Blog

Providing knowledgeable, rapid-fire support is important for companies wanting to make customers happy and get a leg up on the competition. Finding the right help desk software tailored to your business can empower your agents to deliver 5-star, rave-worthy service with each conversation. 

With the huge array of options on the table, narrowing down the ideal solution for your specific needs can feel overwhelming. Three top choices that seem to catch the attention of businesses of all sizes are Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Vision Helpdesk—each catering to different use cases.

Looking at these service desk platforms based on your support volume, team size, integrations, and budget will help you make the best long-haul investment for your workplace. Let’s take a look at what each one offers:

Zendesk

With its long list of customization and analytical options, Zendesk is built for large enterprises managing an overflow of support tickets. For instance, its open API and developer framework let you customize workflows, objects, fields, apps, and more—even for those who have little to no coding knowledge. Zendesk also boasts advanced real-time and historical reporting. Its users get customizable dashboards and extensive filtering to gain deeper insight into ticket data trends, optimization, and data-backed decisions. For omnichannel support, Zendesk provides native email, social, chat, and voice across all plans. With over 1,200 integrations, it also connects seamlessly to platforms like Salesforce, Shopify, and Slack.

Pricing

• Suite Team: Starts at $55 per agent/month or $3,300/year for 5 agents. Includes ticketing system, email, chat, voice, social, prebuilt analytics dashboards, and more. Free Trial Available? Yes
• Suite Growth: $89 per agent/month or $5,340/year for 5 agents. Adds custom business rules, multiple ticket forms, SLAs, and multilingual support. Free Trial Available? Yes
• Suite Professional: $115 per agent/month or $6,900/year for 5 agents. Includes advanced features like a self-service portal, custom analytics, and skills-based routing. Free Trial Available? Yes
• Suite Enterprise: For a full enterprise solution, chat with their sales team.

Who Is Zendesk Ideal For?

Zendesk is perfect for large enterprises needing:

• Customized workflows, objects, and fields without complex coding
• Powerful analytics for data-informed service decisions
• Strong security measures that are in place to manage sensitive customer data
• Simple integration with existing CRM, marketing, and sales tools
• Scalability to handle high volumes of support tickets

Key Features

• Flexible ticketing with customized views, fields, and automation
• Curated knowledge base for self-service
• Omnichannel support: email, chat, social, voice
• Real-time and historical analytics for tickets, agents, trends
• 1,200+ integrations with CRM, marketing, and sales applications
• Productivity tools like collision detection and skills-based routing
• Security, access controls, compliance for enterprise
• Mobile app can be downloaded from your app store

Potential Drawbacks

• Advanced features come at a price with higher tiers
• Zendesk also has a steeper learning curve than simpler help desks
• You’ll need knowledgeable staff to maximize its powerful capabilities

Freshdesk

With its intuitive interface and flexible customization, Freshdesk is designed for growing companies wanting an easy-to-use yet customizable help desk. Behind its simple front end, Freshdesk opens the door to several backend customizations like tailored ticket fields, views, branding, automations, and self-service portals. Freshdesk offers four pricing tiers including a free plan of up to 3 agents. At higher tiers, you get advanced features like ITIL frameworks, HR tools, robust security controls, and dedicated account management.

Pricing

• Free: Unlimited free agents with basic features. Free trial available? Yes
• Growth: $15/agent/month, billed annually. Includes automation, marketplace apps, and detailed helpdesk reports. Free trial available? Yes
• Pro: $49/agent/month, billed annually. Adds custom roles, SSL, and ticket views. Free trial available? Yes
• Enterprise: $79/agent/month, billed annually. Fully featured with bots for enterprise support. Free trial available? Yes

Who Is Freshdesk Ideal For?

Freshdesk is great for:

• Mid-market companies needing scalable tools to manage growth
• Businesses wanting straightforward customization without complex coding
• Teams handling support across email, social, chat, etc.
• Non-technical users or those new to help desk software
• Growing businesses needing enterprise-grade features on a budget

Key Features

• iOS and Android apps for mobile devices
• Unified inbox for email, social, chat, voice support
• Team inbox, Assist bots, Slack integration
• Knowledge base for self-service and community forum
• Workflow automation based on CSAT survey triggers
• @mentions, private notes, group assignments for collaboration
• Custom reports for agents, teams, satisfaction, trends

Potential Drawbacks

• Freshdesk lacks some of Zendesk’s sophistication
• Rapidly scaling startups may outgrow it over time
• Data reporting is less flexible than Zendesk

Vision Helpdesk

With its focus on customer support and self-service, Vision Helpdesk streamlines service for small to mid-sized teams. The Help Desk tool provides an efficient single inbox to manage email ticketing. Self-service options like knowledge bases and community forums aim to divert volume away from agents. For larger teams, Vision Helpdesk offers an IT Service Desk with ITIL tools and a Satellite Desk for multi-brand knowledge sharing. This allows the platform to scale along with a company’s growth.

Pricing

• Starter Help Desk: $12 per agent/month, billed annually or $15 month-to-month.
• Pro Help Desk: $20 per agent/month, billed annually or $25 month-to-month.
• Satellite Desk: $24 per agent/month, billed annually or $30 month-to-month.
• Pro Service Desk: $32 per agent/month, billed annually or $40 month-to-month.
• Enterprise Service Desk: $48 per agent/month, billed annually or $60 month-to-month.

Who Is Vision Helpdesk Ideal For?

With an emphasis on high-quality support and self-service, Vision Helpdesk is great for:

• Smaller teams mainly tracking support tickets
• Businesses supporting one or more products or brands
• Businesses wanting to direct questions to self-service
• Businesses needing simple ticket tracking and billing
• Budget-conscious teams wanting essential features

Key Features

• Mobile apps on iOS and Android devices
• Email ticketing to track, prioritize, and manage requests
• Searchable knowledge-base articles with feedback
• Customer community forums for self-service
• Rules-based workflow automation
• Time tracking and ticket billing
• Customization like LDAP integration and multi-brand support

Questions to Answer as You Try to Find the Right Help Desk Software

What’s your business size—large enterprise or mid-market company?

How many support tickets do you handle per month?

How many customer service agents are on your team?

What channels do you need to support—email, phone, chat, social?

Do you need advanced customization and workflows?

Is omnichannel or mainly email support your priority?

Do you need strong analytics and reporting?

What’s your budget for help desk software?

Do you need enterprise-level security and compliance?

Answering questions like these will help you determine if Zendesk, Freshdesk, or Vision Helpdesk is the right fit for your company’s customer support needs.

Bottom Line

All three platforms have merits but differ significantly in their capabilities, ideal customer size, scalability, ease of use, and pricing. Zendesk offers advanced customization and analytics that justify its premium pricing for large, complex organizations.

Freshdesk strikes an optimal balance with strong features and intuitive interfaces for growing mid-market companies.

Vision Helpdesk provides service desk support functionality affordably for smaller teams. Looking at your volume, team size, required features, and channels will help determine the best investment.

In the end, the right solution for your business will depend on your specific business needs and budget.