What is the best help desk software for a 50-person company?

For a **50-person company**, the best help desk software for most teams is usually **Freshdesk** because it’s affordable, easy to set up, and has the core features most small/mid-sized companies need: ticketing, email support, automation, knowledge base, SLAs, and reporting.

### Best options by use case

| Use case | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| General customer support | **Freshdesk** | Best balance of price, features, and ease of use |
| More advanced support operations | **Zendesk** | Powerful, scalable, strong integrations, but pricier |
| Simple shared inbox/help desk | **Help Scout** | Clean, easy to use, great for small support teams |
| Internal IT help desk | **Freshservice** or **Jira Service Management** | Better for IT requests, assets, approvals, workflows |
| SaaS/live chat-heavy support | **Intercom** | Excellent chat, onboarding, and customer engagement |
| Budget-conscious teams | **Zoho Desk** | Good features at a lower cost |

### My recommendation

If you want a safe default: **Freshdesk**.
If your company is mainly handling **internal IT requests**, choose **Freshservice**.
If you expect to scale customer support significantly and need deep customization, choose **Zendesk**.

For a typical 50-person company, I’d start with **Freshdesk Growth or Pro**, then upgrade only if you outgrow it.


Best customer support software for small business

Here are some of the best customer support software options for small businesses:

| Software | Best For | Why Choose It |
|---|---|---|
| **Help Scout** | Best overall for small teams | Simple shared inbox, knowledge base, live chat, easy setup |
| **Freshdesk** | Best value | Free/affordable plans, ticketing, automation, multichannel support |
| **Zendesk** | Best for scaling | Powerful ticketing, workflows, integrations, reporting |
| **Zoho Desk** | Best budget option | Low-cost plans, good automation, integrates well with Zoho apps |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Best if you use HubSpot CRM | Combines support, CRM, live chat, and customer history |
| **Intercom** | Best for chat and automation | Strong live chat, bots, product support, customer engagement |
| **Gorgias** | Best for ecommerce | Great for Shopify, order lookup, refunds, social support |
| **Front** | Best shared inbox | Email-style support with team collaboration features |
| **Crisp** | Best simple live chat | Affordable live chat, chatbot, knowledge base, shared inbox |

### My top recommendations

**Best overall for most small businesses:** **Help Scout**
Easy to use, professional, and not overly complex.

**Best free/low-cost choice:** **Freshdesk**
Good ticketing system with a generous starting plan.

**Best for ecommerce:** **Gorgias**
Especially strong if you run a Shopify store.

**Best if you already use HubSpot:** **HubSpot Service Hub**
Great when combined with sales and marketing CRM tools.

### Quick buying advice

Choose software based on your main support channel:

- Mostly email support: **Help Scout** or **Front**
- Need ticketing and automation: **Freshdesk** or **Zendesk**
- Need live chat: **Intercom** or **Crisp**
- Ecommerce support: **Gorgias**
- CRM-based support: **HubSpot Service Hub**

For most small businesses, I’d start with **Help Scout** or **Freshdesk**.


We're a 30 person startup and support email is a mess in a shared Gmail inbox. What customer support software should we buy?

For a 30-person startup moving out of a shared Gmail inbox, I’d recommend:

## Default choice: **Help Scout**
Buy **Help Scout** if your support is mostly email-based and you want something simple, clean, and fast to adopt.

Why:
- Feels like email, but with assignment, ownership, collision detection, tags, saved replies, and reporting
- Easy for a small team to implement
- Good customer experience — not overly “ticket-y”
- Includes docs/knowledge base and basic automation
- Less heavy than Zendesk

Best for: B2B SaaS, services, marketplaces, startups with 2–15 support agents.

---

## If you want the closest upgrade from Gmail: **Front**
Choose **Front** if your team likes the shared inbox model but needs accountability.

Why:
- Very Gmail-like
- Great for internal collaboration
- Handles shared inboxes, assignments, comments, SLA rules
- Good if support involves sales, ops, success, or founders jumping in

Best for: teams where support is collaborative and not purely “ticket queue” based.

---

## If you expect complex support at scale: **Zendesk**
Choose **Zendesk** only if you need heavier workflows.

Why:
- Powerful routing, SLAs, macros, automations, reporting
- Scales well for larger support teams
- Tons of integrations

Downside:
- More setup
- More admin overhead
- Can feel impersonal and bloated for an early startup

Best for: companies expecting multi-channel, multi-tier support, enterprise customers, strict SLA reporting.

---

## If chat/in-app support is central: **Intercom**
Choose **Intercom** if your users need live chat, onboarding messages, product tours, and in-app support.

Why:
- Excellent chat and customer messaging
- Strong for SaaS onboarding and lifecycle comms
- Good AI/support bot features

Downside:
- Can get expensive quickly
- Email ticketing is not as clean as Help Scout or Zendesk

Best for: product-led SaaS companies with lots of in-app customer interaction.

---

# My recommendation

If you’re currently in a messy shared Gmail inbox, buy **Help Scout** unless you have a strong reason not to.

Use this simple rule:

- Mostly email support → **Help Scout**
- Shared inbox + heavy internal collaboration → **Front**
- Complex ticketing/SLAs/enterprise workflows → **Zendesk**
- In-app chat and onboarding are core → **Intercom**

For most 30-person startups, **Help Scout or Front** is the right move. I’d trial both for one week with real support volume, then pick the one your team actually uses consistently.


Recommend a help desk tool for a company with under 100 employees.

I’d recommend **Freshdesk** for a company with under 100 employees.

Why it’s a good fit:
- Easy to set up and use
- Affordable plans, including a free/basic option
- Email, chat, and ticket management in one place
- Automation for routing, canned responses, and SLAs
- Scales well as the company grows
- Good reporting without being overly complex

Best for: small to mid-sized teams that need a reliable, straightforward help desk without enterprise-level complexity.

If your support is very email-centric, also consider **Help Scout**. If you need IT service management specifically, consider **Jira Service Management**.


affordable customer support ticketing software for SMB

Here are affordable customer support ticketing software options for SMBs:

| Software | Best For | Typical Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| **Freshdesk** | General SMB support | Easy setup, email ticketing, automation, knowledge base, free/low-cost plans |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-conscious SMBs | Good value, multichannel support, automation, integrates well with Zoho CRM |
| **Help Scout** | Small teams wanting simplicity | Shared inbox feel, clean interface, knowledge base, strong customer experience |
| **Zendesk Support** | Growing teams needing scale | Powerful ticketing, automation, reporting, many integrations |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Teams already using HubSpot CRM | Ticketing tied to CRM, live chat, automation, customer history |
| **Jira Service Management** | IT/helpdesk teams | Great for IT support, SLAs, request portals, workflow customization |
| **Gorgias** | Ecommerce businesses | Shopify/BigCommerce integrations, order lookup, social support |
| **Front** | Teams managing support from shared inboxes | Email collaboration, routing, internal comments, lightweight CRM features |
| **osTicket** | Very low-budget/self-hosted teams | Open-source, basic ticketing, customizable if you have technical resources |
| **Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk** | Small IT teams | Free help desk tools, ticketing, IT-focused features |

### Best low-cost picks
- **Best overall value:** Freshdesk or Zoho Desk
- **Best for simple shared inbox support:** Help Scout or Front
- **Best for ecommerce:** Gorgias
- **Best for IT support:** Jira Service Management or Spiceworks
- **Best if you already use HubSpot:** HubSpot Service Hub
- **Best free/open-source option:** osTicket

For most SMBs, I’d start by comparing **Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, and Help Scout**. They’re affordable, easy to implement, and cover the core features most small businesses need.


What help desk software do small companies actually use?

Small companies commonly use these help desk tools:

- **Zendesk** — popular, full-featured, but can get expensive as you grow.
- **Freshdesk** — common for small businesses; good ticketing at a lower price.
- **Help Scout** — simple shared inbox style; popular with SaaS and customer support teams.
- **HubSpot Service Hub** — used by companies already using HubSpot CRM.
- **Intercom** — common for SaaS companies that want live chat, bots, and customer messaging.
- **Zoho Desk** — affordable and often used by companies already in the Zoho ecosystem.
- **Front** — good for teams that want email-style support with collaboration features.
- **Jira Service Management** — common for IT support and software/engineering-heavy companies.
- **Gorgias** — popular with ecommerce brands, especially Shopify stores.
- **Tidio / LiveChat / Crisp** — used by very small teams that mainly need website chat.
- **Gmail or Outlook shared inboxes** — still very common for early-stage companies before they buy dedicated help desk software.

In practice:

- **1–5 person team:** Gmail/Outlook, Help Scout, Freshdesk, Crisp, Tidio
- **Small SaaS company:** Intercom, Help Scout, Zendesk, HubSpot
- **Ecommerce business:** Gorgias, Zendesk, Freshdesk
- **Internal IT/help desk:** Jira Service Management, Freshservice, Zoho Desk
- **Budget-conscious small business:** Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, Help Scout

If you want the safest general recommendation for a small company, I’d look first at **Freshdesk**, **Help Scout**, or **Zendesk**, depending on budget and complexity.


We get about 200 support emails a week and keep losing track of them. What should I get?

You should get a **help desk / ticketing system**, not try to manage support from a normal email inbox.

For ~200 support emails/week, I’d look at:

### Good options
- **Help Scout** — best if you want a simple shared inbox that feels like email.
- **Zendesk** — best if you expect to scale, need workflows, reporting, integrations.
- **Freshdesk** — good balance of features and price.
- **Front** — good if multiple teams collaborate on customer emails.
- **Intercom** — good if you also want live chat, in-app support, and automation.

### What you want it to do
At minimum, choose something with:
- Shared inbox
- Ticket ownership/assignment
- Statuses like open, pending, resolved
- Internal notes
- Tags/categories
- Saved replies
- SLA reminders
- Reporting on volume and response time

### My quick recommendation
If you mainly handle email support and want something easy: **Help Scout**.
If you need more automation and scale: **Zendesk** or **Freshdesk**.

You’ll stop losing track because every email becomes a ticket with an owner and a status.


Cheapest help desk software that isn't terrible

**Best cheap help desk software that isn’t terrible:**

### 1. **Zoho Desk** — best overall cheap SaaS
- **Free plan:** up to 3 agents
- Paid plans are usually cheaper than Zendesk/Freshdesk
- Good for email tickets, basic automations, knowledge base, SLAs
- Downside: UI can feel a bit “Zoho-ish” and cluttered

**Pick this if:** you want the cheapest decent hosted help desk.

---

### 2. **Freshdesk** — easiest cheap option
- Has a usable **free plan**
- Paid entry plan is affordable
- Cleaner UI than Zoho for many teams
- Good email ticketing, canned replies, basic automation
- Downside: useful features can get pushed into higher tiers

**Pick this if:** you want something simple and mainstream.

---

### 3. **Help Scout** — better quality, not the cheapest
- Very polished shared inbox/help desk
- Great for small support teams
- Excellent customer experience
- Downside: costs more than Zoho/Freshdesk

**Pick this if:** you care more about “not terrible” than absolute cheapest.

---

### 4. **FreeScout** — cheapest if you can self-host
- Open-source-ish Help Scout alternative
- Very low cost if you already have hosting
- Email ticketing, notes, assignments, modules
- Downside: you manage hosting, updates, backups

**Pick this if:** you’re technical and want the lowest long-term cost.

---

### 5. **Zammad** — solid open-source option
- More full-featured than FreeScout
- Can self-host
- Good ticketing and multi-channel support
- Downside: more setup/admin work

**Pick this if:** you want open-source but more “real help desk” features.

---

## My short recommendation

If you want **cheap SaaS**: **Zoho Desk**
If you want **free/easy**: **Freshdesk Free**
If you can **self-host**: **FreeScout**
If you want **better UX and can pay more**: **Help Scout**

For most small teams trying to spend as little as possible without hating life, I’d start with **Zoho Desk** or **Freshdesk**.


