Improvement has become a business necessity. And with our tech world, we can see why not. A good CRM and helpdesk solution is a game changer. This post will review the top Zendesk alternatives in 2024. It will compare their features, pricing, and benefits.
Zendesk, a top customer service software company, faces tough competition from CRMOne, Kustomer, Freshdesk, Intercom, and Gorgias.
Zendesk has over 40,000 clients. But, it is facing problems like post-acquisition and consumer dissatisfaction. Customer feedback has highlighted issues with Zendesk’s service, prompting many to seek alternatives.
Has Zendesk lost its edge?
Zendesk, once a king of customer service software, has faced fierce competition recently. It still maintains a strong market presence, but questions have arisen about its ability to retain its edge.
AI-powered chatbots, growing demand for omnichannel support, and the emergence of newer, more agile competitors have challenged Zendesk.
Additionally, some customers have expressed concerns about the platform’s user interface and pricing, potentially hindering its growth.
When we went through the reviews, it was quite clear that these were the areas where zendesk needed improvement.
Users of Zendesk faced high fees, limited support, and a lack of care for clients. These issues became major stumbling blocks.
Customer data management has also been a significant issue for Zendesk users, with many struggling to gain complete visibility and simplify data migration for better customer support experiences.
Top Zendesk Alternatives to keep business growing are:
1. CRMOne
CRMOne is a strong and budget-friendly CRM tool. It helps manage customer relationships in sales, marketing, and support.
It provides a full set of tools for businesses. Users can manage contacts, track sales pipelines, and automate marketing campaigns easily.
Users can send bulk emails easily. It includes built-in templates, A/B testing, and detailed success reports. This helps businesses boost sales and nurture loyal customer bases effectively.
CRMOne helps with lead management and opportunity tracking. This lets sales teams focus on valuable prospects and handle deals at each stage.
It boosts customer support with its case management, support portal, and knowledge base. This helps resolve customer issues quickly and improves satisfaction.
The platform includes social media listening and messaging. It also supports WhatsApp so customers can engage easily.
CRMOne’s automation features cut down on manual work. They automate email scheduling, follow-ups, and data entry.
CRMOne provides great customization features. It has role-based access controls and supports multiple languages.
You can also integrate with email and calendar tools, like Microsoft Outlook and Google.
Its mobile-first design lets teams work efficiently while on the go. They can handle everything from pipeline management to messaging.
Features:
- Contact & Account Management
- Partner Relationship Management (PRM)
- Opportunity & Pipeline Management
- Email Marketing
- Social Network Integration
Pricing:
- Free: 21 days Free trial
- Start-up: $119 for Unlimited user
- Ultimate: $199 for Unlimited user
Reviews:
Users like CrmOne’s interface, features, and pricing. They gave it good reviews. Many users find it easy to use, others like that it caters to their business needs. Users praise CrmOne’s support. They say the team is responsive and helpful.
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2. HubSpot
HubSpot CRM has all the tools to manage customer relationships. It covers lead generation to customer support.
HubSpot’s easy-to-use interface and powerful tools help you grow by streamlining sales and marketing. What signifies Hubspot is its reputation it has built over the years.
If you are looking for a free Zendesk alternative, then HubSpot is just what you are looking for.
HubSpot Service Hub is a comprehensive customer service software designed to streamline and improve support operations for businesses of all sizes.
It integrates seamlessly with the HubSpot ecosystem and offers features such as live chat, knowledge base management, and automation capabilities that enhance customer engagement.
Related article: Top 15 Best HubSpot Alternatives
Features:
- Opportunity & Pipeline Mgmt.
- Territory & Quota Management
- Marketing ROI Analytics
- Social Collaboration Features
- Forecasting
Pricing:
- Free : 1 User per month Sales Hub
- Starter: $20 per month Sales Hub
- Professional: $100 per month Sales Hub
- Enterprise: $150 per month
Reviews:
HubSpot CRM has good reviews for its interface and features. It is also praised for its integrations, pricing, and customer support. Many users like the ease of use especially for those new to CRM.
The platform has many features. They include contact management, deal tracking, and email marketing. Its automation makes it a good solution for businesses of all sizes.
3. Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud customer relationship management (CRM) solution. It helps businesses manage customer and prospect interactions.
