Best software · Customer support
10 Best Help Desk Software of 2026
This list is for support leads choosing a ticketing tool that pulls email, chat and phone requests into one queue. We compared documented features and published prices for 10 help desks. Zendesk and Freshdesk lead for general support teams, Help Scout is the simplest for small email and chat teams, and Gorgias, Jira Service Management and Kustomer serve narrower needs: online stores, engineering-heavy support and large contact centers.
By the Mojolin research desk · Updated November 6, 2026 · 10 tools compared · Prices checked on vendor pages, latest November 6, 2026
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
Mojolin is self-funded How we score
Zendesk is our top pick when phone matters as much as email and chat: its Suite plans include built-in voice with IVR, and plans start at $19 per agent per month billed yearly. Freshdesk is the best value for small and mid-size teams, with the Freddy AI Agent included from the same $19 price. If your company already runs on HubSpot, Service Hub keeps tickets on the same CRM record as sales and marketing, and it has a free plan to start.
Top picks
Best overall
Zendesk
8.6 / 10
Support teams of 10 or more agents that handle email, chat and phone together and need routing, SLAs and reporting.
Read the review →Runner-up
Freshdesk
8.4 / 10
Small and mid-size teams that want a capable ticketing tool at a low per-agent price.
Read the review →Also great
HubSpot Service Hub
8.3 / 10
Teams already using HubSpot for sales or marketing that want support tickets on the same customer record.
Read the review →Comparison table
| # | Tool | Pricing | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Support teams of 10 or more agents that handle email, chat and phone together and need routing, SLAs and reporting. | Support Team $19 per agent per month billed yearly ($25 monthly); Suite Team $55; Suite Professional $115; Suite Enterprise by quote | 8.6 | |
| 2 | Small and mid-size teams that want a capable ticketing tool at a low per-agent price. | Growth $19 per agent per month billed annually; Pro $55; Enterprise $89; 20% saving on annual billing | 8.4 | |
| 3 | Teams already using HubSpot for sales or marketing that want support tickets on the same customer record. | Free plan at $0; Starter from $20 per seat per month ($10 offer for new customers); Professional from $100; Enterprise from $175 | 8.3 | |
| 4 | Small teams that mostly answer email and chat and want a tool new agents learn in a day. | Free plan for 5 users; Standard $25 per user per month billed annually; Plus $45; Pro $75; annual billing saves 16% | 8.2 | |
| 5 | SaaS and app companies that want AI to answer most chat and email questions before an agent steps in. | Essential $29 per seat per month ($19 for new customers); Advanced $85; Expert $132; Fin AI Agent $0.99 per outcome | 8.1 | |
| 6 | Cost-conscious teams, especially those already using Zoho apps, that need email, chat and phone in one tool. | Free edition for 3 users; paid Express, Standard, Professional and Enterprise editions per user (see vendor pricing, USD check pending) | 8.0 | |
| 7 | Account management and B2B support teams that run customer conversations from shared email inboxes. | Starter $25 per seat per month billed annually (up to 10 seats); Professional $65 (up to 50 seats); Enterprise $105 | 7.9 | |
| 8 | Shopify and ecommerce brands that want order data inside every ticket and unlimited agent seats. | Starter $10 per month billed monthly for 50 tickets; Basic $60 per month for 300 tickets; Pro and Advanced for higher volume; AI Agent extra | 7.7 | |
| 9 | Support teams that escalate many tickets to engineers working in Jira, and internal IT or HR service desks. | Free for 3 agents; Standard $21.50 per agent per month; Premium $55.28; Enterprise by quote; annual billing saves up to 17% | 7.6 | |
| 10 | Large consumer brands with high conversation volume that want one customer view across every channel. | No public prices; quotes after an assessment and demo; voice and WhatsApp pay as you go (USD check pending) | 7.4 |
Scoring weights
Every tool gets three editorial scores out of 10, from vendor documentation, product pages and the published price. The overall score is the weighted average below, the same method on every list. Full method
The full ranking

Rank 1 · Best overall
Zendesk
A ticketing platform that brings email, messaging, phone and social requests into one agent workspace, with AI agents on every plan.
zendesk.com8.6
out of 10
Best for: Support teams of 10 or more agents that handle email, chat and phone together and need routing, SLAs and reporting.