Best customer support tool for a support team of one

For a support team of one, the best customer support tool is usually **Help Scout**.

Why it’s a good fit:

- Simple shared inbox without enterprise complexity
- Great email support workflow
- Saved replies and templates
- Built-in knowledge base
- Good customer history/context
- Easy to set up and maintain solo
- Doesn’t feel as heavy as Zendesk or Salesforce

Good alternatives:

1. **Help Scout** — best overall for solo email-based support
2. **Freshdesk** — best if you want a generous free/low-cost option
3. **Intercom** — best if live chat and in-app support are important
4. **Crisp** — good affordable live chat + inbox option
5. **Zendesk** — powerful, but likely overkill for one person
6. **Front** — good if support happens mostly through email, but pricier

My recommendation:
If you mainly handle support by email, choose **Help Scout**.
If you need live chat on your website, choose **Crisp** or **Intercom**.
If budget is the top priority, start with **Freshdesk**.


customer service software recommendations for mid-market companies

Here are strong customer service software options for mid-market companies, depending on your needs:

| Software | Best For | Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| **Zendesk** | General-purpose customer support | Mature ticketing, omnichannel support, strong integrations, scalable |
| **Freshdesk / Freshworks Customer Service Suite** | Cost-conscious mid-market teams | Easy setup, good value, ticketing, chat, phone, automation |
| **Intercom** | SaaS and digital-first companies | Live chat, in-app support, bots, customer messaging, self-service |
| **Salesforce Service Cloud** | Companies already using Salesforce | Deep CRM integration, advanced workflows, enterprise-grade reporting |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Companies using HubSpot CRM | Simple CRM-connected support, knowledge base, automation, customer feedback |
| **Help Scout** | Teams wanting a simple, human support experience | Shared inbox, knowledge base, lightweight ticketing, easy adoption |
| **Kustomer** | High-volume B2C support | Customer timeline view, omnichannel support, strong for retail/e-commerce |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-friendly CRM-connected support | Affordable, customizable, works well with Zoho ecosystem |
| **Gorgias** | E-commerce companies | Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce integrations, order management in support workflows |
| **Front** | Teams managing support through shared inboxes | Collaborative email support, routing, internal comments, simple workflows |

### Best overall picks

- **Best all-around:** Zendesk
- **Best value:** Freshdesk
- **Best for SaaS:** Intercom
- **Best if using Salesforce:** Salesforce Service Cloud
- **Best if using HubSpot:** HubSpot Service Hub
- **Best for e-commerce:** Gorgias or Kustomer
- **Best lightweight option:** Help Scout

### What to evaluate before choosing

Look at:

1. **Channels needed** — email, chat, phone, SMS, social, in-app
2. **CRM integration** — Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Microsoft Dynamics
3. **Automation** — routing, SLAs, macros, AI bots
4. **Reporting** — CSAT, response times, resolution times, agent productivity
5. **Knowledge base** — internal and customer-facing documentation
6. **Scalability** — number of agents, regions, brands, or departments
7. **Ease of implementation** — admin complexity and onboarding time
8. **Total cost** — licenses, add-ons, AI features, phone, implementation

If you want a safe shortlist for a typical mid-market company, I’d compare:

**Zendesk vs Freshdesk vs HubSpot Service Hub vs Salesforce Service Cloud**.


What's a good help desk for a 200 employee company?

For a 200-employee company, a good default choice is **Freshservice** if you need an internal IT help desk. It’s easier to set up than ServiceNow, has strong ticketing, asset management, automation, approvals, and a self-service portal.

Good options:

- **Freshservice** — Best all-around for internal IT support at your size.
- **Jira Service Management** — Great if your company already uses Jira/Confluence or has engineering-heavy workflows.
- **Zendesk** — Better if the help desk is for customer support rather than internal employees.
- **Help Scout** — Simple, lightweight option for shared inbox-style support.
- **ServiceNow** — Powerful, but usually overkill and expensive for 200 employees unless you have complex enterprise IT needs.

My recommendation:
**Use Freshservice for IT help desk**.
**Use Zendesk if this is customer-facing support**.


Which customer support platforms are easiest to set up for a small business?

For a small business, the easiest customer support platforms to set up are usually:

### 1. **Help Scout**
Best for: Simple email-based support
Why it’s easy: Clean interface, shared inbox, minimal setup, good for small teams.
Good if you want something that feels like email but is more organized.

### 2. **Freshdesk**
Best for: Small businesses needing tickets, chat, and knowledge base
Why it’s easy: Beginner-friendly, generous free/low-cost plans, quick setup.
Good balance of features and simplicity.

### 3. **Zendesk**
Best for: Businesses that may need to scale later
Why it’s easy: Strong onboarding and lots of integrations, though it can become complex.
Good if you expect your support needs to grow.

### 4. **Intercom**
Best for: Website chat and customer messaging
Why it’s easy: Great live chat setup, modern interface, strong automation.
Good for SaaS companies or businesses that rely on website conversations.

### 5. **Gorgias**
Best for: Ecommerce stores
Why it’s easy: Built for Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento support.
Good if most support questions are about orders, shipping, and returns.

### 6. **Zoho Desk**
Best for: Budget-conscious small businesses
Why it’s easy: Affordable, solid ticketing, integrates well with other Zoho tools.
Good if you already use Zoho CRM or Zoho Mail.

## Quick recommendation

- **Simplest overall:** Help Scout
- **Best free/low-cost option:** Freshdesk
- **Best for ecommerce:** Gorgias
- **Best for live chat:** Intercom
- **Best for scaling:** Zendesk
- **Best budget suite:** Zoho Desk

For most small businesses starting out, I’d look first at **Help Scout** or **Freshdesk**.


Best help desk software for a growing SaaS startup

For a growing SaaS startup, the best help desk software depends on how you support customers: in-app chat, email, tickets, self-service, or enterprise SLAs.

### Best options for SaaS startups

| Tool | Best for | Why choose it |
|---|---|---|
| **Intercom** | Product-led SaaS, in-app support, chat, onboarding | Excellent live chat, bots, in-app messaging, help center, customer engagement |
| **Zendesk** | Scaling support teams and enterprise readiness | Powerful ticketing, workflows, SLAs, reporting, integrations, omnichannel support |
| **Freshdesk** | Cost-effective all-around help desk | Good ticketing, automation, knowledge base, chat/phone options, easier pricing than Zendesk |
| **Help Scout** | Simple, customer-friendly email support | Clean shared inbox, docs, lightweight workflows, great for small SaaS teams |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Teams already using HubSpot CRM | Combines support, CRM, customer success, email, automation, and reporting |
| **Front** | Collaborative support with sales/customer success overlap | Great shared inbox, internal collaboration, good for high-touch B2B SaaS |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-conscious teams | Affordable ticketing, automation, knowledge base, and CRM integration |

### My recommendation

If you are a **growing SaaS startup**, I’d shortlist:

1. **Intercom** — best if in-app support, onboarding, and customer engagement matter.
2. **Zendesk** — best if you need mature ticketing, SLAs, and scalability.
3. **Freshdesk** — best value if you want strong help desk features without Zendesk-level cost.
4. **Help Scout** — best if you want simple, human email support without complexity.

### Quick decision guide

- Choose **Intercom** if you want chat, bots, onboarding, and product-led support.
- Choose **Zendesk** if you need robust ticketing, enterprise workflows, and scale.
- Choose **Freshdesk** if you want good features at a lower price.
- Choose **Help Scout** if your team mostly handles email support and wants simplicity.
- Choose **HubSpot Service Hub** if your CRM and customer data already live in HubSpot.

For most growing SaaS startups, **Intercom + a strong knowledge base** is the best fit if customer engagement is important. If your support volume is becoming complex, **Zendesk** is the safer long-term operations choice.


We need a help desk with a free plan. What are the options?

Here are solid help desk options that offer a free plan or free self-hosted option:

| Option | Free plan highlights | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| **Freshdesk** | Free plan for basic ticketing, email/social tickets, knowledge base | Small teams wanting a simple cloud help desk |
| **Zoho Desk** | Free plan for up to a small number of agents, email ticketing, help center basics | Teams already using Zoho apps |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Free CRM-based ticketing, shared inbox, basic automation | Teams that want help desk + CRM together |
| **Jira Service Management** | Free for up to 3 agents, service desk, SLAs, queues, knowledge base integration | IT/helpdesk teams and technical support |
| **Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk** | Free ticketing, user portal, basic IT help desk tools | IT support teams wanting a no-cost hosted tool |
| **osTicket** | Free open-source help desk if self-hosted | Teams comfortable managing their own server |
| **Zammad** | Free if self-hosted, modern ticketing with email/chat/social integrations | Open-source help desk with a nicer UI |
| **HESK** | Free self-hosted ticketing and knowledge base | Very small teams needing something lightweight |

My quick recommendations:

- **Best general free help desk:** Freshdesk
- **Best for IT teams:** Jira Service Management or Spiceworks
- **Best if you use Zoho:** Zoho Desk
- **Best CRM-connected option:** HubSpot Service Hub
- **Best open-source/self-hosted:** Zammad or osTicket

If you want the easiest no-cost cloud option, start with **Freshdesk**, **Zoho Desk**, or **HubSpot Service Hub**.


## Top customer support software for 2026

| Best for | Software | Why it stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | **Zendesk** | Mature ticketing, omnichannel support, automation, AI, large app marketplace |
| Best for growing SaaS teams | **Intercom** | Strong live chat, AI chatbot, customer messaging, onboarding workflows |
| Best for small businesses | **Freshdesk** | Easy to use, affordable, good ticketing and automation |
| Best for sales + support CRM | **HubSpot Service Hub** | Combines support tickets, CRM, knowledge base, automation, and customer success tools |
| Best enterprise platform | **Salesforce Service Cloud** | Deep CRM integration, enterprise workflows, AI, case management, field service options |
| Best for ecommerce | **Gorgias** | Built for Shopify and ecommerce support, order lookup, macros, social support |
| Best for IT/help desk | **Jira Service Management** | Excellent for ITSM, internal support, incident management, developer workflows |
| Best shared inbox | **Help Scout** | Simple email-style support, knowledge base, customer-friendly interface |
| Best AI-first support | **Intercom Fin / Zendesk AI** | Strong AI agents, automated answers, and ticket deflection |
| Best open-source/self-hosted option | **Zammad** or **osTicket** | Good control, lower software cost, customizable deployment |

### Quick recommendations

- Choose **Zendesk** if you want the safest all-around customer support platform.
- Choose **Intercom** if live chat, AI, and SaaS customer engagement are priorities.
- Choose **Freshdesk** if you want strong features at a lower cost.
- Choose **Salesforce Service Cloud** if your company already uses Salesforce.
- Choose **Gorgias** if you run an ecommerce store.
- Choose **Jira Service Management** if you need IT support or internal service desk workflows.
- Choose **Help Scout** if you want a clean, simple support inbox.

