Zoho is popular with sales and marketing departments for its flagship CRM solution. However, it also has a product for customer relationship teams known as Zoho Desk. This tool is primarily used to support online brands to connect consumers with their personnel.
That said, depending on your company’s needs, Zoho Desk may not be the best fit for you. In that case, you will have to browse and compare multiple Zoho alternatives.
This time around, we’ll help you do just that.
We will explore the following Zoho Desk alternatives:
| Zoho Desk alternative | G2 rating | Free plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tidio | 4.7/5 ⭐️ | ✅ | Conversational AI functionality |
| Zendesk | 4.3/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Messaging bots |
| Freshdesk | 4.4/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Advanced ticketing system |
| Salesforce | 4.3/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Automated workflows |
| HubSpot | 4.4/5 ⭐️ | ✅ | CRM suite |
| Help Scout | 4.4/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Shared inbox |
| Kayako | 4.0/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Live chat capability |
| Intercom | 4.5/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | AI insights & reporting |
| Front | 4.7/5 ⭐️ | Free trial available | Collaborative team inbox |
| HappyFox | 4.5/5 ⭐️ | ❌ | Self-service portal |
| LiveAgent | 4.5/5 ⭐️ | ✅ | Omnichannel dashboard |
First things first, let’s take a look at the advantages and drawbacks of using Zoho Desk.
Zoho Desk overview
Zoho Desk is a SaaS help desk that helps service teams across the globe manage consumer interactions. According to a survey by Datanyze, the platform has an over 19% share of help desk users and is trusted by over 100,000 companies worldwide. The tool has multiple features to scale your organization’s support operations.
Some of them are:
- Omnichannel support—the software brings several channels like email, live chat, social media, phone, etc. This capability is important when you consider that almost 70% of a customer’s journey is rarely through a single channel.
- Seamless ticket assignment—your company can use its automated ticketing feature to auto-assign tickets to specific agents.
- Guided conversations—developers can take advantage of its configurable low-code platform to create self-service for customers and agents alike. And it can be crucial, as a report by Zendesk reveals that 69% of customers prefer to solve their service issues on their own.
Zoho offers 5 types of pricing plans for their users:
- Free: Up to 3 agents
- Express: $7/agent/month up to 5 agents
- Standard: $14/agent/month
- Professional: $23/agent/month
- Enterprise: $40/agent/month
As popular as Zoho Desk is, the platform also has its limitations.
Some of the drawbacks of Zoho Desk include:
- Confusing interface—users have complained about the cluttered user interface and how setting it up requires support intervention.
- Errors and glitches—there have been issues raised about glitches that users experience when integrating third-party applications.
- Slow response—according to some reviews, the Zoho desk customer support team tends to take time to respond to users’ queries.
With the benefits and drawbacks out of the way, let’s check the best Zoho Desk alternatives for your business.
11 best Zoho Desk alternatives
After comprehensive research, we have put together a list of the best tools in this category. The software below contains anything from live chat capabilities and AI automation features to shared team mailboxes for agents.
Let’s go more in-depth and check out alternatives to Zoho Desk along with their pros, cons, and pricing.
1. Tidio
Ratings: 4.7/5 ⭐️ (1,450+ reviews)
Tidio is an AI customer support software that helps small and medium businesses serve their clients. Its flagship product is the customer service platform that allows teams to reach more consumers and provide prompt replies. Tidio is praised for its user-friendly interface and AI-powered chatbots that enhance customer experience.
The Zoho alternative also offers a chatbot builder in the form of a drag-and-drop visual editor. You can access a variety of predesigned templates and create custom bots to use for your customer interactions.
Main features:
- AI and NLP chatbots are available
- Flexible pricing plans for a variety of enterprises
- Customizable live chat widget
- Canned responses for Tidio live chat
- Zapier API to connect to third-party applications
- 7-day free trial available
- Free version available
- Starter ($29/mo)
- Growth (starts at $59/mo)
- Plus (starts at $749/mo)
- Premium (starts at $2999/mo)
Read more: Learn how Tidio’s support team achieved 58% automation using its own conversational AI.
Boost customer satisfaction with the best Zoho Desk alternative
2. Zendesk
Ratings: 4.3/5 ⭐️ (5,825+ reviews)
Zendesk is a cloud-based support tool designed for collaborative environments where multiple teams can handle client communications. It’s suitable for managing high volumes of support requests through automation and customer self-service features like knowledge base articles.
The alternative to Zoho aims to improve customer satisfaction through omnichannel functionality. On top of that, Zendesk removes internal barriers by consolidating all support requests in one location and allowing team members to converse within the same ticket.
