Do you want to resolve issues quickly, manage all customer interactions seamlessly, or streamline your teams’ workflows? Consider implementing help desk software as your customer service companion.
Whatever your customer service goal is, implementing help desk software as your customer service companion gives your business a competitive edge.
Choosing the best help desk software for your business can make customers’ experiences worthwhile and increase support agents’ productivity.
This article will explore what help desk software is and highlight some of the best help desk tools currently available on the market.
What is help desk software?
Help desk software is a customer service tool that helps businesses manage, track, and resolve support requests. It helps support agents streamline the issue resolution process, providing efficient and effective customer service.
With the right help desk solution, no customer request goes unnoticed and no issue remains unresolved.
Top help desk solutions in the market (2025)
What constitutes the best help desk software can vary based on the specific needs of a business, including its size, industry, and required features.
Here is a list of 15 highly regarded help desk software options to streamline your workflow and enhance customer support.
1. BoldDesk
BoldDesk is a modern AI-powered help desk software to streamline customer support operations and enhance overall service quality.
It caters to businesses of all sizes, offering a comprehensive suite of customer service tools and a user-friendly interface for managing customer inquiries, automating support workflows, and providing insightful analytics.
Whether managing day-to-day support requests or implementing complex workflows, BoldDesk provides robust features and insights necessary to enhance customer satisfaction, improve their customer service efficiency and drive business success.
Main features of BoldDesk
- Centralized ticketing system: Creates and converts all customer inquiries from various channels into tickets and routes them to the appropriate support agent, ensuring no request is missed.
- AI Copilot:Includes features such as sentiment analysis, summarization, rephrase, content generation, translation and more. These AI Copilot assistance tools enable agents to offer prompt and well-informed replies.
- Knowledge base: Provides a comprehensive, searchable and AI-powered knowledge base where customers can find articles, FAQs, and guides to resolve issues independently.
- Omnichannel support: Allows you to easily manage all incoming customer inquiries from different communication channels in one unified inbox.
- Automated workflows: Automates repetitive tasks such as ticket assignments, status updates, and follow-up reminders to save time and reduce manual effort.
- Live chat: BoldDesk provides a live chat software for agents and clients to interact in real time.
- Task management: Breaks down customer service procedures and activities into smaller, more manageable tasks.
- Multilanguage support: Allows translation of articles, website and ticket conversations to different languages, ensuring businesses provide support to a diverse customer base worldwide.
- Customization: Allows personalizing of the entire help desk interface and customer portal to match your business’s specific support preferences.
- Security and compliance: Ensures customer data is securely stored and managed in compliance with industry standards and regulations.
- Mobile help desk: Enables your support agents to manage tickets and communicate with customers, and collaborate with team members from anywhere.
- Third-party integrations: Allows you to integrate BoldDesk with your other favorite tools and apps to simplify customer service operations.
- Comprehensive reporting and analytics: Offers real-time insights into key customer service metrics, enabling businesses to track trends, analyze support performance, and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.
Pricing
Agent-Based Plans | Team-Based Plans | Unlimited Agents Plans |
Scale: $12/agent/month | Scale: $49/month for 10 agents | Essential: $799/month |
Momentum: $25/agent/month | Momentum: $129/month for 10 agents | Pro: $1999/month |
Enterprise: $39/agent/month> | Enterprise: $199/month for 10 agents | Business: Contact us |
If you have any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the BoldDesk support team. You are welcome to initiate a 15-day free trial or arrange a live demo.
2. SysAid
SysAid is an IT service management (ITSM) and help desk software solution designed to streamline and automate IT support processes for businesses of all sizes.
SysAid offers both cloud-based and on-premises deployment options.
Main features of SysAid
- Ticketing system
- Self-service portal
- Asset management
- ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) management
PRICING | |
Plan |
|
Free trial: Available
3. Vivantio
Vivantio is an IT service management (ITSM) and customer service management (CSM) platform designed to enhance service delivery and support operations across various industries.
Main features of Vivantio
- Knowledge management
- Automation
- Customer relationship management (CRM)
- Asset management
PRICING | |
Named license |
|
Concurrent license |
|
Free trial: Available
4. Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk is a web-based IT help desk solution provided by Spiceworks Inc.
It’s designed to help IT professionals manage their help desk and IT support tasks without the need for an on-premise server.
