Best Help Desk Software 2026: Independent Customer Support Tool Ranking
We rank customer support and help desk software using only facts from the vendors' own sites: the lowest monthly price for one agent with monthly billing, a permanent free plan, a free trial, live chat, a knowledge base, AI included in the cheapest paid plan, a public API, SOC 2 and ISO 27001, a data processing agreement (DPA) under GDPR, a public status page, the App Store rating of the agent app and the year the company started. Every fact links to an official page with a check date. We do not use review sites or our own speed tests, and paid placements never change the Score.
| # | Company | Who it serves | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intercom | 73 | $39.00 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Live chat Knowledge base AI included SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 2 | HubSpot Service Hub | 73 | $20.00 | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Yes | Free plan Live chat Knowledge base SOC 2 |
| 3 | Help Scout | 71 | Not verified | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Free plan Live chat Knowledge base AI included SOC 2 |
| 4 | Zendesk | 71 | $25.00 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Live chat Knowledge base SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 5 | Zoho Desk | 69 | Not verified | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Live chat Knowledge base AI included SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 6 | Hiver | 62 | $35.00 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Live chat AI included SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 7 | Front | 61 | $35.00 | No | Not verified | No | Yes | Knowledge base SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 8 | Text (LiveChat, HelpDesk) | 60 | $25.00 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Live chat AI included SOC 2 |
| 9 | LiveAgent | 57 | $19.00 | No | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Live chat Knowledge base AI included |
| 10 | Deskpro | 56 | Not verified | No | Yes | No | Yes | Live chat Knowledge base SOC 2 ISO 27001 |
| 11 | Gorgias | 49 | Not verified | No | Yes | No | Yes | Live chat Knowledge base SOC 2 |
| 12 | Dixa | 38 | $121.77 | No | Yes | Yes | Not verified | Live chat Knowledge base AI included |
-
- Price per agent per month
- $39.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
Cons
- No permanent free plan
Details Visit site ↗ 95% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $20.00
- Free plan
- Yes
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Not verified
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- Low price per agent
- SOC 2 audit
- Has a permanent free plan
- Live chat for customers
Details Visit site ↗ 76% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- Not verified
- Free plan
- Yes
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- Has a permanent free plan
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
Details Visit site ↗ 75% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $25.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- No
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
Cons
- No permanent free plan
- AI costs extra or starts on a higher plan
Details Visit site ↗ 95% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- Not verified
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
Cons
- No permanent free plan
Details Visit site ↗ 80% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $35.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Live chat for customers
- AI included in the cheapest paid plan
Cons
- No permanent free plan
Details Visit site ↗ 81% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $35.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Not verified
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- No
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Knowledge base or help center
- Offers a GDPR data processing agreement
Cons
- No permanent free plan
- AI costs extra or starts on a higher plan
Details Visit site ↗ 86% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $25.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- Live chat for customers
- AI included in the cheapest paid plan
- Offers a GDPR data processing agreement
Cons
- No permanent free plan
Details Visit site ↗ 76% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $19.00
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Not verified
Pros
- Low price per agent
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
- AI included in the cheapest paid plan
Cons
- No permanent free plan
Details Visit site ↗ 75% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- Not verified
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- No
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- ISO 27001 certified
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
Cons
- No permanent free plan
- AI costs extra or starts on a higher plan
Details Visit site ↗ 80% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- Not verified
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- No
- SOC 2 report
- Yes
Pros
- SOC 2 audit
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
- Offers a GDPR data processing agreement
Cons
- No permanent free plan
- AI costs extra or starts on a higher plan
Details Visit site ↗ 75% backed by facts
-
- Price per agent per month
- $121.77
- Free plan
- No
- Live chat
- Yes
- AI in the cheapest paid plan
- Yes
- SOC 2 report
- Not verified
Pros
- Live chat for customers
- Knowledge base or help center
- AI included in the cheapest paid plan
- Offers a GDPR data processing agreement
Cons
- High price per agent
- No permanent free plan
- No free trial
Details Visit site ↗ 71% backed by facts
Not ranked yet: not enough verified data
These services are known to us, but we haven't verified enough facts to rank them fairly.
