saasrankedSoftware, ranked on the facts

Customer Service

Best help desk software

Turn customer emails, chats and calls into tickets your support team can assign, answer and measure. 12 help desks, ranked by points out of 100.

Facts checked 10 Oct 2026 · How we score help desks

Not scored yet: HubSpot Service Hub.

In short

  1. 1
    Zoho DeskSmall teams that want a low entry price and a free plan
    87/100
    $7/mocheapest paid plan
  2. 2
    LiveAgentSmall teams that want every channel in one tool at a low per-agent price
    79/100
    $15/mocheapest paid plan
  3. 3
    TidioSmall teams that want tickets, chat and an AI agent at a flat workspace price
    75/100
    $24.17/mocheapest paid plan
  4. 4
    FreshdeskSmall support teams that start with email and may add chat and social later
    70/100
    $19/mocheapest paid plan
  5. 5
    Zendesk SupportSupport teams that expect to add chat, phone and social channels as they grow
    70/100
    $19/mocheapest paid plan
  6. 6
    Help ScoutSmall support teams that want a simple inbox with SLAs and a knowledge base
    69/100
    $25/mocheapest paid plan
  7. 7
    IntercomSupport teams that want an AI agent built into the inbox and can pay for seats
    64/100
    $29/mocheapest paid plan
  8. 8
    HappyFoxSmall teams that want SLAs and SSO from the first plan
    60/100
    $24/mocheapest paid plan
  9. 9
    FrontTeams that handle customer email and chat together in one shared inbox
    59/100
    $25/mocheapest paid plan
  10. 10
    Teamwork DeskAgencies and service teams that tie tickets to project work
    47/100
    $9.50/mocheapest paid plan
  11. 11
    HelpDeskSmall teams that want a plain shared inbox with automation and no phone channel
    41/100
    $19/mocheapest paid plan
  12. 12
    Re:amazeSmall shops that want chat, social and email in one inbox
    28/100
    $26.10/mocheapest paid plan

Independent evaluations, not scored

Since 10 October 2026 the G2 AI CX evaluation line earns up to 20 points, from G2's General CX leaderboard: the test G2 runs itself on the same 46 tasks for every agent, with one point here for every 10 G2 points. Until that date this ranking scored no test results. The weight was set as a dated rules version that treats every product by the same rule: results G2 runs itself count, results run by G2's partners (Swept) do not, and vendors without a published result earn 0. The other lines were rebalanced the same day to keep the total at 100, and the scope widened beyond desks sold per agent: any help desk or shared inbox with public prices counts, which is how Tidio entered.

G2's General CX leaderboard (g2.com/categories/ai-agents/agent-evaluations; all companies, general sample) evaluated 9 agents, ranked on points: Tidio 200 (87% accuracy, 92% policy compliance), Retell 200 (86%, 90%), LiveAgent 195 (87%, 86%), Chipp 185 (82%, 86%), BoldDesk 180 (88%, 79%), Zoho 145 (64%, 66%), Jotform 140 (82%, 56%), Freshworks 105 (72%, 70%) and HubSpot Breeze Customer Agent 95 (69%, 67%). G2 lists Zendesk, Gorgias, Forethought and Yuma as under evaluation and Decagon as having declined. Read 9 October 2026.

Coverage: of the help desks ranked here, three appear on G2's leaderboard with their AI agent — Tidio's Lyro (200), LiveAgent (195) and Zoho Desk (145). G2's Freshworks entry (105) is Freshchat, a different product from Freshdesk, and Zendesk is listed as under evaluation, so both earn 0 until G2 publishes their result; the lab file is the only place to update. G2's Customer Experience evaluation (ai.g2.com) is a separate view where several scores are partner benchmarks run by Swept, and it earns no points here.

How the points add up

Points earned out of the points available in each part of the method.

ProductChannels and apps
of 14		Workflow and SLAs
of 21		Reports and connections
of 18		Security
of 12		Price
of 15		Independent testing
of 20		Total
Zoho Desk1421176151487
LiveAgent1421120131979
Tidio102111672075
Freshdesk142118125070
Zendesk Support142118125070
Help Scout122117127069
Intercom142117120064
HappyFox122113122060
Front122112122059
Teamwork Desk10165610047
HelpDesk6131165041
Re:amaze148600028

Each help desk in brief

1. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk suits small teams that want ticketing, workflows and social channels at $7 per user, or a free start for 3 users. SLA counts rise by edition, with 4 on Standard and 10 per department on Professional. The catch: phone, round-robin and Zia AI need Professional, and the edition comparison lists SAML sign-on only for help-centre customers, not for agents.

Best for: Small teams that want a low entry price and a free plan. Prices, facts and sources

2. LiveAgent

LiveAgent suits small teams that want email, chat, phone and social messages in one queue at a low price. Small business covers ticketing, chat, a knowledge base and automation rules, but SLAs and the call center need Medium, and social channels need Large. The catch: it names no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certification of its own.

Best for: Small teams that want every channel in one tool at a low per-agent price. Prices, facts and sources

3. Tidio

Tidio suits a small team that wants one inbox for tickets, chat and social messages at a flat workspace price, with SLA targets and an AI agent it can add later. The catch: no hosted help centre is published, and SSO and custom analytics wait for the quote-only Premium plan.

