Efficient help desk software means the world to an organized business, especially if we take the IT team into consideration. Using its functionality, a business manages to simplify interactions and to get rid of pesky manual processes, such as answering calls and logging problems which consume about 40% of time and labor effort.
The stronger the help desk system is the more valuable and productive the key areas in your business will become. Observed from a broader perspective, outgrowing manual efforts keeps even end-users satisfied, and it is pretty convenient for preventing issues from falling through the crack. Basically, implementing a help desk system stands for standardizing your reporting procedure, identifying common cases, and building a historical self-base which clients can access to log their own jobs before loading the burden entirely on your IT team’s shoulders.
No business would refuse to enforce their workflow in such way, knowing that issues will be solved in no time, multitasking will become smarter, trouble tickets will be tractable, and one will be able to prioritize between tasks. The challenge, however, is to discover a ‘One-can-do-it-all’ tool, and to make sure it won’t affect your budget anyhow. Challenge is the most appropriate word for such experience, as most free programs want to excite you, and then see you fold in order to push you towards their ‘supposedly more efficient’ paid plans.
Our goal here is not to excuse IT staff, but to help you replace sluggish customer service with meaningful know-how for the mutual benefit of your business and your customers. For the purpose, we narrowed the choice down to six best free help desk software solutions that break the cost barrier, and effectively organize your information and IT processes. Some of them are only available for free, while others offer a lifetime freemium package in addition to paid plans.
1. Freshdesk
If you’re looking for top notch customer service software that offers a free plan with respectable functionality, Freshdesk is your solution. Freshdesk is currently one of the best help desk software in our review base.
The free plan offers unlimited knowledge base for three agents, phone and email support. The natural environment of Freshdesk is small businesses with temporary growth of demand that want to work with robust enterprise-grade feature suite without paying for it. Its main principles are seamless organization, smart automation, collaboration, and tight 3rd party integration, which push it to the top of the SaaS list even among premium software solutions. You can easily sign up for the free Freshdesk plan here .
The system works on the base of advanced SLA policies to prioritize between customer inquiries. It efficiently transforms tickets and emails into usable database articles and has a mobile-friendly website. It’s also available in 16 different languages. As such, the software can solve many business problems, mainly related to managing uncontrollable email communication, strengthening in-house team collaboration, categorizing, prioritizing, and effective multitasking.
Its phone support boasts unique and extensive integration, as it takes about 15 minutes to set up a call centre in one of the 37 countries where Freshdesk is available. The workflow is eased by localized phone numbers, call routing, transfer and allocation, and customizable IRVs. Freshdesk is also a highly customizable multi-product solution, whose creative email notifications help agents deal with tickets on time, and maintain a support portal storing relevant pieces of knowledge for customers to access. If you want to learn more about the software and its capaiblities read our
Freshdesk reviews .
2. SpiceWorks
SpiceWorks makes its services available for free regardless of the number of agents and admin accounts. There are no advanced upgrades and premium plans: the only version of the system is the free one! Hosting is free, maintenance is free, and tickets are unlimited!
Why is Spiceworks one of the best free help desk software solutions? The main reason is it is probably the most powerful self-hosted, self-managed, and backed up help desk users are not supposed to pay for. Another distinctive advantage is that you get to use it immediately upon downloading it: complex set ups and implementation issues are out of the game.
The system was developed by an experienced IT support team, which is enough of a guarantee that you’re dealing with a tool that recognizes your needs and struggles. Ever since 2006, they’re investing in their unique communication channel, where specialists converge, interact, and provide expert opinions to tech vendors in order to improve their IT infrastructure. At the end of the process, issued tickets are stored in a robust knowledge base, and become part of your active contact directory.
The most recognizable features are user self-service, team management, IT asset management, ticket collaboration, multi-site support, and the integration with more than 150 apps that enables you to use add-ons for extended functionality. The recent versions include also multiple server monitoring services. You can learn more about the software in our
Spiceworks reviews .
3. Zoho Support
Backed up by a name that rings a bell, Zoho Support made it to the top of our list quite fast, not just because it is a component of a business-class toolset, but because it really works. The platform comes in three different payment plans, one of them being absolutely free and functional enough to suffice the needs of a small/mid-sized business.
Zoho Support is a smart choice for businesses that need a help desk solution, but are not willing to commit to a system that has to be installed on their local machines. The ones among you that are already using Zoho Products should definitely consider it. It offers access to unlimited agents, contacts and client management, and a very developed customer portals. Tickets are traced by products, categorized in smart solution folders and a robust knowledge base. Themes and widgets are customizable, and there are many add-ons that can extend their efficiency. Read more about the capabilities of the software in our
Zoho Support reviews .
4. MantisBT
MantisBT is another open-source platform that doesn’t drain the pocket, famous for its unsurpassed capacity for tracking and managing bugs. The distinctive plus of using MantisBT is that it is PHP written, meaning that the interface is simple and intuitive, and there is a MySQL database
for users to report their bugs, and administrators to handle them.
The platform is web based, suitable for Windows and Linux, and designed to meet GNU (General Public License) terms. It ranks very high on the list of preferred systems, since it allows users to manage their own projects, and to stay in control of comments and issue resolution. Besides, the platform is very flexible, and empowered with full customization for issue fields and notifications.
There are few other recognizable features that keep this platform on the front page: change-log support that spreads from projects to sub-projects and categories, powerful reporting due to effective project management and time tracking, fully enabled word search, and powerful integrations (Wiki documents, for instance). Read more about the software in our MantisBT reviews .
5. NABD System
NABD is a comprehensive solution available in a free lifetime version that is fully functional, unlimited, and ideal for businesses from all scales and industries. It is cloud-hosted, with three major functionalities: backend ticketing, case management, and knowledge base storage. Thanks to NABD, you have many different support channels to keep customer engaged.
From an admin perspective, NABD is precious for tracking customer support performance via different metrics, return on action (ROA), and customer feedback. NABD works with ISO 10002 Quality Management System, and e prescribed customer lifecycle to prioritize internal processes and customer needs. The BMP engine is fully integrated, and there is a unique communication tool with sentiment analytics to help agents collaborate both across traditional and social channels.
The platform is also available in the form of a responsive mobile app, and offers 24/7 customer support. You can read more about the software in our NABD System reivews .
6. osTicket
osTicket is a very smart choice for a free, open-source ticket management platform. It is a self-hosted one-stop-shop for phone, email enquirers, and web forms, with an in-built filter that helps you locate the right enquiry and redirect it to the most suitable executive. Their free plan is unlimited, and the only difference from the paid plans is that it is not cloud-hosted.
The strongest sides of osTicket are: Automation, as it offers an auto-assigner and auto-responder to mark repeated actions, summarize them on a comprehensive dashboard, and pull off amazingly accurate reports; and Configuration, as it provides for the creation of auto-response templates where one could add logos, text, or even multi-media, and adding custom fields for users to trigger a specific action for every ticket.
Being open-source, osTicket responds to the needs of all business types, from start ups and medium enterprises to fortune generators. Tickets will not simply heap in your database: they will be delegated a custom field, and categorized in a specific category to comply with the software’s routing rules. Another reason to choose osTicket is that it is a master in avoiding agent collision. Read more about the capabilities of this service in our osTicket reviews .
Freshdesk won our Best Help Desk Software Award for 2017