It has tools for sales, marketing, and service. They help organizations grow, boost customer satisfaction, and increase revenue. Salesforce is similar to zendesk, as majority of the features are same.
Related article: Top 15 Best Salesforce Alternatives
Features:
- Territory & Quota management
- Campaign Management
- Forecasting
- Desktop Integration
- Email marketing
Pricing:
- Starter: $25- 1 User per month
- Professional: $80 – 1 User per month
- Enterprise: $165- 1 User per month
- Unlimited: $330- 1 User per month
Reviews:
As it is cloud based, it depends on internet connection and sometimes runs slow.
There are difficulties in understanding customer preferences, behavior patterns and historical interactions. But customization is easy and takes time to get used to it.
4. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform. It helps businesses improve their marketing and customer engagement.
It has tools for email marketing, lead gen, sales automation, and CRM. Additionally, ActiveCampaign provides robust customer support tools that align communication, improve customer interactions, and support internal collaboration.
Related article: Top 13 Best ActiveCampaign Alternatives
Features:
- Data Import & Export Tools
- Manage Email Deliverability
- Dynamic content
- Online Behavior Tracking
- Segmentation
Pricing:
- Starter: $15- 1 User per month
- Plus: $49- 1 User per month
- Professional: $79 – 1 User per month
- Enterprise: $145- 1 User per month
Reviews:
Some users find it expensive. It has a steep learning curve. Certain features are missing.
Pages load slow when you have grand email automation set-ups. But customer support and in-built features make it a good alternative to Zendesk.
5. Keap
Keap lets you organize contacts, create targeted campaigns, and automate tasks. You can also track your sales progress.
It’s a versatile solution for businesses of all sizes from small startups to established enterprises.
Keap also supports customer support teams by providing effective and user-friendly tools to streamline customer support processes, enhance communication, and foster collaboration among team members.
Related article: Top 16 Best Keap Alternatives
Features:
- Building and Personalizing Emails
- Landing pages and forms
- Automated Alerts and Tasks
- CRM Lead Integration
- Sending Outbound Emails
Pricing:
- Ignite: $249- 1500 Contacts per month
- Grow: $329- 2500 Contacts per month
- Scale: $499 – 500 Contacts per month
Reviews:
Keap CRM has a user friendly interface that makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to get started. Automation features can save you a lot of time. They include email marketing, follow-ups, and task scheduling.
But some users may find the learning curve steep especially for those new to CRM. Also Keap has a lot of features but may be limited compared to other full blown CRM. Some users reported issues with email delivery.
6. Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a popular CRM for sales teams of all sizes. It is known for its intuitive design and powerful features.
Pipedrive is a top choice for teams wanting a CRM. It streamlines sales processes and drives results. If it comes in the list of alternative to zendesk, then pipedrive holds a strong position.
Pipedrive also effectively manages customer requests through its robust ticketing system, which categorizes and prioritizes these requests to ensure efficient handling and resolution across multiple communication channels.
Related article: Top 21 Best Pipedrive Alternatives
Features:
- Product & Price list management
- Campaign Management
- Mobile User Support
- Reporting
- Call Center features
Pricing:
- Essential: $24- 1 Seats per month
- Advanced: $44- 1 Seats per month
- Professional: $64 – 1 Seats per month
- Enterprise: $79- 1 Seats per month
Reviews:
Pipedrive CRM has a user friendly interface that’s easy for businesses of all sizes to adopt. The platform is highly customizable so you can tailor it to your needs.
It also integrates seamlessly with other tools like email marketing platforms and calendars.
Some features may be missing that are required for your business. Pipedrive can be expensive especially for larger businesses.
While the learning curve is gentle, new users may take some time to fully get the hang of it. Integration issues can occur.
7. Freshsales
Freshsales is a software that helps businesses manage their customers and sales. It’s a digital assistant.
It tracks your customers’ info, helps you communicate with them, and automates tasks to boost sales. It’s designed to be user friendly even for non techy people.
Freshsales also optimizes customer service operations by simplifying ticketing, improving automation, and facilitating integration across various departments, helping businesses enhance their support processes.
Features:
- Case management
- Forecasting
- Products & Price list management
- Task/Activity management
- Opportunity & pipeline management
Pricing:
- Starter: $9- 1 User per month
- Pro: $39- 1 User per month
- Enterprise: $59- 1 User per month
Reviews:
Freshsales has Ease of adoption, user friendly interface. Their support team is helpful and provides detailed information. More features compared to other CRM pricing range.
