Let's be real. You're searching for alternatives to Zoho Desk for a reason. Either you're a current customer and they're just not cutting it for you, or you're considering switching to Zoho Desk but still not convinced they are the best choice for your CX team.

If you’ve started looking into other Zoho Desk competitors to find a better fit for your customer support team, we’ll give you an overview of several alternative platforms with handy functionalities and seamless integrations that may work better for your business needs.

Why Look for an Alternative to Zoho Desk?

Although Zoho Desk claims it’s a suitable solution for both small businesses and enterprise clients, there seems to be a misalignment between the company’s aspirations and how actual users see it.

Here’s what most Zoho Desk customers highlight as the platform’s shortcomings:

• Tough learning curve: For users unfamiliar with this type of tool, it may be too demanding to learn how to use it quickly due to new features popping up on a regular basis. “Sometimes less is more,” says a user. “There are constantly new features, and it’s hard to keep up.” [*]

• Unbalanced pricing tiers: The platform seems to offer an unbalanced range of features in each tier. Users have complained about “the number of differences between the subscription tiers” [*], calling it overwhelming. So, as a startup or an SMB, you might lack some essential features you’d like to have in a customer support tool. “There are some features we need, but they’re not available,” [*] one user complains. “For example, we need to deactivate users, but this is not possible in Zoho Desk.” At the same time, for enterprises, the plans offering all the features you need may be too expensive, especially when you’re trying to scale. For instance, live chat is only available in the Enterprise plan.

• Subpar customer support: A lack of timely and adequate customer support can reduce customer satisfaction and damage the overall experience when using an app — which happened for some Zoho Desk customers, who eventually decided to switch to another vendor. The decision was made, according to an ex-user, because their support request wasn’t addressed for 20+ days. [*]

In light of these complaints, below is our selection of customer service platforms that successfully overcome the challenges users face with Zoho Desk.

Top 10 Zoho Desk Alternatives & Competitors on the Market Right Now

1. Kustomer

2. Zendesk

3. Freshdesk

4. LiveAgent

5. HelpScout

6. Kayako

7. GrooveHQ

8. HappyFox

9. Intercom

10. Salesforce Service Cloud

1. Kustomer

Kustomer is sophisticated, customizable customer service software that offers unified support for your users across all channels, including social media apps, your website, phone, and more.

Kustomer offers a 360-degree customer view. It specializes in delivering efficient, personalized support through advanced AI-powered functionalities and automation, which makes it particularly valuable for businesses from industries such as e-commerce, retail, and similar customer-centric fields. Through multi-channel support, your agents will be able to eliminate repetitive tasks and improve customer communication, never leaving them waiting for resolution for too long.

RELATED VIDEO: Kustomer Product Tour

Key Features

• Unified customer experience: The platform consolidates all customer touchpoints into a single dashboard, providing agents with complete interaction histories across email, chat, phone, SMS, and social media channels.

• Smart automation: AI-powered tools handle routine tasks like ticket routing, inquiry categorization, and automated responses, enabling support teams to focus on complex customer needs.

• Adaptable workflow design: Organizations can develop and implement custom workflows that match their specific operational requirements, enhancing team efficiency and service delivery.

• Intuitive and easy to use: The platform’s user-friendly interface is often highlighted as one of its best features, with reviewers noting its sleek design and ease of navigation, especially compared to other CRM systems like Salesforce or Zendesk [*].

• Performance analytics: Comprehensive real-time reporting capabilities allow businesses to track agent performance, monitor customer satisfaction, and make data-driven improvements to their service quality.

Why Do Companies Choose Kustomer Over Zoho Desk?

Kustomer’s help desk excels at the very aspects of customer service that users find challenging in Zoho Desk. Here’s an overview of key advantages that help Kustomer win users over:

1. Less Demanding Learning Curve

Unlike Zoho Desk, Kustomer offers a range of features that don’t overwhelm users at any level. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive, which makes it easy and less time-consuming to implement the system and hit the ground running, even in big enterprises.

2. Better Pricing Structure

With Zoho Desk, users might need to choose the more expensive plans to get all the features they need. Meanwhile, Kustomer offers a very similar set of features on both plans. The more expensive one only increases your limits when it comes to the number of custom workflows, languages supported, etc., meaning it can scale with you.

RELATED VIDEO: Introducing Conversation-Based CX Pricing

3. 360-Degree Customer View

Kustomer offers a 360-degree customer view, which means that you can see, track, and manage all customer interactions in a single place. Your agents get a complete picture of past and current customer interactions, and this way, ensure more personalized support. Zoho Desk provides similar features, but only in more expensive plans. The basic one doesn’t even include phone support and live chat.

