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TL; DR: Zoho Desk is a popular help desk, but its pricing, feature limits, and scalability may not meet every team’s needs. Exploring Zoho Desk alternatives like BoldDesk, Freshdesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, and Help Scout helps businesses find a better fit with stronger automation, AI capabilities, omnichannel support, and more flexible pricing.
Are you looking for a way to improve your customer service? Zoho Desk is a tool that helps businesses handle customer inquiries.
However, it might not be the perfect fit for everyone since different businesses have different needs, like specific features, pricing, and ease of use.
The good news is, there are lots of other Zoho Desk alternatives that might suit you better.
This blog explores some of these top Zoho Desk alternatives, ideal for businesses in search of the right fit for their customer service needs.
What is the best Zoho Desk alternative?
The best Zoho Desk alternative depends on your business size and support complexity:
- BoldDesk is the best Zoho Desk alternative for small to mid-sized businesses that need affordable pricing, fast setup, omnichannel support, and built-in AI automation without enterprise-level costs.
- Zendesk or Salesforce Service Cloud are better suited for large enterprises that require deep customization, complex workflows, and extensive third-party integrations at scale.
- Freshdesk is a strong option for growing and mid-market teams looking for a user-friendly help desk with omnichannel messaging and straightforward automation.
Why do businesses switch to Zoho Desk alternatives?
Zoho Desk is a well-known help desk solution, but many businesses find it challenging to align with their workflows and budgets.
The following are some of the reasons why you might look for an alternative to Zoho Desk.
- Complex onboarding slows adoption: Zoho Desk’s setup process can be time-consuming, especially for small teams without a dedicated team manager. This delays productivity when quick implementation is critical.
- Limited workflow flexibility: While automation exists, customizing processes often requires using Zoho’s Blueprint builder, which many users find unintuitive. Simple tasks can demand complex workarounds.
- Pricing restricts essential features: Important tools like live chat, multi-brand help centers, and advanced AI capabilities are locked behind Enterprise plans, forcing smaller businesses to pay more or compromise on functionality.
- Support response times can lag: Some users report delays when contacting Zoho’s own support team, which can be frustrating when you rely on the platform for customer service.
A comparison table for Zoho Desk competitors
To identify the most reliable Zoho Desk alternatives, we applied a practical evaluation framework focused on cost, scalability, ease of implementation, AI capabilities, customization, security, and integration options.
This approach ensures the recommendations highlight tools that deliver real usability, flexibility, and long-term value for customer support teams of all sizes.
The table below summarizes the key features and pricing of leading Zoho Desk alternatives.
| Name | Features | Pricing | G2 rating |
| BoldDesk |
|
Starts from $12/agent/month
Free trial duration: 15 days |
4.5/5 |
| Zendesk |
|
Starts from $19/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days |
4.3/5 |
| Freshdesk |
|
Starts from $19/agent/month Free trial duration: 14 days
|
4.4/5 |
| Kayako |
|
$79/month
Free trial duration: 14 days |
4.0/5 |
| HubSpot Service |
|
Starts from $9/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
|
4.4/5 |
| Help Scout |
|
Starts from $25/agent/month
Free trial duration: 15 days
|
4.4/5 |
| Hiver |
|
Starts from $25/agent/month
Free trial duration: 7 days
|
4.6/5 |
| HappyFox |
|
Starts from $24/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
|
4.5/5 |
| Front |
|
Starts from $25/agent/month, up to 10 agents
Free trial duration: 14 days
|
4.7/5 |
| Intercom |
|
Starts from $29/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days |
4.5/5 |
| Gorgias |
|
Starts from $10/month for 50 tickets
Free trial duration: 7 days
|
4.6/5 |
| ProProfs Help Desk |
|
Single user: $0
Team: $39.99/agent/month Free trial duration: 14 days |
4.7/5 |
| Salesforce Service Cloud |
|
Starts from $25/agent/month
Free trial duration: 30 days |
4.4/5 |
Best Zoho Desk alternatives and competitors for modern help desk software
When choosing the best customer engagement tool for your business, these Zoho Desk alternatives stand out in the market.
