10 Best Help Desk Software of 2026

This list is for support leads comparing help desk tools on per-agent price, free plans and what each tier adds for tickets, channels and automation. Tools are ranked by value first, then features, then ease of use. Prices are the cheapest paid plan in USD as shown on each vendor's page on the check date; where a page showed another currency from our location, the price is marked pending.

1. 01Top value

   

   Help Scout

   8.8/10

   An email-first help desk with shared inboxes, live chat, a knowledge base and a free plan for five users.

   Price

   $25per user per month

   Free plan for 5 users; Standard from $25 per user per month billed annually, Plus $45, Pro $75

   “Standard $ 25 per user/mo For growing teams looking to automate more tasks and move beyond email.” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Free trial

   15 days

   Value (40%)

   9.1

   Features (35%)

   8.2

   Ease of use (25%)

   9.0

   Best forSmall support teams that want a clean shared inbox now and paid workflows later.

   Help Scout ranks first because it pairs a usable free plan with a moderate paid seat. Its pricing page says the Free plan includes 5 users, 1 inbox and 1 Docs site, which is enough for a small team answering email. Standard costs $25 per user per month on annual billing and adds multiple inboxes, live chat and SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, multiple knowledge bases, one basic SLA policy and basic workflows. Plus at $45 adds advanced workflows, a secure customer portal, round robin routing and integrations with Salesforce, Jira and HubSpot. The main cost to watch is AI: Envoy, the AI assistant, is billed at $0.75 per resolution on top of seats, so heavy automation adds a usage line to the invoice. Extra inboxes cost $10 per month on annual billing. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓The free plan covers five users, more than any other free tier on this list
   • ✓Standard already includes chat, SMS and social messaging channels
   • ✓Clear per-user pricing with a 16% annual discount

   • ✕Free plan is limited to one inbox and one Docs site
   • ✕AI resolutions are billed on top of the seat price
   • ✕Pro at $75 per user is needed for unlimited workflows and SSO

   Free plan:

   Yes, 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Standard, $25 per user per month billed annually

   Plans:

   Free, Standard, Plus, Pro

   Free trial:

   15 days on Standard or Plus, no credit card

   Bottom line: Help Scout is the easiest start for a small email support team: five free users, then $25 per user when you need chat and more inboxes. Budget separately for AI resolutions.

   Visit helpscout.com ↗

2. 02

   

   Freshdesk

   8.7/10

   A ticketing help desk from Freshworks with Freddy AI, a customer portal and three paid plans.

   Price

   $19per agent per month

   Growth from $19 per agent per month billed annually; Pro $55, Enterprise $89

   “$19 /agent/month, billed annually Launch AI-powered service over email Growth” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   No

   Free trial

   14 days

   Value (40%)

   8.9

   Features (35%)

   8.7

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.2

   Best forTeams that want ticketing, a knowledge base and AI sessions at a low per-agent price.

   Freshdesk is the best value for teams that need a real ticketing system rather than a shared inbox. Growth costs $19 per agent per month billed annually and includes ticketing and a shared inbox, a customer portal and knowledge base, built-in analytics, threads and tasks, roles and permissions, and Freddy AI Agent with the first 500 sessions included. Extra AI sessions cost $49 per 100. Pro at $55 adds a multilingual help desk, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies and external collaborators, so teams with contractual response targets will likely land there. Enterprise at $89 adds skill-based routing, a sandbox and audit logs. Freshdesk lists day passes from $2 on Growth, which helps when part-time staff answer tickets in busy weeks. There is no free plan on the pricing page; the trial runs 14 days on Enterprise. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓$19 per agent is one of the lowest verified per-agent entry prices here
   • ✓AI agent sessions are included rather than sold separately at the start
   • ✓Day passes let occasional agents work without a full seat

   • ✕No permanent free plan on the current pricing page
   • ✕Multiple SLA policies and custom dashboards need Pro at $55
   • ✕Freddy AI Copilot costs $29 per agent per month extra

   Free plan:

   No

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Growth, $19 per agent per month billed annually

   Plans:

   Growth, Pro, Enterprise

   Free trial:

   14 days on the Enterprise plan

   Bottom line: Freshdesk gives the most ticketing per dollar at $19 per agent, with AI sessions included. Teams that need several SLA policies should price Pro instead.

