Compare pricing for the top help desk software products with the highest value-for-money and functionality ratings.
We hear from software buyers time and again that two of their top considerations when investing in a new help desk solution are price and functionality. Budget is a constraint for most businesses, but affordability alone doesn't make a product valuable—it must also offer the functionality you need.
In this report, we've ranked the most valuable help desk software products based on user reviews: those with the highest marks for both functionality and value for money. We also break down the starting cost and relevant pricing details for each product.
Top help desk software rated on value for money and functionality
The graphic below shows help desk products that have the highest value-for-money and functionality ratings based on user reviews in Capterra's help desk software directory. Products are arranged in increasing order of their value-for-money rating (bottom to top) and functionality rating (left to right).
Note: While products in the top-right zone of the graph rank higher in terms of both the functionality and the value-for-money rating, all products in this graph are top rated.
Price comparison for top-rated help desk software
Comparing pricing and features for multiple software solutions can prove to be a difficult task. We have created a table to highlight how different help desk software products stack up against each other in terms of starting pricing, free trials, and free versions, allowing you to compare these products all in one place.
The products in the above table are taken from the scatter plot (for which the pricing information is available publicly). These products are arranged in alphabetical order, and the pricing included in this table is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offering (discounted pricing not considered) found on vendor websites as of December 23, 2022. The cost of these help desk software products may vary based on the number of users, features, or other factors.
1. Apptivo
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
360-degree view in Apptivo
Apptivo is a cloud-based application catering to small businesses that manage various functions such as financials, human resources and supply chain management. It provides modules for contact management, lead management, and customer service ticket management.
Starting price: Starts at $8 per user, per month, billed annually. Includes eight custom dashboards and 18 apps.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions support 10 or more users, single sign-on (SSO) integration, and granular privilege control.
2. Flowlu
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Calendar in Flowlu
Flowlu is a business management solution that caters to various industries such as marketing agencies, IT departments, building and construction companies, and business consultants. It offers features such as knowledge management and task management. It also provides collaboration tools for teams such as file sharing, checklist, team chat, notifications and @mentions.
Starting price: Starts at $39 per month, billed monthly. Eight users included.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced features include up to 25 users and enhanced reporting.
3. Freshdesk
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Ticket automation in Freshdesk
Freshdesk is a cloud-based solution which caters to customer service providers. It helps businesses to monitor and keep track of customer conversations across email, chat, phone, and social media. Freshdesk also offers an AI-powered self-service portal.
Starting price: Starts at $12 per user, per month. It includes up to 20 invoice scans per month.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced features offered include assist bots, email bot, audit log, and auto-triage.
4. Freshservice
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Workflow automation in Freshservice
Freshservice is a solution that caters toIT Help Desk and service management industry. It enables organizations to simplify their IT operations. Some of the key features include a self-service portal, ticketing system, and knowledge-base. FreshService also provides a mobile app for both iOS and Android which allows administrators to service incidents remotely.
Starting price: Starts at $12 per user per month, billed annually. Includes 1000 Orchestration transactions/mo/account.
Features available at a higher price: Single sign-on option is available in advanced plans.
5. Genesys Cloud CX
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Contact center in Genesys Cloud CX
Genesys Cloud CX is a customer service solution which allows users to build self-service menus and customize the workflows using the drag-and-drop functionality. It offers features such as automated speech recognition in many different languages and a dashboard to view all interactions and progress in a unified way.
Starting price: Starts at $75 per month, billed annually.
Features available at a higher price: Includes unlimited mailboxes and live chat assistant.
6. Gladly
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Knowledge base in Gladly
Gladly is a customer service management solution. It caters to businesses of all sizes. It provides a single view for customer details along with their purchase history and preferences. It provides customer support through various channels such as voice, IVR, self-service portal, text and in-app chat.
Starting price: Starts at $150 per month, billed annually.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include 10 users and 10 email channels.
7. Gold-Vision CRM
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Dashboard in Gold Vision CRM
Gold Vision CRM allows you to combine the sales and marketing data, consolidate the full picture of your customers and then send relevant campaigns to nurture the leads. The platform enables users to track and link the customer interactions with their corresponding tickets. Gold Vision CRM provides a self-service support portal to customers
Starting price: Starts at $32.5 per user, per month, billed annually. Volume discount available for 25+ users.
Features available at a higher price: All features are offered in all the plans.
8. Gorgias
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Chat in Gorgias
Gorgias is a cloud based customer service app that is specifically designed for Shopify and integrates with Magento as well as BigCommerce. It offers features such as built-in templates, automation rules for ticket resolution, and subscription management. It allows customers to raise routine requests like returns, cancellations or damaged items through self-service portal.
Starting price: Starts at $10 per month, billed monthly. Three users and two social media channels included.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include chat transcripts, mobile chat window, and real-time visitors monitor.
9. HelpSpace
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Ticket management in HelpSpace
HelpSpace is a cloud based customer service platform which supports companies to automate their help desk tasks. The solution offers features including team inboxes, self-service sites, inbound channels, and workflow automation.
Starting price: Starts at $22 per month, billed monthly. Includes up to two users.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include unlimited chat history archiving.