Pros:
- Ability to create complex message templates for auto-replies
- Ecommerce support through Shopify integration
- Consumer self-service through in-app FAQs
Cons:
- Zendesk support can sometimes be subpar for enterprise customers
- Internal menu navigation is complex and confusing
- Free 6-month trial
- Basic Plan ($19/mo/agent)
- Suite Team ($69/mo/agent)
- Suite Growth ($115/mo/agent)
- Suite Professional ($149/mo/agent)
- Suite Enterprise → Contact sales
- Suite Enterprise Plus → Contact sales
Read more: Explore our comparison and reviews of Zendesk alternatives for your company.
3. Freshdesk
Ratings: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (3,110+ reviews)
Freshdesk offers a customer service suite for companies that want to provide a stellar customer experience across multiple channels. Its features also include conversational support, advanced ticketing management, and shared inbox tools for team collaboration.
Freshdesk messaging is an important product for SaaS clients to resolve issues for their consumers promptly. The messaging feature also provides live metrics to managers or admins to improve support processes.
Pros:
- Canned responses available for chat
- Customer segmentation and tracking of user web activity
- Customized bot workflows with push notifications
Cons:
- Intermittent chat notifications for agents
- Emailing chat script is only available for higher-tiered customers
- Free 14-day trial
- Growth ($35/mo/agent)
- Pro ($83/mo/agent)
- Enterprise ($131/mo/agent)
Read more: Here is our list of the best Freshdesk alternatives and their reviews.
4. Salesforce
Ratings: 4.3/5 ⭐️ (3,700+ reviews)
The Salesforce service cloud is built on the standard Salesforce platform and is customizable for many business needs. Companies can use this solution to boost the productivity of agents through its customer management features. The platform integrates seamlessly with other in-app products like Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud.
This Zoho Desk alternative provides a unified dashboard to accurately track inbound requests and assign them to the relevant personnel. You can utilize its social networking plugin to stay updated on conversations about your brand on social media.
Pros:
- Workflows to update fields and statuses and create records
- Availability of robust community forums and a wealth of instructional resources
- Extensive reporting and analytics
Cons:
- Out-of-the-box customer surveys are unavailable
- The steep learning curve for new users
- Free 30-day trial
- Starter Suite ($25/mo/user)
- Professional ($80/mo/user)
- Enterprise ($165/mo/user)
- Unlimited ($330/mo/user)
- Einstein 1 service ($500/mo/user)
5. HubSpot
Ratings: 4.4/5 ⭐️ (2,235+ reviews)
HubSpot is a CRM platform for real-time sales and inbound marketing. Its service hub operates as an in-platform help desk solution for organizations to streamline support services. Companies use the product to access customer communications and improve ticket resolution time. Moreover, it can be used by agents to prioritize service tickets and respond accordingly.
This Zoho Desk competitor enables multiple third-party integrations and can be used in conjunction with the HubSpot CRM. Also, you can take advantage of the flexible pricing plans for your project management needs.
Pros:
- Relatively easy for onboarding new users
- Seamless integration to HubSpot CRM
- Multiple ticket pipelines to track billing, general inquiries, special projects, etc.
Cons:
- Search can be a bit frustrating at times
- Limited formats for input surveys
- Free version available
- Starter ($20/mo/seat)
- Professional ($100/mo/seat)
- Enterprise ($130/mo/seat)
6. Help Scout
Ratings: 4.4/5⭐️ (400+ reviews)
Help Scout is a customer support & ticketing system popular among businesses looking to streamline support services. With Help Scout, you can track and prioritize customer requests. Furthermore, your team can monitor user satisfaction metrics and note areas of improvement.
The Zoho Desk alternative is used by agents to automate repetitive front-end tasks. Its shared inbox tool is recognized as one of the best collaborative workspaces for agents.
Pros:
- Multiple shared mailboxes
- Configurable to appear like a normal email client
- Custom email triggers for audience ratings of agents
Cons:
- The tagging function can be confusing and takes time to set up
- Primarily focused on email support with other channels being secondary
- Free 15-day trial
- Standard ($25/mo/user)
- Plus ($50/mo/user)
- Pro ($65/mo/user)
Read more: Choose the best Help Scout alternative from our list.
7. Kayako
Ratings: 4.0/5 ⭐️ (215+ reviews)
Kayako is a help desk tool available on the cloud and on-premise configurations. The support software is used by small and mid-sized businesses to assist in organizing emails and support requests. Its user-friendly interface allows reps to receive tickets and retrieve client information.
This competitor to Zoho Desk is easy to set up and offers a demo account for new users. The support tool seamlessly converts emails into tickets and organizes them based on the source, status, progress, time, and assigned team members.
