SaaS directory
Best Help Desk Software: 11 tools compared for 2026
Help desk software turns customer or employee requests from email, chat and other channels into tickets that agents can assign, track and resolve. It usually adds a knowledge base, automation and reporting on response times.
- Tools compared
- 11
- Publish prices
- 11 of 11
- Free plan or trial
- 11 of 11
- Median G2 rating
- 4.4
Help Desk Software at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing model | Starting price | G2 rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zoho Desk | Small teams that want a free 3-agent start. | per user | Free edition (3 users); paid from INR 420 per user/month billed annually (price shown in INR on the vendor site; no USD price confirmed) | 4.4 (7,830 reviews) |
 Salesforce Service Cloud | Large support organizations already on Salesforce CRM. | per user | $25 per user/month (Starter Suite) | 4.4 (7,200 reviews) |
 Zendesk | Support teams that want a broad omnichannel suite with a regional data hosting option. | per agent | $19 per agent/month billed annually (Support Team) | 4.3 (7,001 reviews) |
 Freshdesk | SMB support teams wanting low entry price and SAML SSO on every plan. | per agent | $19 per agent/month billed annually (Growth) | 4.4 (3,750 reviews) |
 HubSpot Service Hub | Companies already on HubSpot CRM wanting tickets tied to contact records. | per user | Free for up to 2 users; Starter $7 per seat/month annual | 4.4 (2,918 reviews) |
 Front | Teams that work out of shared email addresses and need internal comments and assignment. | per seat | $25 per seat/month billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats) | 4.7 (2,400 reviews) |
 Intercom | Support teams that want an AI agent doing first-line resolution with usage-based pricing. | per user (full seats) plus usage (Fin outcomes) | $19 per seat/month (Essential, shown as 'new customers save 35%' vs $29) | 4.4 (1,786 reviews) |
 Jira Service Management | IT teams that already run Jira and need ITSM workflows. | per agent, graduated bands | Free up to 3 agents; Standard $25 per agent/month (1 to 15 agents, monthly) | 4.3 (989 reviews) |
 Help Scout | Small support teams under 25 users that want a simple inbox plus Docs. | per user | Free up to 5 users; Standard $25 per user/month | 4.4 (428 reviews) |
 HelpDesk | Small support teams that want flat per-user pricing with no per-ticket fees. | per user | $19 per user/month billed yearly ($25 monthly) | 4.6 (34 reviews) |
 Gorgias | Shopify-style online stores that want unlimited agents on a ticket-based price. | per ticket volume (not per agent) | $10/month (Starter, 50 tickets, monthly only) | No G2 rating found |
Prices as published by each vendor on October 24, 2026. "Contact sales" means no public price. G2 ratings read on the same day.
What help desk software cost per seat
| Tool | Per seat per month | Billing | Annual discount | Minimum seats | 20 users per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | INR 420 (Express, annual); USD not verified. | Monthly and annual. | Up to 34% vs monthly (vendor statement) | Not published | Express: 20 x INR 420 x 12 = INR 100,800 per year (USD not verified) |
| Salesforce Service Cloud | $195 per user on Core (first edition with case management) | Annual only (Starter can be monthly) | Not published | Not published | Core at $195 x 20 x 12 = $46,800 per year, list price. |
| Zendesk | $19 per agent (Support Team, annual); $55 on Suite Team. | Monthly and annual. | 20% vs monthly (page statement) | Not published | Support Team: 20 x $19 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Suite Team: 20 x $55 x 12 = $13,200 per year. |