Task board isn’t user friendly. Tracking the leads sometimes becomes difficult. There is no built in way to review all tasks for a group of individuals for a manager. Overall functionality is good but can be better.
8. Instantly
If you are looking for zendesk free alternative, then Instantly CRM is queued up first in line among various help desk software options.
The Global presence of instantly is not statistically good. But, there are fewer complaints from users who have implemented this system.
What Instantly does best is keeping the process easy to understand, even for beginners. But, the complex process can sometimes become hectic.
Features:
- User, Role, and Access Management
- Data Import & Export Tools
- A/B Testing
- Building and Personalizing Emails
- High-Volume Sending
Pricing:
- Free: Free Trial for 1 month
- Growth: $37- 1 Workspace per month
- Hypergrowth: $97 – 1 Workspace per month
- B2B Leads Database: $47- 1000 Verified leads per month
Reviews:
Instantly CRM is a user-friendly platform that simplifies sales operations and customer relationships. Real-time analytics gives insights into sales performance. You can then make data-driven decisions.
Instantly CRM has a solid sales management base. However, some users say it has limited customization and a steep learning curve for complex workflows.
9. Zoho
Zoho CRM One is an Operating System for business that brings all your business processes in one place, under one subscription. It cuts down on the ways to communicate and manage your data.
Originated with limited resources, Zoho has come a long way. It’s simple layout and easy adaptability is what drives in more customers.
Zoho also offers multi-channel support, allowing businesses to engage with customers across various platforms such as email, chat, phone, and social media.
This capability ensures that teams can coordinate effectively to address customer issues in a streamlined manner, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Related article: Top 15+ Best Zoho Alternatives
Features:
- AI-Powered Insights
- Integrations
- Sales Automation
- Omnichannel Engagement
- 360-Degree Customer View
Pricing:
- All employee pricing: $45- 1 User per month
- Flexible user pricing: $105- 1 User per month
Reviews:
The software is user friendly, provides a seamless experience for users of all levels. Its helpful features and strong data management make it a great tool for many tasks.
The software’s integration with other apps and its feature set makes it more appealing.
Despite the pros, the software has poor customer support. This frustrates users who need help. The software’s reports and interface can be improved. They should be more complete and visually appealing.
10. HelpScout
Help Scout is a help desk solution for growing businesses. It sets up fast, is easy to use, and lets teams manage all support interactions—email, live chat, social media, and self-service—in one place.
Features:
- User, Role, and Access Management
- Live Chat Support
- Searchable Articles
- Ticket Creation User Experience
- Email to Case
Pricing:
- Standard: $22- 1 User per month
- Plus: $44- 1 User per month
- Pro: $65- 1 per User per month (10+ users) per month
Reviews:
Helpscout CRM is praised for its user friendly interface so it’s accessible to users of all levels. The ticket management system is very efficient.
Users can easily organize, prioritize, and track customer inquiries. Customer support is generally great.
Integration with other apps can be tricky, users reported compatibility issues. This can disrupt workflows and data sharing. The feature set is big but limited compared to some competitors.
11. Intercom
Intercom is a customer service platform that uses AI to deliver amazing experiences. Intercom helps businesses by automating boring tasks.
It gives smart recommendations and personalises chats. This boosts customer satisfaction, efficiency, and support at scale.
Jira Service Management is another robust IT service management (ITSM) solution. It is ideal for organizations needing comprehensive incident and request management.
It integrates well with Atlassian products and serves as a strong Zendesk alternative, especially for small to mid-size companies.
Features:
- Ticket Response User Experience
- Notifications
- In-App Messaging
- Customer Profiles
- Attachments/Screencasts
Pricing:
- Essential: $39-1 Seat per month
- Advanced: $99- 1 Seat per month
- Expert: $139 – 1 Seat per month
- Proactive Support Plus add-on: $99 per month
Reviews:
Intercom has been a total game changer for our support team. The AI features have cut response times and customer satisfaction down to size. The live chat is seamless and the automation tools have streamlined our workflows.
While Intercom has a lot of features, we found the pricing to be quite expensive. For smaller businesses the cost might be out of reach. And the learning curve is a bit steep especially if you’re new to support platforms.
