Best Zendesk Alternatives

We may receive a commission from our partners if you click on a link to review or purchase a product or service. Click to Learn More

The best CRM for customer service is Zendesk, according to our research, thanks to a bounty of features, lots of customization options, and top tier help and support for all users.

However, that doesn’t mean Zendesk is the best solution for your business, particularly if you’re worried about price. That’s why we’ve collected a range of rock-solid alternatives that could be a better fit for you and your team. If you’re a smaller outfit, be sure to check out our guide to the best small business CRM software, too.

In this guide, we’ll cover match up CRM providers against Zendesk on everything from features to pricing, while giving you actionable insight into your business software search. You can also check out our CRM comparison page for more in-depth information about top providers.

		Free plan	Free trial	Starting price	Most expensive plan
SPONSORED
Salesforce Service Cloud	Zendesk	Freshdesk	Zoho Desk	Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service	ManageEngine
close	close	check	check	close	check
30 days	30 days	21 days	15 days	30 days	30 days
$25/user/month	$19/user/month	$19/user/month	$14/user/month	$50/user/month	$13/user/month
$330/user/month	$169/user/month	$119/user/month	$40/user/month	$95/user/month	$50/user/month
4.3	4.7	4.5	4.5	4.1	3.6
Try Salesforce	Try Zendesk	Try Freshdesk	Try Zoho Desk	Get Quotes	Try ManageEngine

Like we said, Zendesk is the best of the best when it comes to CRM for customer service, but your business might have more specific needs, like low prices or team infrastructure features. Subsequently, there might be a better CRM solution, like one of these alternatives:

Freshdesk – best overall alternative
Zoho Desk – best value alternative
Salesforce Service Cloud – best for team infrastructure features
Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service – best for customization
ManageEngine – best low cost alternative

1. Freshdesk – Best Zendesk alternative

Price: Starts at $19/user/month

Freshdesk is easily the most similar to Zendesk, making it the obvious top choice as a Zendesk alternative. Both providers offer a lot of pricing plans with omnichannel options in more expensive plans, both offer robust help and support tools for users, and both provide customizable platforms for particular needs.

In our research, we found that Zendesk offers a few more features and better customization, but Freshdesk is a bit more affordable, so it’s a tossup depending on what your particularly needs for your business are.

Check out our Freshdesk vs Zendesk comparison guide for more info

Try Freshdesk

In Short

Pros
- Offers a free plan for up to 10 users
- Great offline tools for customer queries
- Lots of communication channels for users
Cons
- No built-in customer feedback option
- SLA tracking only available to expensive plans
- Few agents tracking features on cheap plans

Images

Try Freshdesk

Freshdesk pricing vs Zendesk pricing

When it comes to pricing, Zendesk and Freshdesk continue to be very similar. Both platforms offer three standard Support plans, as well as a smattering of Suite/Omni plans. This means that both Zendesk and Freshdesk give you a lot of flexibility when it comes to pricing plans, offering seven and eight options, respectively.

In our research, Freshdesk takes the cake on pricing, netting a 4.6/5 in our pricing research opposed to Zendesk, which scored a 3.2/5. A big part of that is because Freshdesk offers a free plan and Zendesk doesn’t, which makes it more attractive for smaller businesses with smaller budgets.

As far as the actual cost, Zendesk pricing about equal to Freshdesk. Freshdesk pricing ranges from $19 per user, per month to $119 per user, per month, whereas Zendesk ranges from $19 per user, per month to a whopping $215 per user, per month.

	Plan	Price	Users	Email Comms Channel	Phone Comms Channel	Website Live Chat Comms Channel

Free	Growth	Pro	Enterprise	Omni Growth	Omni Pro	Omni Enterprise
Free	$19/user/month	$55/user/month	$89/user/month	$29/user/month	$79/user/month	$119/user/month
Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
check	check	check	check	check	check	check
close	close	close	close	check	check	check
close	close	close	close	check	check	check
check	check	check	check	check	check	check
close	close	check	check	close	check	check

Is Freshdesk better than Zendesk?

No, Freshdesk is not better than Zendesk, but it’s pretty close. Zendesk has more features, better customization, and more robust help and support options, but Freshdesk has a few more team infrastructure options. More importantly, Freshdesk is notably more affordable than Zendesk, so if you’re trying to save a bit of money, Freshdesk could be your best bet.

2. Zoho Desk – Best value alternative

Price: Starts at $14/user/month

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly alternative to Zendesk that won’t sacrifice too many features, Zoho Desk might be what you’re looking for. With one of the lowest starting prices on our list — $5 per user, per month less than Zendesk — and a free plan — which Zendesk doesn’t have — it’s easy to see why Zoho Desk scored a perfect 5/5 in our research for pricing.