| Freshdesk | $19 per agent (Growth, annual) | Monthly and annual. | 20% vs monthly (vendor statement) | Not published | Growth: 20 x $19 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Pro: 20 x $55 x 12 = $13,200. |
| HubSpot Service Hub | $7 (Starter, annual); $90 on Professional. | Monthly and annual. | Starter about 65% vs monthly; Professional about 10% (from listed figures) | Not published | Starter: 20 x $7 x 12 = $1,680 per year; Professional: 20 x $90 x 12 = $21,600 plus $1,500 onboarding. |
| Front | $65 per seat on Professional (annual); Starter $25 only fits up to 10 seats. | Annual shown; monthly not listed. | Page states save 24%. | None listed; Starter max 10, Professional max 50. | Professional at $65 x 20 x 12 = $15,600 per year. |
| Intercom | $85 per full seat on Advanced (Essential is $19 to $29) | Monthly and annual. | Page shows 'new customers save 35%' on Essential only; other plans not stated. | 1 full seat. | Advanced at $85 x 20 x 12 = $20,400 per year if all are full seats (billing-period mapping of the $85 not stated on the page); excludes Fin outcomes. |
| Jira Service Management | $25.00 per agent on Standard (first 15 agents, monthly billing) | Monthly and annual. | Not a flat percent; annual is priced by agent band and only beats monthly past a crossover point. | Not published | Standard monthly graduated: 15 x $25.00 + 5 x $18.75 = $468.75 per month, $5,625 per year; annual band price for 20 agents not captured. |
| Help Scout | $25 (Standard) | Monthly and annual. | 16% (page toggle) | 10 users on Pro. | Standard: 20 x $25 x 12 = $6,000 per year (billing basis not separated on page) |
| HelpDesk | $19 per user (Essential, billed yearly); $25 monthly. | Monthly and annual. | Up to 24% (page) | Not published | Essential at $19 x 20 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Growth at $79 x 20 x 12 = $18,960. |
| Gorgias | Not published | Monthly and annual (Starter monthly only) | About 17% vs monthly (derived from list prices for Basic, Pro, Advanced) | Not published | Not seat-based. 20 agents on Pro annual: $300 x 12 = $3,600 per year for 2,000 tickets a month. |
"20 users per year" is calculated only from published list prices on the plan a 20-person team would realistically need. Taxes, discounts and add-ons are not included.
Costs buyers often miss
- Zoho Desk: Light agents INR 345/month; Paid support plans; Zoho Service Plus (separate suite).
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Enhanced Messaging $75/user/month; Digital Channels; Workforce and Quality Management.
- Zendesk: Copilot $50/agent/month; Workforce Engagement Bundle $50/agent/month; Contact Center $83/agent/month.
- Freshdesk: Freddy Copilot $29/agent/month; AI Agent sessions $49 per 100; Day passes $2/$7/$12.
- HubSpot Service Hub: One-time onboarding fees; Additional HubSpot Credits (price not verified); Premium Support (price not published).
- Front: Copilot $20/seat/month on Starter and Professional; Autopilot from $0.05 per conversation; WhatsApp Meta cost plus 20%.
How to compare help desk software
- Channel coverage. Email, chat, phone and social in one inbox decide how much switching agents do.
- Ticket automation and routing. Rules, SLAs and auto-assignment cut manual triage.
- Knowledge base and self-service. Self-service deflects tickets and lowers cost per resolution.
- AI agents and assistance. AI deflection and reply drafting now drive pricing and differentiation.
- Reporting and SLA tracking. Teams need response and resolution metrics to staff correctly.
- Integrations. CRM, ecommerce and Slack connections give agents context.
- Pricing model. Per-agent plans, AI resolution fees and add-ons shift total cost.
- Target company size. Tools range from solo shared inboxes to enterprise ITSM.
