What do you mean by SaaS communication software?
SaaS communication software refers to tools that a Software as a Service (SaaS) company would use to communicate either internally among teams or externally with clients or both.
Depending on the use case, we’ve divided the list into two sections – one for external communications with customers and second for internal communication amongst different teams within the business.
Best external communication software for SaaS businesses
Let's take a look at some of the most popular external communication software for SaaS businesses.
Zendesk
Zendesk is one of the top names in the customer service industry, and it truly lives up to its reputation. The platform makes it super easy for you to communicate with customers by letting you add its messaging tool to websites, mobile apps, and popular platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Slack.
All the interactions are then brought back to one unified ticket dashboard so you can manage tickets and deliver instant support to customers. Plus, it is integrated with built-in automation and AI to help you serve more customers while maintaining a high level of personalization.
Key feature:
Unified ticketing system to consolidate support requests from multiple channels (email, chat, social media).
Live chat integration allows agents to engage customers in real-time directly on your website or app.
Voice support provides an integrated calling system, enabling teams to manage customer inquiries via phone.
Multimedia support such as images, videos, and files for a richer customer interaction.
Automated workflows such as triggers and macros to improve response time.
Pricing:
Zendesk's pricing is based on the number of agents or users. It offers seven main plans: three under "Support" (Team, Professional, Enterprise) and four under "Suite" (Team, Growth, Professional, Enterprise), with prices ranging from $19 to $249 per agent per month, depending on the plan and billing cycle. Here's an overview:
| Plan |
Price |
| Support Plans |
|
| Support team |
$19 per agent/month |
| Suite Professional |
$55 per agent/month |
| Suite Enterprise |
$155 per agent/month |
| Suite Plans |
|
| Support team |
$55 per agent/month |
| Suite growth |
$89 per agent/month |
| Suite Professional |
$115 per agent/month |
| Suite Enterprise |
Custom pricing |
Intercom
Intercom's flagship feature is its live chat tool called Messenger. You can place the live widget on any webpage or within your app to have live and async communication with clients.
In addition to Messenger, the platform offers AI agents, which can take your self-service functionality to the next level. This tool can autonomously communicate and handle more complex inquiries, which enables consistent communication and ultimately strengthens your relationships with customers.
Key features:
Shared inbox feature to allow multiple team members to collaborate and respond to customer conversations from a centralized platform.
Messenger live chat provides real-time messaging capabilities for immediate customer communication.
Automated workflows to help guide customers through the process without waiting for agent assistance.
AI-powered chatbots assist customers by answering queries and providing solutions to frequently asked questions.
Side notes to allow agents to communicate seamlessly on support tickets.
Pricing:
Intercom offers a standard 14-day trial period for potential users to explore its features. When it comes to their paid plans, the platform offers three packages:
| Plans |
Price |
| Essentials |
$29 per seat/month |
| Advanced |
$85 per seat/month |
| Expert |
$132 per seat/month |
In addition to these plans, Intercom gives you the choice to only opt for Fin AI Agent if you're on other platforms for $0.99 per resolution.
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk offers a variety of features to help businesses communicate with customers effectively while keeping things organized.
One of the standout tools is the custom inboxes for tickets. You can create customized inboxes for different types of tickets and set up rules that automatically direct specific tickets to these inboxes.
For example, all tickets labeled "billing" can be routed into a separate inbox, ensuring the right team resolves the issue.
The platform also includes community forums where customers can post their questions and respond to others. Users can vote on threads to express support for ideas, like feature requests. Support agents can also highlight their responses by promoting them to the top, ensuring that users can quickly find answers.
Key features:
Custom inboxes enable businesses to segment tickets based on specific categories, like billing or technical support.
AI chatbots help resolve basic issues without manual intervention, providing a smoother experience for customers.
Community forums allow customers to post questions, helping reduce the support burden by creating a self-service option.
Support agents can communicate internally about tickets and solutions.
Multi-channel support allows communication across email, phone, live chat, and social media, all in one place.
Pricing:
Zoho Desk pricing is based on the number of users and the features required by the business. There are five main plans, including:
| Plans |
Price |
| Free |
$0 per user/month |
| Express |
$7 per user/month |
| Standard |
$14 per user/month |
| Professional |
$23 per user/month |
| Enterprise |
$40 per user/month |
Livechat
LiveChat is a customer communication tool that allows businesses to connect with visitors through a chat widget on their website.
Getting started takes only a few seconds, and their co-pilot feature walks you through every function. The platform UI is extremely modern, with everything clearly labeled, and has a well-organized layout that makes managing conversations effortless.
One of its best features is asynchronous mode, which keeps conversations active even when one party is offline. If a customer sends a message after business hours, it stays in the queue until an agent replies. Once the agent replies, it gets delivered to both the customer's chat widget and email inbox - keeping them informed.
Key features:
Live chat widget to enable real-time support directly on your website, offering immediate assistance to customers.
Asynchronous messaging allows customers to continue conversations even after business hours, providing flexibility.
Mobile app support to let agents manage conversations on the go, ensuring prompt responses from anywhere.
Analytics and reporting to offer detailed insights into chat performance, helping teams optimize service strategies.
CRM integration to streamline customer data management, enabling agents to deliver personalized and efficient support.