They include:
1. BoldDesk®
G2 ratings: 4.5/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for small and mid-sized businesses seeking affordable pricing, fast setup, and built-in AI automation.
BoldDesk is the best Zoho Desk alternative software that provides advanced customer support and engagement tools to assist agents in managing help requests.
It is designed to provide real-time customer interactions and to offer omnichannel customer service, delivering support across multiple channels while increasing the overall customer satisfaction.
Plus, the platform is the best budget-friendly Zoho Desk alternative for small and growing businesses, helping them deliver outstanding support without breaking the bank.
BoldDesk’s key features
- An automated help desk ticketing system allows efficient customer issue tracking, agent assignment, and progress monitoring.
- Efficient live chat software empowers agents to offer real-time, round-the-clock chat support that improves customer experiences.
- AI Copilot and AI Agent allow companies to enhance ticket handling, provide instant automated responses, and generate better knowledge-based articles.
- Omnichannel customer service helps customer service teams efficiently handle all incoming inquiries from customers’ preferred communication channels in a single, unified platform.
- Extensive help desk customization enables businesses to design the system to their specific requirements and workflows. You can customize ticket fields, automation rules, and more.
- Efficient help desk automation helps take care of repetitive tasks like sending email notifications, escalating tickets, and agent assignments based on keywords.
- Knowledge base software empowers agents to build a repository of helpful articles, FAQs, and other documentation that customers can use to solve common issues.
- Seamless integration allows BoldDesk to connect with other tools and systems you use, like CRM software, billing systems, and communication platforms.
- Task management software features assist agents in organizing and prioritizing their work, setting deadlines, and collaborating on complex issues. Effective task management ensures efficient ticket resolution and keeps the support team organized.
- A user-friendly customer self‑service portal provides customers with a centralized space to submit tickets, track progress, and access helpful resources without needing agent assistance.
- Multilingual help desk support lets companies assist a diverse customer base by offering resources in multiple languages.
- A mobile help desk that enables agents to manage tickets and provide support on the go, boosting agent productivity and improving responsiveness.
- Insightful reports and analytics provide valuable data on help desk performance, like ticket volume, resolution times, customer satisfaction, and agent productivity.
- Top-notch security ensures your customers’ data is kept secure through features such as function-based access control, data encryption, audit trails, and more.
- Help desk satisfaction survey helps you gather feedback from customers about their experience with your support team. You can utilize this information to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time.
- Help desk SLA management tools help teams define service expectations, monitor SLA compliance, and proactively manage breaches to maintain high service standards.
Pricing
Build a high-performing support team with BoldDesk’s adaptable pricing structure.
| Plan | Price per human agent | AI credits | Free AI credits | AI agent access | AI Copilot access |
| Scale | $12/agent/month | Not available | Not available | ❌ | ❌ |
| Momentum | $25/agent/month | $20/1000 AI credits | 100 AI Credits/month | ✅ | ✅ |
| Enterprise | $39/agent/month | $20/1000 AI credits | 250 AI Credits/month | ✅ | ✅ |
Instead of charging flat fees for AI agent usage, BoldDesk uses a credit-based pricing approach at only $20 per 1000 AI credits. You purchase AI credits and pay only for what you use, giving you flexibility and control over costs.
Additionally, you can supercharge your human agents with the AI Copilot available as an add-on for just $20 per agent/month.
BoldDesk blends AI efficiency with human empathy to deliver scalable, cost-effective support.
Looking to grow your team? Let’s build a custom plan together — chat with our experts now!
Free trial duration: 15 days
2. Zendesk
G2 ratings: 4.3/5
The best alternative to Zoho Desk for large enterprises that require advanced customization and complex workflows.
Zendesk is one of the best Zoho Desk alternatives with AI ticketing that provides customer support functionalities.
Its advanced omnichannel capabilities allow businesses to handle client communications across various channels from a single dashboard.
Top features
- Omnichannel support
- Ticket routing
- AI Copilot
- Third-party integrations
Pricing
- Support Team: $19/agent/month
- Suite team: $55/agent/month
- Suite Professional: $115/agent/month
- Suite Enterprise: $169/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- Easily integrates with all kinds of business software.
- Accurately monitors critical customer service performance metrics.
