8 Best Help Desk Software for Startups in 2024

In order to take care of your customers, you need the best help desk system. This software will help you manage your customer support team and provide a great experience for your customers.

There are different types of help desk software solutions like ticketing systems, live chat software, and knowledge base software. We'll give you exposure to different types of help desk software, but which software you need will depend on your company's goals. 

If you have an online business, you might be more interested in live chat features, but in-person locations may need more customer ticket organization. Have a good idea of what your business really needs before investing in software that doesn't really help.

1. Zendesk – Best Help Desk Software Overall for Startups
2. Zoho Desk – Best for Startups on a Budget
3. HubSpot – Ideal for Multi-Department Support
4. HelpDesk – Best Ticketing System for Startups
5. HappyFox – Ideal for Customization
6. SolarWinds Service Desk – Best for Tech Startups
7. Freshdesk – Best for Reliability
8. TeamSupport – Best for Starting Out

Zendesk is a cloud-based customer service software that offers ticketing, live chat, and knowledge base features. It is one of the most popular help desk software on the market and offers a great experience for both customers and businesses. 

With Zendesk, you're getting an all-in-one solution, meaning you don't have to worry about missing a text, phone call, social media post, or email. 

Pros

• Plenty of customer support available
• Used by major brands
• Omnichannel approach that satisfies all communication channels

Cons

• Can be confusing to start with because of robust features

Pricing and Features

• Suite Team ($49/agent/month): Automated answers, ticket system, email, voice, SMS, and live chat
• Suite Growth ($79/agent/month): Everything in Suite Team, plus self-service portal, knowledge management, and customizable ticket layouts
• Suite Professional ($99/agent/month): Everything in Suite Growth, plus integrated community forums, and advanced voice capabilities
• Suite Enterprise ($150/agent/month): Everything in Suite Professional, plus customizable workspaces, team roles, and permissions.

Zendesk also offers an enterprise plan starting at $215/agent/month for companies that need more resources.

Try one of Zendesk’s packages, built for businesses and trusted by major brands, here. 

Learn more by reading our full Zendesk review.

Zoho is a big name in the customer service software world, and its desk product is no different. Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer service software that offers ticketing, live chat, and knowledge base features. 

Zoho Desk is a great option for startups because it has a free plan so you can get used to how the system works without throwing a ton of investment into it. 

Pros

• Used by some of the biggest brands in the world
• Easy to implement and use

Cons

• You may need to customize the system when first using it for your specific business

Pricing and Features

• Free: Up to three users, email ticketing, mobile apps
• Standard ($20/agent/month): Everything in Free, plus social and community channels, product-based ticket management, reports, and dashboards
• Professional ($35/agent/month): Everything in Standard, plus team management, multi-department tracking, and round-robin ticket assignment
• Enterprise ($50/agent/month): Everything in Professional, plus live chat, Multilevel IVR, and custom reports

HubSpot, much like Zoho, offers customer service management, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, HubSpot is a complete customer relationship management (CRM) tool. This means it can do a lot more than just help you with your customer service. 

It's great for sales, marketing, and even has a live chat feature. So, if you're looking for a solution that tackles several problems all in one software, HubSpot is your best bet.

Pros

• Can include marketing, sales, automation, and email management
• One of the biggest brands in the industry

Cons

• One of the more expensive options on the list

Pricing and Features

HubSpot offers several different services, but the pricing below will reflect only the customer service software pricing.

• Starter ($45/month): Live chat, meeting schedule, and 1 to 1 email
• Professional ($360/month): Everything in Starter, plus automation and self-service, customer experience surveys, and phone support
• Enterprise ($1,200/month): Everything in Professional, plus hierarchical teams, additional customizations, and improved growth

HubSpot offers much more than help desk services. See how their software can help your startup succeed. 

HelpDesk uses the ticketing system in a highly efficient way that tracks all customers’ messages and keeps them in one centralized location. With the software, you'll be able to organize each message to determine if it has been solved already or still needs help. 

For startups who aren't looking for a ton of tech with their help desk and just need something reliable and easy to use, HelpDesk is a great option. 

Pros

• Organized and efficient ticketing system
• Automated resolving tickets for complex cases

Cons

• Doesn't have many features outside of its ticketing system

Pricing and Features

• Starter ($5/agent/month): Unlimited ticket history, collaboration tools, and automated workflows
• Team ($24/agent/month): Everything in Starter, plus teams, multiple mailboxes, and advanced analytics
• Enterprise (Varies): Everything in Team, plus account managers, multichannel communication, and additional assistance

Much like the other help desk software on this list, HappyFox specializes in creating a ticket system for startups where you can track SMS, phone calls, email, social media, and more. 

The software centralizes all communication so you can round-robin your team to take on the customer questions.

Pros

• Has lots of customization options
• Great for teams with multiple departments to track

Cons

• HappyFox doesn't separate itself much from its competition when compared to its higher price

Pricing and Features

Pricing will vary depending on how many team members need access to the platform. Below is a list of pricing for five members. 

