Freshdesk Alternatives: 9 of the Best Customer Support Tools Compared
Are you looking for the best Freshdesk alternatives in the market? If you are, we have got you covered. In this article, we will show you nine of the best alternatives instead of Freshdesk.
When running an online business with something to do with clients or customers, you should invest in a good customer support tool. Since your business is backed by customers, you should focus on improving and solving every customer’s issues.
There are so many tools out there that will work as a customer support service. But, if you are a beginner, choosing the right one might be challenging.
However, Freshdesk is one of the popular tools available for this task. But it is not the only tool that has excellent features.
This article will cover the top nine Freshdesk alternatives you should check out. But before going further, let’s see what’s Freshdesk and who needs it.
What Is Freshdesk
Freshdesk is one of the most popular customer support tools available. Since it is cloud-based, you do not need to worry about hosting it on your own server or anything. You could use the tool like you use any other third-party service.
With it, you can handle customer new business inquiries, customer issues, and everything in one place. This gives the business more control over what’s happening without using multiple tools to rack the customers. On top of that, you can also link your email, phone, and social media and chat with the tool.
Some of the most valuable features of Freshdesk are:
- Ticketing solution
- Analytics
- Customization
- Reporting
- Automation
- Secured environment
And so on.
Now, you know what Freshdesk is. Next, let’s move to the next part of the article.
Why Look for a Freshdesk Alternative
This section will list why checking for a Freshdesk alternative is good. And the main reasons are:
- Better features: If you need more unique features, look at other customer management tools.
- Affordable pricing: If your main priority is an inexpensive tool to manage customers, you should check for those.
- More integration options: Integrations will help you make your job easier. So, look for tools and their integrations before choosing Freshdesk.
- Easy to use: When your main goal is to use a tool with an elegant user dashboard, look for those specially.
- Advanced analytics/reporting: As a customer relationship tool, you should generate custom reports or see how everything is going. If the selected tool is not displaying correct data, you should focus on another tool.
Considering these facts, you could choose a tool for customer support.
9 Best Freshdesk Alternatives
The top nine alternatives you could use instead of Freshdesk are:
- Zendesk
- Zoho Desk
- Help Scout
- Intercom
- LiveChat
- osTicket
- Zammad
- TeamSupport
- LiveAgent
Each tool has its own features and uses. Below, we will explain what makes each tool unique. So, according to your requirements and preferences, you can choose a tool.
1) Zendesk
Zendesk is a popular customer support service in the market. You have probably seen powered-by Zendesk tickets when you contacted some businesses through online ticketing. However, many valuable features are combined in the Zendesk tool.
Some popular ones are AI automation, a handful of automation opportunities, inbuilt reports and analytics, ticket layout customization, and so on. Since the tool comes with 1000+ integrations, you can connect it with your favorite apps or services to make your life easier.
Next, the AI automation feature they have added recently helps you deliver automated answers. It is pre-configured, and you have total control over it. If you need to see how you are doing with the support requests, you could use the built-in analytics tab.
Features
- The ticketing system is easy to use
- AI automation will help you improve your productivity
- Reports and analytics to understand how your work is going
- 1000+ integrations to choose from
- Ticket layout customization to match your brand
Pricing
Zendesk’s plans start at $49/month for teams. If you are an enterprise client and need more features, it will cost you $150 a month per agent.
Pros
- You can create a knowledge base using Zendesk, which will help most service providers
- It is a highly customizable tool that will help you tweak the support options based on your requirement
- You can scale your business support options according to your needs through Zendesk
Cons
- It is a little more expensive than everyday support tools
2) Zoho Desk
Zoho created some of the most powerful solutions for businesses. Whether you are a solopreneur or a business admin, Zoho got something for you. If you need to take things further with customer support, check out Zoho Desk.
You can offer support through email, phone, or even live chat. The main advantage of Zoho Desk is it is so easy to use. Many businesses are using this tool to handle customer support. They have a highly secure environment that is handy when handling customer data.
