Category
Help desk software: what they are and who makes them
Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom and 6 more, sorted into types, with the company behind each and where it is based.
Types of help desk software
Full support suites
Zendesk, Freshdesk and Zoho Desk bundle ticketing, a help center, reporting and automation in one login. They are billed per agent and suit teams with defined roles, service levels and several channels. The cost is setup time: the admin work grows with every queue and rule you add.
Shared-inbox helpdesks
Help Scout and Front feel closer to email than to a ticket queue. Conversations look like threads, and teammates can discuss them privately before replying. They fit small and mid-size teams, agencies and operations groups that value speed over heavy workflow tooling, though reporting is lighter.
Ecommerce helpdesks
Gorgias is built for online stores. It pulls order data from the shop platform into each ticket, so agents can edit an order or issue a refund without leaving the screen. Pricing follows ticket volume instead of seat counts, which suits stores with many part-time agents.
Platform and ITSM desks
HubSpot Service Hub sits inside a CRM, and Jira Service Management sits inside the Atlassian toolset. Each is attractive when customer records or engineering work already live next door. Outside those ecosystems, you take on the host platform along with the desk.
Facts at a glance
| Tool | Publisher | Based in | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zendesk | Zendesk, Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Freshdesk | Freshworks Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Intercom | Intercom, Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Help Scout | Help Scout PBC | United States | Free tier + API |
| HubSpot Service Hub | HubSpot, Inc. | United States | Free tier + API |
| Zoho Desk | Zoho Corporation | India | Free tier + API |
| Front | Front Systems Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Gorgias | Gorgias Inc. | United States | Trial + API |
| Jira Service Management | Atlassian | Australia | Free tier + API |
