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Zendesk is the biggest name in the customer service software game.
Generally recognized as a leader, and definitely a trailblazing software, it’s also at the top of Capterra’s Top 20 Help Desk Software list. The index takes into account, among other factors, a software’s number of customers, number of users (help desk personnel, in this case), and social presence (Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Klout, and Capterra reviews).
Zendesk was born in a Danish loft out of a desire for a help desk software product which doesn’t require consultants to set up. It really hit when companies started to see the value in prompt, friendly customer service. The inevitable ubiquity of social media meant public praise for companies handling customer care well, and public scorn for those who didn’t. This increased demand for a software simple enough that IT pros could use it out of the box.
And while Zendesk might be Goliath, it’s not the only great option in the space. Here are eight fabulous alternatives to the top player, along with what kinds of shops each is best suited for.
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1. Kayako
Kayako is second in popularity after Zendesk. It’s a great choice for larger organizations with more diverse customer needs. Its standout features, such as real-time visitor monitoring and the ability to track and record phone calls, are really only helpful at scale.
Large organizations with a lot of functions will be best able to utilize capabilities like API, editable code, and the ability to create custom forms by department. Kayako’s robust SLA system allows users to create complicated rule sets to ensure that you meet all your SLA requirements. And automated follow-up actions can save your helpdesk staff hours.
Other stand-out features
Cost
$29-$39 per agent, per month.
2. UserVoice
On Capterra’s rankings, UserVoice is third out of 20 most popular help desk software providers. Its greatest strength the ability to help organize, rank, and process lots of user suggestions for product improvements. So for example, it caneliminate hundreds of versions of the same suggestion that are worded slightly differently or spelled wrong. But that really only helps the shops that are getting thousands of suggestions.
For one agent, with limited functionality, there’s a free option. The catch is how unlikely it is that a shop with one agent is getting thousands of suggestions. So to really utilize the comparative advantage, you need to go with the paid version.
Other stand-out features
Cost
$0-$95 per agent, per month.
3. Freshdesk
Freshdesk is fourth on Capterra’s rankings of top 20 customer service softwareproviders. It’s going to work best for a larger shop which likes to run lean. The larger shops will get the most out of Freshdesk’s gamification features. It awards representatives badges, prizes, and points for answering questions promptly and thoroughly for some healthy, friendly competition, as well as an easy, fun way to measure performance.
Lean shops can also respond to demand spikes by adding extra agents for a day to work through a backlog for $1 – $3, without changing their plans. These can even be purchased in advance and used as needed.
There’s a free option is for up to three agents, with limited functionality.
Other stand-out features
Cost
$0-$79 per agent, per month.
4. BomgarFifth on the Capterra popularity index, an ITSM Review calls Bomgar “the leader in enterprise remote support solutions.” Access unattended systems, such as kiosks, POS systems, servers, and routers with Bomgar. Technicians can also use it to securely access and fix Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and BlackBerry devices.
This remote monitoring and access sets Bomgar apart competitors. It’s especially rare in that it can get inside firewalls, to report system problems and allow agents to fix issues remotely.
Other stand-out features
Bomgar can also capture a customer’s screen as the agent is helping, then turn that footage into a flash movie of the assistance.
Cost
One-time cost of $1,188 and up.
5. SysAidSimilar to Bomgar, SysAid’s biggest plus is its ability to give users remote desktop access. But unlike Bomgar, the access is for end users. The result is that IT admins can avoid dealing with Citrix or a VPN. It also helps with asset monitoring, including mobile device management, and inventory control.
End users can log in to the portal to submit service requests, access their service history, track the status of their service requests, initiate chat conversations with admins, and participate in change management processes.
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6. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers dashboards for projects, milestones, and tasks for all your projects. From there, the system will tell you what caused incidents so you can be proactive about preventing them. You can use ManageEngine to track purchases, prices, and vendors to more easily reduce spending, enforce policies, and eliminate redundancies.
Other stand-out features
Cost
Standard Edition: Help Desk Only:
Professional Edition: Includes Help Desk & Asset Management:
Enterprise Edition: Help Desk, Asset Management, ITIL, and Project Management:
LiveHelpNow is really less of a customer service software and more geared for companies using live chat to close sales. That said, it’s very well optimized for that task. One especially cool feature is that it tells you how your customer service stacks up against your competition who are also LiveHelpNow customers.
Other stand-out features
Cost
$21 per agent per month.
8. ClickDesk
ClickDesk offers help desk and live chat software. Their real stand-out features relate to the live chat functionality. These include 128 bit SSL encryption on chats and calls, the ability to add additional team members to online chats, real-time reports, graphs, and analytics on customers and agents. You can even click on messages for an instant translation into your own language.
Other stand-out features
Cost
One agent:
4 agents
8 agents
15 agents
Groove was literally built to be a Zendesk alternative, according to Len Markidan, Groove’s Head of Marketing. Founder Alex Turnbull struggled with Zendesk at his last company. He desperately wanted a more streamlined help desk that puts simplicity over having as many features as possible. When he left and that help desk still didn’t exist, he started Groove.
Groove is a help desk built for small teams who are either outgrowing their shared Gmail support inbox, finding it hard to keep track of things and having things slip through the cracks or frustrated by the clunkiness of their “enterprise” help desk. It’s not ideal for large (50+) teams, or teams who want every feature under the sun.
Standout features:
Beyond the standard help desk features, and the streamlined setup, Groove also has the advantage of tickets that look and feel like emails to your customers.
There’s no “Please reply below this line,” or ticket numbers or support portals to log in to. If you don’t want them to, your customers don’t need to know you’re using a help desk. This can be great if you want to give your customers the feeling that they’re talking to a person, and not a corporation.
It’s also got a flat, simple pricing structure. All features are included for one price — $15 per month per agent.
Salesforce has an extension of their business platform called "Service Cloud" and it would be a great fit to help manage and maximize customer satisfaction with online customers.
Zendesk Inc. is a Danish customer service software company based in San Francisco, California. Zendesk provides a cloud-based customer support platform which allows quicker and easier interaction between businesses and customers
I fully agree and endorse Mr. Shahzad's excellent and insightful submission.
Thanx for the invitation
Freshdesk, Intercom and LiveChat.