4. Reliable Customer Support

Kustomer offers 24/7 customer support for its users through several channels: email, chat, customer success managers, an extensive knowledge base, help center documentation, and more. Zoho Desk has phone and email support for all plans, as well as chat support for the two more expensive plans.

Here Is What Real Users Say About the Benefits of Kustomer

• Efficient internal collaboration: Kustomer allows agents to leave internal notes visible to the following agent, ensuring seamless transitions and continuity in customer support. [*]

• Real-time updates and satisfaction tracking: Kustomer provides real-time customer satisfaction surveys and ticket updates, helping teams stay on top of their performance. [*]

• ​​Integrated with other tools: The platform integrates smoothly with our main tools, enhancing our ability to manage customer accounts and interactions efficiently. [*]

• Customizable workflows: Kustomer offers customizable features and workflows, making it easier to tailor the platform to specific business needs without the complexity. [*]

• Improves customer response time: Kustomer motivates quick responses by providing easy access to customer data and previous interactions, helping agents resolve issues more efficiently. [*]

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is a cloud-based help desk solution designed to improve customer support by centralizing customer interactions across multiple channels such as email, phone, live chat, and social media.

Known for its ease of use, Zendesk helps support teams manage tickets efficiently with powerful automation tools and customizable workflows. Its ability to integrate seamlessly with CRM systems and various business apps makes it ideal for businesses of all sizes, including startups and larger enterprises.

Key Features

• Omnichannel support: Zendesk provides unified management of customer communication across channels like email, chat, phone, and social media, ensuring no inquiries slip through the cracks.

• AI-powered chatbots: Automate repetitive tasks, like routing support requests and managing ticketing inquiries, to enhance agent productivity and reduce response times.

• Customizable workflows: Tailor workflows to match your team's needs, simplifying ticket management and improving overall service efficiency.

• Real-time reporting: Get insights with performance metrics such as response times, SLAs, and customer satisfaction, allowing businesses to make data-driven improvements.

• Seamless integration: Connect easily with other business tools and CRM systems to enhance functionality and create a more streamlined experience for your support team.

Why Do Users Like Zendesk?

• User-friendly and easy to use

• Easily tracks every customer interaction

• Highly customizable ticket system

What Are Some Limitations of Zendesk?

• Customer support is terrible and unresponsive

• Advanced features are hard to implement

• The payment methods and structure are convoluted and inflexible

Pricing

Zendesk pricing consists of four annual plans:

• Suite Team at $55/agent/month

• Suite Growth at $89/agent/month with added SLAs and multilingual support

• Suite Professional at $115/agent/month with skills-based routing and custom analytics

• Suite Enterprise at $169/agent/month with custom roles and advanced AI

Add-ons like Advanced AI and Workforce Management are available for extra fees.

3. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based help desk software designed to streamline customer support by managing multi-channel support through email, chat, phone, and social media. It offers robust ticketing and automation features, enabling businesses to improve response times and customer satisfaction.

Freshdesk is particularly popular due to its user-friendly interface, customizable workflows, and flexible pricing options, including a free plan for basic needs. It's a preferred choice for businesses looking for flexible onboarding, efficient read functionalities, and scalable support.

Key Features

• Multi-channel support: Manage customer interactions across email, phone, live chat, and social media from a single platform, ensuring quick and efficient responses.

• Ticketing system: Freshdesk’s automated ticketing system organizes customer inquiries and assigns them to the appropriate agent for faster resolution.

• Automation tools: Using powerful automation features, streamline repetitive tasks, such as ticket assignments and follow-up emails, improving overall agent productivity.

• Self-service portals: Create customizable self-service knowledge bases and FAQs. This will enable customers to find answers independently, reducing the load on support agents.

• Real-time reporting: Track performance with detailed metrics on ticket resolution times, agent productivity, and customer satisfaction, enabling data-driven improvements.

Why Do Users Like Freshdesk?

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface

• It’s highly customizable and integrates well with other apps

• Automation features help streamline processes and save time

What Are Some Limitations of Freshdesk?

• Often slow and laggy, making basic tasks frustrating

• The pricing adds up quickly as essential features are considered add-ons

• Customer support is poor, and responses take days

Pricing

Freshdesk offers four annual plans:

• Free at $0 for up to 2 agents

• Growth at $15/agent/month with added reports and automation

• Pro at $49/agent/month with advanced ticketing and custom portals

• Enterprise at $79/agent/month with audit logs and enhanced security.

Freddy AI tools can be added for $29/agent/month.

4. LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a comprehensive help desk software that provides multi-channel support, allowing businesses to manage customer interactions across email, chat, phone, and social media in one platform.

LiveAgent’s robust ticketing and real-time messaging systems ensure no customer inquiry is missed. It offers templates to standardize responses and integrates smoothly with other business tools via its API integration, making managing customer communications and internal projects easier. With a focus on real-time customer support, LiveAgent is suitable for businesses of all sizes, including startups and enterprises, offering flexible pricing plans and a user-friendly interface.

Key Features

• Omnichannel support: Centralize communication from email, live chat, phone, and social media in one platform, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

• Ticketing system: LiveAgent automatically converts inquiries into tickets, allowing for better organization and faster resolution of support requests.

• Automation tools: Automate repetitive tasks such as routing tickets, setting up SLAs, and triggering notifications, enhancing overall efficiency and agent productivity.

• Self-service portals: Provide customers with a customizable knowledge base and FAQs to find answers independently, reducing the need for direct support.

• Real-time chat and reporting: Offer real-time live chat for immediate customer support and monitor key metrics such as response times, customer satisfaction, and agent performance.

Why Do Users Like LiveAgent?

• It allows handling emails, chats, and social media in one place

• Internal notes help everyone stay on the same page

• It makes multitasking and merging tickets simple

What Are Some Limitations of LiveAgent?

• It doesn't have some basic ticketing features

• Support is almost non-existent and unhelpful

• You have to log in every month, or they will delete your account

Pricing

LiveAgent offers four pricing plans billed annually:

• Small Business at $9 per agent/month

• Medium Business at $29 per agent/month

• Large Business at $49 per agent/month

• Enterprise at $69 per agent/month

Each plan includes progressively more features, such as email accounts, live chat buttons, departments, and advanced tools like AI Answer Assistant, call center support, and priority support for Enterprise users.

5. Help Scout

Help Scout is a help desk software designed for businesses that prioritize customer communication through email-based support. Help Scout’s shared inboxes and templates allow customer service teams to handle multiple inquiries efficiently.

The tool’s intuitive design makes onboarding fast, and integrations with messaging apps like WhatsApp provide real-time support. It offers live chat, a knowledge base, and integrations with popular CRM and business tools. With its intuitive interface and focus on customer experience, Help Scout is ideal for small businesses and teams looking for a simple yet powerful customer support solution. Its flexible pricing makes it accessible to companies of various sizes.

Key Features

• Shared inbox: Manage multiple inboxes with ease, ensuring that customer inquiries are properly assigned and handled by the right agents.

• Automation tools: Use automation to streamline tasks like ticket assignments, follow-ups, and customer notifications, improving response times and team efficiency.

• Knowledge base: Create a self-service portal where customers can find answers to common questions, reducing the need for direct support.

• Live chat support: Offer real-time customer communication through live chat, ensuring timely responses to customer queries.

• Real-time reporting: Monitor key performance metrics such as response times, customer satisfaction, and agent productivity, allowing for continuous improvement in support quality.

Why Do Users Like Help Scout?

• The interface is very intuitive and user-friendly

• It's simple to use, not overwhelming like other tools

• It helps set up a Knowledge Base and live chat for self-service support

What Are Some Limitations of Help Scout?

• Saved replies stripped images, which adds extra work

• Support is unhelpful, often responding with canned replies

• UI is clunky and unpleasant, making it less enjoyable to use

Pricing

• The Standard plan costs $75 per month and includes 100 contacts, 2 inboxes, a help widget, a Docs site for self-service, and basic reporting.
  

• The Plus plan costs $200 monthly and includes 250 contacts, 5 inboxes, advanced permissions, multiple Docs sites, and full reporting history.
  

• The Pro plan costs $850 per month and offers 1000 contacts, 10 inboxes, dedicated account management, and a HIPAA-compliant CRM.
  

6. Kayako

Kayako is a feature-rich help desk software designed to provide seamless customer support across multiple channels like email, live chat, social media, and phone. It focuses on automation, ticketing, and real-time customer interaction.

Businesses can manage support requests efficiently through self-service portals and intuitive workflows. Kayako is suitable for companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises, especially those dealing with a high volume of support tickets. Its mobile app makes managing customer inquiries easy on the go, enhancing customer satisfaction and team productivity.

Key Features

• Omnichannel support: Manage customer communication across email, live chat, social media, and phone from one unified dashboard, ensuring no missed interaction.

• Automation and workflows: Automate repetitive tasks such as ticket routing, reminders, and notifications to save time and improve agent productivity.

• Self-service portals: Allow customers to access a knowledge base and resolve common issues independently, reducing the workload on support agents.