| Tool | Channel coverage | Ticket automation and routing | Knowledge base and self-service | AI agents and assistance | Reporting and SLA tracking | Integrations | Pricing model | Target company size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Zia AI from Professional; Express supports AI agents with your own LLM key or Zoho LLM (30M free tokens per month) | Not verified | Not verified | Per user per month; light agents INR 345 on Professional and Enterprise. | Free edition to Enterprise tier. |
| Salesforce Service Cloud | Digital channels and contact center on Max; Digital Channels otherwise add-on. | Case management from Core; more automation from Pro Suite up. | Self-service help center from Core. | Full Agentforce for Service suite on Max; Casey help agent on Advanced. | Tableau Next on Max, otherwise add-on. | AgentExchange marketplace from Pro Suite; Slack included in Core and up. | Per user per month, annual contracts, add-ons for AI and channels. | Mid-market to enterprise. |
| Zendesk | Suite plans bundle email, messaging and voice channels; Contact Center add-on $83/agent/month. | Not verified | Guide knowledge base included in Suite plans. | AI agents billed per automated resolution; Copilot $50/agent/month on Professional and up. | Not verified | Not verified | Per agent plus per-resolution AI fees and add-ons. | Tiers from Support Team to Enterprise. |
| Freshdesk | Not verified | Intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro; skill-based routing on Enterprise. | Knowledge base and customer portal on all plans. | Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions included, extra $49 per 100; Copilot $29/agent/month (add-on on Pro, included on Enterprise) | Custom dashboards on Pro; Freddy AI Insights on Enterprise. | Connector app tasks $80 per 5,000. | Per agent plus AI session packs. | SMB to mid-market tiers. |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Not verified | Not verified | Knowledge base SSO with up to 2 access groups on Professional, 100 on Enterprise. | Customer Agent and Data Agent consume HubSpot Credits; 14-day Customer Agent trial with Pro/Enterprise seat. | Not verified | Not verified | Per seat plus credits for AI. | Free to Enterprise. |
| Front | Email, chat, SMS; native WhatsApp on Professional and up (Meta costs plus 20% admin fee) | Not verified | Not verified | Autopilot AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20/seat/month (included in Enterprise) | QA and CSAT included on Enterprise. | Not verified | Per seat plus AI usage add-ons. | Small teams (Starter to 10 seats) to mid-size (Professional to 50 seats) and enterprise. |
| Intercom | Live chat, email, in-app chat, plus WhatsApp, SMS and phone as usage-billed channels. | Workflows and round robin from Advanced. | Help Center included; multilingual Help Center from Advanced. | Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome; Copilot add-on $29/agent/month annual. | SLAs on Expert. | Not verified | Per full seat plus usage (Fin outcomes, messages, add-ons) | Small to enterprise; reviewers say better fit for mid-sized and larger. |
| Jira Service Management | Not verified | Automation steps metered; Premium 6,500 steps per user per month. | Not verified | Virtual service agent and AIOps on Premium; Rovo credits metered. | Analytics and Data Lake on Enterprise. | Not verified | Per agent in graduated bands plus metered usage from 3 Dec 2026. | Small IT teams (free) to large enterprise (Enterprise from 201 agents) |
| Help Scout | Not verified | Advanced workflows and round robin on Plus; unlimited workflows and SLAs on Pro. | Docs site included (1 on Free; additional sites $20/month annual) | AI Answers $0.75 per resolution; monthly spend cap available; 3 months free for new accounts. | Not verified | Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot on Plus. | Per user plus per-resolution AI. | Under 25 users on Standard; Pro for larger. |
| HelpDesk | Email, website chat, Messenger, SMS, Shopify selling. | 3 ticketing rules on Essential, 10 on Growth. | Not verified | AI Agent with 10 resolutions/month (Essential), 200 (Growth); extra 50 resolutions $49.50. | Agent activity and performance reports on Growth; scheduled reports on Enterprise. | 10,000 API calls/month on Essential; MCP server access. | Per user, monthly or yearly, AI resolution packs as add-on. | Small teams (60.6% of G2 reviewers are small business) |
| Gorgias | Email, chat, voice and SMS (Voice and SMS as add-ons billed by usage) | Not verified | Not verified | AI Agent priced per automated interaction. | Not verified | Not verified | Ticket-volume tiers, unlimited agents per page claim of 'never per agent'. | Ecommerce merchants, small to enterprise. |
The 11 tools in detail
Zoho Desk
Help desk in the Zoho suite with a free 3-user edition, four paid tiers and bring-your-own-key generative AI.