- Develop customized services with its thoroughly designed API and app.
Cons
- Zoho Desk alternatives for small businesses or businesses with a limited support budget might find the platform costly.
3. Freshdesk
G2 ratings: 4.4/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for growing teams that want quick onboarding and straightforward automation.
Freshdesk, one of the Zoho Desk alternatives, is a cloud-based platform that provides a unified workspace for customer service agents to manage clients.
Top features
- Unique dashboards
- Omnichannel messaging
- Ticket routing
- Knowledge base software
- Automation
Pricing
- Growth: $19/agent/month
- Pro: $55/agent/month
- Enterprise: $89/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- Support for a wide variety of essential communication services.
- Extensive reporting and analytics capabilities for tracking customer service trends.
- Robust ticketing system for task automation and prioritizing support requests.
Cons
- New users may find the software complex.
- Some features are less configurable and customizable.
4. Kayako
G2 ratings: 4.0/5
The best alternative to Zoho Desk for email-first teams that prioritize simplicity and collaboration.
Kayako is another of the best Zoho Desk alternatives for Microsoft Teams users that allows companies to centralize support communications across email, social media, and live chat.
It offers essential help desk tools, including reporting and automation, that make it one of the Zoho Desk competitors.
Top features
- Collaboration on tickets
- Knowledge base
- Automation
- Live chat software
Pricing: $79/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- Integrates many customer support channels, including online chat, email, and social media, into a single dashboard.
- Automate workflows, routine tasks, and replies.
- Assists businesses in monitoring and evaluating key performance metrics related to client satisfaction.
Cons
- Some users experience a difficult learning curve.
- Uses a proprietary language for configuring and running reports.
5. HubSpot Service Hub
G2 ratings: 4.4/5
The best alternative to Zoho Desk for businesses that want customer support integrated with CRM and sales data.
HubSpot Service Hub is an alternative to Zoho Desk with a wide range of tools that cover all customer needs.
HubSpot CRM data can be joined to Service Hub, enabling support teams to acquire advanced context to better assist customers.
Top features
- Ticketing system
- Shared inbox and team email
- Reporting dashboards
- Live chat
Pricing
- Starter: $9/agent/month
- Professional: $90/agent/month
- Enterprise: $150/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- The user-friendly platform makes it easy for support agents of any skill level to deliver quality service
- Centralizes customer data in one place
- Built-in customer satisfaction surveys help companies better understand their customers to provide top-notch service
Cons
- Small businesses or startups with financial limitations may find the cost quite high
- Advanced features might require a larger investment in training
6. Help Scout
G2 ratings: 4.4/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for teams that prioritize email-based support and shared inboxes.
Help Scout, which is better than Zoho Desk, is a customer assistant and help desk solution intended to improve communication between businesses and their customers.
This Zoho Desk alternative platform comes with prebuilt performance dashboards that help you better understand individual and team performance.
Top features
- Email ticketing
- Knowledge base
- Live chat
- Customer engagement analytics
Pricing
- Standard: $25/agent/month
- Plus: $45/agent/month
- Pro: $75/agent/month
Free trial duration: 15 days
Pros
- Unified inbox for handling all support requests.
- Self-service knowledge base.
- Real-time chat support.
Cons
- Some users find its reporting capabilities limited.
7. Hiver
G2 ratings: 4.6/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for teams that manage customer support directly from Gmail.
Hiver is an added alternative to Zoho Desk with a multichannel customer support tool designed for teams utilizing Google Workspace.
Top features
- Email templates
- Customer service collaboration
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Workflow automation
Pricing
- Free for startups
- Growth: $25/agent/month
- Pro: $65/agent/month
- Elite: $105/agent/month
Free trial duration: 7 days
Pros
- Automates repetitive tasks, reducing manual effort and ensuring timely responses to customer inquiries.
- Enables seamless collaboration within shared inboxes, enhancing teamwork and efficiency in managing customer queries.
- Analytics provide insight into team performance and customer interactions, ensuring data-driven decision-making.
Cons
- Some users find the initial integration process difficult.
- Has limitations in terms of its customization capabilities.
8. HappyFox
G2 ratings: 4.5/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for teams that need flexible workflows and structured ticket management.