Zendesk is the most complete pick when one team answers email, chat and phone. Its ticketing brings those channels plus social messages into a single workspace, and Suite plans add messaging, a help center and Zendesk's own voice product with toll-free and international numbers and voicemail. Suite Professional adds skills-based routing and an IVR phone tree, which is what larger phone queues tend to need. AI agents for messaging are part of the Suite and Support plans, and extra automated resolutions are sold on top.
The entry plan is cheap at $19 per agent per month billed yearly, but Support Team is closer to email ticketing than a full contact center, so most teams with chat and phone land on Suite Team at $55 or Suite Professional at $115. Copilot for agents is another $50 per agent. If you need every channel from one vendor and plan to grow the team, Zendesk is the safe choice; smaller email-first teams can spend less elsewhere.
Standout feature
Native voice with IVR, so phone tickets sit next to email and chat without a separate telephony product.
Use cases
Support teams of 10 to 100 agents
Run email, chat and phone queues in one workspace
Outcome: One ticket history per customer across channels
Teams with phone support
Set up IVR menus and skills-based routing
Outcome: Calls reach the right agent the first time
Startups
Apply for the Zendesk startup program
Outcome: Up to 2 years of Zendesk at no cost
Key features
- Ticketing that combines email, messaging, phone and social channels
- AI agents for messaging included on Suite and Support plans
- Voice with toll-free and international numbers, voicemail and IVR phone trees on Suite Professional
- Help center with community forums and generative search
- SLA policies, skills-based routing and custom agent roles
Pros
- Covers email, chat and phone natively, without a separate phone vendor
- Clear per-agent pricing with a 20% saving on annual billing
- Qualified startups can get up to 2 years of Zendesk free
Cons
- Support Team is email ticketing only; messaging and voice start on Suite plans
- Copilot is a $50 per agent per month add-on
- IVR and skills-based routing need Suite Professional at $115

Rank 2 · Runner-up
Freshdesk
Freshworks' help desk with a shared inbox, customer portal, knowledge base and the Freddy AI Agent on every paid plan.
freshworks.com8.4
out of 10
Best for: Small and mid-size teams that want a capable ticketing tool at a low per-agent price.
Freshdesk gives a small support team a proper ticketing system for the same entry price as Zendesk, with more included at that tier. Growth, at $19 per agent per month billed annually, covers the shared inbox, a customer portal with a knowledge base, analytics, roles and the Freddy AI Agent with the first 500 sessions included. Extra AI sessions cost $49 per 100, and day passes let part-time helpers answer tickets without a full seat.
The Pro plan at $55 is where most growing teams end up, because it adds intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies, a multilingual help desk and custom dashboards. Enterprise at $89 adds skill-based routing, a sandbox and audit logs. The pricing page frames Growth around email support, so teams that run heavy chat or phone queues should confirm those channels during the 14-day trial, which unlocks every Enterprise feature. For budget-conscious teams, Freshdesk is the best balance of price and depth.
Standout feature
Every plan includes 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions, so automation starts at the $19 tier.
Use cases
Small support teams
Move a shared Gmail inbox into tickets
Outcome: Clear ownership and response times
Seasonal businesses
Buy day passes for temporary agents
Outcome: Extra capacity without full seats
Teams with repeat questions
Publish a knowledge base and turn on the AI Agent
Outcome: Fewer simple tickets reach agents
Key features
- Ticketing and shared inbox with threads and tasks
- Freddy AI Agent with 500 sessions included on every plan
- Customer portal and knowledge base for self-service
- Intelligent routing and multiple SLA policies on Pro
- Skill-based routing, sandbox and audit logs on Enterprise
Pros
- $19 entry price includes an AI agent allowance
- Day passes let occasional agents work tickets for a few dollars
- The 14-day trial opens the full Enterprise plan
Cons
- Growth is framed around email; check your chat and phone needs before buying
- Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent per month extra
- Multiple SLA policies and routing need Pro at $55

Rank 3 · Also great
HubSpot Service Hub
Customer service software on HubSpot's CRM, with ticketing, live chat, a help desk workspace and AI agents.
hubspot.com8.3
out of 10
Best for: Teams already using HubSpot for sales or marketing that want support tickets on the same customer record.