- Starting price
- Free edition (3 users); paid from INR 420 per user/month billed annually (price shown in INR on the vendor site; no USD price confirmed)
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (7,830 reviews)
- AI agents and assistance
- Zia AI from Professional; Express supports AI agents with your own LLM key or Zoho LLM (30M free tokens per month)
- Pricing model
- Per user per month; light agents INR 345 on Professional and Enterprise.
- Target company size
- Free edition to Enterprise tier.
Choose it if
- Small teams that want a free 3-agent start.
- Zoho CRM or Zoho One customers.
Skip it if
- Buyers needing SSO or audit-log details from public docs (not published on pricing page)
Worth knowing
- Free edition covers 3 user licenses with email ticketing only.
- Light agents cost INR 345 per month on Professional and Enterprise; Enterprise includes 50.
- Trial reverts to Free edition after 15 days, not suspension.
Salesforce Service Cloud
Enterprise case-management and contact-center platform from Salesforce, now packaged with Agentforce AI agents.
Rebranded: Listed by G2 and GetApp as Agentforce Service (formerly Salesforce Service Cloud); salesforce.com pricing page is under 'Service' with Starter to Max editions.
- Starting price
- $25 per user/month (Starter Suite)
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (7,200 reviews)
- Channel coverage
- Digital channels and contact center on Max; Digital Channels otherwise add-on.
- Ticket automation and routing
- Case management from Core; more automation from Pro Suite up.
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Self-service help center from Core.
- AI agents and assistance
- Full Agentforce for Service suite on Max; Casey help agent on Advanced.
Choose it if
- Large support organizations already on Salesforce CRM.
- Teams that need contact center, workforce management and deep customization.
Skip it if
- Small teams, entry editions start at $25 per user and real service features start at Core $195.
- Teams without admin resources, reviewers cite training burden.
Worth knowing
- The core service features (case management, help center) start at Core $195 per user, not the $25 headline.
- Annual billing is required from Pro Suite upward.
- Max ($550) is the only edition with the full Agentforce suite and contact center.
Zendesk
Enterprise-grade help desk with per-agent plans, a bundled Guide knowledge base and per-resolution AI pricing.
- Starting price
- $19 per agent/month billed annually (Support Team)
- Pricing model
- per agent
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (7,001 reviews)
- Channel coverage
- Suite plans bundle email, messaging and voice channels; Contact Center add-on $83/agent/month.
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Guide knowledge base included in Suite plans.
- AI agents and assistance
- AI agents billed per automated resolution; Copilot $50/agent/month on Professional and up.
- Pricing model
- Per agent plus per-resolution AI fees and add-ons.
Choose it if
- Support teams that want a broad omnichannel suite with a regional data hosting option.
- Teams comfortable paying per AI resolution.
Skip it if
- Teams wanting flat all-in pricing: Copilot, WEM, QA and 24/7 support are paid add-ons.
- Very small teams that need a free plan (none listed)
Worth knowing
- Automated AI resolutions are billed at $1.50 (committed) or $2.00 (pay-as-you-go) beyond 5 to 10 included per agent per month.
- Copilot costs $50 per agent/month on top of Professional.
- Data center location choice is a paid add-on (US, AU, JP, EEA)
Freshdesk
Help desk from Freshworks with three per-agent plans, session-based AI pricing and a built-in knowledge base.
- Starting price
- $19 per agent/month billed annually (Growth)
- Pricing model
- per agent
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (3,750 reviews)
- Ticket automation and routing
- Intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro; skill-based routing on Enterprise.
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Knowledge base and customer portal on all plans.
- AI agents and assistance
- Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions included, extra $49 per 100; Copilot $29/agent/month (add-on on Pro, included on Enterprise)
- Reporting and SLA tracking
- Custom dashboards on Pro; Freddy AI Insights on Enterprise.
Choose it if
- SMB support teams wanting low entry price and SAML SSO on every plan.
- Teams with moderate AI chatbot volume (500 sessions included)
Skip it if
- Teams needing audit logs without paying for Enterprise.
- Teams wanting a free plan (none listed)
Worth knowing
- SAML SSO is on all plans but audit logs are Enterprise only.
