Picture a library where all the books are perfectly organized on shelves, the librarian knows exactly where to find the answer to any question, and the doors never close.
That’s what the best knowledge base software does for your organization—a place where every piece information is neatly stored, ready to serve you 24/7.
In this article, we look at what knowledge base software solutions are and the best knowledge base software in the market.
Knowledge base software lets you build a centralized, dedicated space for creating, managing, and sharing information within an organization or to external users and other stakeholders.
Two categories of knowledge base can be created:
This type of knowledge base is used within an organization to provide information to employees such as company policies, training materials, or troubleshooting guides.
An internal KB can be hosted on dedicated platforms or integrated with existing tools, like help desk software.
External knowledge bases are self-service resources for customers. They include FAQs, product manuals, troubleshooting guides, how-to videos, and how-to articles.
Knowledge base software includes numerous tools, each with its own set of features. Let’s look at the common ones.
FAQs provide quick answers to common queries. They are usually structured in a question-and-answer format.
Community forums are platforms businesses create for users to engage and share knowledge.
The forum can be through discussions, asking or answering questions and sharing or exchanging ideas. They enable peer-to-peer support and ensure a knowledge-rich community.
Troubleshooting guides are instructions that give logical steps or instructions on how users can resolve certain issues with their products or services independently.
User manuals are comprehensive documents that provide users with detailed information on how to effectively use and operate a particular product or system.
These guides include technical specifications and information.
Self-service portals are centralized, online platforms dedicated to empower users to access information and perform tasks like completing transactions without direct assistance from support staff.
Choosing the best knowledge base tool for your business can be challenging given the many options available. Here are the 12 leading knowledge base solutions.
BoldDesk’s knowledge base software is designed to help businesses create, manage, store, and publish documentation for improved customer support and internal knowledge sharing objectives.
As one of the Zendesk alternatives, its intuitive and user-friendly, so team members and external users can quickly find information and contribute to the collective knowledge of the organization.
With the capability to generate unlimited knowledge base articles, BoldDesk is flexible for building out the self-service resources for any brand or product.
BoldDesk’s autosuggest and AI features enhances the user experience by recommending relevant articles and solutions based on keywords in support tickets.
Tags and the ability to manage categories and sections make organizing content intuitive. Articles can also be arranged in the preferred order using a simple drag-and-drop interface.
BoldDesk’s KB tool also allows category-level access control to further refine content visibility, ensuring that specific user groups can only see what is relevant to them.
BoldDesk also boasts a robust article editor that simplifies the writing and editing process, equipped with Markdown and HTML (WYSIWYG) capabilities, autosave, and version control. This editor also offers an instant preview feature, alongside the ability to attach files, embed images and videos, and use code blocks to enrich content.
Building a multilingual knowledge base is straightforward with BoldDesk, allowing you to serve a global audience in its preferred languages. Making it a top choice among Helpscout alternatives.
BoldDesk personalizes customers’ experiences within the self-help tools through comments, private notes, and @mentions. Its satisfaction feedback options allow users to leave insightful comments that help you maintain the quality and relevance of your knowledge base.
The software comes packed with additional tools to enhance your content management, including article templates; expiration settings; reordering, cloning, and sharing options; status indicators; and advanced filters.
It also provides an internal option for publishing sensitive documentation so that information is accessible only to authorized personnel.
BoldDesk also prioritizes SEO and social media optimization with on-page SEO tools, SEO-friendly URLs, sitemap generation, and Open Graph support, ensuring your content is easily discoverable and shareable.
Additionally, it has branding and customization options, from feedback labels to white labeling and custom domains, all with built-in SSL support.
Security is paramount—that’s why BoldDesk includes roles and permissions to control access, single sign-on for convenience, robust password policies, IP restrictions, and detailed audit logs for transparency and compliance.