• Real-time reporting: Track performance metrics like ticket resolution times and customer satisfaction, enabling data-driven improvements.

• Mobile accessibility: Kayako’s mobile app allows agents to manage tickets and customer interactions anytime, anywhere, making support more flexible.

Why Do Users Like Kayako?

• Easy to assign tickets and switch between departments smoothly

• The interface is smooth and loads quickly

• It helps prioritize tickets efficiently based on urgency

What Are Some Limitations of Kayako?

• Lack of customer support and unethical sales tactics

• High upgrade fees and expensive licensing costs

• Poor customer support and unreliable phone service

Pricing

• The Essential plan costs $39 per agent/month (billed annually) and includes a ticketing system and unlimited AI-suggested responses.
  

• The Professional plan costs $99 and adds a self-learning mode for 100 tickets/month, multiple chatbots, and integrations.

• The Enterprise plan offers full automation with unlimited self-learning mode, AI-driven content, and advanced reporting, with pricing available upon request. All plans include a 14-day free trial.

7. GrooveHQ

GrooveHQ is a user-friendly help desk software designed for small to medium-sized businesses looking to streamline customer support operations. It simplifies communication through a shared inbox, integrating live chat, knowledge base, and multiple communication channels.

GrooveHQ is particularly valued for its intuitive design and automation, allowing teams to collaborate efficiently. It’s ideal for businesses that want a simple but powerful solution to manage ticketing and provide excellent support without the complexity of larger platforms like Zendesk.

Key Features

• Shared inbox: Manage all customer emails in one place, assign tickets, and collaborate with team members through private notes and @mentions, ensuring no conversation is missed.

• Live chat: Offer real-time support on your website, with options for automated responses and chat-to-email continuation.

• Knowledge base: Build a self-service portal where customers can find answers to common questions, reducing the number of incoming support requests.

• Automation and workflows: Automate repetitive tasks like ticket assignments and follow-ups, improving response times and team efficiency.

• Reporting: Access real-time performance metrics, including response times and customer satisfaction, helping you monitor and optimize your support operations.

Why Do Users Like GrooveHQ?

• Easy-to-use ticket system that improved workflow

• Simple task management, only showing important tickets

• Fast setup and helpful customer support

What Are Some Limitations of GrooveHQ?

• The "Free Forever" plan is misleading; it requires payment

• The platform gets cluttered quickly without a smooth workflow

• Reporting lacks customization, and extracting data is difficult

Pricing

• The Standard plan costs $16 per user per month and provides two shared inboxes, email management, live chat, and a knowledge base.
  

• The Plus plan, at $36 per user per month, adds five shared inboxes, advanced automation, AI tools, and premium integrations.

• The Pro plan costs $56 per user per month and includes 25 shared inboxes, 50 lite users, enterprise security, and dedicated support. Each plan comes with a free trial and discounts for annual payments.

8. HappyFox

HappyFox is a versatile help desk software that provides robust ticketing, automation, and omnichannel support. It streamlines customer communication by managing inquiries from multiple channels, including email, live chat, phone, and social media.

Designed to enhance team productivity, it also features advanced reporting tools and customizable workflows, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. HappyFox also supports self-service options, allowing customers to resolve common issues through a knowledge base.

Key Features

• Omnichannel ticketing: Manage and organize tickets from various channels, such as email, live chat, social media, and phone calls, within a single platform.

• Automation and smart rules: Automate repetitive tasks such as ticket assignments, status updates, and notifications to improve agent productivity.

• Self-service portals: Build a knowledge base and FAQ section to help customers resolve issues independently, reducing the load on your support team.

• Customizable workflows: Tailor workflows with custom rules, priorities, and statuses to meet your specific business needs, making support more efficient.

• Advanced reporting and analytics: Monitor support performance through real-time metrics such as response times, ticket resolution, and customer satisfaction, helping to make data-driven improvements

Why Do Users Like HappyFox?

• The 24/7 support team was invaluable during setup and customization

• Efficient ticket management and automation features improve workflow

• Easy to use, cost-effective, integrates seamlessly with Magento

What Are Some Limitations of HappyFox?

• Steep learning curve and high pricing for small businesses

• The tool to build out knowledge Base articles is a little lackluster

• Reports can be hard to create

Pricing

• The Basic plan costs $9 per agent/month, including unlimited tickets and omnichannel ticket creation.
  

• The Team plan costs $39 per agent/month and adds multi-brand helpdesk, custom roles, and 24/5 email support.

• The Pro plan costs $89 per agent/month and includes task and asset management, while the Enterprise PRO plan includes premium features like agent scripting and advanced audit logs, with pricing available upon request.
  

