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10 Best Internal Help Desk Software In 2023

Best Internal Help Desk Software Shortlist

Here’s the shortlist of the best internal help desk software tools that I’ll cover in this article, with detailed summaries below:

  1. 1. Hiver — Best for companies who are all about Google
  2. 2. Freshservice — Best for AI-driven IT support with integrated collaboration tools
  3. 3. Vision Helpdesk — Best satellite help desk software for managing multiple brands in one location
  4. 4. HappyFox — Best for multilingual customer and colleague support
  5. 5. Intercom — Best for automated service that allows users to speed and scale
  6. 6. Help Scout — Best for growing teams and scaling businesses
  7. 7. ServiceDesk Plus — Best cloud-based help desk for a 360° approach to IT service management
  8. 8. Jitbit Helpdesk — Best for self-hosted, email-first functionality
  9. 9. Kayako — Best for viewing internal interactions with colleagues
  10. 10. Solarwinds — Best for full-stack observability for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid solutions

Internal help desk software is a different tool than the helpdesk you use for customer support. If you want to provide a service desk for the people in your organization, help desk platforms provide a virtual solution with a central repository for internal communications about issues and a knowledge base of relevant information for automating workflow. Check out our top 10 list of software here!

If you have general questions about how internal help desk software works or how to pick the best option for your organization, take a look at my People Also Ask section below. Or, if you’re curious how I prepared this list, see How I Selected the Best Internal Help Desk Software below.

Overviews Of The 10 Best Internal Help Desk Software

Here’s a brief description of each internal help desk software that showcases each vendor’s best use case, their noteworthy features, and some pros and cons. I’ve also included screenshots to give you a snapshot of their user interface too.

1

Hiver

Best for companies who are all about Google

This help desk and customer service solution is the first platform built for the Google Workspace. Users can help colleagues internally and communicate with customers through a tool they already know how to use — Gmail.

Using a Google-based interface allows your agents to assign, track, and collaborate on all emails, running all advanced analytics and automations through the Gmail interface. Any team that already knows how to use Google tools doesn’t have to learn the quirks and navigation of a new platform to start working.

Hiver offers separate customer service and ITSM support plans, depending on your needs. They provide solutions for a variety of industries, including logistics, travel, real estate, non-profit, and education.

Hiver Standout Features and Integrations

Features include ticket assignment and tracking for IT support, automation for tasks and workflows, deep insights about team performance, shared inbox management, real-time feedback, KPI tracking, and collaboration tools.

Integrations include Aircall, Asana, Jira, Maintenance Care, Okta, Salesforce, Slack, WhatsApp, Y Meadows, and Zapier.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 711

7-day free trial

From $24/user/month

Pros

  • 24/7 guided support
  • Setup in under an hour
  • Works inside Gmail

Cons

  • No live dashboard with SLA highlights
  • No ERP Netsuite integration
2

Freshservice

Best for AI-driven IT support with integrated collaboration tools

This internal help desk software from Freshdesk strives to deliver customer-grade support for employees through integrated collaboration tools, AI ticket deflection, and comprehensive self-service portals.

The Freshservice AI is one feature that goes beyond the basics, with fast service delivery and incident management that encompasses logging, classification, prioritization, investigation, resolution, and closure. It even offers escalation tools as needed. Freshservice enables multichannel internal support for all teams.

The internal help desk tools are categorized separately from other Freshdesk services and can support small businesses and enterprise-level organizations at different tiers. They also offer a variety of add-ons, including SaaS management, project management, and business agents.

Freshservice Standout Features and Integrations

Features include change management, incident management, workspaces, knowledge management, employee onboarding, and asset management, IT service management comes with automated alert grouping, on-call management, and intelligent alert management rules.

Integrations include Jira, Detailr, Google Hangouts, Instagram, Office 365 Calendar, Skype, TeamViewer, Trello, WhatsApp, and YouTube. Freshservice offers free and paid app integrations.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 905

21-day free trial

From $49/user/month

Pros

  • API and workflow automation
  • Flexible, customizable tools
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Slow user interface
  • Lacks some agent-side features
3

Vision Helpdesk

Best satellite help desk software for managing multiple brands in one location

Vision Helpdesk offers four distinct help desk solutions, including a basic help desk ticketing system for incident or service requests, ITIL/ITSM service desk for IT team needs, live chat software for real-time, multi-company communication, and a satellite help desk option for managing more than one brand in the same location.

With the satellite help desk, Vision Helpdesk offers customer support and IT service desk functionality for multiple products, brands, or companies in one place. However, even with the help desk managing more than one business, the system maintains complete isolation for each category, end user, and staff.

Vision Helpdesk supports SaaS cloud licensing, a recurring license download, and a one-time license download to suit your business needs. Each one has a tiered system based on the number of agents in your organization.