Agent-Based plans | Unlimited agents plan |
Scale: $12/agent/month | Essential: $799/month |
Momentum: $25/agent/month | Pro: $1499/month |
Enterprise: $39/agent/month | Business: Contact us |
Free trial: Enjoy a 15-day trial at no cost, with immediate access, no credit card requirement, and the option to cancel at any time.
Reach out to the BoldDesk support team to arrange a 30-minute live demo to see how our best knowledge base software can effectively meet your needs.
Zendesk help center software is part of Zendesk for Service, a comprehensive customer service platform.
It enables businesses to create a self-service support center where customers can find answers to their queries without interacting with support agents.
Zendesk’s knowledge base software solution empowers businesses to create, organize, and manage a centralized source of information.
PRICING | |
Suite Team |
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Suite Growth |
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Suite Professional |
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Suite Enterprise |
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Free trial: 14 days
Confluence is a collaboration and documentation tool developed by Atlassian, designed to facilitate teamwork and knowledge sharing within organizations.
It integrates effortlessly with other Atlassian products, such as Jira, to provide a comprehensive solution for project management and collaboration.
PRICING | |
Free |
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Standard |
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Premium |
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Enterprise |
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Free trial duration: 7 days
Document360 is a comprehensive knowledge base platform that empowers businesses to create and maintain documentation, FAQs, user guides, and tutorials.
The software is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it accessible to both users with technical expertise and those without.
Top features
PRICING | |
Standard |
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Professional |
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Business |
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Enterprise |
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Free trial duration: 14 days
Notion is a multifunctional tool for users to create, manage, and organize content in a flexible and customizable workspace.
It features a block-based structure, enabling users to combine various types of content blocks such as text, images, databases, tasks, and more within a single page.
Notion is designed for collaboration, providing real-time editing, and commenting features.
PRICING | |
Free |
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Plus |
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Business |
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Enterprise |
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HubSpot Service Hub offers knowledge base software as part of its comprehensive customer service platform.
HubSpot Service Hub knowledge base software can be a good option for businesses of all sizes, especially those already using other HubSpot tools.
It offers a user-friendly interface, strong integration capabilities, and features designed to improve
customer service and self-service.
PRICING | |
Starter |
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Professional |
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Enterprise |
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Help Scout offers a knowledge base feature as part of its customer service platform. It is a great choice for businesses seeking a simple, user-friendly, and affordable knowledge base software solution.
It’s particularly well-suited for smaller companies and teams that value a straightforward approach with essential features. However, it might be unsuitable for very large businesses or those that require highly complex functionalities.
PRICING | |
Standard |
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Plus |
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Pro |
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Free trial duration: 15 days
Guru offers a comprehensive knowledge management system that focuses on context, collaboration, and proactive recommendations.
PRICING | |
Plan |
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Free trial duration: 30 days
Helpjuice is one of the best knowledge base solution designed to assist organizations in creating, managing, and sharing internal and external knowledge.
It is a good option for businesses of various sizes looking for a simple, affordable, and user-friendly knowledge base solution.
PRICING | |
Starter |
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Run-up |
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Premium limited |
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Enterprise |
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Free trial duration: 14 days
Nuclino is web-based knowledge base software that positions itself as a unified workspace for teams to combine all their knowledge, documents, and projects together in one place.
It is known for its simple, intuitive, and distraction-free interface, making it easy for anyone to quickly get started with the tool.
PRICING | |
Free |
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Standard |
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Premium |
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Bloomfire is a knowledge-sharing and collaboration tool designed to help teams organize, share, and leverage collective knowledge.
This knowledge management software leverages AI to optimize knowledge sharing and streamline access to critical information.
PRICING | |
Plan |
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Free trial duration: 30 days
Slite is a popular knowledge base software that helps teams organize, share, and find information. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, so that anyone can effortlessly create and manage content.
With Slite, teams can write and organize notes, create documents with rich formatting options, build knowledge bases, and set up shared channels for different projects or topics.
PRICING | |
Standard |
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Premium |
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Enterprise |
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Here is a summary of the best knowledge base systems worth considering today!