   Visit freshworks.com ↗

3. 03

   

   HubSpot Service Hub

   8.5/10

   Customer service software on the HubSpot CRM with free ticketing and paid Starter, Professional and Enterprise seats.

   Price

   $10per seat per month

   Free plan; Starter from $10 per seat per month (new-customer discount, regular $20); Professional from $100, Enterprise from $175

   “Starter Starts at $10 $20 /month per seat*” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Free trial

   14 days

   Value (40%)

   9.0

   Features (35%)

   8.0

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.4

   Best forTeams already on HubSpot CRM that want tickets tied to contact and deal records.

   HubSpot Service Hub makes sense when the team already lives in HubSpot. The free tier includes ticketing, team email and the Breeze Assistant at $0 per month. Starter shows $10 per seat per month next to a struck-through $20, and HubSpot notes the discount is for new customers only and available for a limited time, so plan around $20 at renewal. Starter adds simple ticket automation, multiple ticket pipelines, live chat and data enrichment. The bigger step is Professional at $100 per seat, which is where the help desk workspace, the customer agent, custom objects and the knowledge base live. Enterprise at $175 adds skill-based routing and finer data permissions. For a team that only needs a help desk, Freshdesk or Help Scout cover more at the entry tier; for a team that wants tickets next to deals and marketing data, HubSpot avoids a separate sync. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Free ticketing and team email with no credit card
   • ✓Starter is the lowest verified per-seat price in this list
   • ✓Support history sits on the same contact record as sales data

   • ✕The $10 Starter price is a limited-time discount for new customers only
   • ✕The knowledge base and help desk workspace start on Professional at $100 per seat
   • ✕The jump from Starter to Professional is large

   Free plan:

   Yes, $0 per month, no credit card

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Starter, from $10 per seat per month for new customers

   Plans:

   Free, Starter, Professional, Enterprise

   Free trial:

   14 days on premium editions

   Bottom line: HubSpot Service Hub is the cheapest way to add ticketing to an existing HubSpot account. Check the Professional price before you count on a knowledge base.

   Visit hubspot.com ↗

4. 04

   

   Zoho Desk

   8.4/10

   A context-aware help desk from Zoho with a free edition for three users and four paid editions.

   Price

   Free plan

   See vendor pricing (USD check pending)

   US price check pending. Vendor pricing page

   Free plan

   Yes

   Value (40%)

   8.8

   Features (35%)

   8.4

   Ease of use (25%)

   7.7

   Best forBudget-conscious teams that want blueprints, telephony and AI without enterprise prices.

   Zoho Desk earns its place on breadth per edition. The free edition offers three user licenses with email ticketing. Express, the entry paid edition, covers multiple email channels, social media tickets from Instagram, Facebook and X, web forms and AI agents with up to 30 million free tokens a month. Standard adds a live chat widget for logged-in customers and messaging on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger and Telegram. Professional adds telephony, Zia AI and Blueprints, a drag-and-drop builder for step-by-step processes. Enterprise adds Zoho SalesIQ live chat, guided conversation flows and skill-based assignment. From our location the page showed prices in Indian rupees, so we list the USD starting price as pending rather than convert it. Expect more settings to learn than in inbox-style tools. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Free edition supports three users
   • ✓Five editions give small steps between price points
   • ✓Blueprints automation arrives on Professional rather than only on Enterprise

   • ✕USD prices did not load from our location, so the starting price is pending
   • ✕More configuration to learn than Help Scout or Hiver
   • ✕Generative AI on lower editions relies on connecting your own OpenAI or DeepSeek key

   Free plan:

   Yes, free forever for 3 users

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Express (USD price pending)

   Plans:

   Free, Express, Standard, Professional, Enterprise

   Customers:

   100,000+ companies, per Zoho

   Bottom line: Zoho Desk packs telephony and process automation into mid-tier editions, with three free users to start. Confirm the USD price on Zoho's page before you buy.

