10+ Best Help Desk Software for Enterprise Support Teams

What Is Help Desk Software?

Help desk software is a type of assistance or help tool. It is made to help businesses handle customer questions and support requests in a timely manner. It works as the hub for all customer conversations.

This makes the workflow smoother. It also automates repetitive tasks and shares customer contacts and team results as needed.

These platforms often group various communication channels. These are things like email, phone, live chat, social media, and self-service portals into one unified interface.

Main features usually include managing tickets, automation, creating an information system, reporting, and looking at data. All these abilities, when combined with easy integration with other tools, make a big impact.

Who Should Use Help Desk Software?

Help desk tools are useful for businesses of all sizes. However, it is especially important for large companies and teams. These teams handle many customer contacts and difficult support situations. This includes:

• Customer Support Teams: Any team that answers customer questions, fixes problems, and gives help through different contact methods.
  
• IT Support Teams: Experts who manage internal IT requests and technical problems. They also make sure technology runs smoothly within a company.
  
• Company Service Management (ESM) Teams: Groups like HR, finance, and facilities that use service management ideas for people working inside the company.
• Client Success Managers: People who concentrate on building long-lasting customer connections. They need tools to keep track of dealings and address needs ahead of time.
  
• Growing Businesses: Companies that are getting bigger and need an organized system. This system helps manage more support requests without lowering quality.
  
• Businesses Wanting All-Channel Support: Teams that want to give a smooth and steady customer experience through all ways customers connect.

Why Do Enterprises Need Help Desk Software?

Spreadsheets and separate ways of talking just can't handle how complicated things get and the number of requests. Customer support teams need tools. These tools help them work smarter, not just harder, through the entire customer lifecycle. Here's why special help desk software is essential for large companies:

• Effective Ticket Management and Solving: Help desk tools gather all incoming requests into an organized system for tickets. This lets teams track, set priorities for, give out, and solve issues well.‍
• Better Agent Work Output: Automation features take care of repeated tasks. These include sending tickets to the right place, giving set answers for common questions, and managing service agreements. ‍
• Improved Customer Happiness (CSAT): Quicker answer times, steady communication, and self-help choices like information systems and customer pages help customers find answers quickly by themselves.‍
• Information-Based Ideas and Result Tracking: Full reporting and data-checking features give useful information about important support numbers. These include the number of tickets, time to solve issues, how well agents are doing, and trends in customer happiness.‍
• Ability to Grow for More Demands: As large companies grow, the number of support requests also grows. A reliable help desk tool is made to grow too. It can handle more agents, customers, and tickets without a drop in how well it works.‍
• Steady All-Channel Support: Modern help desk tools allow businesses to give a single support experience through many contact methods. These include email, phone, chat, social media, and messaging apps. ‍
• Information Management and Self-Help: Being able to create and keep up a full information system lets customers and agents quickly find answers to common questions.

Top 5 Best Help Desk Software (Comparison)

10+ Top Help Desk Software Solutions for 2025

1. Thunai

Thunai is a smart, AI-assisted help desk tool. It acts like a "second brain." It's built to make complex work steps automatic, handle conversations over many channels, and encourage action in various teams. These teams include customer support, sales, and marketing.

Thunai works as a main AI-supported information store, bringing together data from a range of company sources. With over 50+ regional languages for support, Thunai comes with voice, email, and chatbots to improve customer experience exponentially.

Aside from this it has AI call scoring and call summaries that make Thunai sets itself apart by highlighting its AI's learning and adapting abilities. Working as an "ever-growing" tool that becomes more personalized over time.

Here's why Thunai is one of the best help desk software to work with.

Key Features of Thunai

• AI-assisted Call Management and Meeting Smarts: Thunai supplies automatic handling of call interactions. It connects with tools like Zoom, Teams, and Meet. This allows it to get, record, and look at customer interactions in real time. It also creates summaries with important ideas and action items.‍
• Smart AI Agents: Thunai has AI chatbots and voice assistants (using technology from Twilio and Ozonetel). These tools can handle common questions and complex issues. They can also supply assistance with work steps. This includes sentiment analysis.‍
• Process Automation: Thunai lets users make custom work steps. These steps can trigger actions like drafting emails, syncing calendars, dynamically updating FAQs, automatically scoring leads, and creating specially made proposals.‍
• AI-Assisted Website Chat Widget: This feature supplies real-time answers to questions from website visitors. It aims to decrease support ticket numbers and supply 24/7 assistance.‍
• Sales Support Tools (also useful for support situations): This includes sentiment analysis for call scoring. It helps create specially made emails. It also supplies sales pipeline tracking (which can be adapted for support ticket stages) and provides 360-degree data checking.

