AIMultiple ResearchAIMultiple Research

Top 5 Helpshift Alternatives for Customer Service in 2024

Customer service software is an indispensable asset as 90% of customer service leaders report that customer expectations are higher than ever. Technical buyers shortlisting customer service vendors may come across Helpshift, one of the most popular tools within the customer service software market.

In this article, we’ll examine the potential drawbacks of Helpshift according to user reviews and explore top 5 Helpshift alternatives to help tech buyers in their decision.

Comparison of Helpshift and Top 5 Alternatives

Table 1. The total number of reviews and average rating of Helpshift and top 5 Helpshift alternatives

VendorsTotal reviews*Average rating
Salesforce3,7068.7/10
Zendesk11,0018.4/10
Freshdesk6,9268.8/10
Intercom4,1888.9/10
Helpshift4168.1/10
Zoho3988.9/10

Table is sorted according to the number of reviews, except our sponsors.

*Review counts are from software review platforms Capterra, G2, Gartner Peer Insights and TrustRadius.

Review of Helpshift

Helpshift is a digital help desk platform allowing businesses to facilitate contact management and deliver support across multiple channels, focusing on in-app support for mobile applications. Some of the features it offers are:

It also offers a 30-day free trial with a starting price of $150/month.

On the software review platforms we analyzed, Helpshift is listed on G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius, but not on Gartner Peer Insights and Peerspot. And on the platforms where it is listed, it has a lower number of reviews compared to most of the other tools discussed in this article (Table 1). This suggests that Helpshift is not as popular as the Helpshift alternatives on the market.

On the platforms it is listed, its overall user ratings are:

  • G2: 4.3/51
  • Capterra: 3.9/52
  • TrustRadius: 8/103

User reviews highlight two significant areas where the platform could improve:

  • Analytics and reporting
  • Multi-channel support

Analytics and reporting

  • Some users have been dissatisfied with the lack of depth in Helpshift’s analytics and the limited ability to track individual and team performance. They complain about the lack of basic information such as time spent by an agent on a ticket or an agent’s resolution rate per hour. The lack of these crucial metrics restricts managers’ ability to gain actionable insights and improve service quality.

Source: G24

  • Users also express a need for enhanced search capabilities within the analytics, specifically around tags. Some have resorted to external services like Power BI to compensate for these deficiencies, but even then, the integration with Power BI has been described as challenging to work with.

Source: Capterra5

Multi-channel support

  • Helpshift’s multi-channel support capabilities are another area of concern for many businesses. Users highlight a lack of support for some text-based communication channels such as WhatsApp, and Apple Business Chat. They also point out missing integrations with popular platforms like Telegram and TikTok.
  • The absence of these channels forces businesses to rely on separate platforms to cater to their customers, causing fragmentation of resources and focus. This lack of seamless multi-channel support can make managing customer interactions challenging and inefficient.

Source: G26

Next, we will examine the top 5 Helpshift alternatives according to user reviews and metrics.

Top 5 Helpshift Alternatives

1. Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer service and support application that helps businesses deliver customer service across various channels.

Salesforce Service Cloud is built on the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform, enabling seamless integration with other Salesforce products. It also leverages AI through Salesforce Einstein to offer automated suggestions, route cases, predict customer behavior, and provide intelligent insights for increased productivity. Some of its features are:

  • Intelligent chatbots
  • Customer feedback and survey tools
  • Software integrations (Contact Salesforce for details)
  • 30+ supported languages
  • Self-service options
  • Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube integration

Salesforce Service Cloud’s starting price is €25 per seat/month and offers a 30-day free trial.

Its overall user ratings on different software review platforms are:

  • G2: 4.2/57
  • Capterra: 4.4/58
  • TrustRadius: 8.9/109
  • Gartner Peer Insights: 4.4/510

Based on user reviews, here’s how Salesforce Service Cloud is one of the Helpshift alternatives that addresses Helpshift’s limitations:

Analytics and reporting

  • User feedback highlights the platform’s robust and efficient capabilities in providing in-depth reporting and meaningful analytics. Service Cloud allows businesses to track key performance metrics such as response times and customer satisfaction rates, providing valuable insights into customer behavior and helping identify areas for improvement.
  • Users also commend the accessibility and clarity of these analytics, noting the ease with which they can track the success of sales cadences, configure dashboards, and quickly access crucial data. The reporting and analytics tools of Service Cloud help businesses to make data-backed decisions, thereby optimizing their customer service operations.

Source: TrustRadius11

Multi-channel support

Service Cloud provides a unified platform where customer service agents can engage with customers across various channels including phone, email, chat, social media, and SMS. Users have acknowledged Service Cloud’s omni-channel technical support and call routing capabilities for resolving operational issues.

