10 best customer service software in 2024

Illustration of a happy customer service agent using the best customer service software

Benefits of choosing the right customer service application:

Retain existing customers
Acquire new customers
Increase brand loyalty
Ensure customer happiness
Improve agent productivity
Resolve issues quickly
Collaborate effortlessly
Upsell and cross-sell

Factors to consider
while evaluating a solution

Feature set

Choose a solution that offers features to improve agent efficiency and customer satisfaction. For instance, AI in customer service reduces agents' workload by answering customer's questions instantly. Additionally, check if the solution enables you to deliver omnichannel support, set up a help center easily, and leverage automation and analytical capabilities.

Learning curve

Select a solution that offers an intuitive, clean, and user-friendly interface. This will support higher adoption rates with minimal training, faster setup, and increased agent efficiency.

Adaptability

Look for software that has the ability to meet your specific business requirements and not the other way around. Greater customizability and efficiency will lead to a faster return on investment.

Support offered

Ensure your vendor provides quality support so that you can get expert help and keep your operations running smoothly.

Cost of ownership

Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including the software license, add-ons, migration, implementation, and support. Also, check if your vendor offers flexible upgrade, downgrade, and cancellation options and does not lock you in for years.

Brief overview of the top 10
customer service software

Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk helps you provide value-driven service by seamlessly connecting with customers across channels, like email, social media, messaging apps, telephony, and your help center. Thanks to an intuitive interface, it's easy to implement, and enhances the experience of customer service representatives. Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, Zoho Desk equips your agents to offer personalized service at every step of the customer journey with an intuitive reply editor. Not only are your agents armed with customer context for each ticket but also always ready to offer relevant and timely solutions.

Decision makers can effortlessly tap into every minute detail of the ticketing journey, as well as agent performances and customer satisfaction levels, with visually appealing reports and dashboards.

If you're looking for a system that is faster to implement, won't diminish your budget, and is both flexible and scalable, Zoho Desk is the ideal choice for you.

Pricing

You can explore the depth and functionality of Zoho Desk and its features with a 15-day free trial. There's also a Free plan available for basic ticketing needs. If you are a business with a small customer service team, Desk's $7 Express plan will likely be the best fit. Other editions of Desk include Standard for $14, Professional for $23, and the Enterprise plan for $40 per user per month, billed annually.

Integrations

With 300+ extensions and integrations available, you can seamlessly connect Zoho Desk with other business apps.

Security and compliance

Zoho Desk keeps your customers' data safe and secure by complying with ISO 9001 requirements, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Mobile applications

To give agents more flexibility, Zoho Desk offers a mobile application. It also offers a separate app for managers, called Radar, so they can monitor service operations, even when they're on the go.

Learn why Zoho Desk is a good fit for your customers, agents, and business.

HappyFox

HappyFox is easy to use compared to many other solutions. Its feature set is best for businesses that deal with limited channels and have small customer service teams. HappyFox allows you to include live chat, chatbots, and workflows in your support operations by subscribing to add-ons.

Its pricing starts at $29 annually and can cost as much as $89 per agent. A minimum of five agents are required to sign up for a plan. HappyFox offers multiple contract options, and if you plan on downgrading your plan or reducing your agent count, changes will go into effect in the next billing cycle after your request is made. Large and growing businesses using HappyFox have reported app slowdowns, and limited integration options, customizability, and reporting capabilities.

Zendesk Support

Zendesk Support is a good option for teams focused on one type of customer service operation, like ticket management. It offers live chat support, telephony, analytics, and a help center as separate applications that can be included as add-ons to build a complete customer service solution. Its feature set is robust and extensive, but the platform can be complex to set up and use. This affects the implementation process and increases the learning curve for agents. Additionally, many users consider Zendesk's UI to be a bit outdated, which can make it difficult for your agents to provide contextual and personalized service.

Zendesk offers a free trial for 14 days, but does not offer a free plan. Their Support Desk plans start at $19 and increase to $115. If you wish to make changes to your Zendesk subscription, you can do so by making a request in writing before 30 days of the end of your present subscription cycle.

Learn more about Zendesk's feature capabilities from this comparison

Help Scout

Help Scout is easy to get accustomed to, as its interface largely resembles Gmail's. Its customer support resources can help you transition to the platform in no time. With email, live chat, a knowledge base, reports, and simple if-and-when workflows, Help Scout is suitable for businesses with minimal support requirements. In particular, Help Scout's customers are drawn to its mailbox feature. However, if you operate through other channels, like telephony, and messaging apps, you'll have to depend on third-party integrations.

Pricing starts at $20 per user, billed annually, and extends to $65 per user. If you are looking for a solution that is customizable and scalable, you might want to reconsider Help Scout on these grounds.

Hiver

Hiver is a Gmail-based customer service solution, ideal for businesses that use Google Workspace. With Hiver, you can support your customers through live chat, email, WhatsApp, and telephony.