HubSpot Service Hub makes the most sense when your company already runs on HubSpot. Tickets, chats and calls attach to the same contact and company records that sales and marketing use, so an agent can see open deals and past campaigns before replying. The free plan includes ticketing and a team email inbox, and Starter, from $20 per seat, adds live chat, multiple ticket pipelines and simple automation.
The serious help desk features live on Professional at $100 per seat: the help desk workspace, a knowledge base, custom objects and the Customer Agent, which resolves email and chat questions with AI. HubSpot also lists call tracking with IVR phone trees and SLA management for phone and ticket queues. Enterprise at $175 adds skill-based routing. That jump from Starter to Professional is the main cost to plan for. Pick Service Hub if a shared CRM matters more to you than the lowest price per agent.
Standout feature
Tickets live on the same CRM record as deals and marketing activity.
Use cases
B2B companies on HubSpot
Route support tickets on the shared CRM
Outcome: Account managers see open issues before calls
Small teams
Start on the free plan with ticketing and team email
Outcome: A help desk at no cost
Growing service teams
Add the Customer Agent on Professional
Outcome: Round-the-clock answers on chat and email
Key features
- Free ticketing and team email
- Live chat and multiple ticket pipelines on Starter
- Help desk workspace, knowledge base and Customer Agent on Professional
- Call tracking with IVR phone trees, routing and transfers
- SLA management and customer feedback surveys
Pros
- Free plan with ticketing and no credit card
- Support history sits next to deals and marketing data in one CRM
- Customer Agent answers email and live chat around the clock
Cons
- Knowledge base and the help desk workspace need Professional at $100 per seat
- The $10 Starter price is an introductory offer
- Skill-based routing is limited to Enterprise at $175

Rank 4
Help Scout
An email-style shared inbox with live chat, a knowledge base and AI answers, built for teams that value a personal tone.
helpscout.com8.2
out of 10
Best for: Small teams that mostly answer email and chat and want a tool new agents learn in a day.
Help Scout is the easiest help desk on this list to roll out. Conversations look like email rather than numbered tickets, so customers get replies that feel personal and agents need little training. The free plan covers 5 users, one inbox and one Docs site, which is enough for a founder-led team. Standard, at $25 per user per month billed annually, adds multiple inboxes, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, several knowledge bases and a basic SLA policy.
The gap is phone support: Help Scout lists phone and voice as available only through integrations such as Aircall, so call-heavy teams will run two tools. Plus at $45 adds round robin routing and integrations with Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot, and AI Answers are billed at $0.75 per resolution with a trial period. For small email and chat teams that care about tone and speed of setup, Help Scout is the friendliest choice.
Standout feature
A free plan for 5 users plus an interface that reads like email.
Use cases
Founder-led startups
Run support on the free plan
Outcome: A shared inbox for up to 5 people at no cost
Ecommerce and SaaS teams
Add live chat and WhatsApp on Standard
Outcome: Chat and email in one queue
Teams with a help center
Publish Docs and embed Beacon
Outcome: Customers find answers before writing in
Key features
- Shared inboxes that look and work like email
- Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger on Standard
- Docs knowledge base sites and the Beacon support widget
- AI Answers and the Envoy assistant at $0.75 per resolution
- Round robin routing and SLA policies
Pros
- Free plan covers 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 Docs site
- Clean interface that needs little training
- Standard includes chat, SMS and social messaging
Cons
- Phone and voice only through integrations
- Advanced routing and Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations need Plus
- Reporting history is limited on lower tiers

Rank 5
Intercom
A messenger-first help desk with the Fin AI Agent built in, priced per seat plus $0.99 per resolved conversation.
intercom.com8.1
out of 10
Best for: SaaS and app companies that want AI to answer most chat and email questions before an agent steps in.
Intercom is the help desk to choose when you expect AI to do most of the first-line work. Every plan includes the Fin AI Agent at $0.99 per outcome, and Intercom only counts an outcome when the customer confirms the answer or leaves without asking for a person. Fin works across email, live chat and phone, and hands off to agents in the inbox. All plans also include unlimited live chat, support email, in-app chats, banners and tooltips, which suits software companies with a product to support.