Pros:
- Powerful API for websites to integrate into the help desk
- Self-help documentation available through the knowledge base
- Flexible and configurable for organizational change management processes
Cons:
- Presence of bugs and errors
- Limited customization options for custom fields
- Free trial available
- Kayako Cloud → Request a Demo
- Classic On-Prem → Request a Demo
Read more: Get more information about the various Kayako alternatives for your organization.
8. Intercom
Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (2,960+ reviews)
Intercom is a platform that connects companies to consumers through customer service automation and powerful messaging. The solution aims to deliver affordable support with minimum human intervention. Its shared inbox makes it easy for service teams to work on high-value requests.
By using AI, the Zoho Desk alternative frees up agents from responding to repetitive questions. The software also sends proactive chat messages to your audience to get ahead of known issues.
Pros:
- Utilizes Slack and SMS for messaging
- Integrates to Salesforce CRM
- Responds immediately to questions using conversational support
Cons:
- Lacks automatic grouping of conversations from the same email
- Slow performance and latency issues
- Free 14-day trial
- Essential ($39/mo/seal)
- Advanced ($99/mo/seat)
- Expert ($139/mo/seat)
Read more: Find out about the best Intercom alternatives for your business requirements.
9. Front
Ratings: 4.7/5 ⭐️ (2,070+ reviews)
Front is a versatile support tool used by companies to improve consumer interaction and enhance team cooperation. The system provides an environment for sales and customer success teams to work together. It connects all support emails to one shared inbox, making it easy for staff to act on requests and delegate tasks.
Front’s intuitive interface enables teams to comment between threads and step in for their colleagues if the need arises.
Pros:
- Efficient email notification system
- Agents can work together on email threads
- Easy to tag and assign colleagues in comments
Cons:
- The mobile app has limited features
- A bulky dashboard that makes teams miss messages
- Free trial available
- Starter ($19/mo/seat)
- Growth ($59/mo/seat)
- Scale ($99/mo/seat)
- Premier ($299/mo/seat)
Read more: Compare the best Front app alternatives with their features, pricing, add-ons, and reviews.
10. HappyFox
Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (240+ reviews)
HappyFox is a help desk software for IT departments looking to overhaul their legacy support systems. This Zoho Desk alternative consolidates all communication in a single location and shortens the response times. It can also be used as a help desk or service desk for IT-related support issues.
Managers can use the software to assign tasks to different teams, use smart rules to customize help desk workflows, and utilize auto-tagging for priority requests.
Pros:
- Native CRM available
- Automated ticketing assignment in specific conditions
- Efficient ticket assignment
Cons:
- Delayed ticket notifications
- Buggy text box which leads to slower workflow
- Mighty ($39/mo/agent)
- Fantastic ($59/mo/agent)
- Enterprise ($79/mo/agent)
- Enterprise Plus ($99/mo/agent)
11. LiveAgent
Ratings: 4.5/5 ⭐️ (1,485+ reviews)
LiveAgent is a Zoho Desk alternative popular for its live chat capabilities. The platform offers chatbots for conversational support and automatic routing of support tickets to concerned employees. It also has an in-platform call center that supports call recording and automatic callbacks.
The software is relatively easy to use and provides handy performance statistics on its website. You can integrate hundreds of third-party apps through its app marketplace.
Pros:
- Facebook Messenger integration
- In-platform gamification features
- Relatively affordable plans
Cons:
- Limited theme options
- Lacks WhatsApp integrations
- Free version available
- Small business ($15/mo/agent)
- Medium business ($35/mo/agent)
- Large business ($59/mo/agent)
- Enterprise ($85/mo/agent)
Now that we have observed the reviews of Zoho Desk alternatives, let’s take a look at the features your software should contain.
Features your Zoho Desk alternative should have
As you can see, help desk software market offers a variety of options. Each alternative enables commercial ventures of all sizes to serve their audience irrespective of their industry niche. By exploring the options above, you can find the best solution with features that align with your business objectives.
Here are the factors you should consider when evaluating the help desk alternatives:
- Intuitive user interface—you need help desk software that is user-friendly and free from clutter
- Seamless third-party integrations—this is crucial for your company to access ecommerce, payments, and social media capabilities
- Advanced reporting functionality—help desk options with custom reporting fields are useful for managers to analyze trends and make predictions
Get the right Zoho Desk alternative for your customer support
Finding a suitable Zoho Desk competitor will require you to consider a few factors. These include ease of use, pricing plans, customer support, integrations, and of course, features like multi-channel capability and reporting.
Based on the reviews, Tidio meets the requirements for businesses of all sizes. It offers competitive plans with unique features for diverse companies. There are also ecommerce third-party integrations like Shopify, AI chatbot insights and reports, and multichannel functionality.
Why not give it a try today?