### Overall top 5 for 2026

1. **Zendesk**
2. **Intercom**
3. **Freshdesk**
4. **Salesforce Service Cloud**
5. **HubSpot Service Hub**


What support tool integrates well with Shopify for a small online store?

For a small Shopify store, **Gorgias** is one of the best support tools because it integrates deeply with Shopify.

It lets you:

- View customer orders inside the support inbox
- Issue refunds or cancellations from support conversations
- Automate common questions like “Where is my order?”
- Manage email, chat, and social messages in one place

If you want something cheaper and simpler, **Tidio** is also a good Shopify-friendly option, especially for live chat and basic automation.


Small business support software with a customer-facing knowledge base

Here are good small-business support software options that include a customer-facing knowledge base:

| Tool | Best for | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| **Help Scout** | Simple, customer-friendly support | Shared inbox, help center, live chat, workflows, reporting |
| **Zendesk** | Scalable support operations | Ticketing, knowledge base, AI bots, omnichannel support |
| **Freshdesk** | Affordable all-in-one helpdesk | Ticketing, self-service portal, automations, SLA tools |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-conscious teams | Knowledge base, ticketing, CRM integration, automation |
| **Intercom** | SaaS and chat-first support | Messenger, help center, bots, product tours |
| **Gorgias** | Ecommerce businesses | Shopify integration, macros, help center, order management |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Businesses using HubSpot CRM | Tickets, knowledge base, live chat, customer portal |
| **Groove** | Small teams wanting simplicity | Shared inbox, knowledge base, reporting, automations |

If you want something **easy and small-business friendly**, I’d shortlist:

1. **Help Scout** — best overall for simple support + knowledge base
2. **Freshdesk** — best value if you want more helpdesk features
3. **Zoho Desk** — best low-cost option
4. **Intercom** — best if live chat and self-service are important

Key features to look for:

- Public customer-facing knowledge base
- Searchable help articles
- Ticketing or shared inbox
- Live chat or chatbot support
- Article analytics
- Custom domain and branding
- Customer contact history
- Automation/macros for common questions

A strong starter choice for most small businesses is **Help Scout** or **Freshdesk**.


Best customer support software for non-technical support agents

For **non-technical support agents**, the best customer support software is usually one that is easy to learn, has a clean inbox, strong automation, and good help-center tools without requiring complex setup.

## Best overall: **Zendesk**
**Best for:** Growing teams that want a polished, reliable support platform.

**Why it’s good for non-technical agents:**
- Simple ticket inbox
- Easy macros and canned replies
- Good automation without heavy technical work
- Strong knowledge base and live chat options
- Lots of integrations

**Watch out for:** Can get expensive and more complex as you add features.

---

## Easiest to use: **Freshdesk**
**Best for:** Small to mid-sized teams that want something simple and affordable.

**Why it’s good:**
- Very user-friendly interface
- Easy ticket assignment and tagging
- Built-in knowledge base
- Good automation for repetitive questions
- Affordable compared with Zendesk

**Watch out for:** Advanced customization is not as deep as Zendesk.

---

## Best for small businesses: **Help Scout**
**Best for:** Teams that want email-style support without complexity.

**Why it’s good:**
- Feels like a shared inbox
- Very simple for new agents
- Great customer profiles
- Good help center features
- Friendly, low-clutter interface

**Watch out for:** Less powerful for complex enterprise workflows.

---

## Best for chat-first support: **Intercom**
**Best for:** SaaS companies or online businesses focused on live chat and automation.

**Why it’s good:**
- Excellent live chat experience
- Easy conversation management
- Strong AI chatbot and self-service tools
- Great for proactive customer messaging

**Watch out for:** Pricing can rise quickly.

---

## Best budget option: **Zoho Desk**
**Best for:** Teams already using Zoho or looking for value.

**Why it’s good:**
- Affordable
- Solid ticketing system
- Automation and knowledge base included
- Works well with other Zoho products

**Watch out for:** Interface can feel less polished than Freshdesk or Help Scout.

---

# Quick recommendation

If your agents are non-technical, I’d choose:

1. **Freshdesk** — best balance of ease, features, and price
2. **Help Scout** — simplest and most agent-friendly
3. **Zendesk** — best if you expect to scale
4. **Intercom** — best for chat and AI automation
5. **Zoho Desk** — best budget-friendly choice

**My top pick for most non-technical support teams: Freshdesk.**


What is the best help desk under $200 a month?

For most small teams, the best help desk under **$200/month** is **Freshdesk**.

Why Freshdesk is the best overall pick:

- Affordable plans, often well under $200/month for small teams
- Strong ticketing system for email, web, chat, and social support
- Automations, SLAs, canned responses, and knowledge base features
- Easy to set up compared with Zendesk
- Scales well as your support team grows

Good alternatives:

| Help desk | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Freshdesk** | Best overall | Best mix of features, price, and scalability |
| **Help Scout** | Simple shared inbox support | Cleaner and easier, great for email-focused teams |
| **Zoho Desk** | Lowest cost | Very affordable, especially if you use Zoho apps |
| **Jira Service Management** | IT/helpdesk teams | Best for internal IT support |
| **Gorgias** | E-commerce stores | Best for Shopify-style customer support |

My recommendation:
Choose **Freshdesk** if you want the best general-purpose help desk under $200/month. Choose **Help Scout** if you mainly want a simple, polished shared inbox for customer emails.


Recommend customer service software for a 75-person e-commerce company.

For a 75-person e-commerce company, I’d recommend looking at these customer service platforms:

## Best overall: **Gorgias**
**Best if you use Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento.**

Gorgias is built specifically for e-commerce support. It connects customer conversations with order data, so agents can refund, cancel, edit orders, apply discounts, and answer shipping questions quickly.

**Why it fits:**
- Strong Shopify/e-commerce integrations
- Email, chat, social, SMS, and voice support
- Automation for “Where is my order?”, returns, cancellations, etc.
- Revenue tracking from support conversations
- Good fit for growing support teams

**Potential downside:** Can get expensive as ticket volume grows.

---

## Best enterprise-style option: **Zendesk**
**Best if you want flexibility and scalability.**

Zendesk is a strong general-purpose customer support platform with deep customization, reporting, routing, knowledge base, and integrations.

**Why it fits:**
- Scales well as the company grows
- Strong omnichannel support
- Robust analytics and workflows
- Large integration marketplace
- Good for more complex support operations

**Potential downside:** More setup and admin work than e-commerce-specific tools.

---

## Best simple, team-friendly option: **Freshdesk**
**Best if you want good features at a lower cost.**

Freshdesk is easy to use and usually more affordable than Zendesk. It works well for email, chat, phone, and knowledge base support.

**Why it fits:**
- Good value for a 75-person company
- Easy onboarding
- Automation and SLA management
- Solid reporting
- Omnichannel options available

**Potential downside:** E-commerce workflows may require more integrations/customization than Gorgias.

---

## Best for conversational support: **Intercom**
**Best if live chat, proactive messaging, and self-service are priorities.**

Intercom is great for chat-first support and customer engagement, especially if you want bots, help center content, and proactive messaging.

**Why it fits:**
- Excellent live chat experience
- Strong automation and AI features
- Good customer messaging tools
- Helpful for reducing repetitive tickets

**Potential downside:** Less ideal as a traditional ticketing-first platform unless configured carefully.

---

# My recommendation

If you’re primarily an e-commerce business, choose **Gorgias**. It’s purpose-built for online stores and will likely give your support team the fastest productivity gains.

If you expect more complex support operations or multi-brand/global scaling, choose **Zendesk**.

If budget is a major factor, choose **Freshdesk**.


Help desk for a small agency with seasonal support volume

For a small agency with seasonal support volume, the best fit is usually a **cloud-based help desk** that lets you scale agents up/down during busy periods without long-term contracts.

### Recommended approach

**1. Use a lightweight help desk platform**
Good options:
- **Freshdesk** – affordable, easy to set up, good for seasonal teams
- **Zendesk** – more powerful, better if support is complex
- **Help Scout** – simple shared inbox style, great for small teams
- **Zoho Desk** – budget-friendly with solid automation

### Key features to look for
- Shared inbox/ticketing
- Email + web form support
- Knowledge base / FAQs
- Auto-replies and ticket routing
- Temporary or flexible agent seats
- SLA tracking
- Reporting by season/campaign/client
- Integrations with CRM, website, or project management tools

### Suggested setup
- Create support categories like: **Billing, Technical, Client Requests, Urgent Issues**
- Use canned responses for common seasonal questions
- Build a small FAQ/knowledge base before peak season
- Add temporary agents only during high-volume periods
- Track volume by week/month to forecast staffing needs

### Staffing model
- **Off-season:** 1–2 core support agents
- **Peak season:** Add part-time or temporary agents
- Use automation to handle repetitive requests and reduce workload

### Best overall recommendation
For a small agency, I’d start with **Freshdesk or Help Scout** because they are simple, affordable, and easy to scale during seasonal spikes.


Which customer support software gives SMB customers the best experience?

For most SMBs, **Help Scout** gives customers the best support experience.

It’s simple, fast to set up, and feels personal to customers rather than like a heavy “ticketing system.” It works especially well for SMBs that rely on email support, live chat, and a help center.

Good alternatives depending on your needs:

- **Help Scout** — Best overall customer experience for most SMBs
- **Freshdesk** — Best value if you need omnichannel support at a lower cost
- **Zendesk** — Best if you expect to scale into a more complex support operation
- **Intercom** — Best for SaaS companies focused on chat, automation, and in-app support
- **Gorgias** — Best for Shopify/ecommerce businesses

My short recommendation:
**Choose Help Scout for simplicity and customer friendliness; choose Freshdesk if price and multi-channel coverage matter most.**


We're outgrowing our shared inbox for support. What tools should we look at?

Here are good support tools to look at, depending on what you need beyond a shared inbox:

## Best options to evaluate

### 1. **Help Scout**
Best for: Teams moving from a shared inbox who want something simple and customer-friendly.
Strengths:
- Shared inbox feel, but with assignments, collision detection, tags, notes, workflows
- Knowledge base
- Good reporting
- Easy to adopt

Good fit if you want support software without a heavy “ticketing” feel.