   Visit zoho.com ↗

5. 05

   

   Zendesk

   8.3/10

   A large customer service platform with ticketing, AI agents, messaging and voice across Support and Suite plans.

   Price

   $19per agent per month

   Support Team from $19 per agent per month billed yearly ($25 monthly); Suite Team $55, Suite Professional $115

   “Support Team For teams that have outgrown a shared inbox and need core support essentials. $19 agent/month paid yearly” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   No

   Free trial

   14 days

   Value (40%)

   7.8

   Features (35%)

   9.2

   Ease of use (25%)

   7.8

   Best forMidsize and larger support teams that need omnichannel routing, voice and deep reporting.

   Zendesk has the deepest feature list here, which is why it scores highest on features and lower on value. Support Team costs $19 per agent per month paid yearly, or $25 month to month, and covers email ticketing, ticket routing, prebuilt dashboards, pre-written responses, customer context and automations and triggers. That is a ticketing desk for email only. Messaging, live chat, telephony, omnichannel routing and AI agents arrive on Suite Team at $55 per agent paid yearly, and skills-based routing and an IVR phone tree on Suite Professional at $115. Add-ons stack on top: Copilot costs $50 per agent per month paid yearly, and pay-as-you-go AI resolutions cost $1.50 each. For teams with several channels and many agents, that depth is the reason to choose Zendesk. Smaller email-only teams pay for less with Freshdesk or Help Scout. The 14-day trial starts on Suite Professional. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓The widest feature set in this list once you reach the Suite plans
   • ✓Support Team matches Freshdesk's $19 entry price on annual billing
   • ✓Clear upgrade path from email ticketing to voice and messaging

   • ✕Chat, messaging and phone need Suite Team at $55 per agent
   • ✕Monthly billing raises Support Team to $25 per agent
   • ✕AI resolutions and Copilot add usage and add-on costs

   Free plan:

   No

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Support Team, $19 per agent per month paid yearly

   Plans:

   Support Team, Suite Team, Suite Professional, Suite Enterprise

   Free trial:

   14 days on Suite Professional

   Bottom line: Zendesk is the pick when you need voice, messaging and routing in one platform and can pay $55 or more per agent. For email-only ticketing, cheaper tools cover the same ground.

   Visit zendesk.com ↗

6. 06

   

   Jira Service Management

   8.2/10

   Atlassian's service desk for IT, internal and customer support, with a free plan for three agents.

   Price

   $21.50per agent per month

   Free for 3 agents; Standard from $21.50 per agent per month, Premium $55.28

   “Standard Everything you need to get started $21.50 per agent / month” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   Yes

   Free trial

   14 days

   Value (40%)

   8.6

   Features (35%)

   8.5

   Ease of use (25%)

   7.3

   Best forTeams on Jira that handle internal or IT requests alongside customer tickets.

   Jira Service Management suits support leads whose tickets often become engineering work. The Free plan covers three agents with 2 GB of storage and community support, and includes templates with request types, workflows and automation, a customer portal, plus alerts, on-call schedules and incident templates. Standard costs $21.50 per agent per month and adds Rovo agents, search and chat and asset and configuration management. Premium at $55.28 adds advanced asset management and a virtual service agent, with 1,000 assisted conversations a month before usage fees. Agents are licensed users; customers who raise requests are unlicensed and unlimited. The trade-off is setup: the product is designed for IT service management, so external customer support needs more configuration than Help Scout or Freshdesk. Atlassian upgrades Free accounts that exceed limits to a 14-day Standard trial. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Free plan for three agents with unlimited customers
   • ✓Links service requests to Jira software issues
   • ✓Incident and on-call tools included alongside tickets

   • ✕Built around IT service management, so customer support setups take configuration
   • ✕Free plan stops at three agents and 2 GB of storage
   • ✕Premium more than doubles the Standard price

   Free plan:

   Yes, 3 agents and 2 GB storage

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Standard, $21.50 per agent per month

   Plans:

   Free, Standard, Premium, Enterprise

   Free trial:

   14 days on Standard or Premium

   Bottom line: Jira Service Management is the natural choice when support and engineering share Jira. Pure customer support teams will find simpler tools faster to set up.