Seats start at $29 per month on Essential, with a lower price for new customers, and rise to $85 on Advanced and $132 on Expert, where SLAs, SSO and multibrand Messenger live. Phone, SMS, WhatsApp and email campaigns are billed per use. That mix of seats and usage makes Intercom one of the harder tools to budget, but for chat-heavy products where Fin can take a large share of questions, it can reduce how many agents you hire.
Standout feature
Fin AI Agent is billed only for conversations it resolves.
Use cases
SaaS support teams
Let Fin answer product questions in the in-app messenger
Outcome: Agents focus on complex cases
Startups
Apply for the Early Stage program
Outcome: Large discount and a year of Fin
Teams on another help desk
Run Fin on top of the current tool
Outcome: AI answers without migrating
Key features
- Fin AI Agent answers email, live chat, phone and more
- Unlimited live chat, support email, in-app chats, banners and tooltips on all plans
- Copilot assistant for agents at $29 per agent per month
- Workflows and automation on Advanced
- SLAs, multibrand Messenger and HIPAA support on Expert
Pros
- Fin is billed only when it resolves a conversation
- Strong in-app and website messenger for software products
- 14-day trial includes all features, Fin and add-ons
Cons
- Phone, SMS and WhatsApp are pay-as-you-go on top of seats
- Costs rise with both seats and AI volume
- SLAs need the Expert plan at $132 per seat

Rank 6
Zoho Desk
Zoho's multichannel help desk with email, social, messaging, telephony and the Zia AI, priced per user with a free edition.
zoho.com8.0
out of 10
Best for: Cost-conscious teams, especially those already using Zoho apps, that need email, chat and phone in one tool.
Zoho Desk covers more channels per dollar than most help desks, and it starts with a free edition for three users that handles email ticketing. Paid editions add features in steps: Express covers email, social media, web forms, workflows and AI agents that can run on your own OpenAI key or Zoho's model. Standard adds a live chat widget, instant messaging on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram, a knowledge base and community forums. Professional brings telephony integrations with toll-free numbers, the Zia AI and Blueprint automation.
The trade-off is complexity: five editions with long feature lists make it harder to know what you are buying, and some items, such as the bot in the self-service widget, sit on Enterprise. The interface is dense compared with Help Scout or Freshdesk. Zoho shows prices by region, and we could not confirm the USD amounts from our location. Teams already on Zoho CRM get the most from it.
Standout feature
A free edition plus email, messaging and telephony in one per-user product.
Use cases
Teams on Zoho CRM
Link tickets to CRM accounts
Outcome: Support and sales share customer context
Small teams
Start on the free edition
Outcome: Email ticketing for 3 users at no cost
Phone support desks
Connect a telephony provider on Professional
Outcome: Inbound and outbound calls logged as tickets
Key features
- Email, social media and web form ticketing from the Express edition
- Live chat widget and WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Telegram messaging on Standard
- Telephony integrations with toll-free numbers on Professional
- Zia AI and Blueprint process automation on Professional
- Knowledge base, community forum and customer happiness ratings
Pros
- Free edition with 3 users for email ticketing
- Phone support through telephony integrations on Professional
- AI agents can use your own model key or Zoho's LLM
Cons
- Chat with a bot in the self-service widget needs Enterprise
- Many features are split across five editions
- USD prices are not shown to every region, so check the US page

Rank 7
Front
A collaborative shared inbox with ticketing, built for teams that handle customer work over email and messaging.
front.com7.9
out of 10
Best for: Account management and B2B support teams that run customer conversations from shared email inboxes.
Front sits between a shared inbox and a full help desk. Conversations arrive in team inboxes that look like email, and agents can assign, comment and tag without leaving the thread, which suits B2B teams where account managers and support share the same customers. Starter at $25 per seat per month billed annually gives up to 10 seats a shared inbox with ticketing, AI Topics, 10 automation rules and a public knowledge base.