  • The platform’s design supports multiple channels, enabling greater reach and improved documentation of customer interactions. 
  • Furthermore, Service Cloud offers a mobile-first approach, aiming to cater to customers over their preferred channels.

Source: G212

2. Zendesk Support Suite

Zendesk Support Suite is a customer service platform that offers a set of integrated tools designed to improve communication with customers and enhance the resolution of their queries and issues. The platform includes multiple channels of communication, such as email, phone, chat, and social media integration, all managed within a single interface. Some of its features are:

  • Intelligent chatbots
  • Customer feedback and survey tools (in premium plans)
  • 1000+ software integrations
  • 40+ supported languages
  • Self-service options
  • Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter integration

Zendesk Support Suite’s starting price is $49 per seat/month and offers a 14-day free trial.

Its overall user ratings on different software review platforms are:

  • G2: 4.3/513
  • Capterra: 4.4/514
  • TrustRadius: 7.9/1015
  • Gartner Peer Insights: 4.3/516

According to user reviews, Zendesk Support Suite is one of the top Helpshift alternatives that addresses its limitations in terms of:

Analytics and reporting

  • Zendesk Support Suite offers a range of analytics and reporting features that are generally well-regarded. Users note that the platform allows tracking performance and data-driven decisions with its Zendesk Explore tool, which can help to improve customer service quality and efficiency.
  • However, there are mixed sentiments about the ease of use of these features. Some users express that while the platform’s analytics and reporting tools are robust and provide valuable insights, the interface can be difficult to navigate and confusing. Creating new reports and using advanced analytics features, including customizable dashboards, is cited as a challenging aspect by some users.

Source: G217

Multi-channel support

  • Users report that Zendesk allows for integration with various platforms, including social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This allows them to provide an omni-channel support system, including custom workflows and self-serve options for customers.
  • The integration capabilities of Zendesk contribute to a unified customer service experience across multiple channels. Users note that this approach ensures no channel is left unattended, maintaining response times and creating a seamless experience for customers.

3. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a cloud-based customer support software that helps businesses streamline their customer conversations across various channels such as email, social media, phone, and web. Some of its features are:

  • Intelligent chatbots
  • Customer feedback and survey tools
  • 1000+ software integrations
  • 50+ supported languages
  • Self-service options
  • Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn integration

Freshdesk’s starting price is $15 per seat/month and it offers a 21-day free trial.

Its overall user ratings on different software review platforms are:

  • G2: 4.4/518
  • Capterra: 4.5/519
  • TrustRadius: 8.6/1020
  • Gartner Peer Insights: 4.4/521

According to user reviews, Freshdesk is among the Helpshift alternatives in terms of:

Analytics and reporting

Users find the analytics and reporting features robust and instrumental in gaining detailed insights into various aspects of customer support performance such as:

  • Ticket resolution times
  • Customer satisfaction ratings
  • Agent productivity metrics

However, other reviews suggest that there may be room for improvement in Freshdesk’s reporting and analytics capabilities. Some users express the desire for more advanced capabilities, including

  • Customizable reports
  • Deeper data insights
  • More options for visualizing and exporting data

Source: G222

Multi-channel support

  • Users note Freshdesk’s ability to support communication through various channels such as email, phone, live chat, and social media, which helps streamline customer communication and support processes.
  • Users also appreciate the automatic ticket generation feature, which operates across all communication channels, as well as the manual ticket creation option. Additionally, the omni-channel experience offered by Freshdesk is mentioned as a significant advantage, as it allows customer service teams to manage all interactions through a single portal, reducing the need to navigate different systems.

Source: G223

4. Intercom

Intercom is a customer communication platform that allows businesses to engage with and support customers through various channels. The platform includes a suite of applications for messaging, automation, and external customer support. Some of its features are:

  • Customer feedback and survey tools (add-on)
  • 350+ software integrations
  • 35+ supported languages
  • Self-service options
  • Facebook and Instagram integration

Intercom’s starting price is $74 per month with 2 seats and it offers a 14-day free trial.

Its overall user ratings on different software review platforms are:

  • G2: 4.5/524
  • Capterra: 4.5/525
  • TrustRadius: 8.8/1026
  • Gartner Peer Insights: 4.5/527

According to user reviews, Intercom compares with Helpshift in terms of:

Analytics and reporting

  • Reviewers are satisfied with Intercom’s ability to efficiently pull in analytics for each contact. They also appreciate the platform’s ability to track team performance effectively.