Hiver does not offer many integration options. This can make it difficult to bolster your customer service platform with additional functionalities, and can get in the way of easy information retrieval and collaborative efforts.

With a 7-day free trial, you can try Hiver's highest plan. Plans range from "Lite" for $10 to "Elite" for $40. Hiver offers a pay-as-you-go service, and in terms of making changes to the plan, you can cancel your plan at any time without a fee, but "you will be billed for the current billing cycle."

Freshdesk

Freshdesk centralizes customer support interactions from multiple channels, like email, social media, and live chat. Its integration capabilities are similar to Zendesk's and Zoho Desk's. Its UI is refreshing, but can be overwhelming for first-time users, and can be time consuming to learn. Although the feature set is good enough for small businesses, it's difficult to scale Freshdesk to meet more extensive business needs.

You can explore the product through a 14-day free trial, or opt for the free plan for basic support requirements. Freshdesk's plans range from $15 to $79. Its customer service suite edition ranges from $29 to $109.

Analyze Freshdesk further with this comparison

Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce is popular for its extensive feature set. It is good for businesses managing high volumes of tickets and require multiple business apps to connect with. However, due to its complexity, it can be time-consuming and difficult to get started. Managing tickets is not very easy due to Salesforce's outdated UI.

Taking a closer look at pricing, Salesforce offers a free trial but does not offer a free plan. Their Enterprise plan costs $165, but does not include basic features, such as telephony, live chat, and self-service, and offers limited analytics. Pricing tends to snowball, making it inconvenient for businesses to continue using Salesforce, or switch to another solution. This is why it's a good idea to explore the features, add-ons, implementation, and after-support costs associated with Salesforce before making a commitment.

Find an in-depth Salesforce Service Cloud feature analysis in this comparison

Kayako Cloud

Kayako offers cloud and on-premise software. Basic functionalities, like email support, Facebook, Twitter, live chat, help center, and reporting capabilities are included. However, telephony and messaging apps, like WhatsApp and Instagram, can only be accessed through third-party integrations. Although live chat is a popular Kayako feature, the feature's customizability is limited compared to its competitors.

Customers have been happy with the simplicity of Kayako's new UI, but have also complained of system slow downs and errors. Responses are not well recorded, and SLAs might be missed due to errors in the system. Learning and implementing Kayako will require assistance from the support team. Plus, It can be difficult to integrate Kayako with other software, due to its limited integration capabilities.

For a small business, this option may be easy to adopt, but in terms of feature upgrades and scalability, Kayako is lacking. It offers a free trial for 14 days.

TeamSupport

TeamSupport is a multi-channel ticketing system that enables support via email, live chat, messaging, and remote desktop control. One of the most appreciated features of Team Support is the ability to convert commonly asked questions into knowledge base articles. However, telephony and web forms are not built-in options. According to users, TeamSupport's user interface is sluggish compared to the interfaces of other customer service solutions. The configuration and setup can be confusing for first-time users. Plus, synchronization and system breakage issues can become a hindrance when you're connecting with customers.

TeamSupport offers a free trial, but no free plan. Their support plan starts at $35 and the highest plan is available at a custom price. If you wish to make changes to the number of licensed users on your TeamSupport plan, you can do so with a written request to TeamSupport at least 30 days before the next renewal term.

Helpshift

Helpshift is a help desk solution mainly focused on in-app support. Its live chat, knowledge base, rule-based bot, and AI that pulls articles from the KB are geared towards enhancing the gaming experience with in-app support. Helpshift also serves the fin-tech and commerce industries. It allows users to report bugs, suggest improvements, and offer feedback related to the product or service. However, the design of Helpshift's UI appears to be outdated. Connectivity issues, delays in responses, and a complex setup can drastically affect a customer's experience with Helpshift.

You can explore the product through its 30-day free trial, or through its free plan. Paid plans start at $150. To access more advanced features for your unique needs, you can select Helpshift's custom pricing plan. You can upgrade at any time, but cancel only at the end of your subscription period.

Conclusion

We understand that a software solution is not just a piece of application for your business but a means through which you can build stronger relations with your customers. These 10 customer service software solutions stand out amongst the many available out on the market. To further narrow down your selection to one, get started by taking advantage of free trials.

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Comparison chart

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Zoho Desk

Zendesk Support
Salesforce Service Cloud
Help Scout
HappyFox
Hiver
Freshdesk
Kayako
TeamSupport
Helpshift

Trial
Free plan
Starting plan
Highest plan
Usability
Omnichannel support
Self service and AI
Automation and analytics
Gartner rating
G2 rating

Zoho Desk
15 days
Yes
$7.00
$40.00
Easy to use
Faster deployment
Highly customizable
----
Email
Live Chat
Messaging (WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, and LINE) Telephony
Web Forms
Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter)
Knowledge Base
Community
Chatbot
AI
Ticket assignment
Workflows
SLAs
Macros
Reports and dashboards
4.4
(1641 reviews)
4.4
(5282 reviews)

