11 mins read
When it comes to managing customer support efficiently, SaaS help desk software can take a huge load off your team. It centralizes customer queries, automates responses, and tracks support performance - all in one place.
But with so many options available, how do you choose the right one?
In this article, we break down the essential features and list the top SaaS help desk software to help you make an informed decision.
For a SaaS company, customer experience is key, and help desk software provides a centralized platform to intake, track, manage, and respond to customer issues.
For example, if a user has trouble logging into the platform and submits a request, the help desk software makes sure the issue is recorded, sent to the correct support agent, and followed up on until it's fixed. This organized system not only speeds up response times but also helps spot repeated issues, so the company can fix them in future updates.
A wide selection of help desk apps are available in the market for tracking and managing customer support tasks. Here are some of the most popular ones used by SaaS businesses:
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Zendesk made it to the top of the list; after all, the platform has spent years perfecting its ticketing system and has now grown into an all-in-one solution for businesses looking to improve their customer service.
Right from the moment you open the app, you see customer tickets from multiple channels - chat, email, and social media - in a single, easy-to-navigate inbox.
What truly stands out for Zendesk is its advanced reporting system called Zendesk Explore. It comes with an extensive list of pre-built reports, such as ticket volume by day and agent performance metrics, so you can start optimizing your support workflows in no time.
Key features
Centralized hub to track and manage customer queries from multiple channels.
AI agent to automate common queries and provide support around the clock.
Wide range of knowledge base features, such as article categorization, multi-language support, customizable hierarchies, and community forums.
Detailed reporting and insights into customer and agent interactions.
Zendesk Marketplace that offers integrations with over 1,000 apps.
What I like most about Zendesk Support Suite is that it brings together all channels like emails, chats, social media messages, calls, etc. in one place. It is natural and fast, and it is something that you will have organized right away. - Christina Jijie, a Zendesk user, on G2
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 a brief overview:
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Support model | |
| Support Team | $19 per agent/month |
| Suite Professional | $55 per agent/month |
| Suite Enterprise | $155 per agent/month |
| Suite model | |
| Support Team | $55 per agent/month |
| Suite Growth | $89 per agent/month |
| Suite Professional | $115 per agent/month |
| Suite Enterprise | Custom pricing |
Like Zendesk, Intercom brings all your customer support requests under one inbox.
Suppose a customer moves from website chat to email and later contacts you on social media. Even in that case, agents can see the full conversation history and reply through the same channel the customer used. This makes support smooth and connected, no matter how customers reach out.
Pair that with its advanced AI capabilities, and you get a well-rounded system for managing customer relationships. The platform provides two AI-powered assistants designed to improve support workflows: Fin AI Agent and Copilot.
The Fin AI Agent is a customer-facing chatbot that can answer common customer queries by pulling answers from the company's knowledge base.
AI Copilot, on the other hand, functions as a personal assistant for support agents, supplying relevant information during customer interactions.
Key features
Lets customers engage across multiple channels via a shared inbox.
You can set the tone and easily train the AI agent on internal docs for human-like responses.
Proactive engagement features like chats, banner messages, and tooltips to boost user interaction.
Chat widget portal is fully customizable to match your brand style.
Allows for both internal and external knowledge bases,
The AI features recently introduced have been tremendously successful for us. Without this, we would have required an additional nine staff members, whose training would have resulted in poorer outcomes for our customers and enormous strain on our existing support team. - Ross Ponton, an Intercom user, on G2
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: Essential, Advanced, and Expert.
| Plan | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $29 per seat/month | For individuals, startups, and small businesses. |
| Advanced | $85 per seat/month | For growing support teams. |
| Expert | $132 per seat/month | For large support teams. |
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.
Crisp is by far the most well-designed app on this list. The platform has a very welcoming layout, with a toolbar positioned in a way that makes it easier to get started.
At its core, Crisp is both a help desk and a marketing platform. On the help desk front, the major highlight is its omnichannel chatbot, which can be added to any communication channel. This way, visitors can start conversations with your support team anywhere they prefer.
Another impressive feature is Magic Browse. This is a co-browsing tool that allows agents to view a customer's screen in real time so they can guide them and resolve problems a lot faster.
Key features
Omnichannel chatbot that connects with various communication platforms to reach customers anywhere.
Magic Map to track and analyze website visitors' action in real-time.
Magic Browse functionality to view customer screens live and guide them through issues without extra plugins or permissions.
Crisp campaign feature to create triggered email and chat sequences.
AI-powered Magic Reply that suggests personalized, human-like responses based on past interactions.
Pricing
Unlike other platforms on this list, Crisp's pricing is based per workspace, not per agent. It offers a three-tiered pricing model with a free plan, Essentials, and Plus plan.
| Plan | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | For solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. It includes 2 seats and 100 user profiles. |
| Essentials | $89 per month/workspace | For small companies needing a full-featured platform. It offers 10 seats and 50,000 user profiles. |
| Plus | $295 per month/workspace | For medium-sized businesses. It includes 20 seats and 200,000 user profiles. |
An unbeatable price-to-value ratio: Compared to tools like Zendesk or Freshdesk, Crisp offers an insane level of features and flexibility at a fraction of the price. - Nicholas Deswysen, a Crisp user, on G2
If you're looking for help desk software that keeps costs down but has all the essential features, Help Scout deserves your attention. It includes everything a decent help desk should have: a shared inbox, a customizable knowledge base called Docs, and analytics.
