12 best IT service desk software for modern IT teams in 2025

Are you overwhelmed by a backlog of support tickets and delayed response times caused by inefficient IT workflows? There is a solution. Implementing the right service desk software can streamline processes and improve overall efficiency. But where do you start? We’ve narrowed it down to 12 service desk platforms that stand out, whether you need intelligent automation, better visibility, or faster resolution times.

What is IT service desk software?

IT service desk software is a centralized platform serving as the primary point of contact between IT teams and end-users. It facilitates end-to-end management and resolution of IT-related incidents, service requests, and issues for efficient IT service delivery and support.  

IT service desk tools convert support requests into trackable tickets, automate workflows, and provide tools for incident, problem, and change management. Essentially, users can report their issues through various channels, and these software route them to the appropriate personnel.

12 best IT service desk software for 2025

Here’s a curated list of the top 12 software you can consider for your IT service desk needs: 

Let’s break down the best IT service desk software you can choose for scaling and improving your IT support operations in 2025: 

• Freshservice

Why people rave about Freshservice

The platform is built from the ground up with UX in mind, enhancing the user experience for both customers and IT staff. The self-service portal empowers users to find solutions to common problems through a knowledge base and AI chatbots, reducing the number of incoming tickets and allowing IT staff to concentrate on more critical issues. It’s no wonder 60,000+ businesses trust Freshservice to keep their IT teams steaming ahead. Here’s what happy customers have to say about using Freshservice:

“As a Senior IT Service Desk Analyst, I have been using Freshservice for quite a while now, and I am very satisfied with its features and performance. Freshservice helps me and my team handle all IT support requests from our employees and customers easily and quickly, especially compared to other products.”

Freshservice is a cloud-based, AI-powered, enterprise-grade IT Service Management (ITSM) and ITIL service desk software designed for every business service without any complexity or cost overruns. It offers a range of comprehensive tools, including incident, problem, change, and asset management, in a unified environment. 

With features like Configuration Management Database (CMDB), workload management, and project portfolio management, your team gets better end-to-end visibility and control over IT services. 

Freshservice’s key features: 

• Freddy AI Copilot: Freddy AI Copilot helps your team be productive and focus on important things by automating routine IT tasks, accelerating resolution times, and delivering instant, accurate responses through chat interfaces like MS Teams and Slack. It handles ticket categorization, prioritization, sentiment analysis, and auto-responses without developer or IT team input.

• Scalability with control: Freshservice handles high ticket volumes and large teams using automated workflows, AI routing, and standardized responses for consistent and efficient service at scale. 

• Omnichannel integrations: Freshservice helps you manage tickets and support requests from email, chat, social media, phone, and web in one unified place.

• AI-powered incident management: With Freshservice, you can use AI to reduce alert noise, auto-route issues, automate escalations, and generate post-incident reports for seamless IT–DevOps collaboration.

• No-code automation: Freshservice allows you to automate cross-departmental workflows for onboarding, provisioning, and approvals. It helps track assets, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and analytics via no-code tools and mobile access.

• No-code automation: Freshservice helps you automate cross-departmental workflows for onboarding, provisioning, and approvals. It also enables you to track assets, SLAs, and analytics via no-code tools and mobile access.

Integration capabilities

Freshservice’s integrations make it easy to connect with your team’s everyday tools without the usual complexity. With 1,000+ ready-to-use apps from the Freshworks Marketplace, you can reduce app-switching for faster resolutions.

RedSalud, a leading Chilean private healthcare provider, unified EX for 40 hospitals and 13,000 doctors and staff with Freshservice by integrating multiple service desks, automating workflows, and improving change and asset management.

Pros

• Intuitive, easy-to-use interface

• Enterprise-grade features with low complexity

• Freddy AI-driven alert management for proactive issue resolution

• Mobile app for on-the-go support

• Unified task management for projects and a dashboard for all communication channels

• Transparent and cost-effective pricing

• Multilingual support for faster resolutions

Cons

• Limited functionality with the mobile application as opposed to the desktop version

• Free plan catering only to small teams 

• Accessibility of Freddy AI only in Pro and Enterprise plans

User ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.6/5

Freshservice pricing

Freshdesk offers the below tiered pricing modules based on organizational size and requirements:

ServiceNow

ServiceNow is an enterprise-grade ITSM platform designed for complex enterprise environments. The platform offers deep customization and powerful workflow automation via the cloud. 

Its solutions are designed to integrate with a variety of systems, as well as offer development environments that allow users to build, test, and implement applications.

Key features

• Extensive integration capabilities 

• Virtual agent providing 24/7 AI-powered support

• Predictive intelligence for intelligent categorization and prioritization

• Performance analytics offers real-time dashboards and reporting

Pros

• Enables a holistic ITSM approach 

• Easy reporting, trending, and access to historical records 

Cons

• Compatibility issues with externally managed systems 

• Limited ability to associate problems with incidents

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5 

Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed publicly.

Jira Service Management

Jira Service Management brings ITSM capabilities to the familiar Jira platform, making it a natural fit for teams already using Atlassian tools. With tight integration between IT and development workflows, it supports fast, collaborative issue resolution. 