9. Intercom

Intercom is a versatile help desk software that combines live chat, ticketing, and an AI-powered inbox to streamline customer support operations. Known for its omnichannel capabilities, Intercom allows businesses to manage customer conversations across channels like email, live chat, social media, and phone, all within a single platform.

Intercom’s customizable workflows, smart automation, and detailed reporting make it a popular choice for medium to large businesses looking to enhance customer communication and team productivity.

Key Features

• Omnichannel support: Manage customer conversations seamlessly across email, chat, phone, and social media in one unified inbox.

• AI-powered automation: Use AI to automate repetitive tasks like ticket routing, personalized responses, and auto-filling ticket details.

• Workflows and team collaboration: Automate workflows, set SLAs, and collaborate efficiently across teams by assigning tickets and sharing context effortlessly.

• Help Center integration: Build a customizable self-service help center with articles, FAQs, and guides, empowering customers to find answers independently.

• Advanced reporting: Monitor key metrics like response times, ticket resolution, and customer satisfaction in real time with customizable dashboards.

Why Do Users Like Intercom?

• Ticketing and automation features improve customer service

• User-friendly with great tools like Fin AI

• Seamless integration with various channels

What Are Some Limitations of Intercom?

• Very expensive and locks you into a 12-month contract

• Customer service is unresponsive, and sales inquiries go unanswered

• Unnecessary limitations on features

Pricing

Intercom offers three core pricing plans, each with different monthly seat prices and features:

• The Essential plan starts at $39 per seat.

• The Advanced plan at $99 per seat (with 20 lite seats included).

• The Expert plan starts at $139 per seat (with 50 lite seats included).
  

10. Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is a comprehensive help desk software built on Salesforce’s renowned CRM platform. It empowers businesses to deliver personalized and efficient customer support by managing inquiries across multiple channels like email, live chat, phone, and social media.

With advanced automation, AI-powered tools, and seamless integration with other Salesforce products, Service Cloud is designed to enhance agent productivity and improve the overall customer experience. It's suitable for businesses of all sizes, offering flexible features to meet various support needs.

Key Features

• Omnichannel support: Centralize communication from various platforms like email, chat, and social media into one unified dashboard to provide a seamless support experience.

• AI-powered automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as ticket assignment, routing, and workflows, allowing agents to focus on resolving complex issues.

• Case management: Get a 360-degree view of customer data to resolve tickets with all necessary information at your fingertips quickly.

• Self-service portals: Empower customers with knowledge bases and FAQs, enabling them to find answers independently and reduce support ticket volume.

• Advanced reporting and analytics: Access real-time insights to track key performance metrics like resolution time, agent productivity, and customer satisfaction, enabling data-driven improvements.

• ERP integration: Connecting Salesforce with your ERP system helps you gain a complete view of customer information, including order history, billing details, and inventory levels, for faster and more efficient support resolutions.

Why Do Users Like Salesforce Service Cloud?

• Streamlines operations and integrates website forms directly into cases

• Flexible and integrates well with Gmail, saving time by sharing data easily

• Efficient case management and omnichannel support

What Are Some Limitations of Salesforce Service Cloud?

• The customizable features can be overwhelming to manage

• It cancels subscriptions without notice, blocking access to data

• The interface is clunky and can feel slow at times

Pricing

• The Starter plan costs €25 per user/month and includes basic tools for sales, service, and email outreach.
  

• The Professional plan costs €80 per user/month and works for teams of any size with a full-service CRM.
  

• The Enterprise plan, priced at €165 per user/month, is the most popular and offers customizable features for comprehensive service.
  

• The Unlimited plan, at €330 per user/month, provides the highest level of service with unlimited CRM capabilities.

Kustomer — The #1 Zoho Desk Alternative

If you're looking for a customer service platform that offers a unified customer experience, intuitive automation, and 360-degree customer views, Kustomer stands out as the top alternative to Zoho Desk.

RELATED VIDEO: The End of Bad Service

With its advanced AI-powered tools, customizable workflows, and reliable customer support, Kustomer helps streamline operations and enhance customer satisfaction across all channels.

No more annoying switching from one window to another to gather the entire customer conversation history while even urgent questions keep slipping through the cracks.

No more spending hundreds and thousands of dollars to get the very basic features while having a bunch of those you never use.

No more complex setups and weeks and months of disrupted processes while your team is struggling to understand the new tool.

Kustomer consolidates all customer interactions in one place, comes with reasonable plans and prices, and it’s never been easier to add a new tool to your tech stack.

Don't settle for less — experience the best in customer service software. See the difference right now by booking a demo and asking our expert team all your questions.