Source: G228

  • However, there are also areas where users suggest room for improvement. Some users find the platform’s analytics metrics hard to use, particularly when multiple teams use various channels to communicate with clients. Some users also believe that the visualization aspect of Intercom’s analytics could be enhanced.

Multi-channel support

  • Users appreciate the fact that Intercom allows marketing automation by helping teams to build multi-channel sequences in one place, including but not limited to, emails, chats, custom bots, banners, and product tours. The platform allows agents to maintain focus by having all multi-channel communication centralized in Intercom.
  • However, there are also reviews indicating that building a robust multi-channel program in Intercom can come with some challenges. Some users mentioned that it is not easy to establish such a program without sacrificing some channels.

Source: G229

For more information about Intercom and its alternatives please check out our data-driven and transparent article on Intercom Alternatives.

5. Zoho SalesIQ

Zoho SalesIQ is another Helpshift alternative that focuses on live chat and website analytics. Some of its features are:

  • Real-time visitor tracking
  • Built-in audio assist including screen shares and voice notes
  • 30+ software integrations
  • Conversation triggering based on a wide range of parameters such as pages visited, country, or even a certain activity on the website like a payment failure.
  • Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram integration
  • AI chatbots
  • 28+ supported languages, including Japanese, Thai, Korean, Polish, Danish, Hindi, and Chinese

Zoho SalesIQ’s starting price is $7 per month with 1 operator and it offers a limited free version.

Its overall user ratings on different software review platforms are:

  • G2: 4.4/530
  • Capterra: 4.5/531
  • TrustRadius: 8.9/1032

According to user reviews, Zoho SalesIQ compares with Helpshift in terms of:

Analytics and reporting

  • Users appreciate Zoho SalesIQ’s ability to measure and report the analytics such as website traffic, the time they spend on the website, the origin, etc.

Source: Capterra33

Multi-channel support

  • Users indicate that the multichannel feature of Zoho SalesIQ is comprehensive and it is easy to switch between channels.

Source: Capterra34

For more information about Intercom and its alternatives please check out our data-driven and transparent article on Zoho Desk Alternatives.

For more on customer service

Feel free to check our other articles on customer service and help desk software to explore other popular alternatives such as HubSpot Service Hub or Zoho Desk:

Also, you can search for other vendors within the market from our comprehensive vendor lists:

Transparency Statement

AIMultiple works with numerous software vendors such as Salesforce.

If you have other questions about Helpshift alternatives or need help in finding vendors, we can help:

Find the Right Vendors
Access Cem's 2 decades of B2B tech experience as a tech consultant, enterprise leader, startup entrepreneur & industry analyst. Leverage insights informing top Fortune 500 every month.
Cem Dilmegani
Principal Analyst
Follow on
Cem Dilmegani
Principal Analyst

Cem is the principal analyst at AIMultiple since 2017. AIMultiple informs hundreds of thousands of businesses (as per Similarweb) including 60% of Fortune 500 every month.

Cem's work has been cited by leading global publications including Business Insider, Forbes, Washington Post, global firms like Deloitte, HPE, NGOs like World Economic Forum and supranational organizations like European Commission. You can see more reputable companies and media that referenced AIMultiple.

Throughout his career, Cem served as a tech consultant, tech buyer and tech entrepreneur. He advised enterprises on their technology decisions at McKinsey & Company and Altman Solon for more than a decade. He also published a McKinsey report on digitalization.

He led technology strategy and procurement of a telco while reporting to the CEO. He has also led commercial growth of deep tech company Hypatos that reached a 7 digit annual recurring revenue and a 9 digit valuation from 0 within 2 years. Cem's work in Hypatos was covered by leading technology publications like TechCrunch and Business Insider.

Cem regularly speaks at international technology conferences. He graduated from Bogazici University as a computer engineer and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Sources:

AIMultiple.com Traffic Analytics, Ranking & Audience, Similarweb.
Why Microsoft, IBM, and Google Are Ramping up Efforts on AI Ethics, Business Insider.
Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI to pursue artificial intelligence that’s smarter than we are, Washington Post.
Data management barriers to AI success, Deloitte.
Empowering AI Leadership: AI C-Suite Toolkit, World Economic Forum.
Science, Research and Innovation Performance of the EU, European Commission.
Public-sector digitization: The trillion-dollar challenge, McKinsey & Company.
Hypatos gets $11.8M for a deep learning approach to document processing, TechCrunch.
We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck AI startup Hypatos used to raise $11 million, Business Insider.

To stay up-to-date on B2B tech & accelerate your enterprise:

Follow on

Next to Read

Comments

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required.

0 Comments