Vision Helpdesk Standout Features and Integrations

Features include incident management, multi-language and time zone capabilities, CMDB asset management, incident billing and time tracking, form builder, and change management. Each type of help desk has some unique features.

Integrations include 2SMS, Active Directory, Clickatell, Clientexec, Drupal, Facebook, Microsoft Office, PayPal, Twitter, and WHMCS. Vision Helpdesk also has iPhone and Android apps.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 82

30-day free trial available

From $10/agent/month

Pros

  • Tons of real-time reports
  • Minimal training requirements
  • Simple software solution

Cons

  • Report duration is up to three months
  • Limited integrations
4

HappyFox

Best for multilingual customer and colleague support

The HappyFox help desk software integrates customer service and internal support so your business can utilize one tool to manage both aspects of your organization. 

No matter which language your team or your customers speak, HappyFox can help with multilingual support in 35 languages. With an automated ticket management system, agents can track support requests from end-users, create internal and external knowledge bases, and provide omnichannel communication through text, email, voice, and social media.

HappyFox is a versatile solution that can provide options for small and medium businesses, large organizations, and enterprise-level needs across a variety of industries, including education, IT services, retail, non-profit, airlines, healthcare, and real estate. They offer discounts for non-profit and educational organizations.

HappyFox Standout Features and Integrations

Features include ticketing system, canned actions, task management, help desk reports, knowledge base, and automations. Users can create a custom FAQ and knowledge base for internal and external needs.

Integrations include Azure, Asana, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Okta, Pipedrive, Salesforce, Slack, WhatsApp, and Wrike. HappyFox has integration compatibility with apps for accounting, automation, business intelligence, bots, CRM, device management, and marketing.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 134

Free demo available

From $39/agent/month (min 5 agents)

Pros

  • Scalable as businesses grow
  • Customizable solution
  • User-friendly tools

Cons

  • Intensive implementation requirements
  • Limited self-training tools
5

Intercom

Best for automated service that allows users to speed and scale

Intercom is a complete customer service and internal help desk solution that delivers a seamless experience with a blend of automation and human support. This platform offers automated answers to free your team from repetitive questions with chatbots and other AI-powered tools.

With up-leveled support automation through the 24/7 resolution bots, Intercom claims it can help service teams resolve 33% of common questions. Intercom case studies also show that their AI solutions saw a 44% improvement in agent response times. This chatbot is available in different languages and time zones for comprehensive coverage.

Intercom supports companies of all sizes, including early-stage startups, which receive Early Stage Academy at a 95% discount if they qualify. This platform also has solutions for small, mid-market, and enterprise organizations in ecommerce, education, healthcare, and financial services.

Intercom Standout Features and Integrations

Features include AI automation, custom chatbots, shared inboxes, proactive support tools, messenger, email, and SMS communication, help center articles, management tools, surveys, and transactional messaging. 

Integrations include Aircall Now, Delighted Inc., Google Calendar, Import, Instagram, Jira Cloud, Marketo, Salesforce, Stripe, and WhatsApp.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 2116

14-day free trial

From $74/month (billed annually)

Pros

  • Great support team
  • Intuitive navigation and tools
  • Quick and easy to learn

Cons

  • Costly to pay for every service you need
  • Piecemeal pricing for add-ons
6

Help Scout

Best for growing teams and scaling businesses

As a dedicated support platform that’s built for growing teams, Help Scout delivers a suite of tools, including a knowledge base, live chat software, and shared inbox that can improve collaboration and communication throughout the company.

One of Help Scout’s most useful solutions is the shared inbox, which features tools like private notes and mentions, as well as collision detection that connects users and prevents duplicate work. Whenever an agent is working on a specific conversation, other agents can see that this ticket is already being handled.

Some of the industries within Help Scout’s wheelhouse include logistics, ecommerce, SaaS, manufacturing, education, media, professional services, healthcare, and property management. They also offer special discounts for startups and nonprofits.

Help Scout Standout Features and Integrations

Features include shared mailboxes, automated workflows, knowledge base, reporting, live chat, customer management, beacon tracking and history management, and integrated messaging tool.

Integrations include Active Campaign, Aircall, Constant Contact, Jira, HubSpot, Infusionsoft, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Super SLA, and unitQ. Help Scout has tools categorized by Analytics, Communication, CRM, ecommerce, Marketing, Support, and Utilities

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 300

15-day free trial

From $25/user/month

Pros

  • All-inclusive plans
  • Intuitive navigation structure
  • User-friendly design and UI

Cons

  • Limited reporting
  • Limited integrations for Standard Plans
7

ServiceDesk Plus

Best cloud-based help desk for a 360° approach to IT service management

ServiceDesk Plus from ManageEngine is a software solution that combines IT asset and service management with CMDB  to deliver enterprise-grade capabilities across all departments, including finance, HR, and facilities. Available on-premises and in the cloud, ServiceDesk Plus is trusted by organizations worldwide.