‍Thunai Pros

• Comes with a screen-sharing AI agent
• No-code customization of AI voice and chat agents
• Multi-purpose and can be used by sales and marketing departments as well

‍Thunai Cons

• You need to integrate another tool to manage tickets

2. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a leading product from Freshworks. It is a cloud-based customer service software. This help desk software is designed to help companies of all sizes manage their customer support tasks.

Freshdesk is well-known for being user-friendly. This help desk tool includes smart ticketing, automation, and AI-assisted functions.

A main strategic approach for Freshdesk is its valuable free plan. This plan supports up to 10 agents. This greatly makes it easier for small companies and new companies to start using the software. This lets companies grow their usage and feature set as they expand.

Key Features of Freshdesk

• Ticketing System: Gathers conversations from different channels (email, social media, chat, phone) into tickets that can be managed. It has features like a shared inbox, custom fields, SLA management, and agent collision detection.
  
• All-Channel Support: Manages dealings from email, live chat, social media (Facebook, Twitter), phone (through Freshcaller), and website widgets in one single screen.
  
• Automation Engine: Strong automation for sorting/sending tickets, pre-set answers, SLA management, and escalations.
  
• Team Cooperation Tools: Shared notes, tagging, internal discussion threads, and sharing tickets.

Freshdesk Pros

• Easy integrations and reliable security
• Affordable help desk with automation

Freshdesk Cons

• Limited advanced customization of workflows
• Customer support can be unresponsive
• Can have performance issues at times

3. Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management is a complete IT Service Management (ITSM) tool. A core idea is improving cooperation between development, IT operations, and business teams on a single tool. Its origin from Jira, a leading project and issue tracking tool, means it naturally uses strong issue tracking and adaptable work steps.

JSM's clear strength in connecting Development (Dev) and Operations (Ops) work steps is a big market difference, especially for tech-focused companies.

Jira Service Management is one of the top help desk software tools to work with. It allows smooth tracking of issues from a customer report to when a code fix is put in place.

Key Features of Jira Service Management

• Request Management: Adaptable service page, no-code form builder, automatic ticket sending, organized queues, and SLA management.
  
• Incident Management: Tools for quick response, solving issues, and reviews after incidents. It connects with Opsgenie for alerts and on-call scheduling.
  
• Problem Management: Grouping related incidents to find the main cause. It connects with Confluence for documents.
  
• Atlassian Intelligence (AI): Virtual service helper, AI-supported task automation, generative AI for content, customer feeling analysis, and AI help for settings.

Jira Service Management Pros

• Easy to use
• Comes with multiple pre-built integrations

Jira Service Management Cons

• It can get expensive for larger teams

4. Zendesk

Zendesk, started in Copenhagen in 2007 by Mikkel Svane, Alexander Aghassipour, and Morten Primdahl, is a globally known customer service software company. Zendesk gives an AI-improved tool to manage customer dealings across many channels. Zendesk aims to make support work smoother and improve customer and employee experiences.

Zendesk's strategy involves presenting "Suite" plans that bundle a wide range of products. One of the top help desk software to work with, Zendesk aims to be an all-around center for customer and employee experience.

Key Features of Zendesk

• Ticketing System: Turns customer requests from all channels into organized, trackable tickets. It supports cooperation and automation.
  
• Multi-Channel Support (All-Channel): Single agent workspace connecting email, phone (Zendesk Talk), live chat (Zendesk Chat), social media (Facebook, Twitter), and messaging apps (WhatsApp).
  
• AI and Automation: AI helpers (Answer Bot) for instant answers, work step automation for sending tickets and SLA watching, and an AI Copilot for agent help.
  
• CRM Abilities (Zendesk Sell): Manages leads, contacts, and deals with email connections and sales reporting.

Zendesk Pros

• Has AI-powered automation
• Dashboards are customizable

Zendesk Cons

• It can be expensive for some
• Customizing workflows can get complex

5. ManageEngine

ManageEngine, particularly with its ServiceDesk Plus offering, is a significant player in the helpdesk software arena, earning considerable user traction among enterprises. This help desk tool is recognized for its T Service Management (ITSM) capabilities and is generally considered reliable.

This goes especially with its user-friendly interface for those with a technical background.

That said, while the basic setup can be straightforward, unlocking its full potential through advanced customization and configuration can require notable technical know-how.

ServiceDesk Plus has over twenty years in the ITSM field. A key unique selling point is its two ways of setting it up and "privacy first design." It runs its own global data centers.

This makes it a top help desk software for businesses with strict data location or security needs.

Key Features of ManageEngine ServiceDesk

• IT Help Desk (Standard Plan): Incident management, adaptable ticket templates, visual ticket stage builder, no-code automation, self-help page, information system, SLA management, reporting.
  
• Company Service Management (ESM): Set up with multiple parts for separate service desk areas for different departments.
  
