In today’s fast-paced business world, customer support has become more critical than ever. Providing exceptional customer service is essential for retaining customers, nurturing leads, building brand loyalty, and ensuring the long-term success of your business. One of the best ways to enhance customer experience is by leveraging the right customer support tools.

There are several types of customer support software categories that you can use to provide assistance to your customers and clients, irrespective of whether your business is B2B or B2C.

Some of the customer support software categories that we divided the tools up, in this blog article are –

Help Desk Software
Live Chat Software
Chatbot Platforms
Social Media Management Tools
Knowledge Base Software
Customer Feedback Tools
Call Center Software
Email Support Tools
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software
Remote Support Tools
All-in-One Customer Support Solutions

In this blog post, we will explore 11+ must-have customer support categories with more than 23 customer support software to empower your business, covering their features, pricing, and ideal user bases.

Why should you trust this comparison article on the best customer support software?

To create this comprehensive and reliable article, our team conducted extensive research and testing of various customer support tools available in the market. We analyzed features, pricing, user reviews, and case studies to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each tool. In addition, we considered industry trends and expert opinions to ensure that our recommendations are up-to-date and relevant.

Our team also examined the ideal user base for each tool to help you find the best fit for your business.

By combining our findings with our extensive experience in the field of customer support, we’ve crafted a well-rounded and trustworthy guide that aims to help you make informed decisions about the customer support tools that will empower your business.

#1. Help Desk Software

Help desk software streamlines customer support by allowing you to manage and resolve customer inquiries and issues more efficiently. Two of the best help desk software are Freshdesk and Zendesk.

A. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based help desk software designed to simplify customer support operations. With its easy-to-use interface and robust features, Freshdesk enables businesses to deliver exceptional customer service.

Features

Freshdesk offers a wide range of features, such as ticket management, automation, collaboration tools, and reporting. Its ticket management system allows you to categorize, prioritize, and assign tickets to the right agents.

Freshdesk’s automation capabilities help reduce manual tasks and streamline workflows by setting up custom rules and triggers. Collaboration tools, such as shared inboxes and notes, promote teamwork and improve issue resolution.

Additionally, Freshdesk provides in-depth reporting and analytics to help you monitor your team’s performance and identify areas for improvement.

Pricing

Freshdesk offers a free plan with limited features and four paid plans starting at $15 per agent per month. The paid plans provide additional features and scalability to meet your business’s evolving needs.

Ideal User Base

Freshdesk is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, that require an easy-to-use and feature-rich help desk solution.

B. Zendesk

Zendesk is another popular cloud-based help desk software that helps businesses deliver outstanding customer support. With a wide array of features and seamless integration with other tools, Zendesk streamlines customer service workflows.

Features

Zendesk offers various features, including ticket management, automation, multi-channel support, and reporting. Its ticket management system allows you to manage, track, and resolve customer issues efficiently. With Zendesk’s automation tools, you can set up triggers, automations, and SLAs to ensure timely and effective issue resolution.

Multi-channel support enables you to communicate with your customers via email, chat, phone, and social media, all from a single platform. Furthermore, Zendesk provides detailed reporting and analytics to help you monitor and optimize your customer support efforts.

Pricing

Zendesk offers five pricing plans, starting at $19 per agent per month. Each plan provides different features and scalability, allowing you to choose the best option for your business.

Ideal User Base

Zendesk is suitable for businesses of all sizes and industries, particularly those that require multi-channel support and seamless integration with other tools.

#2. Live Chat Software

Live chat software enables real-time communication with your customers, providing instant support and improving customer satisfaction. Two top live chat software options are Intercom and LiveChat.

A. Intercom

Intercom is a customer communication platform that offers live chat, chatbot, and customer engagement features. With Intercom, you can engage with your customers and prospects in real-time and provide personalized support.

Features

Intercom offers various features, such as live chat, chatbots, targeted messaging, and customer segmentation. Its live chat feature allows you to communicate with your website visitors and customers instantly. Intercom’s chatbots can automate routine tasks, such as answering frequently asked questions or gathering information from customers.