   Visit atlassian.com ↗

7. 07

   

   LiveAgent

   8.2/10

   A multichannel help desk with email, live chat, social channels and a built-in call center.

   Price

   $11per agent per month

   Starter $11 per agent per month billed annually (offer, regular $15); Team $22, Business $38

   “Offer price $11 $15 Regular price: $15. /agent/mo 5 agents: $55/mo” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   No

   Free trial

   30 days

   Value (40%)

   8.7

   Features (35%)

   8.0

   Ease of use (25%)

   7.6

   Best forSmall teams that want email, chat and phone in one inbox at a low per-agent price.

   LiveAgent is the low-cost route to a help desk with a phone line. Starter shows an offer price of $11 per agent per month on annual billing, against a regular $15, for up to five agents, and covers email, live chat, contact forms and a knowledge base. LiveAgent says Starter has no social channels, call center or reporting. Team, with an offer price of $22 per agent and a cap of 15 agents, adds Facebook, Instagram, X, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram and calls, plus SLA rules, custom roles, CSAT surveys and reports by agent, department, channel and tag. Business at $38 removes LiveAgent branding and adds an audit log and an MCP server. AI features run on every plan, and LiveAgent says you pay your AI provider directly rather than LiveAgent. The interface packs in many options, so expect some setup time. The free trial lasts 30 days without a credit card. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Lowest verified per-agent entry price among the per-agent tools here
   • ✓Phone and social channels arrive on the second tier
   • ✓30-day free trial without a credit card

   • ✕Starter has no social channels, call center or reporting
   • ✕Current prices are special offers; regular annual Starter is $15
   • ✕Starter is capped at 5 agents and Team at 15

   Free plan:

   No

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Starter, $11 per agent per month billed annually (offer)

   Plans:

   Starter, Team, Business, Enterprise

   Free trial:

   30 days, no credit card

   Bottom line: LiveAgent gets a small team email, chat and calls for $22 per agent on the Team offer. Check what the regular price will be at renewal.

   Visit liveagent.com ↗

8. 08

   

   Hiver

   8.1/10

   A help desk available as a standalone omnichannel app or inside Gmail.

   Price

   $25per user per month

   Growth from $25 per user per month billed annually ($35 monthly); Pro $55, Elite $85

   “Growth $25 $35 /user/month Start free trial” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   No

   Value (40%)

   8.0

   Features (35%)

   7.8

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.6

   Best forTeams that run support from Gmail and want ticketing without leaving it.

   Hiver is built for teams that would rather not leave their email client. It comes in two forms: Hiver Omni, a standalone platform that works with Gmail, Outlook and other providers and brings email, chat, Slack, voice, WhatsApp and social into one workspace, and Hiver in Gmail, which runs shared inboxes inside Gmail. Growth costs $25 per user per month on annual billing or $35 monthly, and includes AI agents, AI Copilot for drafting replies, Skills for step-by-step procedures and an AI knowledge builder. Pro at $55 adds a customer portal, Slack channel support, SLAs, CSAT surveys and advanced analytics, and Elite at $85 adds AI QA, AI insights and skill-based routing. Voice is a $30 per seat add-on with 1,000 pooled minutes. The value score reflects that SLAs sit on Pro, while Freshdesk and Help Scout include some SLA tools lower down. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Gmail version means almost no new interface to learn
   • ✓AI agents and Copilot included from the entry plan
   • ✓Works with Gmail, Outlook and other email providers in the Omni version

   • ✕No free plan on the pricing page
   • ✕SLAs and CSAT surveys require Pro at $55 per user
   • ✕Voice is a $30 per seat add-on

   Free plan:

   No

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Growth, $25 per user per month billed annually

   Plans:

   Growth, Pro, Elite

   Versions:

   Hiver Omni and Hiver in Gmail

   Bottom line: Hiver is the least disruptive help desk for a Gmail-based team, with AI included from $25 per user. Teams that need SLAs should price the $55 Pro plan.

   Visit hiverhq.com ↗

9. 09

   

   Front

   7.9/10

   A shared inbox and ticketing platform with seat-capped plans and AI add-ons.

