You may not need a Groove alternative at all: Classic Groove is still running for existing customers, and Helply is a separate product, not its replacement. If you're moving anyway, choose by the reason: a human-first or self-hosted help desk, AI that does the work, or a simple shared inbox for a small team.
Groove isn't shut. If you typed the old address and landed on a page for something called Helply, that's a rebrand of the company's website, not the end of your help desk. The vendor's own FAQ says Classic Groove keeps running with its own team, nothing changes for existing accounts and nobody's being moved across.
That changes the question. It isn't 'where do I go now?' but 'do I still want to be here?' Some Groove users will happily stay. Others were already looking, and the rebrand just nudged them. This page is for the second group: nine help desks, in no particular order and with no crowned pick.
First, do you need to move at all?
Helply isn't the new Groove. It's an AI-first product built for B2B technology companies, with credit-based plans, and the vendor describes its future direction as centred on it. Classic Groove is described as maintained, not sunset.
So if your shared inbox works and your team's happy, there's no deadline. What's fair to weigh is direction: a product that's maintained rather than at the centre of the roadmap tends to get fewer new features. Whether that matters depends on how much you need it to change.
What's pushing Groove users to look
The first reason is comparison. The old plans page now lands on Helply's plans for the other product, so there's no public Groove page to compare against. Groove's help centre says it bills per user, or seat, with extra channels charged when they go past a plan's limits.
The second is AI. Groove's Copilot is an assistant inside the ticket: it answers questions, drafts and improves replies and summarises conversations. The same team's own account of why it built Helply is that adding AI to a help desk designed for humans was the limit. So people who want agents that act, and people who want no AI at all, both look elsewhere.
The third is integrations. The help centre documents Shopify, Trello, HubSpot, GitHub and Messenger, plus an API. If your stack sits elsewhere, it's worth checking what else a new help desk plugs into. For a broader starting point, see our guide to the best help desk software for small businesses.
How the nine help desks compare
| Tool | Kind of help desk | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot | Open source support with an AI agent | Chat, email, WhatsApp and social with an AI agent |
| Deskpro | Help desk, cloud or self-hosted | Omnichannel ticketing you can host anywhere |
| Freshdesk | Established help desk suite | Omnichannel ticketing with automated workflows |
| HelpDesk.com | Small-team ticketing | Simple ticketing with Shopify and HubSpot links |
| HelpSpot | Self-hosted or cloud help desk | Email to tickets, self-hosted or in the cloud |
| Hesk | Self-hosted PHP help desk | A long-running help desk you install yourself |
| Kayako | AI-first help desk | Email and chat tickets with automation up front |
| Pylon | AI-first B2B support | Help inside Slack, Microsoft Teams and Discord |
| Zammad | Open source ticketing | Open source help desk, hosted or self-hosted |
Help desks to consider, in no particular order
Chatwoot
Best for: Support teams wanting open source live chat, email, WhatsApp and social in one place, with a Captain AI agent the vendor says answers routine questions end to end.
Deskpro
Best for: Teams that want omnichannel ticketing, collaboration and a knowledge base, deployed in any cloud or self-hosted, with AI summaries and drafts as optional extras.
Freshdesk
Best for: Growing support teams wanting an established omnichannel ticketing suite with automated workflows and ready-to-use AI, from the Freshworks family of products.
HelpDesk.com
Best for: Small teams after a simple ticketing tool with AI features and listed integrations including Shopify, Webflow, HubSpot, Slack and WordPress.
HelpSpot
Best for: Human-first support teams that want email turned into organised tickets with single assignment, on their own servers or as a cloud service.
Hesk
Best for: Small organisations happy to install a web-based support portal on their own server, free to download per the vendor, or to use its cloud version.
Kayako
Best for: Teams wanting an AI-first help desk with email and chat channels, ticketing, a knowledge base and a shared inbox.
Pylon
Best for: B2B companies whose customers talk to them in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, email or chat widgets, with AI agents working across those channels.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
Zammad
Best for: Privacy-minded teams wanting an open source help desk made and hosted in Germany, with sovereign AI and hosted or self-hosted options.
Three reasons, three groups
A human-first desk, or one you host yourself
HelpSpot stresses single assignment and human-first support, on your servers or in its cloud. Hesk is a long-running support portal you can download and install. Zammad is open source with hosted and self-hosted options, and Deskpro deploys in any cloud or on your own servers, with AI as an optional extra rather than the centre.
AI that does the work
Chatwoot is open source and covers chat, email, WhatsApp and social, with an AI agent trained on your help centre. Pylon works where B2B customers already talk, including Slack and Discord. Kayako calls itself AI-first, and its automation claims are the vendor's marketing, so test them on your own tickets.
A clear shared inbox for a small team
HelpDesk.com keeps ticketing simple and lists integrations with Shopify, HubSpot and Slack, close to what many Groove users relied on. Freshdesk is the established suite, with automated workflows for a team that expects to grow. If you're still working out which category you need, our explainer on help desk vs service desk is a quick read.
Get your conversations out first
- Ask the account owner or an admin to run the export in Groove, which downloads every conversation as JSON.
- Expect a wait. Exports are processed in a queue that can take minutes to hours, so start it well before any switch date.
- Save your knowledge base articles and saved replies separately, so you can rebuild them in the new desk.
- List every integration and API connection you use, and check the new help desk supports each one.
- Run both desks side by side for a week, with new mail going to the new one, before you close anything.
Plain advice if you're on Classic Groove
If the shared inbox does its job, stay put and keep an eye on the help centre for news. A redirect isn't a reason to move a support team mid-quarter. If you were already frustrated, by the AI on offer, the integrations or not being able to compare plans in public, this is a good moment to move, but export first and pick by the reason, not by the longest feature list.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Groove shutting down?
No, according to its own FAQ. Classic Groove keeps running for existing customers with its own team, no migration is required and nothing changes for current accounts.
Is Helply the same as Groove?
No. Helply is a separate AI-first product from the same company, built for B2B technology companies with credit-based plans. The old Groove website now redirects to it.
How do I export my data from Groove?
The owner or an admin can use Groove's export feature to download every conversation as JSON. It runs in a queue that can take minutes to hours, so start early.
Which integrations does Groove support?
Its help centre documents Shopify, Trello, HubSpot, GitHub and Messenger integrations, plus an API. Check that any new help desk covers the ones you use.
Should I choose an AI-first help desk?
Only if you want AI to resolve tickets rather than help agents write replies. Test any automation claim on a sample of your own tickets before you rely on it.
Can I self-host a help desk?
Yes. Several help desks offer self-hosted editions or open source code. You get control over data and setup, and you take on updates, backups and security yourself.
