Is your help desk still relying on a manual ticketing strategy? Your IT and customer support agents may be witnessing a constant accumulation of unassigned customer support tickets and unresolved support-related issues. Solution? A help desk tool with a ticket management module to help users systematically record, prioritize, and resolve service requests.
Help desk solutions offer various features such as a self-service portal, customer interaction tracking, and more. Though such features can make help desk operations easier, you still need to ensure that the tool you pick fulfills your business requirements.
To help you make the right decision, this article highlights, in alphabetical order, the five top-rated help desk software for small businesses based on user reviews. For each product, we include overall user ratings along with the highest-rated parameter, review excerpts from industry professionals, and product pricing. Read more.
1. Claritysoft CRM
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from small businesses professionals who have used Claritysoft CRM for help desk:
"It is an easy CRM to manage, and works great with the internal follow-up mechanisms."
"The contact database feature has greatly improved our ability to manage and organize our contacts, track their interactions with our company, and segment them for targeted marketing campaigns. The dashboard feature has provided us with a customizable and intuitive overview of our sales pipeline, customer interactions, and marketing efforts, allowing us to make informed business decisions. Additionally, the lead capture feature has enabled us to capture and store leads from a variety of sources in one place, automating the lead management process and allowing us to respond more quickly to potential customers. Finally, the lead distribution feature has been highly valuable in automatically assigning leads to the right sales representative based on predefined criteria."
"Product is easy to use and helps me keep track of sales pipeline, next steps, and outcomes."
Read all Claritysoft CRM reviews here.
2. EngageBay CRM
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from small business professionals who have used EngageBay for help desk:
"It is a solid all-in-one marketing, sales, and service automation platform, which offers a wide range of features to help businesses manage their processes. Its user-friendly interface, automation capabilities, and excellent customer support make it an ideal option for businesses looking to streamline their processes."
"We're very happy with EngageBay. The software is easy to use and the support can't be beat. It's a great tool for a small business."
"Overall EngageBay has been easy to setup within our business and we are getting on track with becoming more efficient in using EngageBay. The automation has been really great to have our clients journey more streamlined to free up more time for other tasks."
Read all EngageBay CRM reviews here.
3. Freshdesk
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from small business professionals who have used Freshdesk for help desk:
"I really like the ease of use - Freshdesk is simple and intuitive and even for somebody who has never seen it before, it really tells you where to look for each thing (or even better, you can use a search bar to look for it!). Also, the customer support team of Freshdesk is amazing and I've never waited for more than a few minutes for them to get back to me with help, love them!"
"Very nice tool thats easy to use and simplifies it for my team on scheduling and callbacks to the customers that require help. Great ticketing software for IT."
"I think that Freshdesk this software is the best customer support tool ever. It contains a lot of great features and it depends on artificial intelligence and the thing I liked the most is that I control the responses to customers and their inquiries on all platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and others through one control panel which is Freshdesk."
Read all Freshdesk reviews here.
4. HubSpot Service Hub
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from small business professionals who have used HubSpot Service Hub for help desk:
"HubSpot is easy to use and has a robust support/helpdesk - always ready and happy to help with any queries."
"Overall, HubSpot Service Hub is a powerful customer service platform that offers an impressive array of features to help businesses deliver exceptional support experiences. With its intuitive interface, robust ticketing system, knowledge base functionality, and insightful analytics, it empowers organizations to enhance customer satisfaction and streamline their support operations. Despite the need for more integration options, HubSpot Service Hub remains a top choice for businesses seeking to elevate their customer service capabilities."
"Amazing so far. It was easy to implement, the interface is extremely friendly and they also have active support for the client."
Read all HubSpot Service Hub reviews here.
5. LiveAgent
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Highest-rated parameter
Commonly used by
Starting price
Device compatibility
Here are some review excerpts from small business professionals who have used LiveAgent for help desk:
"I am using LiveAgent exclusively for web chat and it works great. I love that I don't have to commit to a large suite of features to use this widget (it's available on a free tier). It looks like the software has a lot more to offer for users who would need more functionality and the pricing seems reasonable based on what I've seen from other services. I've dealt with LiveAgent's support a couple of times and found them helpful."
"LiveAgent is used to communicate with live chat in real time and it is really excellent and very easy for customers and also it has built-in customer relationship management, powerful analytics package, in addition to motivation features they invite users to discover many advantages and the seller explains that users can join many large companies in providing world-class customer service with LiveAgent."
"LiveAgent is easy to use and what I most like about the software is that its pricing is divided by functions; for example, the basic plan includes email support which is the one my company needs because we support only email channels. I liked the rules feature the most; it allows to set up automated workflows for more efficiency."
Read all LiveAgent reviews here.
What features do help desk management tools offer?
Help desk software solutions offer core features such as:
Ticket management: | Helps businesses track, organize, and prioritize customer inquiries, issues, and requests. This functionality typically includes ticket creation, assignment, status tracking, and escalation. |
Knowledge base management: | Enables businesses to create, organize, and share a repository of articles, FAQs, troubleshooting guides, and other relevant information with customers. The knowledge base serves as a self-service resource for customers, empowering them to find answers to common questions and resolve issues independently. |
All products listed in this report include the features mentioned above. Besides these core features, help desk customer support software also commonly tends to offer:
Activity dashboard
Alerts/escalation
Interaction tracking
Macros/templated responses
Multi-channel communication
Prioritization
Reporting/analytics
Self-service portal
Service level agreement (SLA) management
Third-party integrations
Remote support
Workflow configurations
How to choose the right help desk software for small businesses
Here are some factors to consider while you look for the best help desk software for small businesses:
Outline your help desk requirements: Start by clearly defining your specific needs and requirements from a help desk software solution. Consider factors such as the size of your business, the volume of customer inquiries, the types of support channels you use (email, phone, live chat, or social media), and any specific features or integrations you require. This will help you narrow down your options and choose software that aligns with your business objectives.
Evaluate ticket management features: Having a robust ticket management module is necessary for small businesses to handle customer inquiries efficiently. Look for features such as ticket creation, assignment, tracking, prioritization, and escalation. Ensure that the software provides a centralized dashboard where you can view and manage all customer tickets easily.
Check out the free trial version: Some help desk software vendors offer a free trial of their tool, which usually comes with limited access for 15 to 30 days. Free trials help you understand the features and functionality of a tool so that you can make the right choice.
Common questions to ask software vendors before purchasing help desk software for small businesses
Consider asking your vendor the following questions so that you find the best help desk system for your small business:
Are there any tools to measure the customer support team's performance?
Most help desk software solutions include reporting and analytics tools that track key customer service metrics, such as resolution time, first response time, resolution rate, and total conversations. The software you choose should also help generate, share, and download detailed reports, including resolved tickets, unresolved tickets, agent performance, support ticket volume, and audit reports. These features help small business owners measure the level of customer satisfaction and the performance of their customer support team.
Is there a self-service feature to scale customer support efforts?
Self-service features in help desk software include knowledge bases, FAQs, community forums, and chatbots. These tools enable customers to find answers to their questions or resolve issues independently, without requiring direct assistance from support agents. This scales customer support efforts by reducing the workload on support teams and improving customers' access to information and solutions.
Does this tool offer visual support tools?
Visual support tools such as integrated screen-share and video-recording functionality allow customers to share videos of the exact issue they are experiencing. They can also demonstrate the steps they have taken and show any error messages or unexpected behavior, providing a more detailed understanding of the problem at hand and improving issue diagnosis. Likewise, customer support agents can share videos with customers to help resolve issues.