Targeted messaging lets you send personalized messages to your customers based on their behavior and preferences.

Customer segmentation enables you to group your customers based on specific criteria, such as location or purchase history, allowing you to provide more tailored support.

Pricing

Intercom offers four pricing plans, starting at $39 per month. Each plan includes different features and user limits, so you can choose the one that best suits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

Intercom is best suited for businesses of all sizes looking for a comprehensive customer communication platform with live chat, chatbot, and targeted messaging capabilities.

B. LiveChat

LiveChat is a powerful live chat software designed to help businesses engage with their customers in real-time. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, LiveChat enhances customer support and sales efforts.

Features

LiveChat offers a range of features, including real-time chat, chat routing, canned responses, and chat monitoring. Real-time chat allows your support agents to communicate with customers instantly, improving response times and customer satisfaction.

Chat routing directs incoming chats to the most suitable agent, ensuring efficient issue resolution. Canned responses enable agents to send predefined messages for common questions, saving time and maintaining consistency.

Chat monitoring provides insights into customer interactions, helping you identify areas for improvement.

Pricing

LiveChat offers four pricing plans, starting at $16 per agent per month. Each plan includes different features and user limits, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

LiveChat is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a user-friendly and feature-rich live chat solution to improve customer support and sales efforts.

#3. Chatbot Platforms

A. Tars

Tars is a powerful chatbot platform that enables businesses to create engaging, conversational chatbots to automate customer interactions, streamline support processes, and improve lead generation.

Features

Tars offers a drag-and-drop chatbot builder, allowing you to create custom chatbots without any coding knowledge. The platform supports rich media and custom responses, making the conversation more engaging and personalized. Tars also integrates with popular CRM systems and customer support tools, ensuring seamless data flow between your chatbot and other tools.

Pricing

Tars offers multiple pricing plans, starting at $99 per month, with varying feature sets and chatbot limits to accommodate different business needs and budgets.

Ideal User Base

Tars is suitable for businesses of all sizes looking to enhance customer engagement, automate customer support, and improve lead generation with chatbots.

B. Chatfuel

Chatfuel is a chatbot platform designed specifically for creating Facebook Messenger chatbots. It allows businesses to automate customer interactions, generate leads, and provide support through the popular messaging app.

Features

Chatfuel features a user-friendly chatbot builder, AI-powered natural language processing, and integrations with popular CRM and marketing tools. The platform also offers pre-built templates for various industries, making it easy to create a chatbot tailored to your specific needs.

Pricing

Chatfuel offers a free plan with basic features and a limited number of chatbot users. Premium plans start at $15 per month, providing access to more advanced features and unlimited users.

Ideal User Base

Chatfuel is best suited for businesses that want to leverage Facebook Messenger as a primary channel for customer interactions and support.

#4. Social Media Management Tools

A. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media management tool that helps businesses manage their social media presence, monitor brand mentions, and engage with their audience across multiple platforms.

Features

Sprout Social offers features like social media scheduling, analytics, and reporting, as well as social listening and monitoring capabilities. The platform also includes a social inbox, which consolidates messages from all your social accounts, making it easy to manage customer interactions and provide timely support.

Pricing

Sprout Social offers three pricing plans, starting at $99 per user per month. Each plan includes different features and platform limits, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

Sprout Social is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a comprehensive social media management tool to streamline their social media presence and customer engagement.

B. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a popular social media management platform that helps businesses manage their social media accounts, schedule content, and monitor brand mentions across various platforms.

Features

Hootsuite offers features like social media scheduling, analytics, and reporting, as well as social listening and monitoring capabilities. The platform also includes a social inbox, which consolidates messages from all your social accounts, making it easy to manage customer interactions and provide timely support.

Pricing

Hootsuite offers a range of pricing plans, starting with a limited free plan for individuals. Business plans start at $49 per month and include more advanced features and platform limits.