Best for: Small teams that want tickets, chat and an AI agent at a flat workspace price. Prices, facts and sources

4. Freshdesk

Freshdesk suits small teams that want automation, a knowledge base and SAML single sign-on from $19 per agent. Round robin assignment, multiple SLA policies, CSAT surveys and custom reports need Pro at $55. Instagram and WhatsApp need the Omni edition, which costs more. Freshworks lists SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 on its trust centre.

Best for: Small support teams that start with email and may add chat and social later. Prices, facts and sources

5. Zendesk Support

Zendesk suits teams that want one ticket queue across email, chat, phone and social channels and can pay for Suite plans. The entry plan lists no social or voice channels and lacks SLA policies and satisfaction surveys, which sit on the $115 Professional plan. AI agent resolutions are metered beyond a small monthly allowance. Zendesk names SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022.

Best for: Support teams that expect to add chat, phone and social channels as they grow. Prices, facts and sources

6. Help Scout

Help Scout suits small teams that want email, chat and social messages in one inbox, with SLAs from the first paid plan. Phone is only through integrations. The catch: single sign-on needs Pro at $75 a user, and AI Answers is billed per resolution on top.

Best for: Small support teams that want a simple inbox with SLAs and a knowledge base. Prices, facts and sources

7. Intercom

Intercom suits teams that want the inbox, chat and an AI agent in one product and are fine paying per seat. The inbox covers email, chat, phone, Facebook and Instagram. The catch is price: Essential starts at $29 per seat, SLAs and single sign-on need the $132 Expert plan, and Fin adds usage fees.

Best for: Support teams that want an AI agent built into the inbox and can pay for seats. Prices, facts and sources

8. HappyFox

HappyFox suits small support teams that need SLA targets and single sign-on without paying for a top tier. Basic costs $24 per agent a month on yearly billing and stops at 5 agents. Automatic assignment and satisfaction surveys need Team, and Autopilot has no public price.

Best for: Small teams that want SLAs and SSO from the first plan. Prices, facts and sources

9. Front

Front suits teams that run support from a shared inbox and want time-goal SLAs and CSAT reports on Professional, plus load-balancing rules. It has desktop and mobile apps for all four systems. The catch: Starter limits you to one channel type, there is no free plan, and the custom report builder is still in open beta.

Best for: Teams that handle customer email and chat together in one shared inbox. Prices, facts and sources

10. Teamwork Desk

Teamwork Desk suits agencies and service teams that already track work in Teamwork.com, and Starter costs $9.50 per user. The catch is channels and workflow depth: the pages show email and live chat only, SLAs wait until Premium, and the AI teammate is in early access.

Best for: Agencies and service teams that tie tickets to project work. Prices, facts and sources

11. HelpDesk

HelpDesk suits small teams that want an uncomplicated ticket queue with email, chat and Messenger, rules, round robin assignment and an AI agent at $19 per user a month billed yearly. The catch: SLAs and single sign-on sit on the quote-only Enterprise plan, phone is not offered, and a customer help centre is offered through a separate KnowledgeBase app.

Best for: Small teams that want a plain shared inbox with automation and no phone channel. Prices, facts and sources

12. Re:amaze

Re:amaze suits small stores that want email, chat and social messages in one inbox. The entry price is $26.10 per team member, above the cheapest help desks. The AI Agent is priced but labelled beta. Its pages show no SLA policies, SSO or automatic assignment, and no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 claim.

Best for: Small shops that want chat, social and email in one inbox. Prices, facts and sources

Every fact, side by side

Each row is one rule of the method and the points it is worth. "–" means the vendor does not publish it, which earns nothing.

Rule (points)Zoho DeskLiveAgentTidioFreshdeskZendesk SupportHelp ScoutIntercomHappyFoxFrontTeamwork DeskHelpDeskRe:amaze
Support channels (8)4 of 44 of 44 of 44 of 44 of 43 of 44 of 43 of 43 of 42 of 43 of 44 of 4
Mobile apps (2)2 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 22 of 2–2 of 2
Built-in help centre (4)YesYesNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYes–Yes
SLA policies (8)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNo–
Ticket automation rules (5)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Automatic ticket assignment (5)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes–Yes–
Built-in satisfaction survey (3)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Custom reports (5)Yes–NoYesYesYesYes–No–––
Public API (3)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Named integrations (6)5 of 65 of 64 of 66 of 66 of 65 of 65 of 66 of 65 of 62 of 64 of 63 of 6
AI assistant with public price (4)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNo
SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001 (6)Yes–YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes–
Single sign-on (6)––NoYesYesYesYesYesYes–No–
Free plan (5)YesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
Cheapest paid plan (10)$7/mo$15/mo$24.17/mo$19/mo$19/mo$25/mo$29/mo$24/mo$25/mo$9.50/mo$19/mo$26.10/mo
G2 AI CX evaluation (20)145 of 200195 of 200200 of 200–––––––––

Head to head

We read each vendor's own pages and the latest G2 results, record every fact with its source and date, and score it by the rules on how we score help desks. A tie goes to the lower price. Ticketing and shared-inbox help desks for small and mid-size customer support teams, with public prices. Enterprise-only and quote-only tools, IT service desks and CRM suites are left out. A line that says "on at least one plan" counts only plans with a public price. Vendor claims about speed or quality are shown on product pages but never scored. Prices are in US dollars before tax.