When you are in the frontline of interacting directly with customers, you never know what’s in store for you next.
You have no idea what type of customer concern you will be dealing with or how much time it will take to find a resolution. While some could be solved in minutes, others may take longer.
Therefore, it is fair to assume that until customer service agents pick up the phone to answer a service call. They can never know what their daily workload is going to be like. This puts unnecessary pressure on the agents.
They have to be agile and flexible to handle any surprises that come their way.
What is even more important to realize is that every issue will have its unique resolution timeline. Hence, you cannot really say that the very first call will result in an instant solution that will be acceptable to the customer.
Most of the brands believe that technology helps them deliver better customer support operations. What this means is that your customer service agents need access to a system that will help them to keep track of both long and short-term support cases.
The free help desk software can be a great addition to the conservative customer support system.
You do not want to go with a premium model right away before testing the waters first. But the free versions too can contribute significantly to the success of your customer service teams in handling and distributing incoming service requests.
Your support bandwidth automatically increases, thus enhancing your overall customer experience.
Top 10 Free Help Desk Software
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If your objective is to amplify your customer service levels. You should definitely think seriously about incorporating a powerful but free helpdesk software.
Not sure which service provider to go with? Here are the top 10 free help desk software that you can choose from.
1. ProProfs Help Desk:
When looking to satisfy the requirements and expectations of an ever-growing customer service industry. You need a robust customer service tickets software. Incorporate the ProProfs help desk system with your customer service operations for seamless collaboration and quick resolution of issues.
Top functionalities that make it a standout platform include:
- This is integrated, cloud-based software that gives access to shared inboxes, knowledge base, and live chat channels creating multiple solution touchpoint
- Agents can focus on priority tasks, can be more performance-oriented and manage their time efficiently with the help of ProProfs automated ticket creation process
- To make sure that you constantly improve upon your customer service skills, ProProfs help desk generates smart reports through real-time survey and monitoring help desk ratings, thus, enabling individual or groups of agents to improve their performance
Most importantly, this customer support system allows service agents to track, monitor, and handle customer queries and requests effectively, especially those cases where finding a resolution takes longer.
For those looking to test drive this software, they can start with the ‘Forever Free’ plan at zero cost. If you are happy with the outcomes, you can progress to the ‘Team’ plan which starts at $39 per month.
2. Kayako:
Kayako is another free Customer Service help desk software that can be used to enhance customer service levels. The system nurtures a personal conversation with the customer by concentrating on ease of use.
Here are some of the key features of this software:
- The Multibrand feature enables the creation of several help centres with individualized content, live chat support, canned responses for common questions and support for SLA’s
- Kayako has a smart business feature that supports the automation of workflows
- Agents and the business can monitor levels of customer satisfaction through custom reports
With the integration of Kayako with your business systems, you can guarantee exceptional customer service in multiple languages.
Pricing is based on a three-tier model, all of which can be tested on a free trial basis.
3. Hubspot’s Service Hub:
Hubspot’s Service Hub is your one-stop-shop for free customer support ticket system that helps manage your helpdesk and supports the majority of functions that your customer service team needs to execute. Its quality of life features scores high with businesses that have incorporated the HubSpot Service Hub with their customer service department.
Some of the highlight features are:
- Close more tickets in a shorter time with HubSpot Service Hub’s ticket management tools that includes a knowledge base, live chat, and centralized messaging
- Integrate the ticketing system with your CRM and content management platforms that allows the agents to extract personal details of customers and information of past engagements
- With HubSpot, you can efficiently manage and expand the bandwidth of your customer service department minus hiring additional staff
With its full suite of features, you can offer your customers a seamless CX that focuses on conversation and contextual engagements with human touchpoints.
HubSpot Service Hub offers a free plan with basic features. Premium plans start at $ 35 per month for one paid user.
4. Zendesk:
An omnichannel, Zendesk is a great free helpdesk ticketing software. The software is built with self-service channels, call centre software, live chat and messaging services, and more. With flexible products, Zendesk can be scaled to meet the needs of any business.
Here are some features of Zendesk:
- Tracking, prioritizing, and solving customer support tickets are brought under one easy to use, unified system
- Shared inboxes help agents view customer trajectory at a single overview
- The Sales Automation Software connects seamlessly with support with sales and allows convenient access to the pipeline
With Zendesk, you can integrate multiple first and third-party applications that help you build the best customer experiences.
A freemium version is available for both the ‘Support’ and ‘The Suite’ plans. You can upgrade to either of the premium packages at $ 5 and $ 89, respectively.
5. Zoho Desk:
Zoho Desk is a free ticketing systemthat offers the first context-aware help desk software. It is a multi-channel communication platform with key functionalities like email, social media, live chat, telephone, and web form.