---

### 2. **Zendesk**
Best for: Larger or fast-scaling support teams with complex workflows.
Strengths:
- Powerful ticketing and automation
- Omnichannel support: email, chat, phone, social
- Strong reporting and integrations
- Good for multiple teams, SLAs, escalation paths

Good fit if support complexity is increasing and you need structure.

---

### 3. **Freshdesk**
Best for: A cost-effective Zendesk alternative.
Strengths:
- Ticketing, automation, SLAs
- Knowledge base
- Multi-channel support
- Generally easier pricing than Zendesk

Good fit if you want robust features without going too enterprise.

---

### 4. **Intercom**
Best for: Product-led or SaaS companies that rely heavily on live chat and in-app support.
Strengths:
- Excellent chat and in-app messaging
- Bots and automation
- Customer engagement features
- Good for proactive support

Good fit if most support happens inside your product or website.

---

### 5. **Front**
Best for: Teams that like email-style collaboration but need more control.
Strengths:
- Feels like a better shared inbox
- Assignments, comments, rules, analytics
- Good for cross-functional collaboration
- Handles support, sales, ops inboxes well

Good fit if you want to keep the inbox model but make it scalable.

---

### 6. **HubSpot Service Hub**
Best for: Companies already using HubSpot CRM.
Strengths:
- Support tickets tied to CRM records
- Knowledge base
- Chat, inbox, automation
- Good sales/support visibility

Good fit if customer context from sales and marketing matters a lot.

---

### 7. **Jira Service Management**
Best for: Technical support teams closely tied to engineering or IT.
Strengths:
- Strong issue tracking and escalation
- Great Jira integration
- Change/incident/problem management
- Good for B2B technical workflows

Good fit if support often turns into engineering work.

---

### 8. **Gorgias**
Best for: Ecommerce brands.
Strengths:
- Deep Shopify integration
- Order management from the support view
- Macros, automation, social support
- Good for high-volume DTC support

Good fit if you’re an ecommerce company.

---

## Quick recommendation

If you want the smoothest upgrade from a shared inbox, start with:

1. **Help Scout** — simplest support-focused option
2. **Front** — best if you want to preserve the inbox experience
3. **Freshdesk** — best value for fuller ticketing
4. **Zendesk** — best if you expect serious scale or complexity
5. **Intercom** — best if chat/in-app support is central

## What to compare

When evaluating, look at:

- Email ticketing and assignment
- Internal notes and collision detection
- SLAs and escalation rules
- Saved replies/macros
- Reporting: response time, resolution time, volume by tag
- Knowledge base/self-service
- Integrations with CRM, Slack, Jira, Shopify, etc.
- Chat and AI automation
- Pricing per agent and add-ons

For most teams outgrowing a shared inbox, I’d shortlist **Help Scout, Front, Freshdesk, and Zendesk** first.


Best help desk software for a team handling support over email and live chat

For a team handling support over **email and live chat**, the best options are:

### Best overall: **Zendesk**
- Strong email ticketing and live chat
- Good automation, macros, SLAs, reporting
- Scales well for growing support teams
- Best if you need a mature, customizable help desk

### Best value: **Freshdesk + Freshchat**
- Solid email ticketing and live chat
- Easier to set up than Zendesk
- Good automation and knowledge base features
- Usually more affordable for small/mid-sized teams

### Best for customer messaging: **Intercom**
- Excellent live chat and in-app messaging
- Good for SaaS and product-led support
- Strong automation/chatbots
- Less traditional ticketing-focused than Zendesk or Freshdesk

### Best for simple email support: **Help Scout**
- Very clean shared inbox experience
- Great for teams that want simplicity
- Includes live chat via Beacon
- Best for smaller teams that don’t need heavy workflows

### Best for ecommerce: **Gorgias**
- Built for Shopify and ecommerce support
- Handles email, chat, social, and order-related questions well
- Strong ecommerce automation

## Quick recommendation
If you want the safest choice: **Zendesk**.
If you want strong features at a better price: **Freshdesk + Freshchat**.
If live chat and customer messaging are the priority: **Intercom**.
If you want simple, human email support: **Help Scout**.


customer support software for a nonprofit with 40 staff

For a nonprofit with ~40 staff, I’d shortlist these customer support/help desk tools:

| Tool | Best fit | Why consider it |
|---|---|---|
| **Help Scout** | Simple, human-feeling email support | Easy to use, shared inbox, knowledge base, nonprofit-friendly, good for small teams |
| **Freshdesk** | Best overall value | Ticketing, automations, chat, knowledge base, reporting, good pricing tiers |
| **Zendesk** | More advanced support operations | Strong ticketing, workflows, reporting, integrations; can be more expensive/complex |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-conscious nonprofits | Affordable, solid features, integrates well with Zoho CRM/Books/Campaigns |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | If you also need CRM/fundraising contact tracking | Combines support tickets with contact history and marketing/sales CRM tools |
| **Jira Service Management** | Internal IT/help desk requests | Great for staff IT, facilities, HR requests; less ideal for donor/client support |

My recommendation for a 40-person nonprofit:

1. **Freshdesk** — best balance of cost, features, and ease of use.
2. **Help Scout** — best if you mainly handle support by email and want something simple.
3. **Zoho Desk** — best lower-cost option.
4. **Zendesk** — best if you expect support volume to grow significantly.

Key features to look for:
- Shared inbox/ticketing
- Email-to-ticket conversion
- Knowledge base/FAQ
- Automations and canned replies
- Reporting on response times and volume
- Role-based permissions
- Integrations with your CRM, website forms, and email
- Nonprofit discount availability

If you want the simplest choice: **start with Freshdesk or Help Scout** and ask about nonprofit pricing before buying.


What customer support tool should a Series A startup use?

For most Series A startups, **Intercom** is the best default customer support tool.

It’s strong for startups because it combines:

- **Live chat**
- **Shared inbox**
- **Help center**
- **Customer onboarding messages**
- **Basic automation and bots**
- **Product-led support inside your app**

If your support is mostly email-based and you want something simpler/cheaper, consider **Help Scout**.
If you have complex enterprise support needs, SLAs, multiple teams, or high ticket volume, consider **Zendesk**.
If your team lives in email and handles customer conversations collaboratively, consider **Front**.

My recommendation:

- **SaaS / product-led startup:** Intercom
- **Simple email support:** Help Scout
- **Enterprise support ops:** Zendesk
- **High-touch customer success + email workflows:** Front

For a typical Series A SaaS startup, I’d choose **Intercom** unless cost is the main concern.


Simple support software for a small business owner who answers their own tickets

For a small business owner handling tickets personally, choose a **simple shared inbox/helpdesk** rather than a complex enterprise support platform.

### Best simple options

**1. Help Scout**
Best overall for a small business.
- Looks like normal email
- Easy ticket organization
- Saved replies
- Customer history
- Good if you want something polished and simple

**2. Freshdesk**
Good free/low-cost option.
- Free plan available
- Ticketing, tags, automation
- Can grow with you
- Slightly more “software-like” than Help Scout

**3. Zoho Desk**
Good if you already use Zoho products.
- Affordable
- Solid ticketing features
- Works well with Zoho CRM and email

**4. Front**
Best if you want a powerful shared inbox.
- Great for email-based support
- Clean interface
- More expensive than basic tools

**5. Gmail + labels/templates**
Best if you have very low ticket volume.
- Free/simple
- Use labels, filters, canned responses
- Not ideal once tickets start slipping through the cracks

### My recommendation

If you want the simplest professional setup: **Help Scout**.
If budget is the main concern: **Freshdesk**.
If you only get a few support emails per week: stick with **Gmail using labels and templates** until you need more.


Which help desk is best for collaborative support with a small team?

For collaborative support with a small team, **Help Scout** is usually the best fit.

It’s simple to set up and works well for teams that need to share customer emails without stepping on each other. Key collaboration features include:

- Shared inboxes
- Internal notes and @mentions
- Collision detection so two people don’t reply at once
- Assignments and saved replies
- Customer history in one place
- Lightweight automation without much complexity

If your team wants something more ticket-heavy with more customization, **Freshdesk** is a good alternative. If you prefer a shared-inbox style tool for email-first support, **Help Scout** is the stronger choice.


Best customer support software for a subscription box company

For most subscription box companies, the best customer support software is usually **Gorgias** if you run on Shopify or a similar ecommerce stack.

### Best overall: **Gorgias**
Best for subscription box brands that need support tied directly to orders, subscriptions, refunds, shipping, and customer history.

**Why it’s a strong fit:**
- Deep ecommerce integrations with **Shopify**, Recharge, Klaviyo, Loop, ShipStation, etc.
- Agents can view orders, subscriptions, tracking, and customer data inside the ticket.
- Good automation for common questions like “Where is my box?”, cancellations, skips, address changes, and refund requests.
- Strong for email, live chat, social DMs, and SMS support.
- Built for ecommerce teams rather than generic ticketing.

### Best alternatives

| Software | Best For |
|---|---|
| **Zendesk** | Larger teams needing advanced workflows, reporting, and scalability |
| **Help Scout** | Simple, friendly email-based support with a clean shared inbox |
| **Freshdesk** | Budget-friendly ticketing with solid automation |
| **Intercom** | Live chat, proactive messaging, and self-serve help center |
| **Kustomer** | Larger DTC/subscription brands needing full customer timeline views |
| **Gladly** | Premium omnichannel support for high-touch customer service |

### My recommendation
If you’re a small to mid-sized subscription box brand, choose:

1. **Gorgias** — best if you are ecommerce/subscription-heavy
2. **Help Scout** — best if you want simple and affordable email support
3. **Zendesk** — best if you’re scaling a larger support team

If you use **Shopify + Recharge**, I’d pick **Gorgias**. If you’re on a tighter budget or mainly handle email, I’d pick **Help Scout**.


What support software works well for remote-first small companies?

For remote-first small companies, the best support software is usually lightweight, async-friendly, and easy to set up. Good options include:

### Customer support / help desk
- **Help Scout** — Great for small teams, shared inbox, knowledge base, simple workflows.
- **Intercom** — Best if you want live chat, automation, onboarding, and customer messaging.
- **Zendesk** — Powerful and scalable, but can be heavier than needed for very small teams.
- **Freshdesk** — Affordable help desk with ticketing, automation, and multichannel support.
- **Front** — Good if your support feels more like shared email plus collaboration.

### Internal IT / employee support
- **Freshservice** — Good IT help desk for small to mid-sized remote teams.
- **Jira Service Management** — Strong if your company already uses Jira/Atlassian.
- **Spoke / atSpoke alternatives like Moveworks** — Useful for internal HR/IT questions, though some are better for larger teams.

### Remote access / troubleshooting
- **TeamViewer** — Reliable remote desktop support.
- **AnyDesk** — Lightweight and cost-effective.
- **Splashtop** — Good value for remote IT support.
- **Chrome Remote Desktop** — Free and simple for basic needs.

