7 Zendesk Alternatives & Competitors for Small Businesses in 2024
We saw a need to mention Zendesk alternatives that are more suitable for the needs of small and medium businesses. In the previous Zendesk article, we mentioned help desk platforms that offered a free trial.
In this article, we highlight platforms that are ideal for established businesses and the onboarding can be done only via a Demo.
The Best Zendesk alternatives for SMBs are:
(We mention the hidden gems on top of our list, to give them more exposure, over the already popular ones)
Richpanel
One of the newer but fast-growing names in the helpdesk space, Richpanel offers a versatile customer service platform for E-commerce brands. Richpanel is a Zendesk alternative that offers a multi-channel helpdesk, E-commerce CRM modules, and customer self-service portal with a slick and easy-to-use interface. Unlike Zendesk, Richpanel is not priced per agent, they allow unlimited users to use the platform.
Pros
✔️ Intuitive customer self-service portal to reduce agent-handled interactions
✔️ Multi-Channel helpdesk and Unified Customer Profile
✔️ Robust tools to monitor and manage team performance
✔️ Customer conversion tools that help boost sales
Cons
❌ No native phone call support
❌ Lack of enterprise and admin features
Pricing
– Free basic plan is available
– $300/month plan
– $600/month plan
– $900/month plan
– Custom pricing is also available for enterprise solutions
Best known for
Richpanel is purpose-built for E-commerce brands to centralize their customer support and bring down the tickets by more than 50%. The best part is their UI and usability. This reduces the need to switch between different tabs and platforms to carry out routine tasks.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.6/5
Freshdesk
Falling under the umbrella of Freshworks, Freshdesk is one of the more established business solutions providers in the customer support space. Along with ticketing, their platform also provides security and automation features for their clients. With a truly global reach, Freshdesk is only second to Zendesk.
Pros
✔️ Streamlined ticket management and self-service features
✔️ Gamification and automated reporting to help with teamwork and collaboration
✔️ Ample options for customization or branding
✔️ Unification of all communication channels into one platform through Omnichannel
Cons
❌ Lack of customization for dashboard
❌ Prices can be hefty for teams with a considerable number of agents
Pricing
– Free starter plan is available
– Growth plan: $15/agent/month billed annually
– Pro plan: $49/agent/month billed annually
– Enterprise plan: $69/agent/month billed annually
– Omnichannel Growth plan: $29/agent/month billed annually
– Omnichannel Pro plan: $59/agent/month billed annually
– Omnichannel Enterprise plan: $99/agent/month billed annually
Best known for
Freshdesk is best known for its Omnichannel features, which combine multiple communication channels into a single platform. Also, because it comes under the Freshworks umbrella, clients can integrate other Freshworks products into Freshdesk without any hassle.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.5/5
Podium
Focussing mainly on local businesses, Podium provides communication tools and enterprise solutions that are geared towards customer interaction. Along with reviews and payments, Podium is a Zendesk competitor that is rapidly expanding as a complete customer support solution with its lead generation and collaboration features.
Pros
✔️ Multiple communication and feedback channels combined into a streamlined dashboard
✔️ Advanced features to generate reviews across multiple forums and websites
✔️ Responsive and interactive feedback features
✔️ Effective lead generation features
Cons
❌ Lack of administrative features
❌ Lack of integration options with other platforms
Pricing
– Free trial plan available
– Essentials plan: $289 per month
– Standard plan: $449 per month
– Professional plan: $649 per month
Best known for
Podium, as a platform, is focused on improving the way businesses network with their customers, and that’s where its features excel. Whether it’s the all-in-one communication feature, or robust lead generation and feedback, interacting with customers become easy with this help desk software.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.4/5
HappyFox
Another formidable help desk solutions provider with many large multinational clients, HappyFox offers a ticketing and help desk solutions for businesses of all sizes. Along with customer support, HappyFox also offers many enterprise features related to asset management, task management, automation, and HR.