The holistic approach from ServiceDesk Plus focuses on security through their own data centers with no sub-processors, deep native integrations with a wide spectrum of IT tools, and multi-instance model for clear data and process segregation. This internal help desk solution is currently available in 23 languages.

ServiceDesk Plus delivers flexible editions to suit the maturity level of your business. Choose from a platform that provides a service desk for non-IT teams, an option with ITAM capabilities, and an all-in-one solution for enterprise businesses.

ServiceDesk Plus Standout Features and Integrations

Features include multi-instance management, low-code capabilities for customization, incident management, asset management, service catalog, IT release management, space management, and change management.

Integrations include Jira, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, TeamViewer, Zoho Cliq, Zoho Flow, and Zoho Voice. Developers can use public, web-based APIs to integrate with ServiceDesk Plus.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 203

Free demo

Contact for quote

Pros

  • Great customer service
  • Robust administrative automations
  • Infinitely configurable

Cons

  • Custom configurations require an investment
  • Missing some minor functionalities
8

Jitbit Helpdesk

Best for self-hosted, email-first functionality

With the JitBit help desk software, companies can utilize a support system that has all the basic features you need, including ticket routing, filters, and categorization, as well as native Android and iPhone apps, multilingual capabilities, and automated/canned replies.

While JitBit has live chat, chatbots, and a variety of communication integrations, they primarily focus on email, polishing their email ticketing system to ensure it supports IMAP, POP3, MS Exchange, and SMTP. The platform also has built-in de-duping, anti-spam, and email flood protection.

JitBit has both SaaS and on-premise, self-hosting platform options that provide tiered selections for businesses of all sizes, including single-agent operations and enterprise-level organizations. They recommend SaaS for more versatility for your team members.

Jitbit Standout Features and Integrations

Features include SLA management, ticket collaboration, team mailbox, knowledge base management, customizable fields, email templates, user and role access management, real-time chat, reporting, and self-service portal.

Integrations include Asana, Basecamp, Dropbox for Business, GitHub, Google Drive, Jira Slack, Trello, WordPress, and Zapier. Jitbit offers over 500 applications.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 54

Free demo available

$1700/10 agents

Pros

  • Affordable SaaS option
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Simple platform with a short learning curve

Cons

  • No dashboard visibility
  • Mobile app isn’t as functional as the desktop version
9

Kayako

Best for viewing internal interactions with colleagues

As a unified service platform that helps companies manage customer experiences and internal requests, Kayako offers a help desk for your team to ensure all employees can respond quickly and personally to any inquiry.

Part of the features Kayako offers for internal help desk solutions include a visual timeline that records all team interactions with each other and the organization. Users can see colleague activities and connecting app usage for responsive and accurate context through SingleView. With this context, help desk agents can provide comprehensive answers to every problem.

Kayako offers two plan styles, including a cloud-based and on-premise service. However, each package is completely all-inclusive, and pricing is determined by the size of your team. There are slight deviations in the features list between the cloud-based and on-premise solutions, making the former ideal for larger organizations and the latter the right choice for smaller businesses.

Kayako Standout Features and Integrations

Features include ticketing system, live chat, CRM, collaboration tools, SingleView, self-service help center, workflow automation, and performance reports. SingleView provides context for agent and customer interactions.

Integrations include Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Slack, Stripe, Twitter, Webhooks, and Zapier. With Zapier, users can connect with over 1,500 other applications.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4 251

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month

Pros

  • Lots of customization options
  • Provides deep traceability
  • Simple and effective

Cons

  • Delay in ticket notification
  • Steep pricing
10

Solarwinds

Best for full-stack observability for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid solutions

Formerly known as Samanage, SolarWinds delivers IT service management software that strives to accelerate efficiency and improve visibility of requested services delivered throughout the organization to ensure a continuous process of improvement.

SolarWinds® Observability is a cloud-native SaaS that delivers comprehensive and unified visibility for distributed, multi-cloud, and hybrid IT environments. This feature works across infrastructure, network, application, systems, digital experience, and databases for an end-to-end solution across public and private clouds.

This platform focuses on providing targeted solutions for small businesses and massive enterprises in public sector and education verticals. Browse solutions by need, such as IT asset management or remote monitoring, or by technology, such as Azure, Cisco, or SQL Diagnostic.

Solarwinds Standout Features and Integrations

Features include network management, application performance management, IT asset management, IT help desk, infrastructure, remote infrastructure management, hybrid systems monitoring, secure remote access, security, and operations management.

