Help desk management software is a tool used by IT and customer service teams to ensure quick support to their employees and/or customers. Help desk management software allows users to track and manage tickets submitted, through web, email, chat, etc, and address issues as they arise. IT or customer service reps can update the owner of the ticket on the status, and receive customer satisfaction scores and other metrics through analytics. The world has shifted to a stronger online and hybrid presence in the past couple years. The way we do things has changed. With that change, people don’t submit IT requests in person or physically go talk to a customer service rep. Everything is done online. Which is great, and oftentimes more efficient, but can cause a strain on teams not built to handle a large number of online tickets. A help desk management software is essential in keeping your IT and customer service teams thriving.
Top 7 Best Help Desk Management Software Tools
- Zoho Desk – best for growing companies
- Freshdesk – best AI
- HappyFox – best for Customer Service teams
- Zendesk – best for productivity
- SolarWinds Service Desk – best for IT teams
- Jira Service Management – best for large teams
- Vivantio – best for small teams
1. Zoho Desk – best for growing companies
PRICING:
Plans starting at $14/ mo (per user)
Zoho Desk is an excellent solution to all help desk needs. Zoho Desk offers a long list of automation features, saving your team time and energy, and the ability for customers to submit tickets from social media. Users can chat with the support team regarding their ticket through email, phone, chat, and social media, making it easy to stay in communication throughout the process. Zoho Desk allows teams to create an internal Knowledge Base, a collection of articles, tips, and tricks so your team can quickly and accurately address all problems that arise.
KEY FEATURES:
- Tickets submission through social media
- Reporting and dashboards
- Knowledge Base
REASONS TO BUY:
- All encompassing help desk management software at a reasonable price point
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Steep learning curve
2. Freshdesk – best AI
PRICING:
Plans starting at $18/ mo (per user)
Freshdesk is a great solution for collaborative teams, of any size. Freshdesk offers a team inbox, so everyone can help manage incoming tickets. They also offer automated responses to common questions, so your team can spend more energy on complex issues. Freshdesk is a highly customizable tool, with no coding experience necessary. The more premium plans come with an AI, Freddy AI. Freddy learns from past tickets to automatically help categorize and prioritize incoming tickets.
KEY FEATURES:
- Reporting and analytics
- Mobile app
- Automation and AI assistant
REASONS TO BUY:
- Easy-to-use software designed for teams of any size
REASONS TO AVOID:
- The stand-out feature, Freddy AI, only available on the most premium plans
3. HappyFox – best for Customer Service teams
PRICING:
Plans starting at $29/ mo (per user)
HappyFox is one of the most popular help desk management solutions on the market, and they’ve earned their title. This comprehensive solution includes automation, ticketing management, advanced reporting, as well as third-party integrations to messaging apps, like Slack and Microsoft teams, to keep your team on the same page. HappyFox also integrates well with other CRMs your team may be using, like Salesforce. In recent years, HappyFox added the ability to submit and respond to tickets via social media.
KEY FEATURES:
- Third-party integration
- Automations
- Live website chat
REASONS TO BUY:
- A comprehensive solution for customer service teams
REASONS TO AVOID:
- No for IT teams since you need to create assets manually as there are limited asset management features
4. Zendesk – best for productivity
PRICING:
Plans starting at $19/ mo (per user)
Zendesk is a straight-forward, simple to use solution that can still handle some of the most tricky IT and customer service pain points. Zendesk makes it easy for users to stay on top of their tickets, track, and communicate with their team, as well as integrate with apps in their existing workflow. A great feature of Zendesk is that users have access to relevant customer information at the click of a button. Information like past conversations and tickets, interaction history, and solutions, allowing for a personalized interaction.
KEY FEATURES:
- Integrations
- Customer history
- Reporting and analytics
REASONS TO BUY:
- An excellent solution with multichannel ticket management and personalized customer support
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Lacks customization
5. SolarWinds Service Desk – best for IT teams
PRICING:
Plans starting at $19/ mo (per user)
SolarWinds Service Desk is an excellent, affordable option for smaller IT teams that just need the basic functions. SolarWinds offers easy ticket management and a service portal. Asset management is a breeze with Service Desk’s management system that compiles hardware, software, POs, and more. The incident management feature manages, prioritizes, and assigns incoming tickets, saving your team time and energy. Service Desk integrates with over 200 cloud applications, streamlining your workflow. Ther service portal makes it easy to stay on top of and manage all tickets.
KEY FEATURES:
- Asset management
- Integrations
- Service portal
REASONS TO BUY:
- A simple solution that keeps your IT team focussed on the task at hand
REASONS TO AVOID:
- No customer service specialized features
6. Jira Service Management – best for large teams
PRICING:
Plans start at $20/ mo (per user)
Jira Service Management is a solution designed for IT teams, specifically better suited for larger teams with a lot of tickets to manage. Some of the key features of Jira Service Management include automation, self-service, incident management, conversational ticketing, and new visual features like a dependency graph. These dependency graphs allow users to visualize the impact of one IT event on other aspects of the workflow, to provide a big-picture view. Jira offers smart automations chat features, so your team can quickly and efficiently address all problems that arise.
KEY FEATURES:
- Dependency graphs
- Analytics and reporting
- Asset management
REASONS TO BUY:
- All-encompassing solution for large IT teams
REASONS TO AVOID:
- Third-party integrations are not reliable
7. Vivantio – best for small teams
PRICING:
Plans start ay $42/ mo (per user)
Vivantio offers IT and customer service options, so you can choose the solution that is best for you, or even both, if needed. Vivantio is a highly customizable tool that lets IT and customer service teams take control of their workflow. For IT teams, Vivantio includes great asset management tools. For customer service teams, Vivianto provides helpful reporting and data visualizations.
KEY FEATURES:
- Highly customizable
- Analytics and reporting
- Asset and knowledge management
REASONS TO BUY:
- Customizable tool for small to midsize IT and customer service teams
REASONS TO AVOID:
- One of the pricier options on this list
References and Links:
https://www.zoho.com/desk/pricing.html
https://www.zoho.com/desk/features.html
https://freshdesk.com/features
https://www.happyfox.com/help-desk-price/
https://www.happyfox.com/ticket-support-system/
https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/#everyone
https://www.zendesk.com/service/
https://www.solarwinds.com/service-desk
https://www.solarwinds.com/service-desk/pricing
https://www.solarwinds.com/service-desk/use-cases
https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-management
https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-management/pricing
https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/service-management/product-guide
https://www.vivantio.com/pricing/