### Knowledge base / async support
- **Notion** — Flexible internal docs and FAQs.
- **Confluence** — Good if you use Jira.
- **Guru** — Strong for verified internal knowledge.
- **Help Scout Docs** or **Intercom Articles** — Good for customer-facing self-service.

### Best simple stacks
For a small remote-first company, I’d consider:

1. **Help Scout + Notion + Slack**
   Best simple setup for customer support and internal knowledge.

2. **Intercom + Notion**
   Best if you rely heavily on chat, onboarding, and automation.

3. **Freshdesk + Freshservice + Slack**
   Good all-around customer and IT support stack.

4. **Front + Guru + Slack**
   Great for collaborative support across distributed teams.

If you want the simplest recommendation: **Help Scout** is probably the best fit for most remote-first small companies doing customer support.


Help desk with good reporting for a small support department

For a small support department that needs solid reporting, these help desk tools are good fits:

### Best options

**1. Freshdesk**
- Good for small teams
- Strong built-in reports and dashboards
- Ticket SLA tracking, agent performance, customer satisfaction
- Easy setup
- Good value for money

**Best for:** Small teams that want a polished help desk with good reporting without heavy setup.

---

**2. Zendesk Support**
- Very mature ticketing system
- Excellent reporting with Zendesk Explore
- Strong automation and SLA management
- Many integrations

**Best for:** Teams expecting to grow or needing more advanced reporting and workflows.

---

**3. Zoho Desk**
- Affordable for small departments
- Good reporting and dashboards
- Integrates well with other Zoho apps
- Includes automation, SLAs, and knowledge base features

**Best for:** Budget-conscious teams that still need solid reporting.

---

**4. Help Scout**
- Simple, clean interface
- Good customer support reporting
- Great for email-based support
- Less complex than Zendesk or Freshdesk

**Best for:** Small teams focused on customer experience and simplicity.

---

**5. Jira Service Management**
- Strong reporting for IT/support workflows
- Great if your team handles technical or internal IT support
- Good SLA and queue management
- Works well with Jira/Confluence

**Best for:** IT help desk or technical support teams.

---

### My recommendation

For most small support departments, I’d start with **Freshdesk** or **Zoho Desk**.

- Choose **Freshdesk** if you want the easiest all-around option with strong reporting.
- Choose **Zoho Desk** if cost is a major factor.
- Choose **Jira Service Management** if this is mainly IT/internal support.

Key reporting features to look for:
- Ticket volume by day/week/month
- First response time
- Resolution time
- SLA compliance
- Agent workload and performance
- Ticket backlog
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Categories/reasons for support requests


Best customer support software for a healthcare practice with 60 employees

For a **60-employee healthcare practice**, I’d shortlist these:

### Best overall helpdesk: **Zendesk Suite**
Good if you need structured support across email, web forms, chat, phone, internal tickets, reporting, and a knowledge base. Scales well for a 60-person practice.
**Important:** Use only a HIPAA-eligible plan and sign a **BAA** with Zendesk before storing PHI.

### Best healthcare-specific patient messaging: **Klara** or **OhMD**
Better than a generic helpdesk if your main needs are patient texting, appointment questions, intake follow-up, refill requests, and front-desk communication.
They’re designed around healthcare workflows and HIPAA-compliant messaging.

### Best enterprise/CRM option: **Salesforce Health Cloud + Service Cloud**
Best if you want deeper CRM, care coordination, patient profiles, analytics, and custom workflows. Powerful but more expensive and heavier to implement.

### Best budget-friendly helpdesk: **Freshdesk**
Good for ticketing, email support, automation, and a knowledge base at a lower cost than Zendesk.
Confirm HIPAA support, security controls, and BAA availability for your specific plan.

---

## My recommendation
If you want a **general customer support platform**, choose **Zendesk Suite**.
If your support is mostly **patient communication**, choose **Klara** or **OhMD**.
If you need a larger CRM-style healthcare platform, choose **Salesforce Health Cloud**.

Before buying, confirm: **HIPAA compliance, BAA, EHR integration, role-based access, audit logs, secure messaging, call recording rules, and data retention controls.**


What's the easiest help desk software to learn?

For most teams, **Help Scout** is probably the easiest help desk software to learn. It feels like a shared email inbox, has a clean interface, and doesn’t require much setup or training.

Other easy options:

- **Freshdesk** — Easy to start, good free/low-cost plans, more traditional ticketing.
- **HubSpot Service Hub** — Easy if you already use HubSpot CRM.
- **Zoho Desk** — Good value, fairly simple, especially if you use Zoho apps.
- **Zendesk** — Very capable, but usually a bit more complex to learn.

**Best overall for easiest learning curve:** Help Scout
**Best easy free/affordable option:** Freshdesk
**Best if you need more advanced support features later:** Zendesk or Freshdesk


Recommend a help desk that also handles live chat for a small company.

For a small company, I’d recommend **Freshdesk + Freshchat** as the best all-around choice.

**Why it’s a good fit:**
- Combines **help desk ticketing** with **live chat**
- Easy to set up and use
- Affordable for small teams
- Supports email, chat, knowledge base, automation, and reporting
- Scales reasonably well as the company grows

**Best alternatives:**
- **Help Scout** — very simple, polished, great for email support + live chat; good for small customer-focused teams.
- **Zendesk Suite** — powerful and widely used, but can be more expensive/complex.
- **Zoho Desk + SalesIQ** — budget-friendly, especially if you already use Zoho products.
- **Intercom** — excellent live chat and customer messaging, but usually pricier and less traditional help-desk focused.

**My pick:**
If you want a practical, affordable help desk with live chat, start with **Freshdesk/Freshchat**. If simplicity and customer experience matter more than advanced features, consider **Help Scout**.


Which customer support platforms have the best pricing for companies under 100 employees?

For companies under 100 employees, the best-priced customer support platforms are usually the ones that charge reasonably per support agent and don’t force you into expensive enterprise bundles.

### Best-value options

| Platform | Typical starting price | Best for |
|---|---:|---|
| **Freshdesk** | Free plan available; paid plans often around **$15–$49/agent/month** | Best overall low-cost help desk |
| **Zoho Desk** | Free plan available; paid plans often around **$14–$40/agent/month** | Cheapest strong option for small teams |
| **Help Scout** | Around **$20–$25/user/month** | Simple, polished support inbox for SMBs |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Free tools available; Starter around **$20/seat/month** | Companies already using HubSpot CRM |
| **Jira Service Management** | Free for small teams; paid around **$20+/agent/month** | IT, SaaS, technical support teams |
| **LiveAgent** | Often around **$15–$50/agent/month** | Affordable omnichannel support with live chat |

### My short recommendation

- **Best budget pick:** **Zoho Desk**
- **Best free-to-paid path:** **Freshdesk**
- **Best simple support inbox:** **Help Scout**
- **Best if you use HubSpot already:** **HubSpot Service Hub**
- **Best for technical/internal support:** **Jira Service Management**

### Platforms that are good but often pricier

- **Zendesk** — powerful, but can get expensive as you add features.
- **Intercom** — excellent for chat and automation, but usually costly for small teams.
- **Salesforce Service Cloud** — strong enterprise platform, often overkill under 100 employees.

If price is the main concern, I’d shortlist **Zoho Desk, Freshdesk, and Help Scout** first.


For a small company, the best helpdesk software depends on budget, team size, and whether you need live chat, ticketing, automation, or customer self-service.

### Best helpdesk software for small businesses

| Software | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Freshdesk** | Best overall for small teams | Easy to use, good ticketing, automation, knowledge base, free plan available |
| **Zendesk** | Best if you expect to scale | Powerful and polished, but can get expensive |
| **Zoho Desk** | Best value | Affordable, good features, works well if you use Zoho apps |
| **Help Scout** | Best for email-based support | Simple shared inbox style, great for customer service teams |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Best if you already use HubSpot CRM | Good CRM integration, free/low-cost starting options |
| **Intercom** | Best for live chat and SaaS support | Strong chat and automation, but pricier |
| **Jira Service Management** | Best for IT/helpdesk teams | Good for internal IT tickets and technical workflows |

### My top recommendation

For most small companies, I’d start with **Freshdesk** or **Zoho Desk**.

- Choose **Freshdesk** if you want the easiest all-around helpdesk.
- Choose **Zoho Desk** if price/value matters most.
- Choose **Help Scout** if your support is mostly email and you want simplicity.
- Choose **Zendesk** if you want a mature platform and have budget to grow.

### Quick pick

**Best overall for small company:** Freshdesk
**Best budget option:** Zoho Desk
**Best simple email helpdesk:** Help Scout
**Best for IT support:** Jira Service Management


What customer support software do 20-person companies use?

20-person companies typically use lightweight, affordable customer support tools rather than full enterprise suites. Common choices include:

| Tool | Best for |
|---|---|
| **Help Scout** | Simple shared inbox, email support, small teams |
| **Freshdesk** | Affordable ticketing, knowledge base, basic automation |
| **Zendesk** | Scalable support operations, tickets, chat, help center |
| **Intercom** | SaaS companies, live chat, in-app messaging, onboarding |
| **Front** | Teams that want support to feel like email + collaboration |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Companies already using HubSpot CRM |
| **Zoho Desk** | Budget-conscious teams, especially using Zoho apps |
| **Gorgias** | Ecommerce brands using Shopify |
| **Jira Service Management** | Technical support, IT, developer-heavy companies |
| **Crisp / Tidio / LiveChat** | Very small teams needing chat-first support |

For a 20-person company, the most common practical picks are usually **Help Scout**, **Freshdesk**, **Zendesk**, **Intercom**, or **Front**.

A simple rule of thumb:

- **Email-heavy support:** Help Scout or Front
- **Ticketing + help center:** Freshdesk or Zendesk
- **SaaS/in-app support:** Intercom
- **Ecommerce:** Gorgias
- **Already on HubSpot:** HubSpot Service Hub
- **Need cheap and functional:** Zoho Desk or Freshdesk

If the company only has 1–3 support people, **Help Scout or Freshdesk** are often the easiest starting points.


I run a 120-person home services company. What help desk software fits us?

For a 120-person home services company, I’d shortlist these:

| Best fit | Software | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall for customer support | **Freshdesk** | Easy to set up, good phone/email/chat support, automations, reasonable pricing, strong fit for mid-sized service businesses |
| More powerful but pricier | **Zendesk** | Best if you have higher ticket volume, multiple locations, advanced reporting, QA, SLAs, and integrations |
| Best if you use field-service workflows | **ServiceTitan** | Better if your “help desk” is really customer booking, dispatch, job updates, estimates, and technician workflows |
| Simple shared inbox | **Help Scout** | Good if you mainly need email-based support without heavy complexity |
| Internal IT/help desk | **Freshservice** | Better for employee IT requests, equipment, onboarding/offboarding, and internal ticketing |

My recommendation: **Freshdesk** if you need a true customer help desk for calls, emails, web forms, chat, and follow-ups. It’s usually the best balance of capability, ease of use, and cost for a 120-person company.

If your team is primarily managing service appointments, dispatch, technicians, estimates, and customer communications around jobs, look at **ServiceTitan** or make sure your help desk integrates tightly with your field-service platform.