When it comes to their shared inbox, the team collaboration tools take the spotlight. You can assign multiple team members, which makes working together easy while avoiding duplicate responses and overlooked messages.
You can also create separate mailboxes and give specific departments access, making it easier to route and resolve issues on various topics.
Key features
Collaboration features like internal notes, mentions, and collision detection to streamline team communication.
Knowledge base called Docs to simplify the creation and management of helpful articles, tutorials, and FAQs.
Dynamic views feature to organize and monitor conversations based on criteria like status, assignment, and priority.
Beacon widget which can be integrated in a website to provide live chat support and quick access to the knowledge base.
CSAT ratings to track customer satisfaction and drive continuous improvement.
The beacon is very nice and easy to embed onto your website. That makes it easy to support website visitors and customers in our app. The help docs system is also nice since it's embedded straight into the help beacon, making it easy for the user to get help without going to the help docs. - Derek Johnson, a Help Scout user, on G2
Pricing
Help Scout pricing is based on the number of contacts you interact with each month rather than per-user fees. Their plans include Free, Standard, Plus, and Pro to suit different business needs.
| Plan | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | For solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. It includes 2 seats and 100 user profiles. |
| Essentials | $89 per month/workspace | For small companies needing a full-featured platform. It offers 10 seats and 50,000 user profiles. |
| Plus | $295 per month/workspace | For medium-sized businesses. It includes 20 seats and 200,000 user profiles. |
BoldDesk is really easy to get started. The platform provides a support email as soon as you are onboarded, where you can send a sample inquiry to experience the ticketing system firsthand.
It offers an email-only ticketing system, meaning the platform automatically converts incoming customer inquiries sent via email into tickets. You can also create a ticket manually in case you need to log an issue that wasn't received via email.
The true power of BoldDesk lies in its knowledge base. With support for both WYSIWYG and Markdown editors, users can easily create content like articles, guides and tutorials. It also features a "Send to Review" option where you can assign drafts to expert team members for verification and refinement.
Key feature
Bolddesk has been the only ticketing system I have tried to offer the functions necessary for a small IT team with a clear-cut division of responsibilities. Creating tasks and subtasks out of tickets, ticket linking with an excellent parent- and child-ticket system, many possibilities for automation, and AI features to take some of the writing burdens. - Bolddesk user, on G2
Pricing
BoldDesk offers three pricing models: agent-based, team-based, and unlimited agents. Each of these three models includes three plans, offering a total of nine options:
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Agent-based model | |
| Scale | $12/agent/month |
| Momentum | $25/agent/month |
| Enterprise | $39/agent/month |
| Team-based model | |
| Scale | $49/month |
| Momentum | $129/month |
| Enterprise | $199/month |
| Unlimited agent model | |
| Essential | $799 per month |
| Professional | $1,499 per month |
| Business | Custom pricing |
To get the most out of your SaaS help desk software, you need features that make customer support easy and effective. Here are some important features to consider when you’re choosing a help desk software for yourself:
Ticket management: Your help desk software should provide a structured way to organize, track, and resolve customer inquiries efficiently. Look for a system that has advanced prioritization and categorization options to ensure no ticket falls through the cracks.
Intelligent ticket routing: For better efficiency, it's important that your help desk software can automatically direct tickets to the right agent or department. Look for software that offers ticket routing based on predefined rules or AI insights, with options for round-robin, skill-based, or priority-based routing.
AI & chatbots: At this point, AI integration is a basic requirement. Your help desk should offer conversational chatbots for handling basic customer queries around the clock. Look for software that also includes AI tools for agents to draft responses faster, improving both speed and accuracy in customer service.
Knowledge base: A comprehensive knowledge base is crucial for self-service support. Choose software that allows for easy setup and management of such a knowledge base, with features like automatic article recommendations, SEO optimization, and multilingual support for global customers.
Reporting and analytics: To continuously improve your help desk operations, strong reporting and analytics tools are a must. These should provide valuable insights into key metrics, such as response times, chatbot performance, and agent effectiveness, helping you make data-driven decisions.
There are several free help desk software solutions available in the market. For example , Help Scout offers a free plan designed for saas business. The free version includes basic features such as ticketing, email support, and limited integrations, which can be great for smaller teams just starting to scale.
Most leading SaaS help desk platforms prioritize customer data protection with robust security measures. These include end-to-end encryption, secure socket layer (SSL) protocols, two-factor authentication (2FA), and frequent security audits. Additionally, many platforms comply with industry standards such as GDPR, CCPA, and SOC 2 to ensure your customers' data is handled with the utmost care.
In the context of help desk software, SLAs help you set clear expectations with customers and hold your support team accountable. Most help desk software solutions come with built-in SLA management tools that allow you to set customized response time targets based on the type or urgency of the ticket.
You made it till the end! Here's what you can do next to grow your business:
Free guides, ebooks, and other resources to master email marketing.
Send forms, carts, calendars, games and more within your emails to boost ROI.
30-min free email consultation with an expert to fix your email marketing.
Table of contents
Fresh Marketing Ideas, Every Week.
Get the latest marketing roundup & news
Trusted by 10000+ brands