Key features

• Unified platform for IT, DevOps, and business teams

• AI-powered automation for issue prediction and resolution

• Integrated incident, problem, and change management

• Self-service portal with knowledge base integration

Pros

• Easy to use on an everyday basis 

• Flexibility to change workflows as per team's process

Cons

• Time-consuming dashboard customization

• Lacks AI chat feature

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Zendesk 

Although primarily a CRM platform, Zendesk offers some ITSM capabilities in an intuitive interface. Designed for scalability and organizations of all sizes, the platform’s core strength lies in customer support over ITSM functionality. 

Key features

• Customizable ticketing system with automation and macros

• Self-service help center and knowledge base

• AI-powered ticket routing and triage

• Prebuilt dashboards and custom reporting tools

Pros

• Clean and intuitive interface 

• Ease of collaboration

Cons

• Per-agent pricing applies to all users, regardless of feature usage 

• Workflow and reporting adjustments are time-intensive

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.3/5

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus

ManageEngine is an all-in-one ITSM tool that helps organizations run their technical operations more efficiently. IT teams commonly use it to detect technical issues early before they disrupt workflows or escalate into larger problems.

Key features

• Knowledge base integration

• AI-powered virtual support agent

• SLA management with escalation rules and compliance tracking

• Multi-channel support

Pros

• Ease of implementation

• Centralized management of applications, patches, and updates

Cons

• Lacks responsive support for end-users

• Customization limitations

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.2/5

Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed publicly. 

Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk’s context-aware help desk functionality makes it a distinct customer service platform with ITSM capabilities. Offering seamless integration with the broader Zoho ecosystem, the platform offers faster issue resolution, boosts customer retention, and enhances overall customer happiness.

Key features

• Contextual and omnichannel support 

• AI assistant for sentiment analysis, response suggestions, and automated summaries

• Customizable self-service portals

• Real-time dashboards and reports for performance monitoring

Pros

• Balances functionality with ease of use 

• Clean interface, designed with usability in mind

Cons

• Steeper learning curve for advanced features 

• Limited customization in lower tiers

Intercom

Intercom is an AI-powered customer service platform that combines an AI chatbot, help desk, and proactive support for maximizing support team and customer satisfaction. 

Key features

• Fin AI’s accurate, high-quality resolutions

• Omnichannel inbox and multilingual support

• AI-enhanced shared inbox 

• No-code automation for workflows using visual builders

Pros

• Easy setup, customization, and deployment

• Visually appealing and intuitive UI

Cons

• Pricing scales quickly as user base or contact volume grows 

• Beta features forced without opt-out or rollback options 

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.5/5 

SolarWinds Service Desk

SolarWinds Service Desk is an AI-enabled IT service management platform that helps streamline IT operations and improve user support, ensuring IT services align with business and user needs.

Key features

• AI-powered incident management

• ITIL-aligned modules for incident, problem, change, and release management

• User-friendly self-service portal

• Customizable service catalog with workflow automation

Pros

• Appealing set-up feature 

• Comprehensive, feature-rich system 

Cons

• Challenging to manage all devices within a network 

• Lacks advanced automation options

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Pricing

SolarWinds offers the following pricing plans:

SysAid

SysAid’s ITSM platform uses agentic AI to automate manual, repetitive tasks, reducing the need for constant team involvement in routine operations. The platform’s pre-built AI agents are designed for task delegation, intelligent issue assessment, and making informed decisions. 

Key features

• AI-powered ticket categorization, prioritization, and resolution assistance

• Automated workflows for incident, problem, change, and request management

• IT asset management with real-time discovery and tracking

• Self-service portal

• Visual, no-code workflow designer

Pros

• Simplicity and configuration of triggers 

• Quick and efficient management 

Cons

• FAQ unusable for end-users 

• Lacks remote access tool for mobile users

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.5/5

Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed publicly. 

Hiver

Hiver is marketed as a ‘help desk alternative’ that helps organizations manage their email communication and collaborate with their teams. It works by connecting with email services, providing an abundance of tools to help users manage their messages more efficiently.

Key features

• Shared inboxes

• Omnichannel support

• Workflow automation

• Knowledge management and customer portal

• Live chat with AI-powered bots

Pros

• User-friendly interface with quick onboarding

• Easy to implement with minimal setup

Cons

• Necessity stems from gaps in native Gmail features 

• Manually enable and disable auto-responders

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.6/5

Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk

Spiceworks Help Desk is a free, ad-supported IT service management platform tailored for small to mid-sized businesses. It offers core features such as ticket management, basic asset tracking, and a self-service portal. 

Key features

• Ticket creation and response via email and customer portal

• Workflow automation

• Knowledge base integration

• Customizable dashboards and reporting tools

• Time tracking for ticket resolution

Pros

• Efficient ticket submission and tracking 

• Helpful and responsive community

Cons

• Functional but clunky 

• Disruptive ads

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.3/5

Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed publicly. 

HaloITSM

HaloITSM acts as an ITIL-aligned help desk software that excels in its change management and IT asset management (ITAM) capacity. It’s designed with enterprise-level organizations in mind, offering extensive omnichannel potential and wide-ranging integration capabilities.