Yes, the low cost comes at a price, though, as Zoho Desk has fewer features, less customization, and worse help and support than both Zendesk and Freshdesk. Still, that low price could be worth it if you can do without the omnichannel features found with more expensive providers.

Try Zoho Free

In Short

Pros
- Affordable prices and 15-day free trial
- Plenty of features, particularly for the price
- Easy to use interface with intuitive layout
Cons
- Limited customer support options
- Small amount of available customization

Images

Try Zoho Free

Zoho Desk pricing vs Zendesk pricing

As we mentioned above, the price is Zoho Desk’s most attractive feature, starting at only $14 per user, per month compared to the $19 per user, per month from Zendesk. Moreover, Zoho Desk’s most expensive plan is only $40 per user, per month, which is one fifth the cost of Zendesk’s most expensive plan.

Even better, Zoho Desk offers a free forever plan, which gives you access to email and web-form ticketing, customer portals, contact profiles, and integration with 25 third-party CRM apps. The best Zendesk can do on that front is a 30-day free trial, which is plenty of time to test it out before you buy.

	Plan	Price	Users

Free	Standard	Professional	Enterprise
Free	$14/user/month	$23/user/month	$40/user/month
3	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
check	check	check	check
close	close	Telephony integration required	Telephony integration required
close	close	close	check
close	check	check	check

Is Zoho Desk better than Zendesk?

No, Zoho Desk is not better than Zendesk, but it’s a pretty attractive option if you need to keep costs low. The low starting price, the free forever plan, and the low ceiling on cost will be welcomed news to your account, making Zoho Desk our best value alternative. Just make sure you don’t need omnichannel features, because you won’t find any with Zoho Desk, no matter how much you want to pay.

3. Salesforce Service Cloud – Best for team infrastructure features

Price: Starts at $25/user/month

If you’re in the market for a customer service solution, there’s no doubt you’ve heard of Salesforce before. The world’s most popular CRM scored well in our help and support and team infrastructure categories, netting the highest scores across our research in both.

Still, even compared to Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud is quite expensive, which is why it fell so low down the list, with its most expensive plan hitting $300 per user, per month. Additionally, the number of actual customer service features was surprisingly low, limiting basics like live chat and chatbot functionality to its much more expensive plans.

Check out our Salesforce vs Zendesk comparison guide for more info

Try Salesforce

In Short

Pros
- Great infrastructure for managing larger teams
- Lots of customization opportunities to make it work for your business
- Plenty of communication channels to stay in touch with customers
Cons
- No built-in customer feedback options
- Comparatively quite expensive
- Robust customization can make it a bit intimidating

Images

Try Salesforce

Salesforce Service Cloud pricing vs Zendesk pricing

Salesforce only offers four pricing plans compared to Zendesk’s eight, but the cost gets very expensive very fast. The first two plans are only $25 per user, per month and $75 per user, per month, which are fairly standard for the industry, and match up to Zendesk’s starter and mid-tier plans quite well.

However, the next two plans cost $150 per user, per month and $300 per user, per month, and these plans unlock some key features like self-service customer support tools and chatbot functionality. Suffice to say, you better be a big company with a large budget to afford Salesforce in the long run.

	Plan	Price	Omnichannel features	Customer feedback

Starter Suite	Pro Suite	Enterprise	Unlimited	Agentforce 1 Service
$25/user/month	$100/user/month	$175/user/month	$350/user/month	$550/user/month
close	check	check	check	check
close	close	Paid add-on	Paid-add on	check
close	Paid add on ($25/user/month)	check	check	check
close	close	Paid add-on	Paid add-on	check

Is Salesforce Service Cloud better than Zendesk?

No, Salesforce Service Cloud is not better than Zendesk, but it does offer more team infrastructure features, though they will come at a decidedly higher price. Basically, if you aren’t a large business that foresees needing a wide range of team management features over customer support tools, you can probably stick with Zendesk or other more affordable options.

4. Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service – Best for customization

Price: Starts at $50/user/month

Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service is an excellent CRM for customer service, closely matching Zendesk on features and outscoring the top option for team infrastructure and customization. In fact, Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service would be our top choice, if the pricing options weren’t so limited and expensive across the board.

Starting at $50 per user, per month, Microsoft Dynamics is just too intimidating for smaller businesses to even consider, let alone sign up for. Sure, it can integrate with the rest of Microsoft Dynamics 365, which may be attractive if your business already runs that, but compared to other low-cost options on this list, it makes sense that Microsoft Dynamics fell so far down the list.

