Best software · Customer support
9 Best Help Desk Software for Small Business of 2026
This list is for small support teams, usually 2 to 15 people, that have outgrown a shared Gmail or Outlook inbox and want proper tickets with owners, statuses and history without paying enterprise prices per agent. We compared documented features and published prices for 9 help desks. Read the starting price together with the plan's channel list: several vendors put live chat, social messages or phone on the second tier, so the plan you actually need can cost more than the headline number.
By the Mojolin research desk · Updated November 9, 2026 · 9 tools compared · Prices checked on vendor pages, latest November 9, 2026
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
Mojolin is self-funded How we score
Freshdesk is the best fit for most small teams: Growth costs $19 per agent per month billed annually and already includes a shared inbox, a customer portal with a knowledge base, reporting and 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions. Zoho Desk is the pick for teams that want to begin at no cost, since its free edition covers 3 users and a failed trial falls back to it instead of locking you out. Help Scout is the easiest to roll out for email-first teams and is free for up to 5 users. If you need the lowest bill per seat, LiveAgent's Starter plan is $15 per agent per month on annual billing for up to 5 agents, and Jitbit charges a flat monthly fee per team instead of per agent.
Top picks
Best overall
Freshdesk
8.6 / 10
Small teams of 3 to 20 agents that want full ticketing, a knowledge base and an AI agent on a low per-agent price.
Read the review →Runner-up
Help Scout
8.4 / 10
Email-first small teams that want customers to feel they are getting a normal email, not a ticket number.
Read the review →Also great
Zoho Desk
8.4 / 10
Budget-conscious small businesses, especially those already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps.
Read the review →Comparison table
| # | Tool | Pricing | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freshdesk | Small teams of 3 to 20 agents that want full ticketing, a knowledge base and an AI agent on a low per-agent price. | Growth $19 per agent per month billed annually; Pro $55; Enterprise $89; 20% saving on annual billing | 8.6 |
| 2 | Help Scout | Email-first small teams that want customers to feel they are getting a normal email, not a ticket number. | Free plan for 5 users; Standard $25 per user per month billed annually; Plus $45; Pro $75; annual billing saves 16% | 8.4 |
| 3 | Zoho Desk | Budget-conscious small businesses, especially those already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps. | Free edition for 3 users; paid Express, Standard, Professional and Enterprise editions per user, up to 34% off yearly (see vendor pricing, USD check pending) | 8.4 |
| 4 |  Zendesk | Small businesses that expect to grow quickly and want one vendor for email, chat and phone later. | Support Team $19 per agent per month billed yearly; Suite Team $55; Suite Professional $115; 20% off annual billing | 8.3 |
| 5 |  HubSpot Service Hub | Small businesses already using the HubSpot CRM that want support tickets on the same contact records. | Free plan at $0; Starter $20 per seat per month ($10 limited-time offer for new customers); Professional from $100; Enterprise from $175 | 8.2 |
| 6 |  LiveAgent | Small teams that want the lowest per-agent price for email and live chat, with phone available on the next tier. | Starter $15 per agent per month billed annually ($19 monthly), up to 5 agents; Team $29 annual; Business $49 annual; special offer prices until Nov 22 | 8.1 |
| 7 |  Hiver | Small teams that live in Gmail and want shared ticketing without leaving it. | Growth $25 per user per month billed annually ($35 monthly); Pro $55; Elite $85; voice is an add-on | 8.0 |
| 8 |  Jitbit | Small teams that want a flat monthly price for a fixed number of agents and a choice of cloud or on-premises hosting. | Freelancer $29 per month for 1 agent ($24.92 billed annually); Startup $69 for 4 agents; Company $129 for 7 agents; Enterprise $249 for 9 agents | 7.9 |
| 9 |  Front | Small teams that handle customer email alongside account management and want collaboration features on each message. | Starter $25 per seat per month billed annually (up to 10 seats); Professional $65 (up to 50 seats); Enterprise $105; save 24% on annual billing | 7.8 |
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
Freshdesk
A ticketing help desk from Freshworks with a shared inbox, customer portal and Freddy AI Agent on every paid plan.
freshworks.com8.6
out of 10
Best for: Small teams of 3 to 20 agents that want full ticketing, a knowledge base and an AI agent on a low per-agent price.