• Mighty ($39/agent/month): Omnichannel ticket creation, knowledge base
• Fantastic ($59/agent/month): Everything in Mighty, plus satisfaction surveys and round-robin ticket assignment
• Enterprise ($79/agent/month): Everything in Fantastic, plus task management, advanced reporting, and advanced contact group features
• Enterprise Plus ($99/agent/month): Everything in Enterprise, plus increased customer support and additional storage

HappyFox also offers enterprise packages for larger companies

Tech startups face a difficult challenge other industries don't really face and that's dealing with a host of IT issues. New tech is always going to take some getting used to but giving it a ton of time in your business may not be the most cost-effective way of dealing with the situation. 

SolarWinds Service Desk helps IT companies with ITIL-ready software that allows companies to analyze trends, improve service management processes, and monitor service quality.

Pros

• Great for managing IT issues for customers
• Good entry-level ticketing system

Cons

• Focuses primarily on IT services

Pricing and Features

• Team ($19/agent/month): Incident management, service portal, and unlimited requestors
• Business ($39/agent/month): Everything in Team, plus service catalog, groups, and custom roles
• Professional ($69/agent/month): Everything in Business, plus custom fields and forms and advanced automation
• Enterprise ($89/agent/month): Everything in Professional, plus multi-factor authentication and up to 1,500 API calls per user per minute

Freshdesk is one of the most popular tools on the market, and for good reason. The system has a wide range of features, is easy to use, and can be customized to fit the needs of any business. 

It has multi-channel support, including Facebook and Twitter, and it provides good support for email, ticketing, automation, and social. It's highly trusted by many businesses and considered to be one of the best help desk software platforms available.

Pros

• Very easy to use and integrate into your current system
• Highly flexible for integration and functionality

Cons

• Prices get high if you need multiple agents on the account

Pricing and Features

• Free: Ticketing system, database, and team collaboration
• Growth ($18/agent/month): Everything in Free, plus improved customization and automation
• Pro ($59/agent/month): Everything in Growth, plus custom reports, custom apps, and a multilingual knowledge base
• Enterprise ($95/agent/month): Everything in Pro, plus AI robo integration to help automate tasks

TeamSupport has a lot of features the other companies provide, but it doesn't seem to have the resources to update its interface. This leaves the business feeling a little behind the times, although it does a good job with customer service management.

The TeamSupport platform is very simple to use, and it's perfect if you've never worked with customer service software before. You'll get most of the usual features like ticket management and omnichannel approach, but you won't get all the beauty of modern software.

Pros

• Seamless to integrate into existing systems and start using
• Has the basic features of a help desk software

Cons

• User interface is a bit outdated
• Expensive compared to other options

Pricing and Features

• Essential ($49/month): Advanced ticket management, knowledge base, basic reporting, and dashboard
• Professional ($79/month): Everything in Essential, plus up to three integrations, full-page ticket customization, and common response shortcuts
• Enterprise ($99/month): Everything in Professional, plus chatbot, automatic generation of ticket FAQs, and hierarchical system organization

While the help desk software options featured above are great options for any startup, there are still several solid choices for startup help desk services. These are some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list but are still good help desk software options for startups. 

Help Scout helps businesses manage customer relationships from end-to-end – all on one platform. They offer services in a variety of industries, from SaaS to property management. You can try Help Scout for free using their 15-day trial. 

Hiver is a Gmail-based software that allows you to better manage your customer interactions by email. Since the service is only available through Google Workplace, it may not be suitable for all startups. However, for Google Workplace users, Hiver is a great multi-channel help desk for startups. 

Jira Service Management is a help desk software by Atlassian. The software operates as a touch point for employees and customers alike to troubleshoot issues with ease. Plus, it works to take important conversations off communication apps like Teams or Slack and into the Jira platform.  

Spiceworks is a cloud-based help desk supporting over 280,000 users. With services for companies of all sizes, from enterprises to small businesses, Spiceworks provides valuable solutions to managing projects and user requests all in one place. 

If you’re not sure which help desk software is right for your startup, there are a few factors to consider to help you decide on the right service. These include pricing, features, customer support, and ease of use. 

No matter what software you’re choosing for your startup, the first consideration you need to make is the price. This includes how much it costs compared to other services, whether it fits into your budget, and if a lower-cost service requires you to sacrifice valuable features. 

Next, you should consider the features being offered by the service. You want to make sure that you select a service with necessary or helpful features. However, it is also important to be mindful of paying for software with features you won’t use. 

As with any software or service you’re choosing for your startup and its staff, great customer service is crucial. Do your research to determine what services offer the best customer support, usually you can assess this based on other customer reviews. 

While any new software or platform will have a learning curve, it may benefit you to search for the service with the earliest platform to use. Not only will this help you integrate the service faster, it will save more time and money than if you were to train staff on a platform with a steep learning curve. 

• Best Customer Experience Management Software
• Best CRM for Startups
• Best Marketing Automation Platforms