Zendesk Support
14 days
No
$19.00
$115.00
Outdated UI
Complex setup
High learning curve
----
Email
Live Chat ($)
Messaging ($)
Telephony ($)
Web Forms
Social Media
Knowledge Base ($)
Community ($)
Chatbot($)
AI
Ticket assignment
Workflows
SLAs
Macros
Advanced reports and dashboards ($)
4.2
(289 reviews)
4.3
(5799 reviews)

Salesforce Service Cloud
30 days
No
$25.00
$500.00
Outdated UI
Complex setup
High learning curve
----
Email
Live Chat ($)
Messaging ($)
Telephony
Web Forms
Social Media
Knowledge Base ($)
Community ($)
Chatbot
AI
Ticket assignment
Workflows
SLAs
Macros
Reports and dashboards
4.4
(319 reviews)
4.3
(3664 reviews)

Help Scout
15 days
No
$20.00
$65.00
Familiar interface
Easy to use
Moderately customisable and scalable
----
Email
Live Chat
Messaging
Telephony (third-party)
Social Media
Knowledge Base
Workflows
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.4
(401 reviews)

HappyFox
Yes (duration not specified)
No
$29.00
$89.00
Easy to use
Limited integration options
Moderately customizable
App slowdown issues
Email
Live Chat ($)
Telephony
Web Forms
Social Media
Knowledge Base
Community
Chatbot ($)
AI ($)
Ticket assignment
Smart rules
SLAs
Advanced workflows ($)
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.5
(129 reviews)

Hiver
7 days
No
$19.00
$79.00
Familiar interface
Limited integration options
----
----
Email
Live Chat
WhatsApp
Telephony (third-party)
Knowledge Base
AI
Ticket assignment
SLAs
Business hours
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.6
( 936 reviews)

Freshdesk
14 days
Yes
$15.00
$79.00
Refreshing UI
Complex setup
High learning curve
----
Email
Live Chat
Telephony ($)
Messaging except for WhatsApp ($)
Web Forms
Social Media
Knowledge Base
Community
Chatbot
AI
Ticket assignment
Workflows
SLAs
Macros
Reports and dashboards
4.4 (606 reviews)
4.4 (3080 reviews)

Kayako
14 days
No information available
No information available
No information available
Simple UI
Limited integration options
Moderately customisable
Errors in the system
Email
Live Chat
Web Forms
Facebook
Twitter
Knowledge Base Community
Manual ticket assignment
Manual configuration of multi-level escalations
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.4 ( 215 reviews)

TeamSupport
Yes (duration not specified)
No
$35.00
Custom
Easy to use
System lags
Synchronization is slow
Limited integration options
Email
Live Chat
Messaging
Telephony ($)
Knowledge Base
Community
Chatbot ($)
Ticket assignment Smart rules
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.4 (865 reviews)

Helpshift
30 days
Yes
$150.00
Custom
Complex setup
Connectivity issues
----
----
Email
In-app messaging
Knowledge Base
Community
AI
Round-robin assignment
Time based automation
Feedback bots
SLA management
Reports and dashboards
NA
4.3 (379 reviews)

Disclaimer: All names and marks mentioned here remain the property of their original owners. Prices are as published by the named competitors on their website(s) as on 20-02-2024 (without taking into account the taxes or discounts), and are subject to change based on the pricing policies of the competitors. The details provided on this page are for general purposes only and cannot be considered as authorized information from the respective competitors. Zoho disclaims any liability for possible errors, omissions, or consequential losses based on the details here.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the essential features of a customer service solution?

Look for software that gives your customers the flexibility to initiate conversations on one channel—email, social media, live chat, messaging apps—and continue them from another. It should also ease your agents' efforts to provide instant service by making it seamless for you to set up a help center and AI chatbot. Other essential features to look for include automation and analytics to help ensure your service operations are streamlined effectively.

Who can use a customer service management platform?

A customer service management platform empowers teams and businesses of all sizes to deliver customer happiness at all times. It helps a freelancer start their business and keep track of all customer inquiries from multiple channels while enabling them to deliver contextual service. Small businesses benefit from the automation capabilities that help them streamline their service operations and reduce repetitive tasks for agents. Enterprises use customer service platforms to increase agent productivity through powerful workflows, analytics, and collaboration capabilities.

Can I connect my messaging platforms with Zoho Desk?

Yes, you can deliver service through Instant Messaging by Zoho Desk on your customer's favorite messaging channels like WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE, WeChat, and Facebook Messenger.

Should I integrate my customer support software with CRM?

Yes, you can integrate your customer support software with CRM! A lot of context from customer conversations with your salespeople can be valuable for customer support agents in diagnosing customer issues.

How long can we utilize Zoho Desk's free customer service solution?

With Zoho Desk's 15-day free trial, you can access its Enterprise edition features to ascertain its suitability for your business. At the end of the free trial, you'll continue to have access to Zoho Desk but only to a limited set of features through its free plan.

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