Ideal User Base

Hootsuite is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a versatile and user-friendly social media management tool to manage their social media presence and customer engagement.

Related Reads:

#5. Knowledge Base Software

Knowledge base software allows you to create a centralized repository of information and resources, making it easier for customers to find answers to their questions. Two of the best knowledge base software options are Helpjuice and Document360.

A. Helpjuice

Helpjuice is a powerful knowledge base software designed to help businesses create, manage, and optimize their online documentation. With its intuitive interface and advanced features, Helpjuice makes it easy to create a comprehensive and searchable knowledge base.

Features

Helpjuice offers various features, such as article creation, version control, analytics, and customization. Its article creation feature allows you to create and edit content with ease, using a simple WYSIWYG editor. Version control ensures that you can track changes to your documentation and revert to previous versions if necessary.

Analytics provides insights into how your knowledge base is performing, helping you identify areas for improvement.

Customization options let you design your knowledge base to match your brand and user preferences.

Pricing

Helpjuice offers four pricing plans, starting at $120 per month. Each plan includes different features and user limits, so you can choose the one that best suits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

Helpjuice is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require an easy-to-use and powerful knowledge base software to create, manage, and optimize their online documentation.

B. Document360

Document360 is a cloud-based knowledge base software designed to help businesses create, collaborate on, and publish online documentation. With its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, Document360 streamlines the process of creating and maintaining a knowledge base.

Features

Document360 offers a range of features, such as article creation, collaboration, version control, and analytics. Its article creation feature allows you to create and edit content using a user-friendly editor, with support for rich media and markdown.

Collaboration tools enable your team to work together on documentation, with features like comments, real-time editing, and access control.

Version control ensures that you can track changes to your documentation and revert to previous versions if necessary. Analytics provides insights into your knowledge base’s performance, helping you identify areas for improvement and optimize your content.

Pricing

Document360 offers four pricing plans, starting at $49 per month. Each plan includes different features and user limits, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

Document360 is suitable for businesses of all sizes, particularly those that require a user-friendly and feature-rich knowledge base software with robust collaboration tools.

#6. Customer Feedback Software

Customer feedback software allows you to collect, analyze, and act on customer feedback, helping you improve your products, services, and customer experience. Two of the best customer feedback software options are SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics.

A. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is a popular online survey tool that enables businesses to collect customer feedback through custom surveys. With its wide array of features and integrations, SurveyMonkey helps you gain valuable insights and make data-driven decisions.

Features

SurveyMonkey offers various features, such as survey creation, question types, templates, and analytics. Its survey creation feature allows you to design custom surveys using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

SurveyMonkey provides numerous question types, including multiple-choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions, to gather diverse feedback. Pre-built templates make it easy to create professional surveys quickly.

Analytics and reporting tools help you analyze survey results and uncover actionable insights.

Pricing

SurveyMonkey offers a free plan with basic features and three paid plans starting at $25 per user per month. The paid plans provide additional features and greater customization options.

Ideal User Base

SurveyMonkey is suitable for businesses of all sizes that need an easy-to-use and versatile online survey tool for collecting customer feedback and gaining valuable insights.

B. Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a comprehensive customer feedback and experience management platform that helps businesses collect, analyze, and act on customer feedback. With its powerful features and advanced analytics capabilities, Qualtrics enables you to improve customer satisfaction and drive business growth.

Features

Qualtrics offers various features, such as survey creation, question types, logic and branching, and advanced analytics. Its survey creation feature allows you to design custom surveys with a user-friendly interface.

Qualtrics provides a wide range of question types, including multiple-choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions. Logic and branching capabilities enable you to create dynamic surveys that adapt to each respondent’s answers. Advanced analytics and reporting tools help you analyze survey results, segment data, and identify trends.

Pricing

Qualtrics offers custom pricing based on your business’s specific needs and requirements. You can contact their sales team for a personalized quote.

Ideal User Base

Qualtrics is best suited for medium to large businesses that require a comprehensive customer feedback and experience management platform with advanced analytics capabilities.