On top of that, they have also developed a bot that will help you solve customer issues quickly. For example, it can show knowledgebase articles according to the customer’s responses. Overall, it is a good tool.
Features
- Rebranding is possible, so you can match it with your brand
- Secured environment so there won’t be any data loss
- Custom functions to make the job much easier
- The notification rules will help you configure when you need to get notified
- Zia – the AI can help you improve the productivity
Pricing
You should spend $20 a month for a subscription.
Pros
- The reporting feature will understand how the support is doing and where to improve
- The automation options available in Zoho desk are another advantage
- Since it offers multichannel support, you can improve the overall support experience
Cons
- There are limitations on their basic subscriptions
3) Help Scout
If you are looking for a customer support tool with all the major features but for affordable pricing, check out Help Scout. Most big brands use Help Scout to help them understand their customers and make better conversations. You can choose mailboxes according to your preferences.
Since the mailboxes are customizable, you can add more according to your requirements by paying a certain fee. You can provide support through email or chat. Another notable feature of Help Scout is you can generate custom reports based on your preferences.
It will help you well the business support its customers for a certain period. Plus, there is unlimited reporting history. So, you can track the data whenever you need it without any issues.
Features
- Customizable mailboxes for reputed brands
- API Access to do development-related stuff
- Enterprise security so data is always secured
- Unlimited reporting history
- Custom reports option to pull up reports based on a specific time
Pricing
Help Scout will cost you $20 a month per agent. It is an excellent deal for startups who need to save money but need the best tool.
Pros
- Email-based ticketing solution. They are easy to handle.
- A User-friendly interface will help you understand each feature in detail
- Integration options available with the platform are excellent
Cons
- Pricing could be a challenge for small teams
4) Intercom
If you need to use a tool with comprehensive settings, you should check out Intercom. You can also create bots based on the customer’s response. It is an excellent way to boost your business and reduce customer tickets. Plus, there are several app integrations available.
Intercom also helps you manage your customer issues through dedicated mobile apps. They have one of the industry’s best-looking and most powerful mobile apps. With the Salesforce integration, you can do more stuff effortlessly.
Features
- Automated answers will help you save time
- Intercom messenger for better productivity
- Advanced ticketing solution with cutting-edge features
- Team inboxes for managing tickets more efficiently
- Multilingual help center for a worldwide audience
Pricing
Intercom’s plans start at $74 a month. You could try using their free trial and see how the tool will help you with the business.
Pros
- The real-time messing feature will help the agents interact with the customers without any delays
- Their multilingual help center is best for everyone around the globe
- Best for teams because they have a team inbox feature
Cons
- Expensive platform
5) LiveChat
When you prefer a powerful tool to manage your customer issues, you should use LiveChat. With the tool, you can customize your entire chat widget and match it with your branding. On top of that, you can have complete chat history, which will help you find the right messages in individual chats.
LiveChat can be integrated with popular services like Zapier, Google Analytics, MailChimp, WordPress, Shopify, etc. With the help of LiveChat APIs, developers can enhance the tool’s features and add custom features.
With their team management option, you can group agents according to their department and set a chat limit. While considering the features, it is one of the finest Freshdesk alternatives.
Features
- Unlimited chat history so you can always go through your old messages
- Fully customizable interface, which is helpful for brands
- Data security is the high standard
- Ticketing system for easy customer helping
- Agent groups for better organizing
Pricing
LiveChat is a complete premium tool. The tool will cost you $20 a month per agent when billed annually. That’s the cheapest plan available; it is a good start for beginners.
Pros
- Optimized for mobiles, so if your customers use mobile phones, the experience will be great
- They have a reporting feature that will allow you to track how the business is handling support
- You can customize the live chat widget based on your requirements
Cons
- Offering live chat only would be a bad idea. Integrating emails or phone support is a plus
6) osTicket
If you need a customer support solution that can be self-hosted, osTicket could be a good option. With osTicket, you can create custom fields and topics and assign them to your tickets. The filtering option will help you find the right tickets without much hassle.