   Price

   $25per seat per month

   Starter from $25 per seat per month billed annually, up to 10 seats; Professional $65, Enterprise $105

   “Starter $25 /seat/mo, up to 10 seats” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

   Free plan

   No

   Free trial

   14 days

   Value (40%)

   7.4

   Features (35%)

   8.3

   Ease of use (25%)

   8.3

   Best forTeams that handle customer email collaboratively across support, sales and operations.

   Front treats support as a shared inbox that the whole company can work in, which suits teams where sales and operations also answer customers. Starter costs $25 per seat per month on annual billing, for up to 10 seats, and includes shared inbox and ticketing, AI Topics, up to 10 automation rules, basic analytics and a no-code public knowledge base. The limit that matters is channels: Starter supports a single channel type, and omnichannel email, SMS and social arrive on Professional at $65 per seat, which also adds macros, 20 automation rules, advanced analytics, SSO and SCIM. Enterprise at $105 adds smart rules, a multi-language knowledge base and includes AI Copilot, QA and CSAT. Front's autopilot AI agent starts at $0.05 per conversation. The value score is lower because the multichannel tier costs more than similar plans from Freshdesk and Hiver. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

   • ✓Collaborative inbox model suits teams beyond support
   • ✓14-day trial of Professional without a credit card
   • ✓Knowledge base included from Starter

   • ✕Starter supports a single channel type and up to 10 seats
   • ✕Omnichannel requires Professional at $65 per seat
   • ✕AI Copilot is bundled only on Enterprise at $105

   Free plan:

   No

   Cheapest paid plan:

   Starter, $25 per seat per month billed annually

   Plans:

   Starter, Professional, Enterprise

   Free trial:

   14 days of Professional, no credit card

   Bottom line: Front is a strong shared inbox for cross-team email work. Support teams that need chat and SMS should budget for the $65 Professional seat.

   Visit front.com ↗

10. 10

    

    Gorgias

    7.8/10

    An ecommerce help desk priced by monthly ticket volume, with AI Agent available on every plan.

    Price

    $10per month for 50 tickets

    Starter $10 per month for 50 tickets, billed monthly; Basic $60, Pro $360 (helpdesk only)

    “Included 50 tickets / month Helpdesk $10/mo Then a $0.40 per-ticket fee past your limit.” Quoted from the pricing page, November 6, 2026.

    Free plan

    No

    Value (40%)

    7.5

    Features (35%)

    7.9

    Ease of use (25%)

    8.1

    Best forShopify and other online stores that want order data next to support tickets.

    Gorgias is the odd one out because it does not charge per agent. Its pricing page says the helpdesk scales from 50 to 5,000 tickets a month and is never priced per agent. The helpdesk-only Starter plan costs $10 per month, billed monthly, for 50 tickets and 3 user seats, then $0.40 per ticket past the limit. Basic costs $60 per month for 300 tickets and 500 seats, and Pro $360 for 2,000 tickets. AI Agent can be added to every plan and is billed per automated interaction. The product is built for online stores, with integrations for Shopify, Shopify Plus, WooCommerce and BigCommerce. For a store with many part-time agents and steady volume, ticket pricing can beat per-seat tools; for a busy store with a small team, the overage fees can make it the most expensive option here. We compared documented features and published prices and did not run a trial account.

    • ✓Pricing does not grow with headcount
    • ✓Built for online stores with deep Shopify support
    • ✓Starter costs $10 per month for a small store

    • ✕Starter includes only 50 tickets and 3 user seats
    • ✕Overage fees of $0.40 per ticket on Starter and Basic
    • ✕Starter is billed monthly only

    Free plan:

    No

    Cheapest paid plan:

    Starter, $10 per month for 50 tickets

    Plans:

    Starter, Basic, Pro, Advanced, Enterprise

    User seats:

    3 on Starter, 500 on Basic and above

    Bottom line: Gorgias suits online stores that want Shopify data in every ticket and many agents without seat fees. Model your monthly ticket count before choosing a tier.

    Visit gorgias.com ↗

Questions or corrections: editorial@rankozo.comSee our disclosure. Prices change; confirm on the vendor page before buying.