Zendesk VS Help Scout: In-Depth Analysis & Review

Searching for a customer support tool for your business? In this Zendesk vs Help Scout debate, we break it down for you to help you choose the best software.
Benard Kiplangat
Benard Kiplangat

Content Writer

Reading time: 6 minutes

As customers’ needs are ever changing, businesses need to adapt and keep up with them to ensure they provide the best customer experience and support. 

According to a report by Grand View Research, the customer experience management market worldwide is worth as much as $7.6 billion

This goes to show that the growing importance of understanding and ensuring customer satisfaction drives businesses to adopt various strategies and even use customer support tools.

That said, in your search for the best customer support tool, choosing one that aligns with your business needs isn’t as simple as a snap of your finger — it requires more in-depth analysis. 

The choice is even more challenging when you’re choosing between two of the biggest players in the market: Help Scout and Zendesk.

While both are industry leaders for a reason, how do you determine which is the better choice? 🧐

To help you decide which software is better for your business, we examined each software in detail to help you come to a consensus. Let’s dive right in! 

Contents

What is Help Scout?

Help Scout is a customer service tool that provides helpdesk services for businesses through an email-based customer support platform
Help Scout is a customer service tool that provides helpdesk services for businesses through an email-based customer support platform

Help Scout is a customer service tool that provides helpdesk services for businesses through an email-based customer support platform. The platform is ideal for small businesses and teams, start-ups, and non-profits looking for a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. 

Help Scout’s aim is to make the software an effective marketing tool and a competitive differentiator by providing unmatched customer services.

What is Zendesk?

Zendesk is customer service software that allows businesses to connect with customers via multiple channels on one platform
Zendesk is customer service software that allows businesses to connect with customers via multiple channels on one platform

Zendesk is a popular all-in-one customer service platform that allows savvy businesses to connect with customers via text, mobile, phone, email, or any channel. 

As an omnichannel customer support tool, Zendesk offers a variety of business tools for its users. If your business goal is more than just customer management, Zendesk will serve you better.

It is almost an all-encompassing software that caters to many business needs, types, and sizes. Whether you’re a high-growth start-up or an established enterprise, Zendesk will suit your business needs.

Zendesk vs Help Scout

Although both platforms offer seemingly similar services and functionalities, many differences set them apart. Here are some of the factors that we took into consideration when comparing between the two:

  • Functionality: If the software has a wide range of valuable customer support features and capabilities
  • User experience: If it has an easy to use interface
  • Integration options: If it integrates with other tools to support your business processes
  • Customer support: If it offers excellent customer support and documentation
  • Value: If the software gives you more value for the features provided at the price paid  

Functionality

As more and more customer support tools enter the market, it is prudent to evaluate your current business needs and size before choosing a software to commit to. After all, several software out there provide many features that might not be useful to your business.

Zendesk is an all-in-one customer support tool with cross-channel support that you will surely need for your business. It is a multipurpose tool for most, if not all, of your business needs regardless of your business’ size. 

This functionality makes it unbeatable in terms of the number of beneficial features. Thus, it is an ideal solution to support your customer support needs.

On the other hand, while Help Scout is a great customer support management software for handling emails, the software lacks features like snoozing or scheduling emails and replies. Compared to Zendesk, Help Scout’s reporting functionality isn’t the best either. 

✏️ Which is better: Zendesk

User experience

A relevant factor for choosing the best customer service software is simplicity. Whether you’re a small and growing business or a large conglomerate, having easy-to-use software is much more manageable and saves more time. 

The user-friendliness of Zendesk and Help Scout varies significantly. The main reason for this difference is the number of services each software has.

With so many features on a single platform, Zendesk can be on the complicated side. The learning curve is steeper and might require more time to get the hang of it. 

Unlike its counterpart, Help Scout is like your personal email without any unnecessary features and functionality. Though its interface is not as personalized for its users, this is just a minor gripe, and anyone can use the platform easily.

✏️ Which is better: Help Scout

Integration options

It’s important that customer support tools integrate with other tools to automate processes and reduce your reps’ workload.

This allows businesses to work effectively and integrate their software seamlessly without having to change current business processes.

That said, while both offer a wide range of integration options, Zendesk takes the crown with this. Zendesk has over 1000 apps to integrate with. Having more integrations available certainly gives businesses the option to choose software that cater to different their needs.

✏️ Which is better: Zendesk

Customer support

Customer service and support can make or break a business.

Whether it’s technical support or onboarding, it’s important to have a team of dedicated customer support reps to help customers easily onboard and get their business processes up and running without wasting time. 

And for a customer support tool, the need for great customer support services makes it even more important

Help Scout has a dedicated approach to customer service that is admittedly unbeatable. Their vision is a philosophy that embodies customer-centered values and they follow it seriously.

Zendesk’s customer support service is not the worst nor the best in the world. According to reviews, their customer support is not fast and reliable. Sometimes, their self-help resources and knowledge base might seem complex for first-time platform users.

✏️ Which is better: Help Scout

Value

Pricing has always been a significant factor for pretty much anything that you have to purchase. 

And the best way to analyze how much is reasonable for what you want is not just looking at the product’s cost, but you need to know something better: the value it brings you.

At a glance, Help Scout’s pricing plans are much cheaper than Zendesk. However, taking a deeper look at the features offered, it seems that Zendesk offers more value. 

Help Scout’s Standard plan costs $20 per user per month, but only gives you 3 main channels for support. Furthermore, in-app messaging comes at an additional charge. You also only get access to 50 integrations and APIs. 

While Zendesk’s Suite Team plan (the cheapest plan) costs $49 per user per month, you get multiple support channels at no extra cost and over 1000 APIs and integrations. They also offer several other features such as pre-defined responses, custom rules, and customizable online forms.

✏️ Which is better: Zendesk

 

Okay, so Zendesk takes the lead with a score of 3, while Help Scout comes in second with a score of 2. That’s pretty close. 😨 But let’s take a look at another customer support tool you can consider before we come to a conclusion.

What is NovoChat?

NovoChat is a chat marketing tool built for e-commerce businesses.

NovoChat is a chat marketing tool with a shared team inbox and multi-channel chat widget.
NovoChat is a chat marketing tool with a shared team inbox and multi-channel chat widget.

Not only does it allow you to have two-way communication with your customers via multiple messaging channels (WhatsApp, Messenger, etc), you can easily conduct multi-agent customer support with a shared team inbox.

Respond to all conversations across different messaging platforms in one place and avoid juggling between dozens of tabs. Collaborate with your teammates by easily assigning the right rep to best handle a customer query. 

Furthermore, it has a multi-channel chat widget that you can place on your website. This way, customers have a hassle-free way to reach out to you, and on their preferred messaging channels!

So which is better?

In this Zendesk vs Help Scout debate, which software emerged as the winner?

Deciding which software is the best between the two is challenging. While there is a clear winner when comparing the factors above, it still depends on your business needs. 

Help Scout is the perfect option for those who deal with countless emails per day, have a team behind the support, and need an excellent customer experience.

If you need to direct customer experiences from multiple channels under one platform or you want the best value for your money, Zendesk is the best option for you.

On the other hand, NovoChat is ideal for businesses that mainly focus on messaging apps to communicate with their customers. The software is easy to use and provides you with all the essential features to provide excellent customer support. 

We hope that this list has helped you gain a better understanding of each platform and what it has to offer. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and your specific needs will determine the best platform for you.

If you’re interested in what NovoChat has to offer, start a 7-day free trial with us today!

Try NovoChat for free! 🚀

An e-commerce chat marketing platform to grow your sales. 

© Novochat

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