10 Best Online Help Desk Software Shortlist
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 20 tools reviewed.
Our one-on-one guidance will help you find the perfect fit.
Online help desk software helps support and service teams manage tickets, automate workflows, and respond faster. These tools are built to centralize customer communication, reduce manual busywork, and give your team the context they need to solve issues efficiently.
I've tested and reviewed these platforms based on automation, UI, integrations, scalability, and support for multi-channel requests. This guide breaks down the best online help desk software for different team sizes and service models, so service tasks don't slip through the cracks.
What Is Online Help Desk Software?
Online help desk software is a platform that helps support teams manage, track, and resolve customer issues from one place. It centralizes communication, automates ticket workflows, and is used to improve response time, consistency, and service quality across channels.
The Best Online Help Desk Software Summary
Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Best for AI-driven ticket management | Free trial available | From $26/seat/month (3 seat minimum) | Website | |
2 | Best for omnichannel ticket submission | Free trial + free demo available | From $27/user/month | Website | |
3 | Best for personalizing interactions with AI | Free trial + free demo available | From $25/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
4 | Best for AI-powered chatbots | Free trial available | From $9/member/month | Website | |
5 | Best automated workflow builder | 15-day free trial | From $7/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
6 | Best for call center support | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $15/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
7 | Best for automated routing and categorization | 7-day free trial | From $19/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
8 | Best for secure remote support with session recording | 15-day free trial available | From $12/month | Website | |
9 | Best for AI-powered customer service | 7-day free trial + free plan available | From $25/user/month | Website | |
10 | Best for customer interaction management | 15-day free trial + free plan available | From $19.99/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
-
CRM Creatio
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.7 -
monday service
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.6 -
Issuetrak
This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.1
Overviews Of The 20 Best Online Help Desk Software
You can use the simple overviews of each tool below to understand how each tool stands out from other online help desk software.
monday Service is a platform designed to help organizations manage and track support queries, resolve issues, and analyze ticket metrics efficiently. It serves as a comprehensive hub for handling requests, providing status updates, and managing support resources.
Why I picked monday Service: One of its standout features is smart automation powered by AI, which helps enhance service operations from start to finish. This includes automatic ticket classification and smart ticket routing, ensuring that support tickets are directed to the appropriate team members without delay. The software also provides self-service customer experiences, enabling customers to resolve common issues on their own.
monday Service Standout Features and Integrations
Features include visual dashboards that provide real-time insights into ticket statuses, helping teams stay on top of performance metrics and improve response times. Additionally, monday Service supports knowledge base assistance for agents, giving them easy access to relevant information and solutions when addressing customer inquiries.
Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zendesk, Jira, Salesforce, Google Workspace, GitHub, Zoom, Outlook, HubSpot, Trello, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Asset management features
- Automated ticket routing
- Knowledge management capabilities
Cons:
- Full automation features require higher-tier subscriptions
- Limited report customization
New Product Updates from monday service

AI Copilot Enhances Ticket Resolution
The Monday service update introduces an AI copilot to auto-resolve tickets by responding to routine requests using past resolutions, with user-controlled confidence levels. For more details, visit monday.com/whats-new.
Issuetrak is a ticketing software designed to facilitate the creation and tracking of issues, tickets, or cases from multiple channels including email, webforms, and applications. Its capability to serve businesses across various sizes and industries with omnichannel ticket submission makes it a suitable choice for organizations aiming to manage their customer support processes effectively.
Why I picked Issuetrak: I chose Issuetrak as an online help desk software after evaluating its comprehensive features and integrations that cater to various business sizes and industries. Its ability to manage a wide range of issues and automate complaint resolution processes makes it a versatile choice for help desk management. What makes Issuetrak different is its focus on customization and its tailored solutions for omnichannel ticket submission, which are essential for businesses looking to manage customer interactions.
Issuetrak Standout Features and Integrations
Features include omnichannel ticket submission, which allows for the capture of customer interactions across multiple channels, and automatic ticket assignment, ensuring that issues are promptly directed to the right team members. I particularly like the round-robin feature which automatically assigns an incoming issue to the next available agent when you have enabled this feature for a specific group.
Integrations are available with thousands of apps through Zapier (which requires an additional subscription). Additionally, you can build custom integrations using its API and connect the tool to other software in your tech stack.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Highly customizable system to fit specific needs
- Quick and simple setup
- User-friendly interface
Cons:
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Limitations on field customization
Salesforce Service Cloud helps businesses provide complete customer experiences by using artificial intelligence.