Main features of Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
- Ticket management
- Reporting and analytics
- Collaboration tools
- Self-service portal
- Integration capabilities
PRICING | |
Plan |
|
5. Kustomer
Kustomer is a customer service platform designed for businesses to manage, automate, and personalize their customer interactions across various channels.
The platform allows companies to have a unified view of their customers’ interactions by consolidating data from multiple communication channels such as live chat, email and social media into a single inbox.
Main features of Kustomer
- Reporting and analytics
- Unified customer view
- Automation and AI
- Collaboration tools
- Integration capabilities
PRICING | |
Enterprise |
|
Ultimate |
|
Free trial: 14 days
6. Gorgias
Gorgias is a customer service and support help desk designed specifically for e-commerce.
It acts as a central hub for managing all your customer interactions across various channels, with a strong focus on streamlining workflows and leveraging data to improve the customer experience.
Main features of Gorgias
- Automation
- Self-service portal
- Collaboration tools
- Reporting and analytics
- Integration capabilities
PRICING | |
Plan |
|
Free trial: Available
7. SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based help desk tool and IT service management (ITSM) system designed to streamline and improve IT operations within organizations of all sizes.
Main features of SolarWinds Service Desk
- IT Asset Management
- Reporting
- Chat
- Feedback surveys
PRICING | |
Essentials |
|
Advanced |
|
Premier |
|
Free trial: 30 days
8. Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management, previously referred to as Jira Service Desk, is an IT service management (ITSM) solution that is part of Atlassian’s Jira product suite.
It is designed to help IT and service teams provide support and manage requests from their customers or employees.
The platform is widely used for change management, problem management, and service request management.
Main features of Jira Service Management
- Queues and SLA management
- Automation
- Incident management
- Knowledge base
PRICING | |
Free |
|
Standard |
|
Premium |
|
Enterprise |
|
Free trial: 7 days
9. Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer service application provided by Salesforce, which is one of the leading customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.
Service Cloud is designed to empower companies to manage customer communication, providing tools for support agents, customer self-service, and field service operations.
Main features of Salesforce Service Cloud
- Omnichannel support
- Automation
- Incident management
- Help center
PRICING | |
Starter Suite |
|
Professional |
|
Enterprise |
|
Unlimited |
|
Unlimited+ |
|
Free trial: 30 days
10. Help Scout
Help Scout is a customer service and help desk software solution designed for small to mid-sized businesses.
It is designed to help businesses manage their customer support interactions and provide a better service experience to their customers.
Main features of Help Scout
- Shared inbox
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Omnichannel support
PRICING | |
Standard |
|
Plus |
|
Pro |
|
Free trial: Available
11. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a help desk tool developed by Zoho Corporation that helps businesses manage their customer support activities.
It is among the Zoho suite of applications, which includes a variety of business and productivity tools, such as Zoho CRM, Zoho Mail, Zoho Projects, and others.
Main features of Zoho Desk
- Omnichannel ticketing
- Zia and answer bots
- Automation
- Customization
PRICING | |
Free |
|
Express |
|
Standard |
|
Professional |
|
Enterprise |
|
Free trial: 15 days
12. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a cloud-based help desk software solution designed to streamline and improve customer service operations.
It acts as a central hub for managing all customer interactions, offering a range of features to empower both your support agents and customers.
Main features of Freshdesk
- Ticketing system
- Knowledge base
- Automation
- Reports and dashboards
PRICING | |
Free |
|
Growth |
|
Pro |
|
Enterprise |
|
Free trial: 14 days
13. HappyFox
HappyFox is customer support and help desk software designed to streamline customer support operations and improve service quality.
It serves businesses of all sizes, providing a centralized platform for handling customer inquiries and support tickets across multiple channels.
Main features of HappyFox
- Ticketing system
- Automation
- Satisfaction surveys
- Task management
PRICING | |
Mighty |
|
Fantastic |
|
Enterprise |
|
Enterprise plus |
|
Free trial: Contact HappyFox
14. HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot Service Hub is a customer service platform designed to enhance customer support operations and foster long-term customer relations.
As part of the broader HubSpot ecosystem, Service Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot’s CRM, marketing, and sales tools, providing a unified approach to managing interactions and delivering good customer service.