Compare Prices

In Short

Pros
- Lots of potential add-ons make for customizable platform
- Robust support and help options
- Most security features of CRM on the list
Cons
- A bit on the expensive side
- No built-in customer feedback options
- Many features reserved for Enterprise plan

Images

Compare Prices

Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service pricing vs Zendesk pricing

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it; Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service is expensive. With only two plans, starting at $50 per user, per month and topping out at $95 per user, per month, there is no low-cost starting option like the $19 per user, per month Zendesk plan, so you’re paying a lot out of the gate, no matter what.

There’s also no free plan, so you have to rely on the 30-day free trial to see if this robust platform is worth it for your business. Granted, Zendesk doesn’t have a free plan either, but it has a much less intimidating starting price, which is why Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service scored a lowly 1.9/5 in our pricing research.

	Plan	Price	Email Comms Channel	Phone Comms Channel	Website Live Chat Comms Channel	Social Media Channels

Professional	Enterprise
$50/user/month	$95/user/month
check	check
close	close
close	Add-on required
close	Add-on required

Is Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service better than Zendesk?

No, Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service is not better than Zendesk, but only because it costs so darn much. Zendesk has less team infrastructure features and customizability, but with the starting price coming in at two and half times the cost, it’s safe to say that Microsoft Dynamics Customer Service is reserved for those with hearty budgets and Microsoft 365 already in use.

5. ManageEngine – Best low-cost alternative

Price: Starts at $10/user/month

If saving money on your CRM for customer support is your primary goal in this search, ManageEngine is likely the provider you are looking for. Not only is the starting price as low as $10 per user, per month — a full $9 per user, per month less than Zendesk — but you’ll get the first five users free, so you can really keep costs compared to other CRM options.

Now, with Zoho Desk, the low cost meant you missed out on a few features. Well, that is especially true for ManageEngine, as it scored poorly across all categories — features, customization, team infrastructure, and help & support — saved only by its perfect pricing score of 5/5. Simply put, low price better be your only priority, because that’s all you get with ManageEngine.

Try ManageEngine

In Short

Pros
- Very low-cost option for small businesses
- Pricing based on endpoints
- Solid team infrastructure features like task management
Cons
- Extremely rigged interface with limited customization
- Help and support isn’t very responsive

Images

Try ManageEngine

ManageEngine pricing vs Zendesk pricing

ManageEngine offers only three pricing plans, compared to Zendesk’s eight pricing plans, but they’re all quite affordable, which is always nice. With the starting price of $10 per user, per month, ManageEngine is officially the cheapest option on this list, particularly when you consider that you get the first five users for free.

The two subsequent pricing plans cost $21 per user, per month and $50 per user, per month, which is a delightfully affordable range for any business. Remember, though, even the most expensive plan from ManageEngine lacks some of the important features your business might need, like social media functionality, chat support, and 24/7 customer support.

	Plan	Price

Standard	Professional	Enterprise
$10/user/month	$21/user/month	$50/user/month
30 days	30 days	30 days
check	check	check
close	close	close
check	check	check
close	close	close
close	check	check

Is ManageEngine better than Zendesk?

No, ManageEngine is not better than Zendesk, but it is cheaper. The low cost doesn’t come without caveats, though, as ManageEngine offers the least features and general functionality on this list. Still, if you saving money is your primary goal, it’s hard to argue that ManageEngine will keep your costs down.

Should You Choose Zendesk Anyway?

Honestly, yes, you should probably just choose Zendesk anyway. Our research found that it is the best CRM for customer support, offering plenty of helpdesk features, solid customization, and excellent help and support across all plans. Simply put, it’s an excellent all-around option for businesses that need a robust solution that won’t break the bank.

Overall, there’s a reason Zendesk scored the highest, with an overall score of 4.7/5 in our research, and that’s because it covers all the bases. It has the most pricing plans, scores highly across virtually all categories, and has the reputation of being an excellent helpdesk option.

In Short

Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Unmatched selection of customer service features
- Offers good customizability
- Robust help and support tools with 24/7 availability
Cons
- Limited team infrastructure features
- A bit on the expensive side, especially high tier plans
- Most advanced features like AI cost extra

Pricing

Support Team: $19/user/month
Suite Team: $55/user/month
Suite Professional: $115/user/month
Suite Enterprise: $169/user/month

Images

Zendesk pricing

The primary downside of Zendesk is that its price range is pretty steep, with the Enterprise Plus plan going for $215 per user, per month. Still, that plan comes with a lot of functionality, and many businesses could comfortably start with a lower cost plan, like the $19 per user, per month starter plan or the $49 per user, per month mid-tier plans. Then, you have the option to scale in the long term, without incurring too many costs.