Why I picked Salesforce Service Cloud: The software uses artificial intelligence and process automation tools to help your agents eliminate repetitive tasks and focus on providing excellent support. The AI goes beyond helping your agents provide high-level customer service thanks to the AI tools such as chatbots and automatic triaging that reduces handle times. Salesforce Service Cloud’s AI also ensures agents with the right expertise handle specific customer queries.
Salesforce Service Cloud is suitable for organizations of all sizes across various industries that need tools to strengthen customer engagement. You can use the platform to provide personalized support to customers across multiple channels whenever needed. Salesforce Service Cloud also provides a drag-and-drop editor that allows you to build a self-service center to enable customers to help themselves.
Salesforce Service Cloud Standout Features and Integrations
Features include intelligent automation and workflows, case management, omnichannel routing, knowledge management, reporting and analytics, telephony and voice tools, customer service incident management, remote assistance, and real-time chat.
Integrations include Freshdesk, CloudTalk, Twilio, Brandwatch, Paligo, Mailchimp, HubSpot CRM, Trello, TeamViewer, Smartsheet, Klaviyo, Aircall, Gainsight, and Conversocial.
Salesforce Service Cloud costs from $25/user/month, billed annually. Salesforce Service Cloud offers a free 30-day trial for new subscribers.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Provides a unified view of interactions
- Effectively simplifies support procedures
- Adaptable to users’ needs
Cons:
- Requires additional training to use
- Challenging to set up
SAAS First is a cloud-based help desk solution designed to enhance communication between your team and customers. By offering a centralized platform, it simplifies the process of managing customer interactions, ensuring efficient and effective support.
Why I picked SAAS First: One standout feature of SAAS First is its AI-powered assistance. The platform includes Milly, an AI-driven chatbot capable of answering customer questions 24/7. Milly learns from your knowledge base and external resources, understands message context, responds in multiple languages, and helps craft email replies. SAAS First also allows you to handle and reply to all customer communications from a single, integrated platform, regardless of the channel. This unified approach enables collaboration within your team and ensures that no customer inquiry goes unnoticed.
SAAS First Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a comprehensive knowledge base that empowers your customers with self-service options, available 24/7 and integrated with your chat system to showcase relevant articles proactively. Additionally, SAAS First offers unlimited data collection and storage, providing deep insights into customer behavior to help you understand them better.
Integrations include WhatsApp, Facebook, and SMS by Twilio.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Facilitates collaboration among team members
- Centralized customer interaction management
- AI-driven responses
Cons:
- Limited integrations available
- Potential scalability issues
Zoho Desk is an online help desk software that supports omni-channel customer service operations and can centralize your email, social media, web chat, and voice calling in one place.
Why I picked Zoho Desk: This software offers a comprehensive feature set for help desk management, including self-service resources and team collaboration tools. But what really stands out about it is its capacity for automating your workflows. This allows you to standardize your support protocols, alleviate your team's manual workload, and onboard new agents quickly.
The workflow builder is a simple, drag-and-drop interface. You can set up specific actions and outcomes, dependent on specified conditions. Your team will have the same set of best practices to follow for common customer requests, saving them time and creating consistency in the customer experience.
Zoho Desk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include ticket management, auto-tag tickets, sentiment analysis, Zia notifications, Zia dashboard, reply assistant, self-service tools, CRM integration, custom functions, SDKs, marketplace and platform, APIs, reports and dashboards, time tracking, multi-brand help center, domain mapping, and user and access management.
Integrations include Twilio, RingCentral, Amazon Connect, Ozonetel, Exotel, Knowlarity, Jive, sipgate, JustCall, ringover, and other software options.
Zoho Desk costs from $20 per user, per month, and a 15-day free trial is available.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Mobile app for on-the-go access
- Customizable ticketing system
- Clean, intuitive interface, easy to navigate
Cons:
- Limited branding options for customer portals
- Limited reporting on lower tier plans
Freshdesk is a multi-use online help desk software that works well for businesses that operate a call center setting.
Why I picked Freshdesk: After implementing Freshdesk, your call center will get access to various tools, such as a shared inbox, knowledge base tools, and chat capabilities, which make it simple for you and your teams to manage support requests. Freshdesk also provides an incoming call minutes allowance so your customer support agents can handle customer phone calls. If your organization needs a wide range of integrations, Freshdesk will be a great benefit, thanks to its ability to integrate with over 1,000 third-party apps.