• AI and Machine Learning (Zia, ChatGPT, Copilot Connection): Predictive smarts for ticket sorting/sending, virtual support helper (Zia), GenAI for getting information/writing answers, Reply Assist, auto-approvals.
  
• Adaptation and Low-Code Tool: Create custom sections, forms, settings, and reports.

ManageEngine Pros

• Handles tickets from multiple departments easily
• The Auto routing feature helps make the workflow a lot quicker

ManageEngine Cons

• Needs more customization options
• Reporting and analytics need improvement
• Integration capabilities are lacking

6. HappyFox Help Desk

HappyFox is a top help desk software, well-regarded by enterprises for its complete feature set and user traction. This platform for customer support and IT service management is generally considered user-friendly and reliable in terms of performance and security.

However, some users note that fully using its extensive functionalities can present a learning curve initially.

Nevertheless, HappyFox stands out with its competitive pricing structure, especially its unlimited agent plans for larger organizations, and a wide array of integrations with other business-critical software.

Key Features of HappyFox Help Desk

• Ticket Management: Converts requests from various channels into tickets, with features like mass reply, merging/splitting, custom fields/tags, quick reply, agent collision detection, and time tracking.
  
• Omnichannel Support: Collects customer inquiries from various channels like email, chat, phone, and social media into a unified ticketing system for streamlined management.
  
• Self-Service Portal: A Customizable portal for users to submit/track tickets, access the KB, and community forums.
  
• Reporting and Analytics (HappyFox BI): Dashboards, reports on agent/group performance, customer analysis, custom reports, SLA performance, and satisfaction surveys.
  

HappyFox Help Desk Pros

• Affordable help desk solution

HappyFox Help Desk Cons

• Not easy to keep track of who received tickets
• Some features are not customizable, which assigning tickets difficult

7. LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a multi-channel help desk and live chat software. It came about from the founders' need for better real-time support for their other product, Post Affiliate Pro.

LiveAgent aims to make customer communication smoother by bringing together dealings from email, chat, phone, and social media into a universal inbox.

This help desk tool highlights speed and ease of setup. LiveAgent serves over 40,000 businesses worldwide.

LiveAgent's claim of having the "fastest setup software" and "fastest chat widget" is a key competitive statement. This makes it good help desk software for small businesses looking for a quick setup.

Key Features of LiveAgent

• Universal Inbox and Ticketing System: Brings together communications (email, chat, calls, social media). It has features like email piping, departments, priorities, tags, rules, and ticket sending.
  
• Live Chat: Fast, adaptable live chat widget with real-time typing preview, chat invitations that act first, sending chats, and happiness surveys.
  
• Call Center: Built-in features with unlimited call recordings, IVR, call sending, transfers, and video calls (on higher plans).
  
• Social Media Connection: Supports Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Viber.
  

LiveAgent Pros

• A good software for both customers and agents
• Reliable customer support

LiveAgent Cons

• The reporting functionality is not the best
• Some users reported that usability could be better

8. Help Scout

Help Scout originated from the founders' own need for a better customer support tool.

Help Scout provides an email-centric customer support platform, a knowledge base tool (Docs), and an embeddable search/contact widget (Beacon).

This help desk tool emphasizes a personal touch in customer interactions. In doing so, it avoids traditional ticket numbers for a more conversational feel. Help Scout is a Certified B Corporation™.

The company's philosophy is rooted in fostering human-centric interactions, a key USP.

Key Features of Help Scout

• Shared Inbox: Manages customer emails (and other channels) as a team. It allows giving tasks, internal notes, collision detection, and seeing replies in real time.
  
• Information System (Docs): Create self-help centers with articles. It supports SEO, contact forms, and custom branding.
  
• Live Chat & Messaging (Beacon): A Widget that can be put on websites for access to Docs, a contact form, and live chat. It supports messages that act first, in-app messages, and AI-powered instant answers from help content.
  
• Customer Management: View customer profiles, conversation history, and data from connected apps.
  

Help Scout Pros

• Easy to use and collaborate with
• Has workflows that help automate processes
• The ticket system is easy to set up

Help Scout Cons

• Some of the features can get confusing
• Some users reported trouble when using the mobile app

9. Intercom

Intercom is known for its ability to engage customers ahead of time. This help desk software combines live chat, targeted messages, and a help center into one tool.

Intercom is particularly good help desk software for SaaS businesses and companies looking to engage customers throughout their lifecycle.

A key aspect of Intercom is its focus on "conversational support" and "conversational engagement," aiming to make online business personal.

Key Features of Intercom

• Business Messenger (Live Chat): A highly customizable messenger for websites and apps, enabling real-time conversations.
  
• Targeted Messages: Send automated, targeted in-app messages, push notifications, and emails for onboarding, announcements, or behavior-driven engagement.
  