Freshdesk gives a small team the most help desk for the money. The Growth plan at $19 per agent per month on annual billing already covers ticketing with a shared inbox, a customer portal backed by a knowledge base, built-in analytics, roles and permissions, and threads and tasks so agents can discuss a ticket without replying to the customer. Freshworks also includes the first 500 Freddy AI Agent sessions, which is enough for many small teams to automate common questions without a separate bill.
Day passes are a useful detail for small businesses: on Growth an occasional helper costs $2 a day instead of a full seat. The limits show up as you grow. Intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies and a multilingual help desk start on Pro at $55, and Freddy AI Copilot for agents is another $29 per agent on Pro and above. For a team that mainly needs organized email tickets plus self-service, Growth is hard to beat.
Standout feature
500 AI Agent sessions and a customer portal included on a $19 per agent plan.
Use cases
A 5-person ecommerce support team
Move from a shared inbox to assigned tickets with a help center
Outcome: Each request has one owner and customers can self-serve common answers
Seasonal businesses
Add temporary agents during busy months with day passes
Outcome: Extra coverage without paying for full seats all year
Teams with repeat questions
Use the included Freddy AI Agent sessions on order status and FAQs
Outcome: Fewer simple tickets reach a human agent
Key features
- Ticketing and shared inbox on every plan
- Freddy AI Agent with the first 500 sessions included
- Customer portal and knowledge base from Growth
- Threads and tasks for internal discussion on a ticket
- Day passes for occasional agents from $2 a pass on Growth
Pros
- Full ticketing, portal and reporting on the $19 plan
- AI agent sessions included rather than sold from the first ticket
- Day passes cover seasonal or part-time helpers cheaply
Cons
- Multiple SLA policies and intelligent routing need Pro at $55
- Freddy AI Copilot is a $29 per agent add-on on Pro and Enterprise
- Extra AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100
Rank 2 · Runner-up
Help Scout
An email-style shared inbox and help desk with live chat, a Docs knowledge base and a free plan for 5 users.
helpscout.com8.4
out of 10
Best for: Email-first small teams that want customers to feel they are getting a normal email, not a ticket number.
Help Scout is the easiest help desk on this list to hand to a small team. It looks and behaves like a shared email inbox, so agents learn it in an afternoon, and customers receive normal replies rather than ticket notifications. The free plan covers 5 users with one inbox, one Docs site and 100 contacts a month, which is enough for a very small business to test the workflow.
Standard at $25 per user per month billed annually opens up the real product: multiple inboxes, live chat and SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, several knowledge bases, a basic SLA policy, basic workflows and the AI Inbox assistant, for up to 25 users. Plus at $45 adds round robin routing, a customer portal and Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot integrations. The AI assistant that answers customers is billed at $0.75 per resolution. Teams that need phone built in or complex routing on a budget will get more from Freshdesk or Zoho Desk.
Standout feature
A shared inbox simple enough that small teams can start answering tickets on day one.
Use cases
Two-person SaaS support teams
Share one support inbox on the free plan
Outcome: No more double replies or lost emails
Service businesses
Publish a Docs help center next to the inbox
Outcome: Customers find answers before writing in
Teams adding chat
Turn on live chat and SMS on Standard
Outcome: Chat and email land in the same queue
Key features
- Shared inboxes with saved replies, tags and snooze
- Live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger on Standard
- Docs knowledge base sites
- AI Inbox assistant on Standard and AI drafts on Plus
- Round robin routing and a secure customer portal on Plus
Pros
- Free plan for up to 5 users
- Very short learning curve for people used to email
- 15-day trial with no credit card
Cons
- Free plan is limited to 1 inbox, 1 Docs site and 100 contacts a month
- Standard has 2 inboxes; more cost $10 a month each
- Round robin routing waits for Plus at $45
Rank 3 · Also great
Zoho Desk
Zoho's help desk with a free edition for 3 users and paid editions that add social, chat, a knowledge base and telephony step by step.
zoho.com8.4
out of 10
Best for: Budget-conscious small businesses, especially those already on Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps.