Freshdesk helps any sized business implement a help desk in their operations that’s customizable to their requirements. It provides an AI tool it calls Freddy, and what Freddy allows you to do is automate ticket routing to your best agents. Freshdesk has built-in reporting and data capabilities that enable you to refine support processes across multiple communication channels. You can also use the platform’s social media integration to convert brand mentions and messages into tickets your agents can respond to.
Freshdesk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include a team inbox, agent collision detection, SLA management, ticket field suggester, custom ticket status, team huddle, linked tickets, shared ownership, ticket dispatch, intelligent ticket assignment, and time-triggered automation.
Integrations include Google Calendar, Slack, Mailchimp, Google Analytics, Office 365, Freshsales, Dropbox, HubSpot CRM, Microsoft Teams, Harvest, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive, Chargebee, 3CX, Asana, Magento, and Zapier.
Freshdesk costs from $18/user/month when paying monthly or $15/user/month when billed annually. Freshdesk offers a free 14-day trial for new subscribers. The vendor also provides a free forever subscription tier.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Impressive automation capabilities
- Incredibly intuitive and user-friendly
- Excellent customer service email organization
Cons:
- Integrating with existing processes is tedious
- Some technical issues
Front is a customer service software with omnichannel help desk management capabilities. It centralizes your customer communications from email, live chat, and SMS in a single place.
Why I picked Front: I chose to include this platform on my list because of its automation features. Not only does it bring together your comms in a shared collaborative inbox, it can also automatically categorize and route incoming requests to the most suitable agent. This helps create a consistent and exceptional customer experience, providing the best possible support from the outset.
To avoid the need to jump in between customer communications and personal threads, the software provides in-discussion private chats. Team members can tag each other and send hidden direct messages right from within the conversation with the customer, helping to keep support active, contextual, and efficient.
Front Standout Features and Integrations
Features include omnichannel communication, collaborative inbox, workflow automation, knowledge base, live chat, chatbots, GDPR and SOC II compliance, custom roles and permissions, and analytics and reporting tools.
Integrations include WhatsApp, Dialpad, Twilio, Intercom, Facebook, Instagram, Slack, Twitter, Asana, HubSpot, Jira, and Salesforce, among others. An API is also available to build custom integrations with.
Pricing for Front starts at $19 per user, per month when billed annually, and a 7 day free trial is available.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy customization and automation
- Multi-channel integration
- Enhances team collaboration
Cons:
- Merging threads can be tricky
- Large feature set creates learning curve for new users
Zoho Assist is a remote support and access solution designed to facilitate secure and reliable assistance to customers through remote access to computers. It distinguishes itself for its focus on security, offering session recording capabilities that cater to businesses prioritizing secure and accountable remote support interactions.
Why I picked Zoho Assist: I chose this software because it offers a secure cloud-based solution that caters to both remote support and remote access needs, ensuring enterprise-grade security across various platforms. What makes Zoho Assist different is its emphasis on customizable features that enable technicians to provide immediate assistance through remote support sessions and manage computers without end-user presence via unattended access.
Zoho Assist Standout Features and Integrations
Features include file transfers during sessions, session recording for accountability, and annotations for clear communication. Additionally, the software offers advanced reporting for tracking support activities, mobile apps for on-the-go support, and API/SDK integration for system compatibility.
Integrations include service desk, help desk, and CRM solutions like Zendesk, Service Now, Slack, MS Teams, Freshdesk, and Jira. Additionally, it supports the integration of remote support capabilities with your Kiosks, Android/iOS Apps, OEM devices, and ITSM solutions.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Does not require additional software
- Easily invite others to remote sessions
- Cost-effective support
Cons:
- Session recording available in highest tier only
- Storage is priced separately at $5 per 5GB
Tidio is a platform designed to help teams manage customer support across chat, email, and social media in a single inbox. It’s built for fast setup and supports automation, multilingual communication, and analytics to improve how service teams prioritize and handle requests. Tidio is used by businesses of all sizes and supports over 120 integrations, including key platforms like Shopify, HubSpot, and Salesforce.
Why I picked Tidio: One of the features that stood out to me is the Lyro AI Agent. It can respond to repetitive customer questions, scan and triage incoming emails, and help route tickets without agent input. This can be especially helpful if your team handles a high volume of support requests and needs a way to reduce manual effort. Tidio also includes multilingual communication, so teams serving international customers can respond in up to 12 languages without relying on external translation tools.
Tidio Standout Features and Integrations
Features include canned responses, a customizable live chat widget, visitor tracking, mobile access for agents, and a collaborative inbox for team-based message handling. These features help teams stay organized and respond quickly while maintaining visibility into active conversations.