- Crisp (60% backed by facts)
- Freshdesk (site closed to automated checks, )
- HappyFox Help Desk (59% backed by facts)
- Jira Service Management (53% backed by facts)
- Jitbit Helpdesk (65% backed by facts)
- Lime Connect (Userlike) (46% backed by facts)
- Salesforce Service Cloud (site closed to automated checks, )
- Tidio (66% backed by facts)
- Trengo (29% backed by facts)
- Zammad (46% backed by facts)
Sites marked as closed refuse automated reading (403 error, captcha or a robots.txt ban). We don't bypass such protection, so we can't verify their facts and they are not ranked. This says nothing about their quality. A company can send links to its official pages to [email protected].
How we calculate the Score
30%
Price
Lowest list price in USD for one agent per month on a paid plan with monthly billing: $0 scores 100, $100 or more scores 0 (weight 3). Annual-only prices, launch discounts and plans with a minimum number of seats do not count. A permanent free plan (weight 2) and a free trial (weight 1) add to this factor.
30%
Features
Whether the vendor offers live chat (weight 2), a knowledge base or help center (weight 2) and a public API (weight 1) on any plan, and whether AI that helps answer customers is included in the cheapest paid plan at no extra charge, even with a monthly limit (weight 2).
25%
Security and privacy
Whether the company itself holds a SOC 2 report (weight 2) and ISO 27001 certification (weight 2), and offers a GDPR data processing agreement (weight 1). A certificate that belongs only to the data center or hosting provider does not count.
15%
Track record
A public status page (weight 1), the App Store rating of the vendor's agent app, weighted by the number of ratings up to 10,000 (weight 1), and how long the company has been running: 20 years or more scores 100 (weight 1).
How to choose help desk software
Count your real cost
Multiply the price per agent by your team a year from now, then add AI resolutions, extra inboxes and phone minutes. Tools priced by ticket or conversation can cost less for a large team with few requests and more in a busy season.
Check what the cheapest plan leaves out
Live chat, a knowledge base, automation rules and AI often start on a higher plan. Find the plan that really has the channels you need and compare that price, not the headline one.
Test it on real tickets
Use the free trial with your own email and chat traffic. Check how fast agents find a customer's history, how replies look on mobile and whether AI answers come from your own help articles.
Make sure you can leave
Export tickets, customers and help articles during the trial. A documented API makes switching easier. If you handle personal data of EU residents, ask the vendor for its data processing agreement before you start.
Frequently asked questions
Which help desk software is best?
The tool in first place has the highest Score under our open method, but the Score does not measure how well a tool fits your team. Compare the price for your number of agents, the channels you need and the limits of the plan you would really buy.
Why is the price empty for some well-known tools?
We compare one price: a single agent on a paid plan with monthly billing. Some vendors sell by ticket, conversation or workspace, some require a minimum number of seats, and some pages show only annual billing or a local currency. None of these gives a comparable number, so the fact stays empty and scores zero. The company's page explains why.
Why monthly billing and not the annual price?
Most vendors show the lower annual price first, and it requires paying for a year in advance. Monthly billing is the price you can leave at any time, so it is fairer for comparison. Launch discounts for new customers are not counted either.
What counts as AI in the cheapest plan?
AI that drafts replies or answers customers, included at no extra charge in the cheapest paid plan, even with a monthly limit. AI sold as an add-on, or priced per resolution with no included allowance, does not count.
What does an empty fact mean?
We could not confirm it on an official page, sometimes because the vendor's site refused automated access. An empty fact scores zero and lowers data completeness, and a tool with too little data is not ranked. It does not mean the vendor lacks the feature.