Zoho Desk is built for teams that want to start small and add channels as they need them. The free edition gives three users email ticketing, and if a 15-day trial of a paid edition ends without a purchase, the account drops back to the free plan instead of closing. Express, the first paid edition, adds social media tickets from Instagram, Facebook and X, web forms, workflows, multi-level escalations, a custom domain and AI agents with up to 30 million free tokens a month.
Standard is where most small teams will land: it adds a live chat widget, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and other messengers, a knowledge base, a community forum, customer happiness ratings and custom reports. Telephony integration arrives on Professional. The interface is dense compared with Help Scout, and generative features such as ticket summaries use your own OpenAI key. Zoho's pricing page showed rupees when we checked from our location, so confirm USD rates on the vendor page.
Standout feature
A free edition for 3 users that paid trials fall back to, so a small team never loses its ticket history.
Use cases
Three-person startups
Run email ticketing on the free edition
Outcome: Structured tickets before any software spend
Zoho CRM customers
Link support tickets to contacts and accounts
Outcome: Sales and support see the same customer record
Brands with social inboxes
Turn Instagram, Facebook and X messages into tickets on Express
Outcome: Social questions get tracked like email
Key features
- Free edition with three user licenses and email ticketing
- Express adds social channels (Instagram, Facebook, X) and web forms
- AI agents with your own key or Zoho's model, up to 30M free tokens a month
- Standard adds live chat, WhatsApp and other messengers, a knowledge base and community forum
- Professional adds telephony with toll-free numbers
Pros
- A permanent free edition and trials that downgrade to it
- Gradual tiers let small teams pay only for channels they use
- Ties into Zoho CRM and the wider Zoho suite
Cons
- Live chat and the knowledge base start on Standard, not Express
- Telephony needs Professional
- Generative AI features rely on bringing your own OpenAI key
Rank 4
Zendesk
The widely used ticketing platform, with an email-only Support Team plan and Suite plans that add messaging, telephony and AI agents.
zendesk.com8.3
out of 10
Best for: Small businesses that expect to grow quickly and want one vendor for email, chat and phone later.
Zendesk has the deepest feature set here, but small teams should read its plans carefully. Support Team costs $19 per agent per month paid yearly and is aimed at teams that have outgrown a shared inbox: it covers email ticketing, ticket routing, prebuilt dashboards, pre-written responses, customer context and automations and triggers. That is solid email support at a price that matches Freshdesk.
The jump comes when you add channels. Messaging, live chat and telephony, plus AI agents and an AI knowledge base, start on Suite Team at $55 per agent, and skills-based routing and an IVR phone tree need Suite Professional at $115. The free trial gives you Suite Professional for 14 days, so price the plan you will actually buy. For a small business planning to scale into a larger multichannel operation, starting on Zendesk avoids a migration later; for a team that will stay small, Freshdesk or Zoho Desk deliver more channels per dollar.
Standout feature
The longest runway: a $19 email plan that can grow into a full contact center on the same platform.
