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The best help desk software
We graded 12 help desks A+ to F. The biggest weight goes on what a team really pays once the AI agent and agent assist are on, because that is where list prices and real bills drift apart.
Grades
- 1
Top gradeIntercomby Fin (formerly Intercom)
Customer service platform pairing a shared inbox, help center and omnichannel messaging with the Fin AI agent.
- From
- $29 per seat a month, billed annually
- 10 agents, AI on
- $108/agent
- 2
Tidioby Tidio
AI-first customer service platform for small online businesses: live chat, email ticketing and the Lyro AI agent.
- From
- $24.17 a month billed annually, or $29 month to month, for 100 billable conversations (Starter)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $58/agent
- 3
Jira Service Managementby Atlassian
Atlassian's service desk, sold in Service Collection with a customer-service app, AI agent and assets.
- From
- $750 a year for up to 3 agents on Standard (about $20.83 per agent a month), or $25 per agent a month billed monthly
- 10 agents, AI on
- $98/agent
- 4
Freshdeskby Freshworks
Freshworks help desk; the Omni edition adds live chat, WhatsApp and Freddy AI agents billed per session.
- From
- $19 per agent a month, billed annually (Freshdesk Growth)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $133/agent
- 5
HubSpot Service Hubby HubSpot
Help desk built into HubSpot's CRM, with Customer Agent AI billed per resolution in credits.
- From
- $7 per seat a month, billed annually (Starter)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $112/agent
- 6
Frontby FrontApp, Inc.
Shared-inbox customer operations platform for B2B teams, with seat plans and an outcome-priced AI agent.
- From
- $25 per seat a month, billed annually (Starter, up to 10 seats, one channel type)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $130/agent
- 7
Gorgiasby Gorgias
Ecommerce help desk for Shopify brands, priced by ticket volume with an AI Agent that takes order actions.
- From
- $10 a month for 50 tickets on Starter, billed monthly
- 10 agents, AI on
- $112/agent
- 8
Help Scoutby Help Scout
Shared inbox help desk with live chat, a knowledge base and a pay-per-resolution AI chat agent.
- From
- $25 per user a month, billed annually
- 10 agents, AI on
- $63/agent
- 9
Zoho Deskby Zoho Corporation
Low-cost help desk from Zoho with multichannel ticketing, Zia AI assist and email-only AI agents.
- From
- $7 per user a month, billed annually (Express)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $40/agent
- 10
Salesforce Service Cloudby Salesforce
Salesforce's enterprise customer service platform, with Agentforce AI agents, omnichannel routing and deep CRM customization.
- From
- $25 per user a month on Starter Suite, billed monthly or annually
- 10 agents, AI on
- $620/agent
- 11
Zendeskby Zendesk
Omnichannel help desk with email, messaging, voice and AI agents billed per automated resolution.
- From
- $19 per agent a month, billed annually (Support Team)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $225/agent
- 12
LiveAgentby Quality Unit
Per-agent help desk with ticketing, live chat, a built-in call center and social channels, plus FlowHunt-powered AI.
- From
- $15 per agent a month, billed annually, or $19 month to month (Small business)
- 10 agents, AI on
- $15/agent
Compare the grades
Levels 1 to 5 on each criterion. Weights are in the column headers.
| Help desk | Grade | True 30% | Price 15% | AI 20% | Help 15% | Security 10% | What 10% | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intercom | B+ | 3/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 83 |
| Tidio | B+ | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | 80 |
| Jira Service Management | B+ | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 80 |
| Freshdesk | B | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 79 |
| HubSpot Service Hub | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 79 |
| Front | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 78 |
| Gorgias | B | 3/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 75 |
| Help Scout | B− | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 74 |
| Zoho Desk | B− | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 71 |
| Salesforce Service Cloud | B− | 1/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 71 |
| Zendesk | C+ | 1/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 69 |
| LiveAgent | C+ | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 5/5 | 68 |
Questions
What is the best help desk software?
Intercom earns the highest grade, B+ (83 points), ahead of Tidio at B+. Buy Intercom if you want the most capable AI agent in this guide on chat, email and phone, with a full help desk built around it. The catch is a bill with three moving parts, seats, Copilot and $0.99 per Fin outcome, that grows with every conversation Fin handles.
How much does help desk software cost with AI?
For 10 agents, 2,500 conversations a month, 500 of them resolved by AI, with agent assist for every agent, the full bill runs from $58 per agent a month (Tidio) to $620 (Salesforce Service Cloud), using public list prices.
Which help desks publish their AI prices?
Intercom, Tidio, Jira Service Management, Freshdesk, HubSpot Service Hub, Front, Gorgias, Help Scout, Salesforce Service Cloud, Zendesk and LiveAgent publish plan and AI prices you can turn into a full bill. The others leave part of the AI bill to a sales call or keep limits vague.
How are the grades worked out?
Each help desk gets a level from 1 to 5 on six criteria: true cost with ai on (30%), price transparency (15%), ai agent and assist (20%), help desk essentials (15%), security and data (10%), what users say (10%). The weighted total is out of 100 points and maps to a letter grade from A+ to F.