Integrations include Active Directory, Amazon Web Services, Azure, Dropbox Business, Google Analytics, Harvest, Idaptive, Jamf, Zapier, and Zendesk.

30-day free trial available

From $19/user/month

Pros

  • Intuitive and easy to adopt
  • Detailed ticket creation
  • Prioritizes functionality and practicality

Cons

  • Limited layouts to visualize incidents
  • Dashboards are tricky to customize

The 10 Best Internal Help Desk Software Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
Hiver

Best for companies who are all about Google

7-day free trial

From $24/user/month Visit Website
2
Freshservice

Best for AI-driven IT support with integrated collaboration tools

21-day free trial

From $49/user/month Visit Website
3
Vision Helpdesk

Best satellite help desk software for managing multiple brands in one location

30-day free trial available

From $10/agent/month Visit Website
4
HappyFox

Best for multilingual customer and colleague support

Free demo available

From $39/agent/month (min 5 agents) Visit Website
5
Intercom

Best for automated service that allows users to speed and scale

14-day free trial

From $74/month (billed annually) Visit Website
6
Help Scout

Best for growing teams and scaling businesses

15-day free trial

From $25/user/month Visit Website
7
ServiceDesk Plus

Best cloud-based help desk for a 360° approach to IT service management

Free demo

Contact for quote Visit Website
8
Jitbit Helpdesk

Best for self-hosted, email-first functionality

Free demo available

$1700/10 agents Visit Website
9
Kayako

Best for viewing internal interactions with colleagues

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month Visit Website
10
Solarwinds

Best for full-stack observability for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid solutions

30-day free trial available

From $19/user/month Visit Website

Other Options

Here are a few more worthwhile options that didn’t make the best internal help desk software list:

  1. Zoho Desk

    Best cloud-based system for customizing interdepartmental services

  2. OneDesk

    Best for help desk needs through web, cloud, and mobile app

  3. SysAid

    Best for IT service automation

  4. Zendesk

    Best option for a custom-built, integrated self-service help center

  5. ProProfs Help Desk

    Best help desk platform for single-inbox ticket management

  6. Front

    Best help desk software for centralizing messaging across all channels

  7. Mojo IT Helpdesk

    Best service platform for centralizing IT and maintenance requests

  8. Jira Service Management

    Best IT service solution to manage multiple departments

  9. Zoho Desk

    Best cloud-based system for customizing interdepartmental services

  10. Gorgias

    Best help desk for internal management of ecommerce businesses

How I Selected the Best Internal Help Desk Software

If you’re wondering how I chose the best internal help desk software for this list, it was quite a process. I started by aggregating all those options with high user satisfaction ratings. This was an extensive list and needed a little more filtering. I put together some criteria to narrow this list by comparing them one to the other. Finally, I used my years of CX Lead experience to pinpoint which ones had the features that added a lot of value.

Selection Criteria

Here’s a short summary of the main selection and evaluation criteria I used to develop my list of the best internal help desk software for this article.

Usability

In addition to ensuring these software options are easy to learn and intuitive to navigate, usability also refers to essential functionality for more reliability. This list contains software that has cloud, web, and/or mobile functionality to provide more options for various workflows.

Standout Features

Wondering which features are essential to any internal help desk software? All the options on this list have more than just the basics. The software options on this list provide omnichannel support capabilities and scalability that grows with your organization.

Software Integrations 

Your company probably uses several internal management software to enhance productivity and efficiency. With integration capabilities that connect you to the most commonly used tools, your help desk software can ensure two-way data sharing that keeps up with everything and everyone.

Pricing

Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, so there needs to be variety and versatility in the pricing for the tools on this list. I included help desk software for small businesses and large organizations with transparent, tiered pricing that offers more advanced features as you grow.

People Also Ask

If you want to learn more about the basics of internal help desk software, I have some answers to get you started. Check out the most frequently asked questions below.

What Do You Think?

This list provides you with some of the best internal help desk software available. Once you clearly define your needs, you can decide which product offers the best solutions for your business. You might also consider exploring a few other tool listicles, including 10 Best Help Desk Software For Small Business for more targeted solutions.

If you’re looking for more insights from the top thinkers in help desk management, The CX Lead is here to help. Sign up for the newsletter to get up-to-the-minute advice for the internal and external aspects of running your company.

By Hannah Clark

Hannah Clark is the Editor of The CX Lead. After serving over 12 years working in front-line customer experience for major brands, Hannah pivoted to a career in digital publishing and media production. Having gained a holistic view of the challenges and intricacies of delivering exceptional experiences, Hannah aims to help CX practitioners 'level up' their skills by amplifying the voices of today's thought leaders in the space.

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