HappyFox is a cloud-based help desk alternative to Zoho Desk for businesses seeking improved productivity in their customer support operations.
Top features
- Multichannel support
- Knowledge base
- Ticketing software
- Third-party integrations
Pricing
- Basic: $24/agent/month
- Team: $49/agent/month
- Pro: $99/agent/month
- Enterprise: Contact HappyFox
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- Robust ticketing system for efficient organization and prioritization of customer inquiries.
- Automation and workflow management allow businesses to automate repetitive tasks and streamline processes.
- Built-in support to create FAQs and guides as customer self-help resources.
Cons
- Some users find the platform hard to navigate initially.
9. Front
G2 ratings: 4.7/5
The best alternative to Zoho Desk for teams that rely on shared inbox collaboration across email and chat.
Front is a customer operations platform designed for support, sales, and account management teams to better understand and serve their customers.
As the best Zoho Desk alternative for omnichannel support, Front offers a more personalized approach to customer engagement, combining the familiarity of email with the efficiency of a help desk.
Top features
- Collaboration tools
- Shared inbox
- Integration with other apps and tools
- Internal knowledge base
Pricing
- Starter: $25/agent/month, up to 10 agents
- Professional: $65/agent/month, up to 50 agents
- Enterprise: $105/seat/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- Stunning interface, collaboration features (shared inboxes, annotations, etc.), team-based workflows, and a mobile app.
- Suitable for support teams that emphasize teamwork and efficient communication.
Cons
- The cost may pose a challenge for small- and medium-sized enterprises.
- The Starter and Growth plans only offer support via email.
10. Intercom
G2 ratings: 4.5/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for businesses that focus on conversational support and AI-assisted engagement.
Intercom is a software that combines an AI chatbot, help desk, and customer communication within a single platform.
It is an alternative to Zoho Desk, whose strength lies in providing end-to-end messaging for businesses across multiple communication channels for enhanced customer engagement.
Top features
- AI-enhanced shared inbox
- Shared inbox
- Tools for developing onboarding resources
- Customization
Pricing
- Essential: $29/agent/month
- Advanced: $85/agent/month
- Expert: $132/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- The interface is straightforward to use.
- Supports high-quality communication across multiple teams with high visibility, collaboration, and navigation.
- Customizable through add-ons, such as WhatsApp integration.
Cons
- Small businesses may find the pricing expensive.
- The Essential plan does not provide access to certain AI enhancements.
11. Gorgias
G2 ratings: 4.5/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for eCommerce businesses that need deep platform integrations and automation.
Gorgias is a customer support help desk solution tailored specifically for e-commerce businesses. As one of the better alternatives to Zoho Desk, it can be integrated easily with various e-commerce platforms to streamline support operations.
The Gorgias dashboard allows businesses to manage all customer service communication channels in one place, making it a strong alternative to Zoho Desk.
Top features
- Ticketing system
- Customer knowledge base
- Integrations
- Live chat
Pricing
- Starter: $10/month for 50 tickets
- Basic $50/month for 300 tickets
- Pro: $300/month for 2000 tickets
- Advanced: $750/month for 5000 tickets
Free trial duration: 7 days
Pros
- AI-assisted ticket management makes it easier to respond quickly and accurately to customer inquiries.
- Automation tools help your team save time by handling repetitive tasks efficiently.
- Omnichannel support allows you to manage conversations from email, chat, social media, and more—all in one place.
Cons
- Monthly ticket limits may pose problems for larger e-commerce businesses.
- Some e-commerce platforms are not supported in lower pricing plans.
12. ProProfs Help Desk
G2 ratings: 4.7/5
The best Zoho Desk alternative for small teams looking for basic ticketing and SLA management at a lower cost.
ProProfs Help Desk is an alternative to Zoho Desk software that provides a shared inbox, automation tools, and more.
Top features
- Agent ticket routing
- SLA supervision
- Support for omnichannel communication
- Shared inbox
Pricing
- Single user: $0
- Team: $39.99/agent/month
Free trial duration: 14 days
Pros
- The shared inbox is easy to use, making team collaboration simple and efficient.
- Ticket routing automation ensures faster response times by directing queries to the right agents.