KNOWLEDGE BASE TOOL AND FEATURES | STARTING PRICE |
BoldDesk | $12/agent/month |
Zendesk | $55/month |
Confluence | $6.05/agent/month |
Document360 | $149/project/month |
Notion
| $8/user/month |
HubSpot Service Hub | $15/agent/month |
Help Scout | $20/user/month |
Guru | $15/user/month |
Helpjuice | $120/user/month |
Nuclino | $5/user/month |
Bloomfire | Contact for pricing |
Slite | $8/user/month |
Knowledge base software comes equipped with a variety of features designed to streamline information management and enhance user experiences.
Here are some of the key features that make knowledge base solutions effective:
Knowledge base software isn’t just a fancy storage unit for information—it’s a powerful tool that can transform your business. Here are several ways knowledge base tools are important.
Here are some key benefits of using knowledge base tools:
Self-service knowledge base software allows users to find answers to their questions quickly and independently using customer self-service resources. Customers don’t have to interact with support staff.
Having a comprehensive knowledge base with easily accessible information can significantly reduce the number of support tickets. It enables support staff to take a chance on customer focus and work on on more complex issues that require personal attention to boost their productivity.
A knowledge base is available online round-the-clock, providing users with access to information at all times. This is especially beneficial for businesses that serve customers in different time zones.
Knowledge base software can be a cost-effective support solution for businesses. Using the IT help desk reduces the number of support tickets and saves resources that would otherwise be spent on customer support.
The information within a knowledge base software ensures all users get the same answers to similar issues.
Support agents can use the knowledge base to find information quickly, which can increase their efficiency and productivity. This also helps in providing faster responses to user inquiries.
Effectively delivering knowledge base software can take different forms that cater to the needs of both the organization creating the knowledge base and the end users who will be accessing it. The following are some common approaches for delivering knowledge base software:
SaaS knowledge base software is hosted and maintained by a provider, accessible through subscription-based models. Users can access the software over the internet without needing to install or manage it locally.
Open-source knowledge base software refers to platforms with a freely available source code for anyone to view, modify, and distribute. Users have full control over customization and deployment.
Free knowledge base software and free helpdesk software offer basic features at no cost. They often target smaller teams or projects and may have limitations compared to paid versions or other types of knowledge base software.
Knowledge base software and knowledge base management are two essential components of an organization’s information management strategy.
Knowledge base software provides the platform for storing, organizing, and retrieving knowledge, while knowledge base management is the process of ensuring the knowledge within the software is accurate, up-to-date, and easily accessible.
The relationship between knowledge base software and knowledge base management is mutually beneficial. Effective knowledge base management maximizes the potential of the software, leading to a more informed and efficient organization.
Knowledge base solutions aren’t one-size-fits-all. They require careful considerations of your unique requirements, goals, and budget.
Businesses should understand the different types of knowledge base software solutions available, their key features, and potential benefits. This will help them make decisions that empower their customers, streamline their team’s workflow operations, and fuel their growth.
Please leave a comment below on any suggestions related to the best knowledge base software!
A knowledge base refers to a unified repository of information for organizations to create, maintain, and manage content. It includes self-help resources such as FAQs, articles and how-to guides that help users find solutions to their issues and learn more about a product or service.
Knowledge base software is used by a variety of end users, including customer service teams, employees, managers, stakeholders, and customers. It is particularly valuable for customer support, IT departments, HR, and any team that requires a repository of knowledge.
Knowledge base software improves operational efficiency by allowing employees to quickly find useful information. It also provides resources for customers to get instant access to answer, ensuring quick issue resolution.
Yes, providing answers to common questions and topics can make your knowledge base be indexed by search engines and assist in driving organic traffic to your website. This ensures better visibility and relevance of your brand.
The difficulty varies depending on the software chosen. BoldDesk, for instance, offers intuitive interfaces and easy-to-use tools for setting up and managing content.
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