12. Yellow.ai
Yellow.ai empowers enterprises to create memorable customer conversations through our generative AI-powered customer service automation platform.
Their vision is to fully autonomous customer support that unlocks unparalleled efficiency and significantly reduces operational costs.
Features:
- Customization
- Sequencing (Messenger)
- Natural Language Understanding (NLU)
- Customization Interface
- In-App Messaging
Pricing: Varies according to requirements
Reviews:
The platform allows you to build chatbots that integrate seamlessly with existing communication channels (like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger).
One user said- Generating detailed reports on customer interactions and chatbot performance was a pain. And the platform has limitations on historical data access so you can’t analyze trends over longer periods.
13. Kustomer
Kustomer is the first customer service CRM platform built for managing high support volume by optimising experiences throughout the customer service journey.
Kustomer helps brands resolve conversations on all digital channels.
Features:
- Ticket Creation User Experience
- Ticket Collaboration
- Pop-up Chat
- Customer Profiles
- Seamless Escalation
Pricing:
- Enterprise: $89- 1 User per Month
- Ultimate: $139- 1 User per month
Reviews:
The software is very user friendly, has a lot of features and prioritises simplicity and helpfulness. The interface is intuitive and the design is straightforward so it’s accessible to all skill levels and caters to a wide range of use cases.
While it has a lot of good things, it might be missing some essential features which can cause ticketing issues and delays. And the user experience could be improved with a more consistent and intuitive design.
14. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a customer service platform that allows businesses to manage interactions across multiple channels.
With omnichannel universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in call center and customer service portal, LiveAgent is a central hub for handling customer inquiries and communication and support experiences.
Features:
- Automated Response
- Ticket Response User Experience
- Attachments/Screencasts
- Social Media Integration
- Customization
Pricing:
- Small: $9- 1 agent per month
- Medium: $29- 1 agent per month
- Large: $49 – 1 agent per month
- Enterprise: $69- 1 agent per month
Reviews:
With many built-in communication channels, you can have one-on-one conversations with customers to increase service sales; the ticketing system’s internal notes and comments feature keeps everyone in the loop so there’s no miscommunication; and it works with any website.
Some users find the interface complex and hard to use at first. While LiveAgent has customization options, some might not be enough for their use case.
15. Tidio
Tidio comes another one in the list of zendesk free alternatives, where you can test the system for a month and examine if its aligning with your business or not.
Tidio is an all-in-one customer service platform that increases your customer support and helps you to generate more sales.
A live chat widget is at your customers’ fingertips 24/7 and AI chatbots engage with your customers in real-time so you can sell more.
Features:
- Knowledge Base
- Route To Human (Responses)
- Conversation Archiving
- Targeted Emails
- In-App Messaging
Pricing:
- Free forever: Free per month
- Customer Service: $29 per month
- Lyro AI Chatbot: $39 per month
- Flows: $29 per month
Reviews:
The software is user friendly, has powerful chatbot features and is helpful. Easy to set up and has many useful features to increase productivity and customer satisfaction.
While it has a lot of good things, the software can be expensive and has limited features or usage restrictions. It might be missing some features that are standard in other competing products.
16. Front
Front is a customer service platform that allows businesses to deliver amazing experiences.
By simplifying workflows, real-time collaboration and a unified inbox for all customer interactions Front helps companies to delight their customers, engage their teams and grow their business.
Features:
- Tagging System
- Assignments and Tasks
- Unified Inbox
- Calendar
- Desktop Application
Pricing:
- Starter: $19- 1 User per month
- Growth: $59- 1 User per month
- Scale: $99- 1 User per month
- Premier: $229- 1 User per month
Reviews:
The platform is great for communication, team collaboration and email management. It’s a robust environment for interactions, teamwork and email automation.
The conversational features of the platform also enhance communication and engagement between users.
While the platform has good features it has email management issues like email delivery, missing features and reply functionality.
Users will have difficulties in managing their email workflows and might get frustrated.
17. Hiver
Hiver is easy to use and has zero learning curve. Its world class security and compliance ensures your data is always protected.
With 24×7 top rated support Hiver is the software of choice for companies worldwide and provides unparalleled reliability and support.
Hiver is substantially growing, but when we talk about CRM, it’s the longevity and reliability that matters.
Though Hiver is included in the list of alternatives to Zendesk, there has been online debates about it replacing Zendesk.