#7. Call Center Software

Call center software helps businesses manage and streamline their customer support and sales efforts over the phone. Two of the best call center software options are Aircall and Talkdesk.

A. Aircall

Aircall is a cloud-based call center software designed to help businesses manage inbound and outbound calls, monitor agent performance, and integrate with other tools. With its user-friendly interface and robust features, Aircall enhances your team’s productivity and improves customer support.

Features

Aircall offers various features, such as call routing, call recording, analytics, and integrations. Its call routing feature ensures that incoming calls are directed to the most suitable agent based on availability and skills.

Call recording allows you to store and review calls for quality assurance and training purposes. Analytics provide insights into agent performance and call trends, helping you optimize your call center operations. Aircall also integrates with popular CRM and help desk software, ensuring seamless data synchronization and workflow automation.

Pricing

Aircall offers three pricing plans, starting at $30 per user per month. Each plan includes different features and user limits, allowing you to choose the one that best suits your business needs.

Ideal User Base

Aircall is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a user-friendly and feature-rich call center software with powerful integrations.

B. Talkdesk

Talkdesk is a cloud-based call center software that enables businesses to manage customer support and sales calls more efficiently. With its advanced features and analytics capabilities, Talkdesk helps you deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Features

Talkdesk offers various features, such as intelligent routing, call recording, workforce management, and analytics. Its intelligent routing feature ensures that incoming calls are directed to the most suitable agent based on availability, skills, and customer history.

Call recording allows you to store and review calls for quality assurance and training purposes. Workforce management tools help you optimize agent scheduling, track performance, and ensure adequate staffing levels.

Analytics provide insights into call trends and agent performance, helping you make data-driven decisions to improve your call center operations.

Pricing

Talkdesk offers custom pricing based on your business’s specific needs and requirements. You can contact their sales team for a personalized quote.

Ideal User Base

Talkdesk is best suited for medium to large businesses that require a comprehensive call center software with advanced features and analytics capabilities.

#8. Email Support Tools

A. Front

Front is an email collaboration and customer support tool that helps teams manage their shared email inboxes more efficiently, improving response times and customer satisfaction.

Features

Front offers features like shared inbox management, email delegation, and internal team collaboration. The platform also includes advanced email automation and integration with popular CRM, project management, and customer support tools, streamlining your team’s workflow.

Pricing

Front offers several pricing plans, starting at $19 per user per month, with different feature sets and inbox limits tailored to accommodate various business needs and budgets.

Ideal User Base

Front is ideal for businesses of all sizes with teams that require efficient collaboration and management of shared email inboxes for customer support or internal communication.

B. Help Scout

Help Scout is an email-based customer support tool designed to help businesses provide personalized and efficient customer support through email and live chat.

Features

Help Scout offers features like shared inbox management, email delegation, and internal team collaboration.

The platform also includes advanced email automation, reporting, and integration with popular CRM and customer support tools, helping your team streamline their workflow and provide excellent customer support.

Pricing

Help Scout offers three pricing plans, starting at $20 per user per month, with varying feature sets and usage limits to accommodate different business needs and budgets.

Ideal User Base

Help Scout is suitable for businesses of all sizes looking to improve their email-based customer support and provide a more personalized experience for their customers.

Related Reads on Email Marketing Software:

#9. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software

A. Salesforce

Salesforce is a leading CRM platform that helps businesses manage their customer relationships, track sales activities, and automate marketing and customer support tasks.

Features

Salesforce offers a wide range of features, including lead and contact management, sales pipeline tracking, marketing automation, customer support management, and detailed analytics and reporting.

The platform also integrates with numerous third-party apps and tools, ensuring seamless data flow between your CRM and other business systems.

Pricing

Salesforce offers multiple pricing plans, starting at $25 per user per month, with varying feature sets and usage limits tailored to accommodate different business needs and budgets.

Ideal User Base

Salesforce is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a powerful and customizable CRM platform to manage their customer relationships, sales, marketing, and support processes.

B. HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly CRM platform designed to help businesses manage their customer relationships, track sales activities, and automate marketing and customer support tasks.

Related Read:

Features

HubSpot CRM offers features like lead and contact management, sales pipeline tracking, email marketing, customer support management, and detailed analytics and reporting. The platform also includes a free-forever plan with basic CRM features and integrates with HubSpot’s other marketing, sales, and customer service tools.

Pricing

HubSpot CRM offers a free plan with basic features and unlimited users. Premium plans with more advanced features start at $50 per user per month.

Ideal User Base

HubSpot CRM is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that require an easy-to-use CRM platform with essential features and the option to scale with additional marketing, sales, and customer service tools.

Related: Other CRM related articles

Agile CRM Review: A Deep Dive
9 Best Marketing CRM Software: Compared!
13+ Top CRM Software: Which one should you go for?

#10. Remote Support Tools

A. TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a popular remote support tool that enables businesses to provide secure, remote assistance to their customers, employees, and partners.

Features

TeamViewer offers features like remote desktop access, file transfer, multi-platform support, and secure end-to-end encryption. The platform also includes advanced features like remote device monitoring, management, and reporting for IT support teams.

Pricing

TeamViewer offers a range of pricing plans, starting with a free plan for personal use. Business plans start at $49 per month and include more advanced features and usage limits.

Ideal User Base

TeamViewer is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a secure and reliable remote support tool to assist customers, employees, and partners, as well as IT support teams that need to manage and monitor remote devices.

B. AnyDesk

AnyDesk is a fast and secure remote support tool that allows businesses to provide remote assistance to their customers and employees across various devices and platforms.

Features

AnyDesk offers features like remote desktop access, file transfer, multi-platform support, and secure end-to-end encryption. The platform also includes advanced features like remote device monitoring, management, and reporting for IT support teams.

Pricing

AnyDesk offers a free plan for personal use, while business plans start at $10.99 per month and include more advanced features and usage limits.

Ideal User Base

AnyDesk is ideal for businesses of all sizes that require a fast and secure remote support tool to assist customers, employees, and partners, as well as IT support teams that need to manage and monitor remote devices.

#11. All-in-One Customer Support Solutions

A. HappyFox

HappyFox is an all-in-one customer support solution that combines help desk, live chat, and chatbot functionalities to streamline your customer support processes and provide a seamless experience for your customers.

Features

HappyFox offers features like ticket management, shared inbox, live chat, chatbot creation, knowledge base, and advanced reporting. The platform also integrates with popular CRM, project management, and customer support tools, ensuring smooth data flow between your customer support solution and other business systems.

Pricing

HappyFox offers multiple pricing plans, starting at $29 per user per month, with varying feature sets and usage limits tailored to accommodate different business needs and budgets.

Ideal User Base

HappyFox is suitable for businesses of all sizes that require a comprehensive and integrated customer support solution to manage their customer interactions and support processes more efficiently.

B. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is an all-in-one customer support solution that helps businesses provide efficient and personalized customer support through help desk, live chat, and knowledge base functionalities.

Features

Zoho Desk offers features like ticket management, shared inbox, live chat, knowledge base, and advanced reporting.

The platform also integrates with popular CRM, project management, and customer support tools, ensuring seamless data flow between your customer support solution and other business systems.

Pricing

Zoho Desk offers a free plan with basic features and a limited number of users. Premium plans start at $14 per user per month, providing access to more advanced features and unlimited users.

Ideal User Base

Zoho Desk is ideal for businesses of all sizes that require a comprehensive and integrated customer support solution to manage their customer interactions and support processes more efficiently.

Wrapping it up

The customer service tools mentioned in this article span various categories, such as help desk software, live chat software, knowledge base software, customer feedback software, and call center software.

By carefully considering the features, pricing, and ideal user bases of each tool, you can select the ones that best meet your business’s unique needs and requirements.

Ready to elevate your customer support game? Schedule a meeting with me today for personalized marketing consultancy and learn how to choose the best customer support tools for your business.