Use cases
Funded startups
Apply for the Zendesk startup program
Outcome: Up to 2 years of Zendesk at no cost
Email-only support teams
Run tickets, triggers and macros on Support Team
Outcome: Structured email support for $19 per agent
Growing teams adding phone
Upgrade to Suite Team for telephony and messaging
Outcome: Calls and chats join email in one workspace
Key features
- Email and ticketing system with ticket routing on Support Team
- Automations, triggers and pre-written responses
- Suite Team adds messaging, live chat and telephony
- AI agents and an AI knowledge base on Suite plans
- Skills-based routing and IVR phone tree on Suite Professional
Pros
- Same $19 entry price as Freshdesk with a deep upgrade path
- Every channel available from one vendor on Suite plans
- Qualified startups can get up to 2 years free
Cons
- Support Team is email ticketing; chat and phone need Suite Team at $55
- Price per agent rises fast once you move to Suite
- The 14-day trial runs on Suite Professional, which can overstate what you will buy
Rank 5
HubSpot Service Hub
HubSpot's customer service software, with free ticketing and team email on the same CRM that runs HubSpot sales and marketing.
hubspot.com8.2
out of 10
Best for: Small businesses already using the HubSpot CRM that want support tickets on the same contact records.
HubSpot Service Hub makes the most sense when a small business already keeps its contacts and deals in HubSpot. The free plan includes ticketing, team email and the Breeze Assistant, so support conversations appear on the same records that sales and marketing use. Starter costs $20 per seat per month, with a limited-time $10 price for new customers, and adds simple ticket automation, multiple ticket pipelines, live chat and data enrichment.
The catch for small teams is the next step. The help desk workspace, the customer agent and the knowledge base all sit on Professional, which starts at $100 per seat per month, and skill-based routing needs Enterprise at $175. That gap is wide compared with Freshdesk, where a portal and knowledge base come on the $19 plan. Use Service Hub Starter if you value one CRM over the deepest help desk, and plan your budget carefully before you need self-service articles.
Standout feature
Free ticketing that shares one CRM with sales and marketing.
Use cases
HubSpot CRM users
Log support tickets on existing contact records
Outcome: Sales sees open issues before a renewal call
Very small teams
Run ticketing and team email on the free plan
Outcome: A tracked support queue at $0
Teams adding chat
Turn on live chat with Starter
Outcome: Website chats become tickets in the same pipeline
Key features
- Free ticketing and team email with Breeze Assistant
- Simple ticket automation and multiple ticket pipelines on Starter
- Live chat and data enrichment on Starter
- Help desk workspace, customer agent and knowledge base on Professional
- Skill-based routing on Enterprise
Pros
- Free plan with real ticketing
- Tickets live on the same CRM records as deals and marketing
- Starter is cheap, with a $10 offer for new customers
Cons
- Knowledge base and the help desk workspace need Professional at $100
- Large step in price from Starter to Professional
- Most useful only if the business runs on HubSpot CRM
Rank 6
LiveAgent
A help desk from Quality Unit that combines email tickets, live chat, a knowledge base and, on higher plans, social channels and calls.
liveagent.com8.1
out of 10
Best for: Small teams that want the lowest per-agent price for email and live chat, with phone available on the next tier.
LiveAgent is the cheapest per-agent help desk here at regular prices. Starter costs $15 per agent per month on annual billing, or $19 monthly, and LiveAgent was running a special offer that lowers both until November 22. The plan covers up to 5 agents and includes email, live chat, contact forms, a knowledge base, AI answer drafts, an AI chatbot and single sign-on. AI runs on your own provider's account, which LiveAgent estimates at 2 to 4 cents a chat with no LiveAgent fee.
Starter leaves out social channels, the call center and reporting. Those arrive on Team at $29 per agent annually for up to 15 agents, which adds Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and calls, plus SLA rules, CSAT surveys and reports. Even at that price, phone and social are cheaper than on most rivals. The trade-off is an interface with many settings, so expect more setup time than Help Scout. The 30-day trial needs no card.
Standout feature
A $15 per agent annual plan with live chat and a knowledge base, plus calls from the next tier.