Features:
- Tagging System
- Predefined Rules
- Performance Tracking
- Unified Inbox
- Email Automation
Pricing:
- Lite: $ 19 Per month
- Pro: $49 Per month
- Elite: Not disclosed
Reviews:
Hiver’s user friendly interface and simple design is easy to learn and use. Its email management features, team collaboration tools and communication features are highly rated by users.
While Hiver has many good features, some users have reported technical issues, missing features, bugs and slow performance.
18. Gorgias
Gorgias is a customer service platform designed for e-commerce businesses to deliver amazing customer service at every stage of growth. Using automation and AI Gorgias changes the way online stores support their customers omnichannel.
Features:
- Customer/Contact Database
- Ticket Response User Experience
- Notifications
- Macros (Process)
- Automation
Pricing:
- Starter: $10 per month
- Basic: $50 per month
- Pro: $300 per month
- Advanced: $750 per month
Reviews:
Gorgias is a good CRM for e-commerce. It’s easy to use, integrates well, and has many features.
Gorgias can be expensive, and some users have reported missing features and ticketing issues.
19. Helpjuice
Users can create new content directly in the editor or upload content in multiple formats so that important information is available anytime and anywhere. The powerful Google-like search functionality allows users to find what they need quickly and easily.
Features:
- Versioning and Version History
- Decision Trees
- Permissions
- Advanced Search
- Browser Extension
Features:
- Starter: $120 per month (up to 4 users)
- Run Up: $200 per month ( up to 16 users)
- Premium Limited: $289 per month ( up to 60 users)
- Advanced: $659 per month (Unlimited users)
Reviews:
Helpjuice’s knowledge base and support is great. Its customisation options are good and users can adapt the software to their needs and increase productivity.
Some users are not satisfied with the limitations especially on missing features. Some users find the customisation options limited and others have software bugs and editing restrictions.
20. HappyFox
HappyFox CRM makes managing customer interactions, leads and sales pipelines easy. This software enables teams to deliver amazing customer service by providing insights, automating tasks and collaboration across the organisation.
Features:
- Automates repetitive tasks
- Ticket routing:
- Custom workflows:
- Integration with third-party applications
- Seamless User Interface
Reviews:
- Starter: $29 per month for unlimited agents and 500 chats per month
- Growth: $49 per month for unlimited agents and 1,000 chats per month
- Scale: $149 per month for unlimited agents and 5,000 chats per month
- Scale Plus: $299 per month for unlimited agents and 20,000 chats per month
Reviews:
The platform has all the features businesses of all sizes need. Its simple interface and robust functionality makes it easy to manage projects, collaborate with team members and track progress.
While it has many features some users may find the learning curve steep especially for those who are new to project management tools. The pricing may also be too high for small businesses or individuals.
21. LiveChat
LiveChat is a complete customer service platform with live chat and web analytics. It’s designed to deliver amazing customer service and fuel sales. This all-in-one customer service platform is used by many companies.
Features:
- Offer real-time help to customers
- Targeted messages
- Canned responses
- Embed live chat across customer touchpoints
- Chat Analytics
Pricing:
- Starter: $20 per month
- Team: $41 per month
- Business: $59 per month
- Enterprise: Not disclosed
Reviews:
The software is easy to use, has all the essentials and enables good communication and collaboration. It’s also compatible with other tools.
It’s good but may lack customisation options and advanced features for some users. Also performance issues and steep learning curve for some features.
Conclusion: Which Zendesk Alternative Is Right for You?
Considering switching from Zendesk? Here’s what you need to know:
- Choose CRMOne if you’re a mid-sized team that wants a powerful, all-in-one omnichannel system. Built with smarter automation, faster support, and better team collaboration.
- Pick Salesforce if you’re a large team growing fast and need a system for sales, marketing, and support, expect an expensive plan.
- Choose Keap if your team wants to move fast, track everything clearly, and keep the pipeline simple and clean.
- Use Zoho CRM if you like flexibility but need to stay on budget. Just remember you need to be an expert during setting up its setup.
- Try ActiveCampaign if your entire sales flow runs on cold emails and LinkedIn. It’s made for outreach-heavy teams.
CRMs that focus on relationships, like CRMOne, are becoming a smarter choice for mid-sized teams in 2025. As an alternative to legacy CRMs, they combine automation and personalization without adding bloat or complexity.
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