Main features of HubSpot Service Hub
- Ticketing system
- Omnichannel support
- Knowledge base
- SLA management
PRICING | |
Free |
|
Starter |
|
Professional |
|
Enterprise |
|
15. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is help desk and customer support software designed to help businesses handle customer interactions across multiple channels.
Main features of LiveAgent
- Ticketing system
- Live chat software
- Reporting
- Knowledge base
PRICING | |
Free |
|
Small |
|
Medium |
|
Large |
|
Enterprise |
|
Free trial: 14 days with free email or 30 days with company email
Comparison table for the best help desk tools
Below is an overview of the best IT help desk software available in the market.
Ticketing tool & key features | Pricing plan |
BoldDesk
|
$12/agent/month |
SysAid
|
Contact SysAid |
Vivantio
|
$99 per user/month (up to 5 agents) |
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
|
Free |
Kustomer
|
$89 per user/month |
Gorgias
|
$8 per month for 50 tickets |
SolarWinds Service Desk
|
$39 per technician/month |
Jira Service Management
|
$650 per year (for 3 agents) |
Salesforce Service Cloud
|
$25 per user/month |
Help Scout
|
$20 per user/month |
Zoho Desk
|
$7 per user/month |
Freshdesk
|
$15 per agent/month |
HappyFox
|
$29 per agent/month |
HubSpot Service Hub
|
$15 per month/seat |
LiveAgent
|
$9 per agent/month |
Types of help desk systems
Help desk systems come in various types, each designed to meet different organizational needs and support structures. Here are the primary types of help desk systems:
Cloud-based help desk
This is the most popular type of help desk system. These systems are hosted on a vendor’s server and accessible through a web browser.
This means you don’t need to install any software on your own servers, making them easy to set up and use. They are also very scalable.
On-premise help desk
These on-premise help desk systems are installed and run within the company’s own servers. Companies have full control over the security and maintenance of the software. They require more IT expertise to set up and maintain.
Open-source help desks
An open-source help desk is a software with a freely-available source code for anyone to inspect and modify.
Organizations can customized these systems to fit their specific needs. They are often less expensive than proprietary systems since they are free to use, but they might require more technical expertise to install, configure, and maintain.
Closed-source help desks (proprietary help desks)
These help desks are owned by a company that controls and restricts access to the software’s source code.
Users must pay to use the software, which often includes customer support, regular updates, and a more user-friendly interface.
These systems are typically more polished and come with vendor support, but they are also more expensive and less customizable than open-source solutions.
Internal help desk
This type of help desk software focuses on providing support within the organization. It assists in managing internal IT requests, HR queries, and other employee-related issues, to enhance operational efficiency and employee satisfaction.
External help desk (customer-facing)
These are help desk software designed for external customers. These systems handle customer service requests, product support issues, and general customer inquiries.
Help desk for small business
These are entry-level solutions ideal for small businesses or startups with relatively simple support needs. They typically include basic ticketing, email support, and a simple knowledge base.
Enterprise help desk
These are designed for large organizations and are often part of a comprehensive IT service management (ITSM) solution.
They are built to handle a high volume of requests and offer advanced features such as automated ticket routing, SLA (service level agreement) management, advanced reporting, and integration with other enterprise systems.
IT help desk
T help desk tools are focused on providing technical support and assistance for IT-related issues.
They are typically used within organizations to help employees with computer problems, software glitches, network connectivity issues, and other IT-related concerns.
IT help desk solutions use ticketing systems to manage and prioritize issues.
HR help desks
HR help desks are specialized for human resources departments and are used to manage employee inquiries related to HR policies, payroll, benefits, time off, and other HR-related topics.
They often include self-service portals where employees can find information and submit requests without direct HR intervention.
Features of IT help desk software
IT help desk tools are equipped with a range of features designed to streamline IT customer support operations, enhance efficiency, and improve user satisfaction. Here are the key features:
Ticket management: Converts customer inquiries and issues into “tickets” that can be tracked and managed from creation to resolution.
Automation: Automates repetitive tasks such as ticket assignment, follow-up emails, and status updates, allowing support staff to focus on more complex issues.
Knowledge base: Provides a repository of FAQs, user manuals, and troubleshooting guides that hat clients and agents can access to quickly resolve common issues.
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