Pros
✔️ Multiple integration options into different platforms, including Slack
✔️ Multi-channel ticketing with automation features
✔️ Detailed agent activity reporting features to boost performance
✔️ Advance features to track and manage hardware and software assets
Cons
❌ Lack of knowledge base features
❌ Rule-based system makes automation rigid
Pricing
– Free trial plan available
Agent-based pricing;
– Mighty: $39 per agent per month
– Fantastic: $59 per agent per month
– Enterprise: $79 per agent per month
– Enterprise Plus: $99 per agent per month
Unlimited Agents pricing;
– Starter: $1,499 per month billed annually
– Growth: $1,999 per month billed annually
– Scale: $2,999 per month billed annually
– Scale Plus: $4,999 per month billed annually
Best known for
HappyFox is a comprehensive business solutions provider, with products for customer support, IT support, HR, and facilities management. What makes Happyfox a great alternative to Zendesk is its ticketing system, with features such as bulk replies and canned actions, that can smoothen the process of ticket management effectively.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.5/5
Gladly
Gladly is different from other help desk solutions. Instead of solely focussing on efficiency through ticket management, Gladly aims to make customer support a personal affair between clients and agents. Along with multiple communication channels, the platform also offers features that help with workforce and task management.
Pros
✔️ Multiple integration options
✔️ Multiple communication channels streamlined into one platform
✔️ Workforce management features that are powered by customer-centric data
✔️ Easier collaboration through features that bring together cross-functional teams
Cons
❌ Lack of automation features
❌ Very basic enterprise features
Pricing
– Free trial plan is available
– $38/month/user for task-based users
– $150/month/user for customer-facing user (minimum 10 seats)
Best known for
Gladly has positioned itself as a very customer-centric help desk software. Interactions between agents and clients become highly personalized through its messaging features, and automated responses are not used widely. For service and customer-centric businesses, such as hotels, spas and luxury brands, this help desk solution can be a huge asset.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.4/5
Dixa
This Danish start-up aims to differentiate itself from other customer support software through ‘conversational customer engagement’. Dixa provides communication, team management and reporting tools that are customer-centric, with an emphasis on the European market.
Pros
✔️ Customized integration options are available
✔️ Multiple communication channels available on one platform
✔️ Automated workflows to prioritize and route all incoming queries
✔️ Streamlined dashboard that is easy to use
Cons
❌ Lack of enterprise features for HR or admin teams
❌ High pricing compared to peers with similar products and services
Pricing
– Starter plan: Pricing revealed after talking to support
– Advanced plan: Pricing revealed after talking to support
– Unlimited plan: Pricing revealed after talking to support
Best known for
Dixa is known for features that are built for high customer engagement, which help improve agent efficiency and effectiveness. This platform can be very useful for businesses such as luxury brand and hotels, which are very customer-centric.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.5/5
Talkative
Talkative is a website-driven help desk platform. It embeds features such as live chat, voice and video calls into the online platforms of their clients, which helps integrate their clients’ help desk platform and contact centers.
Pros
✔️ Easily configurable and customizable features
✔️ Customised integration options
✔️ In-depth platform reporting and analytics features
✔️ On-site training and developer assistance offered to clients
Cons
❌ Lack of enterprise features for HR or admin teams
❌ Limited automation features
Pricing
– Team plan: $229/month for 3 users, an additional user at $35 per month
– Business plan: $579/month for 10 users, an additional user at $59 per month
– Enterprise plan has customized pricing.
Best known for
Talkative specializes in providing help desk infrastructure for online businesses. Talkative is also well known for its customer care, and they provide on-site training and SLA support to all their enterprise clients.
⭐ Our Rating – 4.4/5
The best Zendesk alternative
The companies mentioned above have proven to be really reliable for SMBs specifically. If you can think of any other software that should be included in the list, let us know about them in the comments.