Key features

• AI-powered ticket management

• Customizable self-service portal with white-label options

• Multilingual support

Pros

• Clean and modern interface 

• Excellent technical support 

Cons

• Steep learning curve for feature understanding 

• Unclear labels and descriptions

Ratings and reviews

G2 rating: 4.8/5

Pricing

Pricing plans are not disclosed publicly.

How To choose the right IT service desk software for your needs

Finding the right IT service desk software starts with understanding your team’s needs, workflows, and long-term support goals. Below are some key factors you must consider while evaluating the right IT service desk software: 

Define your objectives: Being clear about your goals will help you choose the right software that actually solves your problems. You can start by evaluating the areas of improvement.

Set your budget and ROI: Next, decide how much you're willing to spend and what kind of value you expect in return. A strong service desk pays off by making your team more productive and your users happier.

Evaluate current and future needs: When choosing IT service desk software, it's important to consider how well it fits both your current needs and future growth. Start by evaluating basic aspects like scalability, the software’s feature fit, deployment speed, integration and automation capabilities, support channels, availability of self-service tools, and vendor support. 

Verify security and compliance: Look for encryption, access controls, and compliance with standards like GDPR or SOC 2. This is especially important if you handle sensitive user or company information.

Weigh in user reviews and feedback: Don’t just trust sales pages. Read what real users say about the tool, especially the things that go wrong. 

Identify the features your employees and customers need 

Ask your team what would make their work easier. Do they need better ticket routing or a smoother way to assign tasks? Also, think about your customers: would they benefit from a self-service portal or chatbot? Choose features that help both sides.

Which is the most suitable IT service desk software for your business?

Weighing in on the above evaluation areas and important aspects, Freshservice ticks all the boxes. Here’s how: 

• Innovative and robust AI capabilities (Freddy AI) for intelligent automation and support

• Built-in project management tools, including Kanban boards and Gantt charts

• Extensive Freshworks Marketplace with 1,000+ pre-built integrations

• User-friendly, modern interface requiring minimal training

• Multilingual self-service portal with embedded knowledge base

• Designed for scalability from mid-market and enterprise without added complexity

• Native mobile apps for on-the-go ticket and asset management

• Gamification features to increase agent motivation and engagement

What are the benefits of IT service desk software?

IT service desk software plays a crucial role in managing and resolving IT issues efficiently. It helps streamline support operations, improve response times, and enhance overall user satisfaction. Here are the key benefits of IT service desk software:

Improve efficiency and productivity

IT service desk software reduces time spent on manual work and avoids confusion. With everything in one place, teams can resolve issues quickly and handle more requests without extra effort.

Enhanced user experience

Users get quicker responses, easier ways to ask for help, and access to self-service options. They can track the status of their requests and get updates without following up. This makes the whole support experience smoother and more reliable.

Communicate and collaborate better

The software allows IT teams to share updates, assign tasks, and leave notes in a single environment, keeping everyone on the same page. 

Reduce costs and optimize resources

By automating tasks and reducing ticket volume through self-service, fewer resources are needed for daily support. This reduces support costs and makes better use of time and tools.

Features of IT service desk software

IT service desk software offers a range of features designed to streamline support, enhance collaboration, and improve overall IT service management. The following are the key features of IT service desk software:

Centralized ticket management

Centralized ticket management lets your IT team track and handle all user requests in one place. It collects tickets from email, chat, web, or phone, and organizes them so nothing gets missed. 

AI-automated workflow and routing

AI helps automatically assign tickets to the right agent or team based on issue type, priority, or past data. With automated approvals and task updates, the process becomes quicker and more efficient for everyone.

Real-time reporting and analytics

Real-time reports show how your IT team is performing. This includes the number of tickets resolved and response time. Analytics help identify trends, recurring issues, or delays. 

Common use cases of IT service software across organizations

IT service desk software supports a wide range of use cases across organizations, helping teams manage incidents, streamline workflows, and maintain service continuity. The two most common use cases are: 

• IT incident and request management: IT incident and request management simplifies how teams handle technical issues and user requests by providing a structured, consistent approach. This leads to faster resolution times, improved accountability, and a better overall support experience for end users.

• Onboarding and offboarding: Onboarding and offboarding processes are streamlined through automation, ensuring consistent and secure handling of user accounts. This reduces manual effort, minimizes errors, and enhances the overall employee experience during transitions.

Cloud-based vs on-premise IT service desk solutions

Here’s a quick tabular breakdown of the difference between cloud-based and on-premise IT service desk solutions: 

Embrace the future of service management with Freshservice

Freshservice is built for IT teams that need to move fast and stay organized. Its intuitive design and powerful automation tools help teams resolve issues quickly and efficiently. With seamless integrations and real-time insights, Freshservice keeps your IT operations running smoothly. Freshservice offers:

• Faster ticket resolution with automated workflows

• Centralized management of incidents, changes, assets, and requests

• Quick deployment with minimal setup

• Easy integration with tools like Slack, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace

• Built-in AI to reduce manual effort and improve response times