• Shared Inbox: Manage conversations from chat, email, and other channels in a unified inbox with features for collaboration, routing, and automation.
  
• Automation Workflows (Custom Bots): Build custom bots to qualify leads, route conversations, and handle common support queries.

Intercom Pros

• Does not need a lot of expertise to set up
• Data tracking capabilities allow you to collect customer insights

Intercom Cons

• Intercom can be on the expensive side for some
• Users reported a complicated user interface
• Customization options for emails are limited

10. Zoho Desk

Launched in 2016, Zoho Desk is made to help businesses put the customer first. It gives tools for all-channel ticket management, AI-powered help, self-help, automation, and reporting. It connects deeply with other Zoho products like Zoho CRM. This gives a single customer view for businesses already using Zoho tools.

Its key unique selling point is "context-aware" support. This help desk software uses customer data from different contact points (especially from other Zoho apps) to give more personalized and effective service.

Key Features of Zoho Desk

• All-Channel Ticket Management: Brings together requests from email, phone, chat, social media, web forms, and community forums into a single ticketing system.
  
• Zia - AI-Powered Helper: Zoho's AI, Zia, gives abilities like auto-tagging tickets, feeling analysis, chatbot (Answer Bot), agent help (Smart Assist), skill-based sending, and predictive data checking.
  
• Self-Help Page: Adaptable page where customers can access the information system, community forums, and track their tickets.
  
• Process Management (Blueprint): Design and make sure agents follow specific support processes for steady service delivery.

Zoho Desk Pros

• Easy-to-navigate interface

Zoho Desk Cons

• Multiple users have mentioned that there is poor customer service
• Limited reporting capabilities
• Slow loading speed and reactivity

How to Choose Your Ideal Help Desk Software

• Cost and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Understand the cost structure well, whether it's per agent, based on usage, or has different levels. Add any extra costs for add-ons, connections, premium support, or going over certain usage limits. Think about the TCO compared to the value and return the software will bring to your support work.‍
• Automation and AI Abilities: Look at the software's automation features for tasks like sending tickets, grouping them, and standard answers. AI-supported abilities are becoming more important. These include smart chatbots for 24/7 support, feeling analysis to understand customer mood, AI-powered suggestions for agents, and predictive data checking to find trends or possible issues. These can greatly improve how well support works and its quality.‍
• Connection with Existing Systems: Check that the help desk software can smoothly connect with your current business tools. This is especially true for CRM systems (like Salesforce or HubSpot), communication tools (Slack, Microsoft Teams), e-commerce tools, and any internal databases or programs. Smooth connection stops data from being isolated, makes work steps smoother, and gives a complete view of the customer. Using multiple tools is common; therefore, strong connection abilities are very important.‍
• Ease of Use and Agent Experience: A difficult system can lead to slow use and unhappy agents. Look for a design that is easy to understand, has simple navigation, and an easy learning path, especially for the main features. Think about the tools given to agents to help them solve issues well, such as internal information systems, cooperation features, and a clear view of customer history.‍
• All-Channel Support Abilities: Modern customers expect to talk with businesses through different channels – email, phone, live chat, social media, messaging apps, and self-help pages. The ideal help desk software should bring these dealings together into a single view. This lets agents give steady support that fits the situation, no matter the channel.‍
• Adaptation and Flexibility: Large companies often have their own work steps and specific data tracking needs. The software should allow for changes to ticket fields, forms, work steps, statuses, and the customer-facing page. This is to match your brand and how you work.‍
• Reporting and Data Checking: Dependable data checking and reporting features are very important for watching how things are going, understanding customer needs, and making decisions based on data. Look for adaptable dashboards, reports on key numbers

Why Choose Thunai As Your Help Desk Software

Repeated tasks slow down even the best support teams. Thunai’s adaptable workflow automation abilities allow you to make processes smoother. These include assigning tickets, setting their importance, and even writing first responses or follow-up emails based on their large information system and past dealings.

Also, Thunai’s smart AI communication set, having smart chatbots and voice helpers, can manage common questions 24/7. This turns away a large part of routine tickets and makes sure your customers get quick answers, even outside business hours.

Stop leaving customer satisfaction to chance and repetitive tasks to your valuable human agents. Want predictable improvements in your support metrics and to truly master your help desk workflow?

Try Thunai for free and revolutionize your enterprise support process.

‍Help Desk Software FAQs

What is a help desk solution used for?

Help desk software is used to manage customer support. It tracks issues, replies to questions, and assigns tickets. It helps support teams stay organized.

What is the top help desk software?

There’s no one best help desk for everyone. Thunai is one of the best help desk software for scaling personalized customer support. That said, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and Jira are also top help desk software for different needs.

Is a help desk a CRM tool?

No, a help desk is not the same as a CRM. Help desk software focuses on support, while CRM handles sales and customer data. Some tools offer both on one platform.