Top functionalities that separate Zoho Desk from its competitors are:
- Your agents automatically become more efficient with the integration of automating repetitive jobs, recognizing team trends and patterns and collaborating across departments via multiple channels
- Flexible set-up processes, smart dashboards, user-friendly interfaces, and ease of navigation helps it to score well among its user base inspiring better performance
- The software promotes self-help where customers are encouraged to find answers to their queries
With a list of add-on integrations with in-house applications, and online apps makes Zendesk one of the most useful customer support helpdesk software.
You can go with a 15 day trial of the system for free. You will need to choose a paid plan, post the free trial period. The ‘Standard’ plan starts from $ 720 per agent on a monthly basis if you make a one-time payment for the entire year.
6. Freshservice:
Modernize your customer service systems by integrating free help desk ticket systems such as Freshservice that is surprisingly simple to configure and refreshingly easy to use. In fact, you can even operate it without having any formal training at all.
Take a look at what makes Freshservice a sought-after helpdesk system:
- With its multi-channel support system, you can automate recurring tasks and offer support for customer issues raised across platforms including self-service, chat, email, phone, etc.
- Minimizes tickets for common issues and scenarios by developing an in-depth knowledge base where article links can be suggested to end-users as part of a long-term solution process
- The agents can turn their engagements into fun-filled and interesting experiences through gamification of your service desk
Take advantage of the 21-day free trial to ensure if Freshservice is a good fit for your organization. Post that, you will need to move to a paid that starts from $ 999 per month for an individual agent.
7. SysAid:
Deployable on both on-premise or through the cloud, SysAid is a top customer support software that comes loaded with a bag full of powerful features that can service businesses of all sizes.
Here is a list of its top features:
- Your IT processes and activities can be simplified through automation with the logging in of tickets and via smooth and seamless issue management
- Encourage end users to be more active in finding their answers through self-service or by using the knowledge base
- With native remote control capabilities, agents can securely resolve customer queries from just about anywhere in the globe
With the SysAid helpdesk software, you can confidently gain control over your IT system as agents have the power to choose only the tools that they want access to.
To integrate SysAid, get a customized quotation from them based on the requirements that you share with their sales team. However, you have the option to try a 30 free trial before you make your purchase.
8. osTicket:
osTicket is one of the most popular customer service software for free in the market today. This robust ticket management software tool highlights a strong ticket assignment and resolution system that is easily scalable and streamlines your customer service processes.
Its primary functionalities are:
- Conveniently distribute all your incoming cases to the appropriate teams and departments for a clutter-free environment
- By using ticket filters, you can expedite the process of easily creating and routing of tickets through automation
- Determine your own rule criteria to automatically assign tasks to a specific ticket issue like help topics for clients to choose from when creating the ticket
With the ticket locking mechanism known as the ‘Agent Collision Avoidance’ feature, you can restrict multiple agents from responding to the same ticket at the same time.
The Cloud-Hosted package is available on a 30-day free trial, post which becomes chargeable at the cost of $ 9 per agent, per month.
9. Request Tracker:
Request Tracker, a free ticketing system, was one of the first entrants in the help desk software market way back in 1996. Its primary functions included synchronizing tasks and handling requests within a dedicated community of users.
The system has the following features:
- Request Tracker boasts of several interfaces that are available to reps to create and update tickets through custom workflows that highlight ticket status, actions, and transitions to mirror your process
- Your agents can efficiently manage emails being received at the business end with the software and use it to trigger responses to tickets via email
- You can leverage Request Tracker’s custom field architecture via Assets to monitor all types of data assets that need to be on record
You can try the platform by logging into their demo site. Alternatively, download the source code and install it for testing.
10. Agiloft:
Looking to adapt your free customer service help desk software to suit your service style? Well, look no further than Agiloft that can help you manage your IT service with flexibility and agility.
It comes with its set of standout benefits including:
- With access to a configurable ticket assignment protocol, agents can set up escalation rules that alert them about blockages and send notifications at the time to issue escalations proactively
- By automating processes such as backend operations and emails, reps can offer consistent levels of customer service in a more controlled and organized manner
- The live chat offers real-time opportunities for interaction between agents and customers whereas an in-depth knowledge base provides a self-service portal that is accessible round the clock
You can register to try the Free Edition of the software that gives you access to limited features. Premium plans start from $ 45 per month for a single license.
So, What Do You Think of These 10 Best Free Help Desk Solutions?
As your business keeps expanding, adding new customers. Your customer service department is always racing to keep up with customer demands. Therefore, the odds of integrating the help desk software will be heavily in your favour to manage customer tickets when the volume becomes unmanageable.
You have a ton of service providers to choose from. The problem lies with finding the best free helpdesk ticketing softwarethat fits in with your business requirements and organizational goals. Obviously, you have to go through the list of features, benefits, and prices to arrive at a narrowed shortlist of names.
Top that up with trying out the software on free trials or make use of plans that are available at zero cost. Remember to calculate the cost of upgrading to premium versions, which should be a part of your decision-making process.
Don’t hesitate to spend time researching and experimenting. Eventually, you want to settle for software that is the best fit for your team and helps you in amplifying your customer service.