- Reports on support metrics help you track performance and improve customer service.
Cons
- The ProProfs knowledge base, live chat, and survey maker solutions are integrations that must be purchased separately.
13 Salesforce Service Cloud
G2 ratings: 4.4/5
The best alternative to Zoho Desk for enterprises that require deep customization and CRM-driven support workflows.
Salesforce Service Cloud is a help desk platform capable of integrating more than 2,500 applications, making it one of the Zoho Desk competitors.
Top features
- Case management
- Omnichannel support
- Ticket routing
- Automation tools
Pricing
- Starter: $25/agent/month
- Pro: $100/agent/month
- Enterprise: $175/agent/month
Free trial duration: 30 days
Pros
- Integrates seamlessly with other Salesforce products
- Provides a robust ticketing system that allows users to monitor the time spent on each customer issue
- Provides workflow automation tools
Cons
- The advanced features can be difficult to learn
- The product is updated three times per year, meaning new features may be overlooked, or the platform may change notably after each release
What should you consider when choosing the best alternative to Zoho Desk?
If you’re searching for the best help desk software for support teams, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and drawbacks associated with Zoho Desk vs competitors.
Here are some key points to consider:
- Ticketing system: Does your ticketing system need to be able to handle massive ticket volumes, or will simple ticketing features suffice?
- Customization: Each solution has a limit to its customization options, which can impact your ability to tailor the platform to your specific business processes.
- Complexity: Some alternatives to Zoho Desk will have a steeper learning curve compared to simpler alternatives.
- Pricing: While solutions offer competitive pricing, some of their features might be locked behind higher payment tiers.
- Free trial period: How long does the solution’s free trial period last? Is that enough time to fully evaluate the product?
- Integrations: Does the alternative to Zoho Desk work well with your other business software?
Which alternative to Zoho Desk is right for you?
Though Zoho Desk is a very popular help desk solution, it might not be the right choice for your business.
As demonstrated in this article, the AI help desk software market is great and diverse, giving businesses of all sizes the ability to serve their customers, no matter how niche their industry is.
By exploring the options listed in this blog, you can find the Zoho Desk alternatives help desk solution that aligns with your business goals and ensures you can deliver excellent customer support.
Contact our support team to schedule a live demo and see how BoldDesk stands out from other Zoho Desk alternatives, backed by G2 recognition for outstanding performance, user satisfaction, and a robust feature set. Start a free trial to experience many capabilities.
Was this article helpful to you? Do you have any suggestions for businesses to consider over Zoho Desk alternatives listed in this blog for exceptional customer service?
Leave your thoughts and recommendations in the comment section below.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
BoldDesk is a standalone, modern help desk focused on ease of use, flexibility, and fast setup—especially suited for businesses of all sizes, including startups and small teams.
On the other hand, Zoho Desk is tightly integrated with the broader Zoho ecosystem, making it ideal for users of other apps similar to Zoho Desk and large enterprises.
Yes, most Zoho Desk alternatives offer data migration tools for transferring tickets and customer information.
Solutions like BoldDesk provide new customers with free migration from Zoho Desk, with a dedicated team to ensure the secure transfer of all tickets, customer data, knowledge base articles, tags, end users, and contact groups.
You can consult with the support team of your chosen alternative for specific guidance.
Onboarding and training support vary across Zoho Desk alternatives. For instance, BoldDesk offers comprehensive onboarding support, including live demos, documentation, and guided implementation assistance to ensure smooth transitions.
Several Zoho Desk replacements excel in scalability for growing businesses:
- BoldDesk: Offers exceptional scalability with affordable tiered pricing options, including agent-based and team-based plans that can adapt as your business grows, making it ideal for scaling operations.
- Salesforce Service Cloud: Provides enterprise-grade scalability with virtually unlimited capacity for growth, though at premium pricing tiers.
- Freshdesk: Offers good scalability for mid-market businesses with straightforward upgrade paths.
- HubSpot Service Hub: Provides scalable customer service tools within the broader HubSpot ecosystem.
BoldDesk is one of the best Zoho Desk alternatives for SMBs due to its intuitive UI, AI-powered tools, and transparent pricing.
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