- AI is priced per session (a 72-hour email window counts as one), not per resolution.
- Day passes for occasional agents: $2 Growth, $7 Pro, $12 Enterprise.
HubSpot Service Hub
Help desk tier of HubSpot sitting on its CRM, with per-seat plans, credit-based AI agents and mandatory onboarding fees on upper tiers.
- Starting price
- Free for up to 2 users; Starter $7 per seat/month annual
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (2,918 reviews)
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Knowledge base SSO with up to 2 access groups on Professional, 100 on Enterprise.
- AI agents and assistance
- Customer Agent and Data Agent consume HubSpot Credits; 14-day Customer Agent trial with Pro/Enterprise seat.
- Pricing model
- Per seat plus credits for AI.
- Target company size
- Free to Enterprise.
Choose it if
- Companies already on HubSpot CRM wanting tickets tied to contact records.
- Teams of 1 to 2 starting on the free tools.
Skip it if
- Buyers avoiding mandatory onboarding fees ($1,500 Professional, $3,500 Enterprise)
Worth knowing
- Professional and Enterprise require one-time onboarding of $1,500 and $3,500.
- AI agents draw from HubSpot Credits (500 / 3,000 / 5,000 by tier)
- Knowledge base access groups are capped at 2 on Professional versus 100 on Enterprise.
Front
Shared inbox and customer operations platform that turns email, chat and messaging into collaborative tickets.
- Starting price
- $25 per seat/month billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats)
- Pricing model
- per seat
- G2 rating
- 4.7 (2,400 reviews)
- Channel coverage
- Email, chat, SMS; native WhatsApp on Professional and up (Meta costs plus 20% admin fee)
- AI agents and assistance
- Autopilot AI agent from $0.05 per conversation; Copilot $20/seat/month (included in Enterprise)
- Reporting and SLA tracking
- QA and CSAT included on Enterprise.
- Pricing model
- Per seat plus AI usage add-ons.
Choose it if
- Teams that work out of shared email addresses and need internal comments and assignment.
- Mid-size teams that want SSO and SCIM from the $65 Professional plan.
Skip it if
- Teams over 10 who want the cheapest tier, Starter caps at 10 seats.
- Buyers who want a classic ITSM service desk.
Worth knowing
- Starter is capped at 10 seats and Professional at 50 seats, so growth forces a plan jump.
- SSO and SCIM are included from Professional, a lower tier than at most rivals.
- API rate limit increase costs $200 per 100 requests/min per month.
Intercom
AI-first customer service platform with a ticketing inbox, Help Center and the Fin AI agent billed per resolved outcome.
- Starting price
- $19 per seat/month (Essential, shown as 'new customers save 35%' vs $29)
- Pricing model
- per user (full seats) plus usage (Fin outcomes)
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (1,786 reviews)
- Channel coverage
- Live chat, email, in-app chat, plus WhatsApp, SMS and phone as usage-billed channels.
- Ticket automation and routing
- Workflows and round robin from Advanced.
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Help Center included; multilingual Help Center from Advanced.
- AI agents and assistance
- Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome; Copilot add-on $29/agent/month annual.
Choose it if
- Support teams that want an AI agent doing first-line resolution with usage-based pricing.
- Mid-size SaaS companies that need in-app messaging plus ticketing in one tool.
Skip it if
- Very small teams on a tight budget, reviewers call cost high for tiny businesses.
- Teams that need predictable flat monthly cost, Fin outcomes and add-ons are usage-based.
Worth knowing
- Fin AI is charged $0.99 per outcome, so the bill scales with resolved conversations, not seats.
- Standalone Fin on top of another helpdesk needs a monthly outcome commitment (page example: 50 outcomes)
- SSO is only on the Expert plan at $132/seat.
Jira Service Management
Atlassian's ITSM and service desk tool with incident, change and asset management, also used for internal support teams.