Integrations include Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Zapier, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Google Analytics.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Quick to deploy with minimal setup
- Supports 12 languages for global teams
- Combines chat, email, and social channels in one inbox
Cons:
- Limited feature set on the free plan
- No phone support; live support limited to business hours
ProProfs Help Desk helps businesses focus on enhancing customer interactions so everyone has a positive experience.
Why I picked ProProfs Help Desk: The platform provides your business with customer interaction management capabilities that enable your agents to respond to customer queries, offer 24/7 assistance, and connect with them. ProProfs Help Desk helps your agents offer promptness, personalization, empathy, and assurance when interacting with customers. You can use the platform to get an overview of past customer interactions and activities so your agents can provide a personal touch to future conversations. For more effective customer interaction management, you can use ProProfs Help Desk’s team collaboration capabilities to help your agents work together and make customers happy.
ProProfs Help Desk works for organizations of all sizes that need a solution catered to the growing needs of customers within their industries. It’s a cloud-based ticketing system that is well known for its shared inbox feature, where your agents can access, view, and assign tickets to the right team member while working in a collaborative space. Your managers can use ProProfs Help Desk to prioritize, label, and mark tickets that require immediate attention.
ProProfs Help Desk Standout Features and Integrations
Features include shared inboxes, notification templates, customizable agent availability, ticket exporting, team management, ticket history, roles and permissions, internal chat, omnichannel support, SLA management, real-time chat support, and automated responses.
Integrations include Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface
- Ensures excellent customer experiences
- Incredible customer support
Cons:
- No API is available
- A small number of integrations
Other Options
Here are a few more options that didn’t make the best online help desk software list:
- Help Scout
All-in-one help desk software
- HelpDesk
For team collaboration
- Zendesk
For omnichannel support
- HubSpot Service Hub
CRM capabilities within a help desk platform
- Front
Shared team inbox software
- Document360
For ticket deflection support
- NinjaOne
For ticketing automation
- LiveAgent
For simplicity
- ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
For IT service management
- Intercom
For resolving queries without human support
How I Selected The Best Online Help Desk Software
Perhaps you're wondering how I selected the best online help desk software for this list? To build this top 10 list, I evaluated and compared a wide range of online help desk software with positive user ratings.
After determining my long list of top choices, I further honed my list by using the selection criteria below to see how each platform stacked up against the next one. I also drew on my years of experience as a CX specialist to pinpoint the features that add 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 online help desk software for this article:
User Interface (UI):
Too much complexity in a platform’s user interface can be misleading. You should focus on implementing a system that makes it easy to locate and use the features your agents need most. When choosing the online help desk software for this list, I look for tools that provide a simple user interface and a demo or free trial that will allow you to experience the UI for yourself.
Usability:
The help desk software’s usability is a crucial criterion when deciding the right tool for your organization. A platform that’s easy to implement and use will help decrease the amount of training your teams will need to understand the tool. I look for help desk tools that provide easy-to-use features that will enhance your team’s productivity.
Software Integrations:
Software integrations will enhance help desk adoption among your team since they can connect the tool with the tech stacks they’re already using. Also, if your services include hardware support or device maintenance, or your teams handle any type of hardware in any way, it’s best to implement a help desk solution that can integrate with IT asset management systems. So, I look for online help desk software that can synchronize with various platforms and provide a free API that will allow you to create custom integrations.
Pricing:
Typically, online help desk software offers businesses different pricing options. The most common being pay-per-ticket or pay-per-user. When shopping around for options to add to this list, I look for tools that provide the most significant number of features for a reasonable price to help you get a return on your investment. Also, some vendors provide an open-source solution, which means the tool will be free, making it beneficial for smaller businesses or startups.
People Also Ask
Here are a few popular questions answered for your convenience!
What are the Key Features of Online Help Desk Software?
What Other CX Resources Do I Need?
Choosing the Best Online Help Desk Software For Your Team
Implementing a new help desk platform will be a significant investment for your customer support team, customers, and business. After reading this list of the best online help desk software, you’ll find that many options offer the same common features. Even so, you should always consider the aspects I listed above that make them unique despite these commonalities. A long feature list is good to have, but remember to make a choice with a broader framework in mind.
Remember, the cost of not focusing on enhancing your customer’s experience with your business can be high. So, taking the time to make informed decisions will be a significant benefit for your organization and customers. To help with this, we put together the CX Lead newsletter with the latest customer experience advice and tool list that will help you encourage your customers to keep coming back. Sign up today and get the latest information directly in your inbox.