Professional at $65 adds omnichannel support across email, SMS and social, macros, advanced analytics, multiple workspaces and SSO. Phone calls and voicemails come through integrations such as Aircall and Dialpad rather than built-in voice. The Autopilot AI agent starts at $0.39 per conversation and Copilot is $20 per seat on the lower plans. Front works best for teams whose support is relationship-driven and email-heavy; high-volume consumer support teams usually get more from Zendesk or Freshdesk.
Standout feature
Ticketing that keeps the look and speed of email for collaborative teams.
Use cases
B2B account teams
Share client inboxes across support and account managers
Outcome: No lost threads between teams
Operations teams
Assign and comment on emails internally
Outcome: Fewer forwarded emails and reply-all chains
Growing support teams
Add SMS and social on Professional
Outcome: More channels in the same inbox
Key features
- Shared inbox and ticketing system
- Omnichannel email, SMS and social channels on Professional
- Customer portal with ticket forms and a knowledge base
- Autopilot AI agent from $0.39 per conversation
- Calls and voicemail through integrations such as Aircall and Dialpad
Pros
- Feels like email, so account teams adopt it quickly
- Copilot, QA and CSAT included on Enterprise
- 14-day trial of the Professional plan
Cons
- Starter is limited to one channel type and 10 seats
- Voice relies on third-party integrations
- Copilot is a $20 per seat add-on below Enterprise

Rank 8
Gorgias
A help desk for online stores, priced by ticket volume rather than per agent, with Shopify and other ecommerce integrations.
gorgias.com7.7
out of 10
Best for: Shopify and ecommerce brands that want order data inside every ticket and unlimited agent seats.
Gorgias is built around online stores, and that focus shows in the details. The help desk pulls in orders from Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce, so agents can see what a customer bought and where it is before replying, and its AI Agent can take actions such as cancelling an order or applying a discount. Email, chat, social and a help center share one queue, and voice and SMS can be added to any plan.
Pricing is by tickets, not agents. Starter costs $10 a month billed monthly for 50 tickets, Basic is $60 a month for 300 tickets, and every ticket past the limit costs $0.40. That works well for a small store with seasonal staff, but costs climb with volume and the AI Agent is billed separately. Gorgias does little for B2B or software companies, so only pick it if your customers buy from an online store.
Standout feature
Priced by ticket volume with unlimited agents, which suits stores with seasonal staff.
Use cases
Shopify brands
See order and shipping details inside tickets
Outcome: Faster replies to where-is-my-order questions
Stores with seasonal peaks
Add agents without buying seats
Outcome: Holiday staff at no seat cost
Growing DTC brands
Let the AI Agent cancel or edit orders
Outcome: Routine requests close without an agent
Key features
- Email, chat, social and help center in one help desk
- Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce and BigCommerce integrations
- AI Agent that can cancel orders and apply discounts
- Voice and SMS add-ons for any plan
- Revenue attribution analytics
Pros
- Pricing is per ticket volume, not per agent
- Order details from the store sit next to each ticket
- Free trial with no credit card
Cons
- Built for ecommerce, so B2B and SaaS teams get little from it
- Each ticket past the plan limit costs $0.40
- Voice and SMS are paid add-ons

Rank 9
Jira Service Management
Atlassian's service desk for IT, internal and customer requests, with a portal, knowledge base and links to Jira engineering work.
atlassian.com7.6
out of 10
Best for: Support teams that escalate many tickets to engineers working in Jira, and internal IT or HR service desks.
Jira Service Management is the best pick when support tickets often turn into engineering work. Requests come in through a customer portal with request types and SLAs, and agents can link them to Jira issues so the support team sees fix status without chasing developers. It also handles internal IT and HR requests, with alerts, on-call schedules and incident templates for operations teams. The free plan covers three agents and unlimited customers.
Standard costs $21.50 per agent per month at the default team size shown, Premium $55.28, and annual billing saves up to 17%. Customers are never licensed, only agents. The trade-off is that the product is shaped around tickets and portals, not live chat or phone queues, and configuring request types, workflows and automation takes more admin time than Help Scout or Freshdesk. For software companies already on Jira, the link to engineering usually outweighs that.
Standout feature
Tickets link directly to Jira issues, which keeps support and engineering on the same record.