Key features I’d prioritize:

1. **Phone + email ticketing**
2. **Customer history in one place**
3. **Automated routing by service type/location**
4. **SLA tracking for urgent jobs**
5. **Knowledge base for common customer questions**
6. **Integration with your CRM/field-service system**
7. **Mobile-friendly agent tools**
8. **Reporting by team, location, issue type, and response time**

A practical setup would be:

- **Freshdesk** for customer support
- Integrated with **ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, Salesforce, or your CRM**
- Separate categories for: scheduling, billing, complaints, warranty, estimates, technician follow-up, and emergency service

If you tell me what system you use today for dispatch/CRM — ServiceTitan, Jobber, Housecall Pro, Salesforce, etc. — I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.


Best support software for high-volume ticket handling at a small retail brand

For a small retail brand with **high-volume customer tickets**, the best choice is usually:

## Best overall: **Gorgias**
Best if you sell through **Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento**.

**Why it fits retail:**
- Built specifically for ecommerce support
- Pulls order, shipping, refund, and customer data into the ticket view
- Strong automations for “Where is my order?”, returns, cancellations, discounts, etc.
- Handles email, chat, social, SMS, and Instagram/Facebook messages
- Good for reducing repetitive tickets with macros and rules

**Best for:** Small-to-mid retail brands that need fast ecommerce support workflows.

---

## Best alternatives

### **Zendesk**
Best if you need a more powerful, scalable support platform.

**Pros:**
- Excellent for high ticket volume
- Strong routing, SLAs, reporting, AI, and knowledge base
- Works across many channels

**Cons:**
- More complex to set up
- Can get expensive

**Best for:** Brands expecting serious growth or needing enterprise-style workflows.

---

### **Freshdesk**
Best value option.

**Pros:**
- Affordable
- Good automation and ticket routing
- Easy to use
- Solid multichannel support

**Cons:**
- Ecommerce integrations are not as specialized as Gorgias

**Best for:** Small teams that need strong ticket handling without high cost.

---

### **Re:amaze**
Good ecommerce-focused option with live chat and social messaging.

**Pros:**
- Strong Shopify support
- Easy to use
- Good for chat-heavy brands

**Cons:**
- Less robust than Zendesk for complex operations

---

## My recommendation
If you’re a small retail/ecommerce brand, choose:

**Gorgias** if your main store is on Shopify or another ecommerce platform.
**Freshdesk** if budget is the top priority.
**Zendesk** if you need the most scalable and customizable system.

For most small retail brands handling lots of order-status, return, and shipping questions, **Gorgias is the best fit**.


What help desk should I choose if we only get a few tickets a day?

If you only get a few tickets a day, choose a **simple shared-inbox style help desk** rather than a heavy ITSM platform.

Good options:

- **Help Scout** — best if you want a clean, simple support inbox with assignments, notes, and customer history.
- **Freshdesk Free/Starter** — good budget option with basic ticketing, automation, and knowledge base features.
- **Zendesk** — only if you expect to scale soon; it may be more than you need right now.
- **Gmail/Google Workspace shared inbox** — enough if volume is very low and you do not need reporting or workflows.

My recommendation: **Help Scout or Freshdesk**.
If cost is the main concern, start with **Freshdesk**. If ease of use and simplicity matter most, choose **Help Scout**.


Modern alternatives to legacy help desk software for SMBs

Here are modern help desk software alternatives for SMBs looking to replace legacy ticketing systems:

| Platform | Best For | Key Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| **Freshdesk** | General SMB support teams | Easy setup, ticketing, automation, knowledge base, affordable plans |
| **Zendesk** | Growing support teams | Strong omnichannel support, integrations, reporting, scalability |
| **Help Scout** | Customer-focused SMBs | Shared inbox, simple UI, knowledge base, great customer experience |
| **Zoho Desk** | Cost-conscious SMBs | Good features for the price, automation, CRM integration |
| **Intercom** | SaaS and product-led businesses | Live chat, bots, in-app messaging, customer engagement |
| **HubSpot Service Hub** | Teams using HubSpot CRM | CRM-native support, ticketing, knowledge base, customer portals |
| **Front** | Teams managing support via email | Collaborative inbox, internal comments, workflow automation |
| **Gorgias** | Ecommerce businesses | Shopify integration, order management, macros, automation |
| **Jira Service Management** | IT and technical support teams | ITSM workflows, asset management, incident management |
| **Kayako** | SMBs needing simple multichannel support | Email, live chat, customer journey visibility |
| **Crisp** | Small teams needing chat-first support | Live chat, shared inbox, chatbot, affordable pricing |
| **LiveAgent** | SMBs wanting all-in-one support | Ticketing, chat, call center, social support |

### Best picks by use case

- **Best overall SMB help desk:** Freshdesk
- **Best for simple email-based support:** Help Scout or Front
- **Best for ecommerce:** Gorgias
- **Best for SaaS companies:** Intercom or Zendesk
- **Best budget option:** Zoho Desk
- **Best for IT support:** Jira Service Management
- **Best if you already use HubSpot:** HubSpot Service Hub

### Features to look for when replacing legacy help desk software

- Cloud-based ticketing
- Shared inbox
- Automation and routing
- AI-assisted replies or chatbots
- Knowledge base/self-service portal
- Omnichannel support: email, chat, phone, social
- SLA management
- CRM and ecommerce integrations
- Reporting and CSAT surveys
- Easy migration from old ticketing systems

For most SMBs, **Freshdesk, Help Scout, Zoho Desk, and HubSpot Service Hub** are the most practical modern replacements for outdated help desk software.


Best customer support software for a professional services firm under 100 people

For a professional services firm under 100 people, I’d shortlist these:

## Best overall: **Help Scout**
Best if your support is mostly email-based client service.

**Why it fits:**
- Shared inboxes for client support
- Easy for non-technical teams to use
- Knowledge base included
- Good reporting without heavy setup
- Feels more personal than a traditional ticketing system

**Best for:** consulting, accounting, legal, agencies, implementation/support teams.

---

## Best if you need more formal ticketing: **Zendesk**
Best if you expect higher support volume, SLAs, escalation rules, or multiple support teams.

**Pros:**
- Very scalable
- Strong automation and routing
- Robust reporting
- Large integration ecosystem

**Cons:**
- Can feel heavier and more expensive than needed for smaller firms.

---

## Best value: **Freshdesk**
Good balance of features, usability, and cost.

**Pros:**
- Ticketing, automation, knowledge base
- Affordable plans
- Easier to implement than Zendesk

**Best for:** firms that want traditional support software without enterprise complexity.

---

## Best for client communication across email + chat: **Front**
Great if support, account management, and operations all collaborate on client emails.

**Pros:**
- Shared inbox with internal comments
- Good for relationship-based client service
- Keeps email-style workflow

**Cons:**
- Less “ticketing-first” than Zendesk or Freshdesk.

---

## Best if you already use HubSpot: **HubSpot Service Hub**
Good choice if your sales/marketing/client data already lives in HubSpot.

**Pros:**
- CRM-native support
- Tickets, knowledge base, automation
- Great client visibility across teams

**Cons:**
- Can get expensive as needs grow.

---

# My recommendation

For most professional services firms under 100 people:

1. **Help Scout** — best simple, polished option
2. **Front** — best if client email collaboration matters most
3. **Freshdesk** — best budget-friendly ticketing system
4. **Zendesk** — best if you need advanced support operations
5. **HubSpot Service Hub** — best if you already use HubSpot

If you’re unsure, start with **Help Scout** unless you know you need heavy ticketing, strict SLAs, or complex workflows.


What help desk has the best mobile app for small business support teams?

For most small business support teams, **Freshdesk** is the best help desk choice if the **mobile app** is a priority.

Why Freshdesk is a strong fit:

- Solid **iOS and Android apps**
- Easy ticket viewing, replying, assigning, and closing on mobile
- Good push notifications
- Affordable plans for small teams
- Includes email, chat, knowledge base, automation, and reporting
- Easier to set up than heavier tools like Zendesk

Good alternatives:

- **Help Scout** — best if you want a simple, clean shared inbox experience.
- **Zendesk** — best if you expect to scale and need more advanced workflows, but it can be more expensive and complex.
- **Zoho Desk** — best budget-friendly option, especially if you already use Zoho apps.

My recommendation: **Freshdesk** for the best balance of mobile usability, features, and small-business pricing.


Which customer support software is best value for money for a small company?

For most small companies, **Freshdesk** is usually the best value-for-money customer support software.

### Best overall value: **Freshdesk**
**Why it’s good for small teams:**
- Free or low-cost entry plans
- Email ticketing, knowledge base, automation, SLAs
- Easy to set up
- Scales reasonably as the company grows
- Good balance of features vs. price

Best for: small businesses that want a proper help desk without spending too much.

---

### Other strong options

#### **Zoho Desk**
Best if you already use Zoho products.
It is often very cost-effective and has solid ticketing, automation, and reporting.

#### **Help Scout**
Best for teams that want a simple, polished shared inbox.
It’s very user-friendly, but can cost more as your team grows.

#### **Zendesk**
Powerful but often not the best value for a small company.
Better for larger teams with complex support needs.

#### **Crisp**
Good value if you need live chat, shared inbox, and basic CRM-style features in one tool.

---

### My recommendation
If you want the safest value choice: **Freshdesk**.
If you use Zoho already: **Zoho Desk**.
If you want the simplest experience: **Help Scout**.


What is the best help desk software for a 50-person company?

For a **50-person company**, the best overall choice is usually **Zendesk** if you want the most flexible, scalable option, while **Freshdesk** is often the best value for smaller teams that want strong features at a lower cost.[6][16][13]

If you want a faster recommendation by use case:

- **Best overall:** **Zendesk** — strong automation, routing, reporting, and broad integrations, making it a good fit for a 50-person team that expects growth.[11][16]
- **Best value:** **Freshdesk** — commonly recommended for budget-conscious small businesses and teams that want a simpler rollout.[13][16]
- **Best for internal IT support:** **Jira Service Management** — a better fit if the help desk is mainly for employee IT requests and technical workflows.[16]
- **Best for simplicity:** **Help Scout** — a good option if you want an email-first shared inbox with less complexity.[16]

A practical way to choose is to match the software to your ticket volume and workflows, then compare automation, AI features, reporting, integrations, and pricing.[1][12] For a 50-person company, the main decision is usually whether you need a *simple shared inbox* or a more *structured service desk* with approval flows, SLAs, and advanced reporting.[1][12]

If you want one default recommendation without more details, I’d pick **Zendesk** for the broadest fit, and **Freshdesk** if cost matters most.[6][16][3]


Best customer support software for small business

For most **small businesses**, the best starting point is **Help Scout** if you want a simple shared inbox with a gentle learning curve, while **Zoho Desk** or **Freshdesk** are stronger if you need more automation and multichannel support.[1][4] If you run an ecommerce business, especially on Shopify, **Gorgias** or **Tidio** are often better fits because they emphasize chat-first and commerce-focused workflows.[1][5][9]

A practical way to choose:

- **Help Scout** — best for a small team that mainly needs a clean, easy shared inbox.[1]
- **Zoho Desk** — best for small businesses that want multichannel support, workflow automation, and AI assistance.[4]
- **Freshdesk** — good value if you want a broader helpdesk suite and expect to grow.[1][2]
- **Tidio** — best for small businesses that want a lightweight, affordable option with strong chat support.[9]
- **Gorgias** — best for ecommerce support, especially if your store runs on Shopify.[1][5]

If you want the simplest recommendation: **Help Scout for ease of use, Zoho Desk for automation, and Gorgias for ecommerce**.[1][4][5][9]

If you want, I can also narrow this down by **budget**, **team size**, or **whether you need live chat, email, phone, or AI automation**.