- Starting price
- Free up to 3 agents; Standard $25 per agent/month (1 to 15 agents, monthly)
- Pricing model
- per agent, graduated bands
- G2 rating
- 4.3 (989 reviews)
- Ticket automation and routing
- Automation steps metered; Premium 6,500 steps per user per month.
- AI agents and assistance
- Virtual service agent and AIOps on Premium; Rovo credits metered.
- Reporting and SLA tracking
- Analytics and Data Lake on Enterprise.
- Pricing model
- Per agent in graduated bands plus metered usage from 3 Dec 2026.
Choose it if
- IT teams that already run Jira and need ITSM workflows.
- Small IT teams of up to 3 agents who can use the free plan.
Skip it if
- Customer-facing ecommerce support teams wanting a simple inbox.
- Non-technical teams, G2 reviewers cite a steep learning curve.
Worth knowing
- Bands are graduated: first 15 agents cost more each than agents 16 to 100.
- SSO and SCIM need Atlassian Guard Standard on Free, Standard and Premium, billed per Atlassian user in the org (USD 30 flat for 1 to 10, USD 4.00 per user for 11 to 250)
- Usage meters (Rovo credits, automation, Assets, virtual agent) start billing 3 December 2026 above included allowances.
Help Scout
Shared-inbox style help desk with a built-in Docs knowledge base and per-resolution AI pricing.
- Starting price
- Free up to 5 users; Standard $25 per user/month
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.4 (428 reviews)
- Ticket automation and routing
- Advanced workflows and round robin on Plus; unlimited workflows and SLAs on Pro.
- Knowledge base and self-service
- Docs site included (1 on Free; additional sites $20/month annual)
- AI agents and assistance
- AI Answers $0.75 per resolution; monthly spend cap available; 3 months free for new accounts.
- Integrations
- Salesforce, Jira, HubSpot on Plus.
Choose it if
- Small support teams under 25 users that want a simple inbox plus Docs.
- Teams needing HIPAA support (Pro plan, BAA)
Skip it if
- Teams needing SSO below the Pro plan (SSO is an add-on or Pro, 10 users minimum)
Worth knowing
- Free and Standard cap contacts at 100 per month.
- AI Answers is $0.75 per resolution with an optional monthly spending cap.
- Pro requires at least 10 users and holds SSO/SAML and HIPAA.
HelpDesk
Per-agent ticketing system from the LiveChat/Text company with a shared inbox, chat and AI agent included.
- Starting price
- $19 per user/month billed yearly ($25 monthly)
- Pricing model
- per user
- G2 rating
- 4.6 (34 reviews)
- Channel coverage
- Email, website chat, Messenger, SMS, Shopify selling.
- Ticket automation and routing
- 3 ticketing rules on Essential, 10 on Growth.
- AI agents and assistance
- AI Agent with 10 resolutions/month (Essential), 200 (Growth); extra 50 resolutions $49.50.
- Reporting and SLA tracking
- Agent activity and performance reports on Growth; scheduled reports on Enterprise.
Choose it if
- Small support teams that want flat per-user pricing with no per-ticket fees.
- Shopify sellers wanting chat plus tickets.
Skip it if
- Teams needing ITSM or deep enterprise customization.
- Buyers who need a large review base, G2 count is small.
Worth knowing
- Essential includes only 10 AI resolutions a month; extra 50-packs cost $49.50.
- Custom SAML SSO, audit logs and SOC 2 listing are Enterprise only.
- Essential keeps only 60 days of conversation history.
Gorgias
Ecommerce-focused helpdesk that bills by ticket volume rather than by agent, with Shopify-centered customer context.
- Starting price
- $10/month (Starter, 50 tickets, monthly only)
- Pricing model
- per ticket volume (not per agent)
- G2 rating
- No G2 rating found
- Channel coverage
- Email, chat, voice and SMS (Voice and SMS as add-ons billed by usage)
- AI agents and assistance
- AI Agent priced per automated interaction.
- Pricing model
- Ticket-volume tiers, unlimited agents per page claim of 'never per agent'.