10. JIRA Service Management
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Admin view in JIRA Service Management
JIRA Service Management is an IT service management solution which caters to businesses of all sizes. The solution enables teams to manage work/tasks across multiple teams on a single platform, respond and resolve the customer issues within defined SLAs, and configure automated rules to streamline repetitive tasks.
Starting price: Starts at $21 per user, per month, billed monthly. Includes up to 15 users.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include 65 apps, 300 workflows and dedicated account manager.
11. LiveAgent
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Purchase view in Liveagent
LiveAgent is a cloud based help desk solution for eCommerce businesses of small to midsize levels. The solution offers features such as ticket management, online self-service portals, and license management. It is a customizable solution which can be scaled with the growth of the company.
Starting price: Starts at $9 per user, per month, billed annually.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include unlimited chat history, unlimited email addresses, and call recordings.
12. LiveChat
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Custom chat settings in LiveChat
LiveChat is a help desk platform that caters to companies of all sizes and enables them to chat with their customers. LiveChat is a customizable solution, it allows users to set different themes of the chat windows. It offers add-on modules for marketing and sales customer relationship management.
Starting price: Starts at $20 per user, per month, billed annually. Includes 60 days chat history.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions offer unlimited chat history.
13. Raiseaticket
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
SLA settings in Raiseaticket
Raiseaticket is a cloud-based help desk for customer service and support. It provides a helpdesk portal to streamline and organize communications between customers and support teams. It allows businesses to assign tickets to teams or agents, add notes, attach files, update status and track time spent on the tickets.
Starting price: Free to use
Features available at a higher price: Single sign-on and two-way sync with Salesforce is available at additional cost.
14. Salesforce Service Cloud
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Contact management in Salesforce
Service Cloud from Salesforce is a cloud-based customer service software which enables businesses to initiate customer service activities remotely,from anywhere. It offers features that enable users to manage all active cases in the service cloud console. Its community tool provides a self-service platform to customers.
Starting price: Starts at $25 per user, per month, billed annually.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include up to 500 users, three social media channels, and 150 active integrations are supported.
15. SolarWinds Service Desk
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Tickets view in SolarWinds Service Desk
SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud based solution for IT helpdesk and service management companies. It allows users to manage customer service tickets as well as company assets. It can be accessed via any device which has internet connection. It provides a self service portal to users where they can search for a solution independently through the knowledge base.
Starting price: Starts at $19 per month, billed annually. Unlimited users supported.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions offer capabilities such as voice transcription minutes and workforce engagement management.
16. Splashtop Business Access
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Remote desktop control in Splashtop Business Access
Splashtop Business Access is a solution designed to cater to IT helpdesk and service providers in resolving queries. It supports file sharing and screen mirroring capabilities. The solution enables administrators to control remote devices using the installed software applications. It offers a screen recording module which allows employees to record the conversations in the archive for future reference.
Starting price: Starts at $5 per month, billed annually. Includes one user.
Features available at a higher price: All features are included in the plans.
17. TeamSupport
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Report view in TeamSupport
TeamSupport is a customer support software which allows businesses to track, record and resolve customer queries and provide a smooth customer experience. It offers AI-powered auto-routing tools, chatbots,as well as omnichannel capabilities and analytics. The platform provides you with reports to gather insights for better customer engagement to drive impact.
Starting price: Starts at $49 per user, per month, billed annually. Pricing for 'complete support' package considered.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions offer advanced incident management and unlimited file storage.
18. ThriveDesk
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Chat in ThriveDesk
ThriveDesk is a cloud based helpdesk software that uses contact form, live chat, email and other communication tools to provide a streamlined customer support interface. It offers a shared inbox, which enables users to manage customers' requests, conversations and interactions on a unified dashboard.
Starting price: Starts at $8 per user, per month, billed monthly. Includes two mailboxes and two live chat assistants.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced versions include unlimited mailboxes and live chat assistants.
19. Zoho Desk
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Chat in Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based platform which caters to businesses of all sizes. Key features offered include management of customer support tickets, contract management, a customer support portal, and reporting. It allows users to automate workflows for service escalations, ticket management, and notification rules.
Starting price: Starts at $8 per user, per month, billed monthly. Includes eight custom dashboards and 18 apps.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced version supports 10 or more users, single sign-on integration, and granular privilege control.
20. Spiceworks
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Overall rating
Value-for-money rating
Functionality rating
Device compatibility
Screenshots
Ticket management in Spiceworks
Spiceworks is a cloud based IT Help Desk solution which caters to IT customer service management businesses. It allows users to run help desk reports containing information like updates on ticket and labor by organization. The solution integrates with inventory online which allows users to track devices and documents progress for each ticket.
Starting price: Starts at $8 per user, per month, billed monthly. Includes eight custom dashboards and 18 apps.
Features available at a higher price: Advanced version supports 10 or more users, single sign-on integration, and granular privilege control.
If you want to explore more help desk tools, please visit our help desk category page.
How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did.
To find your ideal software match, you need information you can trust so you can save time, stay on budget, and focus more energy on growing your business. It’s why we vet and verify all our user reviews and recommend only the tools endorsed by people like you.
In other words, our product recommendations are never bought or sold, or based on the opinion of a single individual—they’re chosen by your peers, reflecting the views and experiences of our independent base of software reviewers.