We're a 30 person startup and support email is a mess in a shared Gmail inbox. What customer support software should we buy?

For a **30-person startup** with a messy shared Gmail inbox, I’d buy **Freshdesk** first: it centralizes email into tickets, adds automation and collision detection, and is repeatedly positioned as a strong fit for small teams that want email-first support without overcomplicating the workflow.[3][2][15]

If you want the shortest decision rule:

- **Pick Freshdesk** if support is mostly **email** and you want something your team can adopt quickly.[3][15][2]
- **Pick Zendesk** if you expect **more complex omnichannel support**, stronger SLA/process control, or you’re already acting like a more mature support org.[4][12]
- **Pick Intercom** if support is tightly tied to **product usage, in-app messaging, and automation** rather than a classic inbox-first helpdesk.[2][8]
- **Pick HubSpot Service Hub** if your support team needs deep **CRM context** and you already use HubSpot heavily.[4]
- **Pick Plain** if you’re a **B2B technical startup** and want a more API-first, Slack-native workflow.[8]

For your situation, the best default is usually **Freshdesk** because it directly solves the “shared Gmail inbox is a mess” problem at the lowest operational complexity, while still giving room to grow into chat, phone, and automation later.[3][15][2]

A practical buying filter for a 30-person startup:

- If support volume is moderate and the team mainly lives in email, choose **Freshdesk**.[3][15]
- If you need more rigorous routing, SLAs, and reporting, choose **Zendesk**.[4][12]
- If support should happen inside the product and you want proactive messaging, choose **Intercom**.[8][2]
- If your team is highly technical and works in Slack, choose **Plain**.[8]

If you want, I can turn this into a **3-tool shortlist with estimated cost, setup time, and migration risk** for your team size.


Recommend a help desk tool for a company with under 100 employees.

For a company with **under 100 employees**, I’d recommend **Help Scout** as the safest default choice: it is consistently positioned as a strong option for small businesses because it is simple, email-first, and designed for easy team collaboration.[5][13]

If you want a quick shortlist by need:

- **Help Scout** — best overall for a small team that wants a clean shared inbox, automation, and an easy setup.[5][13]
- **Freshdesk** — best if you want a **free plan** or low-cost entry with room to scale.[10][11]
- **Zoho Desk** — best if **affordability** is the top priority.[4]
- **Featurebase** — best for modern product-led SaaS teams that want support plus feedback/knowledge base in one tool.[4]
- **Desk365** — worth considering for a small team that wants cloud-based, affordable ticketing with automation.[1]

If you tell me whether you mainly support customers by **email**, **chat**, or **phone**, I can narrow this to the single best fit for your company.


affordable customer support ticketing software for SMB

For **affordable SMB customer support ticketing software**, the strongest low-cost options in the results are **Zoho Desk**, **Freshdesk**, **Help Scout**, and **osTicket** if you want self-hosted zero-license-cost software.[1][3][11][17]

- **Zoho Desk** is the cheapest mainstream paid option in these results, starting at **$7/agent/month**, and it also has a free plan for up to **3 agents**.[1][3][11][18]
- **Freshdesk** is a common budget pick, starting at **$15/agent/month**, with a free tier that covers small teams.[1][9][11][18]
- **Help Scout** starts at **$20–$25/user/month** depending on the source, and is positioned as a lightweight, email-first support tool.[1][8][11][17]
- **osTicket** is **free** if you are willing to self-host and handle setup/maintenance yourself.[1][4]
- **Crisp** is another affordable option, with a **free plan** and paid plans starting at **$95/month for 10 agents** in one source, which can be cost-effective for small teams that prefer flat pricing over per-agent pricing.[8]

If you want the **best value-for-money default choice**, **Zoho Desk** is the clearest fit from the results because it combines the lowest starting price with a free tier and SMB-focused features.[1][3][11][18]

If you want the **simplest recommendation by use case**:
- **Lowest cost:** Zoho Desk or osTicket.[1][3][4]
- **Easiest mainstream SaaS for SMBs:** Freshdesk.[1][9][11]
- **Email-first, human support style:** Help Scout.[1][8][17]
- **No per-agent pricing:** Crisp.[8]

If you want, I can turn this into a **3-option shortlist** based on your team size, budget, and whether you need email, live chat, or omnichannel support.


What help desk software do small companies actually use?

Small companies most commonly use **Freshdesk, Help Scout, Zoho Desk, Zendesk, Hiver, Front, and HubSpot Service Hub**—these show up repeatedly across small-business roundups and comparison guides.[2][6][7][10][15]

The pattern is fairly consistent:

- **Help Scout** for email-first teams that want a shared inbox feel.[6][7][10][15]
- **Freshdesk** for budget-conscious teams that still want omnichannel support and automation.[2][6][7][8][12][15]
- **Zoho Desk** for small businesses that want the lowest-cost mainstream option, especially if they already use Zoho.[2][6][10][15][17]
- **Zendesk** for teams that expect to grow and want deeper customization and routing.[1][6][10][13][15]
- **Hiver** or **Front** for companies that live in Gmail or want collaborative shared inbox workflows.[2][6][15]
- **HubSpot Service Hub** for small companies already using HubSpot CRM.[2][3][7][15]

What small companies **actually use** tends to depend on setup and budget more than company size:

- **Email-centric support:** Help Scout, Hiver, Front.[6][7][15]
- **Low-budget all-around ticketing:** Zoho Desk, Freshdesk.[2][6][10][15][17]
- **Scaling/feature-heavy teams:** Zendesk, HelpDesk, HappyFox.[1][6][10][13][16]
- **Ecommerce/support-heavy teams:** Gorgias and Tidio appear often in small-business lists.[2][9][15]
- **IT/help desk for technical teams:** Jira Service Management, SysAid, SolarWinds, ManageEngine.[1][2][15][16][19]

If you want the shortest practical answer: **Freshdesk and Help Scout are the most broadly “small-company normal,” while Zoho Desk is the budget pick and Zendesk is the scale-up pick.**[2][6][7][10][15]


We get about 200 support emails a week and keep losing track of them. What should I get?

If these are **support emails** rather than your personal inbox, you should get a **shared inbox or help desk**, not just a nicer email app.[3][9][14] For your volume, a help desk like **Help Scout** or **Zendesk**, or a shared inbox tool like **Front** or **Missive**, is the best fit because they add assignment, collision detection, tags, and visibility so messages do not get lost.[3][11][14]

What to choose depends on how formal your support process is:

- **Help desk**: best if you need tickets, ownership, SLAs, reporting, and a real support queue.[11][14]
- **Shared inbox**: best if you mainly need a team to manage `support@` together with comments, assignment, and fewer duplicates.[3][9][14]
- **AI inbox helper** like **SaneBox** or **Superhuman**: useful for personal inbox speed, but not the best primary solution for a team losing support emails.[1][8][14]

A practical recommendation for **~200 support emails/week** is:
- If you have **2+ people** handling support, start with **Front** or **Help Scout**.[9][14]
- If you need more structured support operations, choose **Zendesk**.[11][14]
- If your main pain is just inbox clutter before you move to a full system, add **SaneBox** or **Clean Email** as a cleanup layer, but not as the core support workflow.[3][8]

The key reason is that effective high-volume email management relies on a decision framework and team collaboration features, not just faster processing.[1]


Cheapest help desk software that isn't terrible

If you want the **cheapest help desk software that still isn’t awful**, the best bets are **Freshdesk Free**, **Zoho Desk Free**, and **FreeScout** if you can self-host it.[1][2][11]

- **Best overall cheap pick:** **Freshdesk Free** — free for up to **10 agents**, which makes it the strongest no-cost SaaS option for small teams.[1][2]
- **Best cheapest if you can self-host:** **FreeScout** — fully free and open-source, so the software cost is **$0**; you only pay for hosting if you run it yourself.[1][11]
- **Best budget paid option:** **Zoho Desk** — free for up to **3 agents**, with paid plans starting around **$7/user/month** according to multiple roundups.[1][8][18]
- **Also worth a look:** **HESK** — a self-hosted option that can be extremely cheap if you’re comfortable with basic server setup, with one source estimating about **$10/month hosting**.[2]

If you want the shortest practical answer: **Freshdesk Free** is usually the safest “cheap but not terrible” choice for most small teams, while **FreeScout** is the absolute cheapest if self-hosting is acceptable.[1][2][11]

A quick rule of thumb:
- Pick **Freshdesk Free** if you want the easiest free SaaS option with the biggest free-agent limit.[1][2]
- Pick **Zoho Desk** if you want a low-cost paid upgrade path after the free tier.[1][8][18]
- Pick **FreeScout** if minimizing cash spend matters more than convenience.[1][11]


Best customer support tool for a support team of one

For a **support team of one**, the strongest all-around choice is usually **Help Scout** or **SupportBee** because both are repeatedly positioned as best for *small teams* and offer a calm, email-first workflow that is easier to manage solo.[5][1]

If you want the simplest decision:
- **Help Scout**: best overall if you want a polished, shared-inbox style tool that stays lightweight for one person.[8][5]
- **SupportBee**: best if your support is mostly email and you want a straightforward, low-friction help desk.[5]
- **Tidio**: better if you need live chat and more website-conversion style support, but it is less email-centric than Help Scout or SupportBee.[1][10]

What matters most for a team of one:
- **Fast setup and low admin overhead** are more important than advanced routing or deep team workflows.[18]
- A **free or low-cost plan** can be enough early on, since several tools in this category offer basic ticketing and email support at low starting prices.[3][4]
- If you already use a CRM or want AI-heavy automation, **HubSpot Service Hub** or **Zoho Desk** can be good alternatives, but they are usually more complex than a solo operator needs.[10]

If you want the shortest recommendation: **start with Help Scout** unless you are strictly email-only, in which case **SupportBee** is a very strong fit.[5][8]


customer service software recommendations for mid-market companies

For **mid-market companies**, the strongest customer service software options are typically **Zendesk**, **Freshdesk/Freshworks**, **Nextiva**, and **Front**, with **Gladly** and **RingCentral** worth considering for more specialized contact-center or omnichannel needs.[4][8][11][19]

A practical shortlist based on the sources is:

- **Zendesk** — best for **scalability** and broad **integrations**, especially if you expect complex support operations or rapid growth.[4][9][16]
- **Freshdesk / Freshworks** — best for **ease of use** and **value**, with omnichannel support and a strong fit for SMB-to-mid-market teams.[4][10][12]
- **Nextiva** — best for teams that want a **unified communications + customer experience** platform, especially if voice/telephony is central.[4][8]
- **Front** — best for collaborative support teams that need **shared inbox workflows** and a lighter operational setup.[11]
- **Gladly** — best for companies prioritizing a **customer-centric** support model and personalized service.[19]
- **RingCentral** — best for **contact-center** use cases where phone and omnichannel support matter most.[8][17]

If you want the **best general-purpose choice**, **Zendesk** is the safest default for most mid-market organizations because it is repeatedly positioned as an all-round helpdesk/omnichannel platform with strong scalability.[4][9][16] If your priority is **lower complexity and better value**, **Freshdesk/Freshworks** is the strongest alternative.[4][10][12]

When evaluating vendors, mid-market buyers usually care most about:

- **Omnichannel support**: email, chat, phone, social, and messaging in one place.[4][8][10]
- **Automation and routing**: to reduce agent workload and improve response times.[4][10][16]
- **Reporting and dashboards**: for SLA tracking and team performance.[10][15]
- **Integrations**: especially CRM, telephony, and workforce tools.[4][9][16]
- **Pricing structure**: mid-market plans often move from roughly **$30–$60/user/month** for business tiers to higher enterprise pricing for advanced automation and analytics.[15]

If you want, I can also turn this into a **ranked recommendation by use case** such as *best for B2B SaaS, best for phone-heavy support, best for ecommerce, or best budget pick*.