- Target company size
- Ecommerce merchants, small to enterprise.
Choose it if
- Shopify-style online stores that want unlimited agents on a ticket-based price.
- Small stores starting from 50 tickets a month.
Skip it if
- Non-ecommerce support teams.
- High-volume stores worried about overage fees of $0.36 to $0.40 per ticket.
Worth knowing
- Pricing is by ticket count, so agent count does not change the price.
- AI interactions also count as tickets, so automated volume can push you into overage.
- Starter is monthly only; 17% saving on annual for Basic to Advanced is derived from list prices.
Frequently asked questions
What is help desk software?
Help desk software turns customer or employee requests from email, chat and other channels into tickets that agents can assign, track and resolve. It usually adds a knowledge base, automation and reporting on response times.
Which help desk software publish their pricing?
11 of the 11 tools we compared publish prices: Zoho Desk (Free edition (3 users); paid from INR 420 per user/month billed annually (price shown in INR on the vendor site; no USD price confirmed)); Salesforce Service Cloud ($25 per user/month (Starter Suite)); Zendesk ($19 per agent/month billed annually (Support Team)); Freshdesk ($19 per agent/month billed annually (Growth)); HubSpot Service Hub (Free for up to 2 users; Starter $7 per seat/month annual); Front ($25 per seat/month billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats)); Intercom ($19 per seat/month (Essential, shown as 'new customers save 35%' vs $29)); Jira Service Management (Free up to 3 agents; Standard $25 per agent/month (1 to 15 agents, monthly)); Help Scout (Free up to 5 users; Standard $25 per user/month); HelpDesk ($19 per user/month billed yearly ($25 monthly)); Gorgias ($10/month (Starter, 50 tickets, monthly only)). The others quote on request, so ask for a written quote that names the seat or spend basis, the term and the renewal uplift.
Which help desk software have a free plan or free trial?
Zoho Desk (free plan, free trial), Salesforce Service Cloud (free trial), Zendesk (free trial), Freshdesk (free trial), HubSpot Service Hub (free plan), Front (free trial), Intercom (free trial), Jira Service Management (free plan, free trial), Help Scout (free plan, free trial), HelpDesk (free trial) and Gorgias (free trial), according to the vendors' sites on October 24, 2026.
What do help desk software cost for a team of 20?
Calculated from published list prices: Zoho Desk: Express: 20 x INR 420 x 12 = INR 100,800 per year (USD not verified); Salesforce Service Cloud: Core at $195 x 20 x 12 = $46,800 per year, list price; Zendesk: Support Team: 20 x $19 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Suite Team: 20 x $55 x 12 = $13,200 per year; Freshdesk: Growth: 20 x $19 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Pro: 20 x $55 x 12 = $13,200; HubSpot Service Hub: Starter: 20 x $7 x 12 = $1,680 per year; Professional: 20 x $90 x 12 = $21,600 plus $1,500 onboarding; Front: Professional at $65 x 20 x 12 = $15,600 per year; Intercom: Advanced at $85 x 20 x 12 = $20,400 per year if all are full seats (billing-period mapping of the $85 not stated on the page); excludes Fin outcomes; Jira Service Management: Standard monthly graduated: 15 x $25.00 + 5 x $18.75 = $468.75 per month, $5,625 per year; annual band price for 20 agents not captured; Help Scout: Standard: 20 x $25 x 12 = $6,000 per year (billing basis not separated on page); HelpDesk: Essential at $19 x 20 x 12 = $4,560 per year; Growth at $79 x 20 x 12 = $18,960; Gorgias: Not seat-based. 20 agents on Pro annual: $300 x 12 = $3,600 per year for 2,000 tickets a month. Tools that quote on request are not included.
Which help desk software are rated highest on G2?
Among tools with at least 20 G2 reviews: Front 4.7 from 2400 reviews, HelpDesk 4.6 from 34 reviews, Zoho Desk 4.4 from 7830 reviews. Ratings were read on October 24, 2026; small review counts move quickly, so read recent reviews from companies your size.