	Plan	Price	Users	Email support	Phone support	Live chat support	Social media support

Support Team	Support Professional	Support Enterprise	Suite Team	Suite Growth	Suite Professional	Suite Enterprise	Suite Enterprise Plus
$19/user/month	$55/user/month	$115/user/month	$55/user/month	$89/user/month	$115/user/month	$169/user/month	Custom pricing
Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
check	check	check	check	check	check	check	check
Requires Telephony integration	Requires Telephony integration	Requires Telephony integration	check	check	check	check	check
check	check	check	check	check	check	check	check
Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter	Facebook + Twitter

How Did We Compare Zendesk to Other Helpdesk Providers?

We take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.

After conducting an initial exploration to identify the most relevant, popular, and established CRM tools in the market, we put them through their paces to find out more about their strengths and weaknesses. In total, we analyzed 13 CRM systems, grading them across 84 areas of investigation.

Based on years of market research and CRM product testing, we’ve established a CRM research methodology to score products, which consists of six main assessment categories and 13 subcategories. This covers everything, from the available features and scalability capacity to the product’s value for money, and much more.

Our main testing categories for CRM systems are:

Features: The functionalities and capabilities provided by the CRM software, such as contact management, lead and opportunity tracking, and task and activity management.
Help and support: The resources and assistance available to users when they encounter issues or require guidance while using the CRM software.
Customization: The ability to tailor the CRM software to suit the specific needs and processes of the organization, e.g. customizing fields, layouts, and workflows.
Scalability: The ability of the CRM software to accommodate the growth and changing needs of the organization, such as the capacity to handle a growing customer database.
Price: The cost associated with using the CRM software. It includes factors such as licensing fees, subscription plans, and additional charges for add-on modules or features.
Team structure — sales CRM: Determining if a platform makes it easier to manage large sales teams, including team dashboards, team hierarchies, and team inboxes.
Usability — small business CRM: Assessing the simplicity of the interface, the ease of navigating through menus and options, and the overall user experience.

When it comes to calculating a product’s final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, as we know some aspects matter more to our readers than others, which are merely “nice to have.” After hundreds of hours, our process is complete, and the results should ensure you can find the best solution for your needs.

At Tech.co, we have a number of full-time in-house researchers, who re-run this testing process regularly, to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.

Learn more about our research.

Verdict: What Is the Best Zendesk Alternative?

According to our research, Zendesk remains the best CRM for customer support, but it’s far from perfect. That’s why our research found that the best alternative to Zendesk is Freshdesk, thanks to comparable features, better team infrastructure tools, and lower prices.

If these CRM alternatives still don’t feel like the right fit for your business, or if you’re looking for a solution for sales or marketing, you’re in luck. Tech.co has a wide range of guides covering the CRM industry, and you can check out our CRM comparison page to get the latest information on all of them.

Try Freshdesk Try Zendesk Compare CRM

Frequently Asked Questions

Freshdesk is the customer service CRM that is most similar to Zendesk, offering a similar number of features and general functionality, while costing around the same.

Our research found that Zendesk offers excellent features, solid customizability, and top tier customer support. It also offers a lot of pricing plans with a myriad of features, so you can keep costs low if you need to.

No, Zendesk does not have a free forever plan. However, it does have a 30-day free trial, which should be more than enough time to test out the product before you commit to the starting price of $19 per user, per month.

Our research found that Salesforce is not better than Zendesk, because it offers less customer support features while costing more. It does, however, offer excellent team infrastructure features, so if you have a large team, it could be a better fit for your business.

Zendesk and Zoho Desk are two different CRM for customer support, with Zendesk offering more functionality but Zoho Desk offering a better price.

About our links

If you click on, sign up to a service through, or make a purchase through the links on our site, or use our quotes tool to receive custom pricing for your business needs, we may earn a referral fee from the supplier(s) of the technology you’re interested in. This helps Tech.co to provide free information and reviews, and carries no additional cost to you. Most importantly, it doesn’t affect our editorial impartiality. Ratings and rankings on Tech.co cannot be bought. Our reviews are based on objective research analysis. Rare exceptions to this will be marked clearly as a ‘sponsored’ table column, or explained by a full advertising disclosure on the page, in place of this one. Click to return to top of page

Written By

Conor Cawley

Conor is the Lead Writer for Tech.co. For the last eight years, he’s covered everything from tech news and product reviews to digital marketing trends and business tech innovations. He’s a feature, reviews, and news contributor for Android Police, and he has hosted tech-focused events for SXSW, Tech in Motion, and General Assembly, to name a few. He also cannot pronounce the word “colloquially” correctly.

You can email Conor at conor@tech.co.

More about

Best Zendesk Alternatives – Which CRM Is Better for Your Business?