Use cases
Small online shops
Answer email and website chat from one queue on Starter
Outcome: Five agents covered for $75 a month on annual billing
Teams that take calls
Move to Team for built-in calls and social channels
Outcome: Phone, WhatsApp and email tickets in one place
EU businesses
Host data in Frankfurt
Outcome: Support data stays in the EU
Key features
- Email, live chat, contact forms and a knowledge base on Starter
- AI answer drafts and an AI chatbot, with AI at your provider's price
- Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and calls on Team
- SLA rules, custom roles and CSAT surveys on Team
- Data hosting in Frankfurt, the US or Singapore
Pros
- Lowest regular per-agent price on this list
- 30-day free trial with no credit card
- Free ticket migration with any paid plan
Cons
- Starter has no social channels, call center or reporting
- Starter is capped at 5 agents and Team at 15
- The interface packs in many options and takes longer to learn
Rank 7
Hiver
A help desk that runs as Hiver Omni or inside Gmail, turning shared addresses like support@ into tracked tickets.
hiverhq.com8.0
out of 10
Best for: Small teams that live in Gmail and want shared ticketing without leaving it.
Hiver suits small teams that already spend their day in Gmail. It can run as a separate omnichannel workspace, Hiver Omni, or inside Gmail itself, and in both cases it turns shared addresses such as support@ into tickets with an owner and full history. Growth costs $25 per user per month on annual billing or $35 monthly, and includes AI agents, an AI Copilot that drafts replies, email, live chat and self-service, rule-based automations, pre-built analytics, Slack integration and round-the-clock support from Hiver.
The features most support leads will want next, a customer portal, SLAs and CSAT surveys, are on Pro at $55 per user. Voice is sold as an add-on rather than included. The trial gives you the Elite plan for only 7 days, which is short for a team switching from plain Gmail. Choose Hiver when keeping people in a familiar inbox matters more than having the deepest help desk.
Standout feature
Shared ticketing that can run inside Gmail.
Use cases
Agencies on Google Workspace
Assign client emails to owners inside Gmail
Outcome: No more forwarding chains to find who replied
Small finance or operations teams
Track requests sent to shared addresses like billing@
Outcome: Every request has a status and history
Support teams adding AI
Use AI Copilot to draft replies on Growth
Outcome: Faster first responses without an add-on
Key features
- Shared inbox and ticketing with clear ownership and history
- Email, live chat and self-service in one workspace
- AI agents and AI Copilot on Growth
- Rule-based automations and pre-built analytics
- Customer portal, SLAs and CSAT surveys on Pro
Pros
- Available inside Gmail, so there is little to learn
- AI agents and Copilot included from the first plan
- 24/7 support from Hiver over email and chat
Cons
- SLAs and CSAT surveys need Pro at $55
- Voice is a separate add-on
- Trial is only 7 days
Rank 8
Jitbit
A simple cloud or self-hosted ticket system with email tickets, live chat, a knowledge base and AI replies, sold in flat team bundles.
jitbit.com7.9
out of 10
Best for: Small teams that want a flat monthly price for a fixed number of agents and a choice of cloud or on-premises hosting.
Jitbit takes a different approach to pricing: instead of charging per agent, it sells bundles. Freelancer is $29 a month for one agent, or $24.92 a month on annual billing, Startup is $69 a month for 4 agents, Company is $129 for 7 and Enterprise is $249 for 9, with extra agents at $29. For a team of four that works out close to $17 per agent, cheaper than most per-seat plans here.
The product is a straightforward ticket system with email tickets, a live chat widget, a knowledge base, AI auto-replies and triage, canned responses, tags, categories and asset tracking. It supports SAML single sign-on and Active Directory, has an API, connects to Jira, GitHub, Microsoft Teams and Slack, and comes with iOS and Android apps. Jitbit hosts on AWS with an uptime SLA and also sells a self-hosted version. There is no native phone channel or social inbox, so it fits email and chat support best.
Standout feature
Flat team bundles, such as 4 agents for $69 a month, instead of per-agent pricing.