What's a good help desk for a 200 employee company?

For a **200-employee company**, a strong default is **Freshdesk** if you want a scalable, modern help desk without enterprise complexity; it’s commonly positioned for small, mid-sized, and enterprise businesses, and its pricing starts around **$19 per agent/month** in one current comparison.[14]

If your needs are more IT-service-management focused, **HaloITSM** is a strong contender: PCMag names it **Best Overall** among IT help desk tools for 2026, and ITSM-oriented guidance emphasizes features like asset tracking, change management, and employee portals.[1][3]

A practical way to choose is:

- **Freshdesk** — best general-purpose choice for a 200-person company that wants flexibility, multichannel support, and simpler administration.[14]
- **Zendesk** — good if you prioritize customer/employee service workflows and are comfortable with a higher starting price of about **$55/user/month**.[4][7]
- **HaloITSM** — best if this is mainly an internal IT help desk with ITSM needs like approvals, escalations, and asset management.[1][3]
- **Help Scout** — worth considering if your support operation is small and you want simplicity, though it is more commonly recommended for much smaller teams.[2][17]

If you tell me whether this is for **internal IT**, **customer support**, or **both**, I can narrow it to the best 2–3 options for your setup.


Which customer support platforms are easiest to set up for a small business?

For a **small business**, the easiest customer support platforms to set up are typically **Freshdesk**, **HubSpot Service Hub**, **Tidio**, and **Help Scout** because they are repeatedly described as simple to configure, intuitive to use, and quick to get live. Freshdesk and Zoho Desk are especially called out as simple to set up for small businesses, while HubSpot Service Hub is noted for being easy to set up and navigate.[5][12]

A practical short list, based on the results:

- **Freshdesk** — strong choice for fast setup; sources describe it as accessible, affordable, and “extremely easy to set up,” with a free plan for up to 2 agents.[3][5][6]
- **HubSpot Service Hub** — easy to set up and navigate, with strong CRM integration and self-service tools; G2 data in the results rates it highly for ease of setup and ease of use.[12]
- **Tidio** — positioned as best for small businesses and designed for quick implementation, especially if live chat is a priority.[4][15]
- **Help Scout** — highlighted as easy to start using right away, with a minimal learning curve and broad support-channel coverage on its lower-priced plans.[14]
- **Zoho Desk** — frequently recommended for small businesses needing a simple, scalable help desk with an easy setup path.[5][12]
- **monday service** — a flexible option for small teams that want no-code workflows and relatively low setup complexity.[6]

If you want the **single easiest** option for most small businesses, **Freshdesk** is the safest default pick from these results because multiple sources emphasize its simple setup, approachable interface, and small-business fit.[3][5][6] If your priority is **live chat first**, **Tidio** is the strongest quick-start option.[4][15]


Best help desk software for a growing SaaS startup

For a **growing SaaS startup**, the best default choice is usually **Intercom** if you are product-led and want in-app messaging plus AI; **Help Scout** if you want the simplest shared inbox experience; and **Freshdesk** if you need strong value and a lower starting cost.[1][3]

The best fit depends on your support motion:

| Startup type | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Product-led SaaS / in-app support | **Intercom** | Strong for in-app messenger, customer engagement, and early-stage SaaS teams.[1][3] |
| Simple email-style support | **Help Scout** | Best for a calm, easy shared inbox and team friendliness.[1][3] |
| Budget-conscious growth stage | **Freshdesk** | Broad features at a practical price point.[1][3] |
| B2B SaaS with Slack-based support | **Pylon** or **Plain** | Better match when customers message you in Slack or Teams.[1] |
| Scaling hard with formal workflows | **Zendesk** | Better for SLAs, multi-channel support, and enterprise-style reporting.[1][3] |

A practical way to choose is to match the tool to where customers already contact you: in-app chat, email, Slack, or a mix.[1] If you expect rapid growth and want to avoid migrating later, **Zendesk** is the safer long-term platform; if you want the fastest product-led experience, **Intercom** is the strongest starting point.[1][3]

If you want, I can also give you a **top 3 recommendation based on your exact stage, team size, channels, and budget**.


We need a help desk with a free plan. What are the options?

Several help desk tools offer a **free plan** or a **free self-hosted/open-source edition**, depending on whether you want a cloud service or software you run yourself.[1][2][3]

- **Freshdesk** — free plan available; commonly listed as free for **up to 2 agents**.[1][2][4]
- **Zoho Desk** — free plan available; usually listed for **up to 3 agents**.[2][4][11]
- **HubSpot Service Hub / HubSpot Help Desk** — free plan available, with user limits varying by source; some list **up to 2–3 users**.[1][4][8]
- **Spiceworks** — **free** for all users, especially for **internal IT** help desks.[1][2][13]
- **osTicket** — **open source** and free if self-hosted.[2][3][15]
- **FreeScout** — **open source** and free if self-hosted.[2][3][15]
- **Zammad** — open source / free self-hosted option.[2][15]
- **Jira Service Management** — free tier available for small teams, commonly listed for **up to 3 agents**.[2][5][12]
- **LiveAgent** — free plan exists, but it is limited; exact caps vary across sources.[2][15]
- **ProProfs Help Desk** — free plan available, often described as suitable for solo or very small teams.[1][2]
- **Help Scout** — some sources list a free offering, but its free-ness and limits are less consistent across results.[2][4]
- **Raiseaticket** — described as a fully free cloud help desk in one source.[3]

If you want the shortest shortlist, the most commonly cited free options are **Freshdesk, Zoho Desk, HubSpot Service Hub, Spiceworks, Jira Service Management, osTicket, and FreeScout**.[1][2][4][15]

If you want, I can narrow these down by:
- **team size**
- **email-only vs omnichannel**
- **self-hosted vs cloud**
- **IT help desk vs customer support**


The **top customer support software in 2026** depends on your use case, but the most consistently recommended options across recent buyer guides are **Zendesk**, **Intercom**, **Freshdesk**, **Help Scout**, and **Front**.[3][8][9][14]

- **Zendesk** — strongest all-around choice for enterprise-grade support, omnichannel ticketing, and AI-powered CX.[9][17]
- **Intercom** — best for conversational support, proactive messaging, and AI-driven customer interactions.[9][14]
- **Freshdesk** — solid mid-market option with strong automation and a lower starting price than many enterprise tools.[11][17]
- **Help Scout** — good for teams that want a simple shared inbox and collaboration-focused workflows.[7][14]
- **Front** — best for shared inbox management and internal/external collaboration.[8][9][17]

If you want a broader 2026 ranking, some lists also include **Tidio** for small businesses and **Salesforce Service Cloud** for sales-heavy organizations.[9][14] One vendor-specific roundup also ranks **Udesk** as the top overall platform for full-channel AI and cost performance, but that comes from a company-published comparison and should be treated as less neutral than independent review sites.[11]

For a practical shortlist:
- **Best overall:** Zendesk[3][9]
- **Best for AI/chat-first support:** Intercom[9][14]
- **Best for SMBs:** Help Scout or Tidio[7][9][14]
- **Best for team collaboration:** Front[8][17]
- **Best budget-friendly mid-market pick:** Freshdesk[11][17]

If you want, I can turn this into a **comparison table by price, features, and best-fit company size**.


What support tool integrates well with Shopify for a small online store?

For a **small online store**, **Shopify Inbox** is the simplest support tool that integrates well with Shopify because it is built into Shopify and offers free live chat with minimal setup.[3][16]

If you want a more full-featured helpdesk, **Gorgias** is the strongest Shopify-native option for ecommerce support because it integrates directly with Shopify and shows order data inside tickets.[2][16]

A practical shortlist for small stores is:

- **Shopify Inbox** — best for a budget-conscious store that wants quick, built-in chat support.[3][16]
- **Tidio** — good if you want live chat plus an AI chatbot and a low-cost entry point.[5][7]
- **Gorgias** — best if you need deeper Shopify integration, especially for order changes and refunds.[2][5]

If you want the single best default recommendation for a small store, start with **Shopify Inbox**; if you expect more support volume or need order management inside tickets, choose **Gorgias**.[3][2][5]


Small business support software with a customer-facing knowledge base

If you want **small business support software with a customer-facing knowledge base**, the strongest fits in the results are **Help Scout**, **Freshdesk**, **Zoho Desk**, **Salesforce Service Cloud**, and **OneDesk**.[2][3][7][9]

- **Help Scout** is a good fit if you want an easy-to-use, email-first help desk with a **Docs knowledge base** and customer-facing help center search.[2][3]
- **Freshdesk** includes ticketing, automation, and a **knowledge base** on its lower-cost plans, making it a common small-business option.[2][7]
- **Zoho Desk** offers **self-service knowledge base** features and customer support workflow tools, with a low starting price.[2][3][7]
- **Salesforce Service Cloud** supports a branded **Help Center**, embedded knowledge articles, and a **self-service community** for customers.[1][7]
- **OneDesk** includes an embeddable customer widget with a **knowledge base** and portal, so customers can search for answers themselves.[9]

If your main goal is **simple customer self-service**, **Help Scout** and **Freshdesk** look like the most straightforward choices from these results.[2][3][7] If you want a more robust enterprise-style portal and case management, **Salesforce Service Cloud** is the most full-featured option in the set.[1][7]

If you want, I can also narrow these down by:
- **lowest cost**
- **best for email support**
- **best for live chat + knowledge base**
- **best free plan**