Best Help Desk Software in 2026: 10 Tools Scored on Price and Features

The short answer

Zoho Desk is the best help desk software for most customer support teams on price and features: its Standard plan includes live chat, WhatsApp, a public knowledge base and four SLA policies for $14 per agent a month. Help Scout is the simplest pick for small teams that live in email and chat, with an SLA policy on its $25 plan. Freshdesk Omni suits teams that need data hosted in the EEA or Australia. Gorgias is the pick for Shopify stores, and Zendesk and Intercom suit larger teams that will pay for their top plans.

How we scored these help desks

Every price and feature here comes from each vendor’s official pricing page or product documentation, read on 10 November 2026. This page uses method v1: documented evidence only. Setup time and AI reply accuracy from our test inbox are not yet tested, so they are left out of the totals.

Pricing carries the most weight because it is what people searching for help desk software ask about most. Where a page did not state a feature, we scored it as not available and say so below.

Help desk pricing compared

All prices are per agent (or seat or user) per month in USD, as each vendor lists them. Prices exclude tax.

Three prices come with conditions. Zoho Desk’s USD prices differ by region, and the figures above are from Zoho’s own US price list. LiveAgent offers Team at $22 to sign-ups made by 22 November 2026, and we scored the regular $29. HubSpot Starter ($7) and Intercom Essential ($19) also show new-customer discounts.

Features compared

The best help desk software, tool by tool

1. Zoho Desk: best overall and best value (94)

Zoho Desk Standard costs $14 per agent a month billed annually ($20 monthly) and includes live chat, WhatsApp, Instagram messaging, a public knowledge base and four SLA policies. You choose your data center at sign-up, with the US, EU and Australia among the options. Slack and Salesforce integrations start on Standard, and Standard includes 50 custom reports.

• Pros: the lowest 5-agent cost here ($70); default SLA from the $7 Express plan; free plan for 3 users.
• Cons: USD prices vary by region; native Zia AI starts on Professional ($23); Shopify and HubSpot are not in its integration list.

2. Help Scout: best for small teams (89)

Help Scout Standard at $25 per user a month annually ($30 monthly) includes email, live chat, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger, two Docs sites and one basic SLA policy. AI Assist is unlimited on paid plans, and AI Answers costs $0.75 per resolution.

• Pros: every messaging channel on the entry plan; unlimited AI Assist; free plan for 5 users.
• Cons: data is hosted in the US only; Salesforce and HubSpot integrations need Plus ($45); Standard is capped at 25 users.

3. Freshdesk: best for EU and Australian data hosting (88)

Standalone Freshdesk is email and portal support. For live chat you need Freshdesk Omni, whose Growth plan costs $29 per agent a month annually and includes omnichannel messaging, a knowledge base and one default SLA policy. You pick a US, EEA, Australian or other data center at sign-up.

• Pros: official data centers in the EEA and Australia on any plan; Shopify, Slack and Salesforce integrations; voice as a $15 add-on.
• Cons: multiple SLA policies need Pro ($79 on Omni); Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 after the first 500; monthly prices were not shown on the pricing page.

4. Gorgias: best for Shopify stores (83)

Gorgias prices by tickets, not agents. Basic costs $50 a month annually for 300 tickets and up to 500 seats, then $0.40 per extra ticket, so 500 tickets a month comes to $130. SLAs and a help center are on every plan, and data can be hosted in the US, EU or Australia.

• Pros: cost does not grow with team size; deep Shopify focus; SLAs on every plan.
• Cons: cost grows with ticket volume, and each AI interaction also counts as a ticket; Slack and CRM integrations are not listed.

5. LiveAgent: best for social and calls on a budget (78)

LiveAgent Team costs $29 per agent a month annually and adds Facebook, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and calls, plus SLA rules and reports, to email and chat. LiveAgent does not charge for AI; you pay your AI provider directly.

• Pros: calls and social channels at $29; a 30-day trial; EU hosting option.
• Cons: Starter has no SLA rules or reporting; no Australian hosting; Salesforce integration not confirmed on its integrations page.

6. Hiver: best for WhatsApp and SMS on every plan (75)

Hiver includes email, live chat, WhatsApp and SMS on all plans, with AI agents and Copilot included. SLA rules and custom reports start on Pro at $55 per user a month annually; Growth at $25 is capped at 10 users.

• Pros: WhatsApp and SMS from the entry plan; AI included; Shopify and Slack on all plans.
• Cons: SLAs need Pro; data hosting options are not stated on its pricing page; voice is a $30 add-on.

7. Front: best for teams that need Shopify and Salesforce on every plan (70)

Front’s Starter plan handles one channel type, so a team that wants email and chat together needs Professional at $65 per seat a month annually, which also adds SLA rules (called time goal rules). Shopify and Salesforce integrations are on every plan.

• Pros: Shopify and Salesforce on all plans; US or EEA hosting; knowledge base on every plan.
• Cons: Copilot is a $20 add-on; WhatsApp is an add-on; voice only through partners such as Aircall.

8. Zendesk: best channel coverage (64)

Zendesk covers every channel we checked, and Suite Professional adds free data center location in the US, EEA, UK, Japan or Australia. SLA policies start on Suite Professional at $115 per agent a month annually ($149 monthly), which is what pulls its score down.

• Pros: the broadest channel list; 10 automated AI resolutions per agent a month on Suite Professional; custom reporting.
• Cons: $575 a month for five agents with SLAs; extra AI resolutions cost $1.50 to $2.00; Copilot is a $50 add-on.

9. HubSpot Service Hub: best if you already use HubSpot CRM (61)

Service Hub runs on HubSpot’s own CRM. The knowledge base and SLAs start on Professional at $90 per seat a month annually, plus $1,500 one-time onboarding. Professional includes 3,000 HubSpot Credits a month for the Customer Agent, where one resolved conversation uses 50 credits.

• Pros: native CRM; EU and Australian data centers; free plan for 2 users.
• Cons: $450 a month for five seats plus onboarding; Shopify integration not confirmed.

10. Intercom: best for AI-led live chat (58)

Every Intercom plan includes live chat and email, and Fin AI Agent costs $0.99 per outcome. SLAs are only on Expert at $132 per seat a month annually.

• Pros: live chat on every plan; Salesforce, Shopify, Slack and HubSpot apps; US, EU and Australian hosting on Advanced and Expert.
• Cons: the highest 5-agent cost here ($660); SLAs only on Expert; Essential’s $19 price is a new-customer discount.

Which help desk is best for your team

• Small team on a budget: Zoho Desk Standard, or Help Scout Standard if you want a simpler inbox.
• Data must stay in the EU or Australia: Freshdesk Omni or Zoho Desk, both chosen at sign-up.
• Shopify store: Gorgias, or Front if you also need Salesforce.
• Already on HubSpot CRM: HubSpot Service Hub.
• AI-first live chat: Intercom, budgeting $0.99 per Fin outcome on top of seats.
• Large team that needs every channel: Zendesk Suite Professional.

Also considered

Salesforce Service Cloud came up in our research but targets larger teams on Salesforce, and Jira Service Management is an IT service desk, outside this page’s scope. HappyFox was left out of the scores because the price of its separate live chat product was not shown on its pricing page.

Sources

All pages read on 10 November 2026: Zoho Desk pricing and plan comparison; Help Scout pricing; Freshdesk pricing and Freshdesk Omni pricing; Gorgias pricing; LiveAgent pricing; Hiver pricing; Front pricing; Zendesk pricing; HubSpot Service Hub pricing; Intercom pricing. Data hosting and SLA details also come from each vendor’s help center.