Use cases
Four-person IT or customer support teams
Run email tickets and live chat on the Startup bundle
Outcome: The whole team covered for $69 a month
Regulated businesses
Choose the self-hosted edition
Outcome: Ticket data stays on their own servers
Software companies
Link tickets to Jira and GitHub issues
Outcome: Bugs reported by customers reach developers with context
Key features
- Email tickets, live chat widget and knowledge base
- AI auto-replies, triage and canned responses, with unlimited AI credits from Startup
- Single sign-on with SAML and Active Directory
- Integrations with Jira, GitHub, Microsoft Teams and Slack, plus an API
- iOS and Android apps and a custom support domain
Pros
- Flat bundles: 4 agents for $69 a month works out near $17 per agent
- Hosted on AWS with an uptime SLA
- A self-hosted edition is available for teams that need it
Cons
- Fewer channels than Freshdesk or LiveAgent, with no built-in phone
- Bundles force a jump in price when you add one agent past the cap
- Smaller ecosystem than the large help desk vendors
Rank 9
Front
A shared inbox and ticketing platform that keeps an email-like workflow, with omnichannel support from the Professional plan.
front.com7.8
out of 10
Best for: Small teams that handle customer email alongside account management and want collaboration features on each message.
Front is a shared inbox first and a help desk second, which suits small businesses where support and account management overlap. Starter costs $25 per seat per month on annual billing for up to 10 seats and includes a shared inbox with ticketing, AI Topics, up to 10 automation rules, basic analytics and a no-code public knowledge base. It is built for single-channel support, which in practice usually means email.
Omnichannel support across email, SMS and social, along with richer automation and reporting, needs Professional at $65 per seat for up to 50 seats. AI is priced separately: Copilot is $20 per seat per month on Starter and Professional, and the Autopilot AI agent starts at $0.39 per conversation. The 14-day trial gives you Professional features. For a pure support team on a tight budget, Freshdesk or LiveAgent cover more channels for less, but Front is pleasant for teams that collaborate heavily on each email.
Standout feature
An email-like shared inbox with a knowledge base included on the entry plan.
Use cases
B2B companies with account managers
Share customer email threads between support and account teams
Outcome: Everyone sees the full conversation with a client
Small logistics teams
Use automation rules to sort inbound requests
Outcome: Requests reach the right person without manual triage
Teams publishing help content
Build a public knowledge base on Starter
Outcome: Common questions are answered without a ticket
Key features
- Shared inbox and ticketing
- AI Topics and up to 10 automation rules on Starter
- No-code public knowledge base
- Omnichannel email, SMS and social from Professional
- Copilot at $20 per seat and Autopilot AI agent from $0.39 per conversation
Pros
- Email-like interface that account managers adopt easily
- Knowledge base included from Starter
- 14-day trial with Professional features
Cons
- Starter covers a single channel type
- Starter is capped at 10 seats
- Omnichannel jumps to $65 per seat
Frequently asked questions
+What is the best help desk software for a small business?
Freshdesk is our top pick for most small teams: Growth costs $19 per agent per month billed annually and includes ticketing, a customer portal with a knowledge base and 500 AI Agent sessions. Zoho Desk and Help Scout are the best places to start free.
+Which help desk has the lowest price per agent?
Among the tools we compared, LiveAgent Starter has the lowest regular price at $15 per agent per month billed annually, for up to 5 agents. Jitbit sells team bundles instead, such as 4 agents for $69 a month, which is about $17 per agent.
+Is there a free help desk for small teams?
Yes. Help Scout's free plan covers 5 users with one inbox and 100 contacts a month, Zoho Desk's free edition covers 3 users with email ticketing, and HubSpot Service Hub has a free plan with ticketing and team email.
+Do I need a help desk or a shared inbox?
A shared inbox like Hiver or Front is enough when a few people answer email and need ownership and notes. Move to a help desk such as Freshdesk or Zoho Desk when you need a customer portal, SLAs, reports or several channels in one queue.
+Which small business help desks include phone support?
LiveAgent includes calls from its Team plan at $29 per agent billed annually, Zendesk adds telephony from Suite Team at $55, and Zoho Desk integrates telephony on its Professional edition.
About this list
Updated November 9, 2026 by the Mojolin research desk. Mojolin is self-funded
Questions or corrections: editorial@mojolin.com
More best software lists