You can assign an agent and transfer the chat to someone else with the agent-assigning feature. If you have multiple departments and need to give the right person to the ticket, this feature would be handy.
Another notable feature is agent collision protection. You can avoid sending replies to the client twice with this feature.
Features
- Custom fields to make the ticketing process easier
- Filtering to improve the workflow
- Topics to organize the content easily
- Agent collision protection will help you with not sending messages twice to a user
- Agent assigning based on their experience or support level
Pricing
osTicket is a freemium tool. The free subscription will get you limited access. On the other hand, the premium subscription costs $12 a month per agent.
Pros
- Since it is a freemium tool, small businesses can see the tool to offer support
- The features are great, and you can offer the best customer satisfaction
- osTicket can be integrated with multiple tools to make the platform more powerful
Cons
- Limited features compared to other support tools
7) Zammad
Zammad is an excellent ticket to handle support tickets. You can offer support through channels like email, web forms, or even SMS. It is also optimized for multiple languages. So if you are targeting international clients, Zammad is an ideal option.
If you have higher subscription plans, you will get access to channels like Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. The integration with GitHub or GitLab is another plus.
With the tools, you can quickly increase the overall productivity.
Features
- Rest API to enhance the features of the tool
- A multilingual platform that is suitable for most people
- Multichannel support options, so all you need is this one tool
- Integration options to make the workflow easy
Pricing
Zammad is a premium solution. The tool’s subscription starts at €5 a month.
Pros
- Cost-effective tool and best for small businesses
- The reporting feature is excellent
- Developer-friendly tool so you can enhance the features of it
Cons
- The customization options could be better
8) TeamSupport
If you need a B2B customer support solution, you should check out TeamSupport. TechSupport is an excellent choice for both professionals and small business owners. The tool will give you insights into the customers, and you’ll get information on every one of them.
Since the tool is also easy to use, anyone can use it without technical knowledge. TeamSupport also can be integrated with HubSpot, Mailchimp, Jira, Slack, and so on.
The automation feature available with TeamSupport is another notable option that will help you. With live chat messaging, you can contact your customers in real-time.
Features
- Integration options that will help you make the platform more powerful by connecting with third-party apps or services
- SLA management to track the progress
- Live chat option to offer better support
- Reporting to analyze the performance
- Secured environment so you do not have to worry about the data security
Pricing
TeamSupport is a premium tool. The tool will cost $49 a month per agent.
Pros
- Robust ticket management options so you can handle your support easily
- The lie chat option helps you interact with your customers in real-time
- They will generate detailed reports for your support team
Cons
- The user interface could use some more work
9) LiveAgent
If you are looking for an easy-to-use tool to manage customer support, check out LiveAgent. LiveAgent is one of the most powerful multichannel support tools in the market. With the tool, you can connect apps/services like Gmail, chat, calls, Facebook, Twitter, Viber, Slack, and so on.
You can also integrate services like WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Jira, Google Analytics, etc. You can also include a live chat on the website with the tool. There are no additional customization options needed.
The tool comes with multiple features like agent collision, which will help your organization prevent answering the same ticket by different agents. With the custom roles feature, you can set specific conditions on the agent account.
Features
- Agent collision protection to avoid agents answering the same ticket
- Custom user roles for level-based access for agents
- Departments organization for big brands with multiple teams
- Email forwarding feature to get all the tickets delivered right to your personal inbox
Pricing
LiveAgent is a premium tool. The pricing starts at $9 a month.
Pros
- Centralized ticketing system to manage your tickets efficiently
- Mobile app supported so you can control the tickets directly from your mobile phone
- The platform comes with depart option, which will help you assign the tickets based on the type of it
Cons
- Complex for new users. There is a learning curve
Conclusion
When you handle a customer-centric business, you should focus on the customer experience and make better decisions. With a tool like Freshdesk, you could improve the customer experience drastically.
However, Freshdesk is only one of the tools available in the market with great features. If you want more tools with similar features, check out the options in this article.
They come with unique features, and you can choose an option according to your preferences.
That’s it.
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