Use cases
Software companies on Jira
Escalate bugs from tickets to Jira issues
Outcome: Support sees engineering status in the ticket
Internal IT teams
Run an employee request portal with SLAs
Outcome: Tracked, measurable internal requests
Small teams
Start free with 3 agents
Outcome: A service desk at no cost
Key features
- Customer portal with request types and SLA metrics
- Embedded knowledge base that suggests articles to customers
- Alerts, on-call schedules and incident templates
- Unlimited customers on every plan, licensed per agent
- Rovo AI credits included per user
Pros
- Free plan for 3 agents
- Escalations link straight to Jira issues for engineering
- Customers are not licensed, only agents
Cons
- Built around request portals more than chat or phone
- Setup and admin take more effort than lighter help desks
- Per-agent price changes with team size

Rank 10
Kustomer
An AI-powered customer service platform built around a customer timeline, covering chat, email, text, voice, Slack and forms.
kustomer.com7.4
out of 10
Best for: Large consumer brands with high conversation volume that want one customer view across every channel.
Kustomer is aimed at large consumer brands that handle tens of thousands of conversations a month. Its platform organizes each customer as a timeline of every chat, email, text, call and order, so an agent sees the full history in one place. Kustomer lists omnichannel messaging across chat, email, text, voice, Slack and online forms, plus Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Business and TikTok Shop. Routing, SLA management, custom objects and several AI assistants for workflows and search are part of the package.
The drawback is cost transparency. Kustomer does not publish prices; you complete an assessment and a sales team builds a quote, while voice and WhatsApp are billed as you go. Some channel setups may need a statement of work and an implementation fee. That makes it a poor fit for a small team, but a reasonable shortlist candidate for an enterprise support operation that wants voice and messaging on the same customer record.
Standout feature
Every channel, including voice and SMS, lands on a single customer timeline.
Use cases
Large retail brands
Handle chat, email, text and voice on one timeline
Outcome: Agents see every past interaction
Contact centers
Route conversations and tasks by queue with SLAs
Outcome: Balanced workloads across teams
Brands selling on social
Answer Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok Shop messages
Outcome: Social requests in the main queue
Key features
- Omnichannel messaging across chat, email, text, voice, Slack and online forms
- Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Business and TikTok Shop channels
- Conversation and task routing with SLA management
- Custom objects and an insights pane for customer data
- AI assistants for workflows, search and knowledge
Pros
- Voice, SMS and transcription available in the same platform
- Customer data model with custom objects for complex businesses
- SOC 2, ISO 27001 and GDPR compliance listed
Cons
- No published prices
- Some channel setup may need a statement of work and implementation fee
- More than a small team needs
Frequently asked questions
+What is help desk software?
Help desk software turns customer requests from email, chat, phone and social channels into tickets that a team can assign, track and answer. Most tools add a knowledge base for self-service, SLA timers for response times and reports on volume and satisfaction.
+What is the best help desk software for small teams?
Help Scout is the easiest to start with, with a free plan for 5 users and Standard at $25 per user per month billed annually. Freshdesk is the stronger value if you need more depth, starting at $19 per agent per month billed annually with an AI agent included.
+Which help desks include phone support?
Zendesk includes voice with toll-free numbers and IVR on Suite plans, HubSpot Service Hub lists call tracking with IVR phone trees, and Zoho Desk adds telephony on its Professional edition. Help Scout and Front handle calls through integrations such as Aircall and Dialpad, and Gorgias sells voice as an add-on.
+Is there a free help desk?
Yes. HubSpot Service Hub has a free plan with ticketing and team email, Help Scout is free for 5 users and one inbox, Zoho Desk has a free edition for 3 users, and Jira Service Management is free for 3 agents. Each limits automation and reporting compared with paid plans.
+How much does help desk software cost?
Per-agent plans on this list start between $19 and $29 per month: Zendesk and Freshdesk at $19 billed annually, HubSpot Starter at $20, Jira Service Management at $21.50, Help Scout and Front at $25 and Intercom at $29. Gorgias starts at $10 a month for 50 tickets, and Kustomer quotes on request.
About this list
Updated November 6, 2026 by the Mojolin research desk. Mojolin is self-funded
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
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