Small teams rarely need everything Zendesk does, so choose a Zendesk alternative by team size. Help Scout, Front and Hiver suit one or two people sharing an inbox, Freshdesk and Zoho Desk suit small support teams, Gorgias suits online shops, and HubSpot Service Hub suits businesses that want support inside their CRM.
Signs you need something lighter
Zendesk is a capable help desk, and plenty of companies run happily on it. But small businesses often end up paying attention to the tool more than the customers. Here are the signs I'd watch for.
- Nobody on the team can explain how your setup works without checking with the person who built it.
- You use a small slice of the features and ignore the rest.
- Your tickets are mostly plain emails, and the tool feels like a lot of ceremony around them.
- You spend more time maintaining triggers and views than answering people.
- New team members need training before they can reply to a customer.
If two or three of these sound familiar, a simpler tool may suit you better. If you're unsure what a help desk should do, my guide to the best help desk software for small business is a good place to compare features.
Plans and features change often, so I'm leaving plan details out. Check each provider's current pricing page.
One or two people on a shared inbox
If you answer support from a general inbox like help@ or support@, the main problem is stopping two people replying to the same email. You don't need a heavy ticketing system. You need a shared inbox that feels like email.
- Help Scout is a help desk designed to feel like a personal email inbox, with a shared inbox, saved replies and a help centre. It suits small teams who want a human, conversational style. Its limit is that very complex workflows need a bigger tool.
- Front combines email, chat and messaging channels in a shared inbox, with comments and assignments inside the team. It suits teams who collaborate on customer messages. Its limit is that it's a different way of working from classic ticketing, so give your team time to adjust.
- Hiver works inside Gmail, turning a shared mailbox into a team inbox with assignments and notes. It suits businesses on Google Workspace who don't want to leave Gmail. Its limit is that it's tied to the Gmail world.
Small support teams
Once you have several people answering tickets, you need rules for who handles what, how fast, and how you report on it.
- Freshdesk is a full help desk with ticketing, automations and a knowledge base. It suits small and growing support teams who want something close to Zendesk without starting from scratch. Its limit is that, like any full help desk, it takes time to set up.
- Zoho Desk is the help desk from the Zoho family. It suits teams already using Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps, because customer records connect nicely. Its limit is that it's strongest when you use other Zoho tools too.
- Gorgias is a help desk made for online shops, with integrations for store platforms such as Shopify. It suits e-commerce teams who want order details beside each ticket. Its limit is that it's built for shops, so it's an odd fit for a service business.
Support inside your CRM
- HubSpot Service Hub adds ticketing, a knowledge base and customer feedback tools to HubSpot's CRM. It suits businesses that already keep contacts, deals and emails in HubSpot and want support history on the same record. Its limit is that you'll want to be comfortable with the wider HubSpot system, and the plan you need depends on the features.
This route makes sense if sales and support need to see the same customer picture. If your support is separate from your CRM, a dedicated help desk is usually simpler.
If you're also thinking about chat on your website, my roundup of the best live chat software will help. I'd treat chat as a separate decision from your ticket system.
What to move
The tickets themselves are only part of it. Before you switch, list everything your team relies on.
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- Tickets and customer history. Ask each provider how they import data and what they can't bring across. Keep an export of the old system.
- Macros and saved replies. These are the quickest wins to rebuild. Copy the text into a document first.
- Help centre articles. Export your articles, check the formatting after import, and update any screenshots.
- Old URLs. If your help centre pages rank in search or appear in links, set up redirects so customers don't land on error pages.
- Email forwarding and domains. Check your support address, your sender settings and any email authentication records so replies don't end up in spam.
- Automations and rules. Write them in plain English, then rebuild only the ones you use.
While you're rebuilding your saved replies, you might like my set of ChatGPT prompts for customer service replies for drafting the first version. Edit them so they sound like you, and check any facts before they go live.
Run both systems side by side for a short time if you can, with a clear cut-off date. Tell your customers if the address they write to is changing.
Zendesk alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Team size | Main strength | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help Scout | One to a few people | Feels like email | Complex workflows |
| Front | Collaborative small teams | Shared inbox with team comments | Different from classic ticketing |
| Hiver | Gmail teams | Works inside Gmail | Tied to Gmail |
| Freshdesk | Growing support teams | Full ticketing and knowledge base | Setup takes time |
| Zoho Desk | Teams on Zoho | Connects to Zoho CRM | Best with other Zoho tools |
| Gorgias | Online shops | Order details beside tickets | Shop-focused |
| HubSpot Service Hub | HubSpot users | Support inside your CRM | Needs HubSpot commitment |
Make a help desk tool? See how to get it featured on this list.
Frequently asked questions
What's a simple alternative to Zendesk for a small business?
Help Scout, Front and Hiver are popular for small teams who want a shared inbox without a heavy setup. Check each provider's current plans for features and limits.
Which Zendesk alternative works best for an online shop?
Gorgias is built for e-commerce teams and connects to store platforms. Check that it supports your store platform before you commit.
Can I keep my help centre articles if I switch?
Usually you can export them and import them into the new tool, but formatting and images may need checking. Set up redirects from the old addresses so customers and search engines find the new ones.
Should I use my CRM as a help desk?
If sales and support need the same customer record, a CRM with a service tool such as HubSpot Service Hub can work well. If not, a dedicated help desk is often simpler.