Pricing:
LiveChat offers four pricing plans: Starter, Team, Business, and Enterprise. There is no free version, but a 14-day free trial is available for all plans. Its pricing is based on per agent per month.
| Plans |
Pricing ( Billed Annually ) |
| Starter |
$20/month |
| Teams |
$41/month |
| Business |
$59/month |
| Enterprise |
$149+ (custom pricing available) |
Whatsapp Business
If you already use WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business will feel like a natural extension. It works within the familiar interface but adds features designed specifically for businesses, such as automated messages, quick replies, and labels to organize chats. Customers can reach out just as they would in a regular WhatsApp chat, which eliminates the friction of learning a new platform.
Beyond direct messaging, WhatsApp Business lets you create broadcast lists and groups to send updates to multiple customers at once. For larger businesses, the WhatsApp Business API even connects with CRM systems, making it easier to have personalized communication.
Key feature:
Automated greetings to send welcome messages automatically when customers first message your business, setting a professional tone.
Quick replies to reuse common responses, helping businesses reply to customer inquiries faster.
Broadcast lists to send messages to multiple customers at once, facilitating quick updates or promotions.
Labeling conversations to organize chats by category, improving ticket management and workflow.
WhatsApp Business API to integrate with CRM systems and automate workflows, enabling businesses to scale customer support.
Pricing:
WhatsApp Business pricing is based on the number of messages sent, the type of message, and the message's destination. Primarily, there are 3 plans, including:
| Plans |
Price |
| WhatsApp Business App |
Free |
| WhatsApp Business Premium |
Depends on region |
| WhatsApp Business Platform (API) |
Conversation-based pricing; varies by conversation type and region |
Best internal communication software for SaaS businesses
Here are the top internal communication software options for SaaS businesses:
Slack
Slack has become a go-to tool for many teams when it comes to internal collaboration.
Slack's Activity view gives users a convenient overview of all conversations that mention them, threads they're a part of, and emoji reactions to their posts.
Slack also stands out with its Canvas feature, which is a visual interface designed to share a variety of content such as text, images, files, and even embed links, making collaboration more engaging and organized. Instead of sifting through endless threads, teams can use Canvas to share instructions, plans, project information and just about anything related to your business.
Key features:
Threaded conversations to keep discussions organized within channels.
Huddle calls to enable quick voice and video meetings inside Slack.
Slack Canvas to share instructions, plans, and files visually.
Activity view to consolidate mentions, threads, and emoji reactions.
Workflow builder to automate repetitive tasks without coding.
Pricing:
Slack pricing is generally based on a per-user, per-month model, with discounts available for annual billing:
| Plans |
Price |
| Free |
$0 |
| Pro |
$7.25 per person/month |
| Business+ |
$12.50 - $15 per person/month |
| Enterprise grid |
Custom quote |
Flock
If you're looking for a more affordable alternative to Slack that still offers a full set of communication tools, Flock is a noteworthy option. The platform supports the creation of both public and private channels, video conferencing, screen and file sharing, and unlimited chat history, all in one platform.
One of Flock's standout features is its built-in to-do lists called Shared to-dos, which allow users to create tasks within conversations. This makes it easy to follow up on discussed project tasks later on and ensures everything gets done on time.
Key features:
Public and private messaging to engage in one-on-one conversations or create channels for group discussion
Video and voice calling features to host meetings and one-on-one calls without needing external apps.
Shared to-do lists to create, assign, and track tasks directly within chat conversations.
File sharing to send documents, images, and files, with storage integration into Google Drive, Trello, and other storage platforms.
Reminders to set reminders to keep the team aligned and on schedule.
Pricing:
Flock pricing is based on per user per month. It offers three plans, including:
| Plan |
Price (billed annually ) |
| Free |
$0 |
| Pro |
$4.50 per user/month |
| Enterprise |
Custom pricing |
Google Chat
Google Chat is a popular choice for SaaS businesses looking for seamless internal communication. Integrated within the Google Workspace suite, it offers a smooth experience for teams already using Gmail, Google Docs, and other Google tools.
Google Chat is particularly beneficial for its Spaces feature, which facilitates topic-based collaboration among team members. Each Space includes threaded discussions where you can share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations directly about certain topics. This way team members only participate in specific topics without wading through unrelated messages.
Key features:
Group chats to facilitate collaboration among project teams and departments.
Integrated with Google Meet for seamless video calls and meetings.
File sharing to allow easy access to documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
Custom notifications to manage alerts and avoid communication overload.
Cross-platform support for seamless access on desktop and mobile devices.
Pricing:
Google Chat comes as part of the Google Workspace collection, including Gmail, Drive, Meet, Calendar, Sheets, Keep and additional productivity apps. Here are four main Google Workspace plans:
| Plans |
Price |
| Business Starter |
$6 per user/month |
| Business Standard |
$12.50 per user/month |
| Business Plus |
$22 per user/month |
Microsoft Teams
If your organization already has a Microsoft 365 subscription, Teams comes included with the plan, making it the obvious tool for internal communication.
One of Teams' intuitive features is the chat functionality within meetings. For instance, any information shared during a meeting is automatically saved in your team's chat for easy access later.
Teams also support advanced meeting features, such as automatic meeting recording and live captions, which make discussions more focused.
Key features:
Deep Office integration to collaborate on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in real-time.
Meeting recording to automatically save video meetings for later review.
Live captions to offer real-time subtitles for improved accessibility.
Breakout rooms to divide larger meetings into smaller focused groups.
Direct file sharing to attach and share files seamlessly within chats.
Pricing:
Microsoft Teams pricing is based on per user per month. There are four main tiers, including:
| Plans |
Price |
| Microsoft Teams Essentials |
$4.00 per user / month |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic |
$6.00 per user / month |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard |
$12.50 per user / month |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium |
$22.00 per user / month |
