recurring customer inquiries can be overwhelming. With the right support desk software, you can gain clarity. You’ll get tools that not only manage tickets but also help your team build stronger relationships, promote positive customer service, and drive business growth.
Each support desk platform on this list offers a unique way to achieve this goal. Now it’s your turn to take the next step. Consider your team’s needs, take advantage of a free trial or demo, and choose the solution that will not only help you answer questions but also build lifelong loyal customers.
Get Reliable and Affordable Support With Nextiva
Nextiva offers the best help desk software tools at a reasonable cost.
For a small business, the Core plan offers highly capable business voice and helpdesk features for only $15/user each month. As your team scales, you can upgrade to our Engage or Power Suite plans for more robust features.
What’s more, Nextiva offers total flexibility to mix and match plan features and functions to fit your needs. This way, you can scale up or down anytime based on your support requirements — and put your customers first.
Check out Nextiva’s customer experience solutions to level up your support experience.
Personalized CX.
Support Desk Software FAQs
The terms support desk and help desk essentially mean the same thing in the industry. We’ll use the term “help desk” in the following answers to address some common questions.
Help desk software is a tool that helps businesses manage and track customer inquiries and support tickets. It provides a centralized platform for customer service teams to communicate with customers, resolve issues, and track their performance.
Help desk software is used to streamline customer service operations, improve response times, and enhance the overall customer experience. It helps businesses manage customer inquiries from multiple channels, automate repetitive tasks, and gain insights into their customer service performance.
The benefits of help desk platforms include improved customer satisfaction, increased agent productivity, better team collaboration, and data-driven decision-making.
While help desk software and CRM software have some overlapping features, they are not the same. Help desk software is primarily focused on managing customer support and service, while CRM software is focused on managing customer relationships and sales. However, many help desk software solutions offer integrations with CRM software to provide a more holistic view of the customer.
While popularity can be measured in various ways (market share, number of users, brand awareness), some names consistently emerge at the top. Nextiva is an emerging support desk software; Zendesk is considered the market leader due to its advanced feature set, especially among mid-sized and large companies. Freshdesk is popular among small and medium-sized businesses due to its user-friendly interface and scalable plans. HubSpot Service Hub is also a top contender, especially for companies already using its CRM and marketing tools.
The most affordable solution depends on your needs. For businesses looking for a free option, Zoho Desk and Freshdesk offer permanently free plans with powerful features for small teams. If you need a paid plan with more features, LiveAgent offers cheap entry-level prices at $9 per agent per month. However, the cheapest option should also offer the best value, so it’s important to check the features included in the cheaper plans.
