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Rating:
4.5

The Best

  • Great range of features
  • Affordable pricing
  • Intelligent automatic triggers
  • Great live stats

The Worst

  • Designs could be improved

Zendesk Chat Review Our take on the helpdesk giant

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This article has been written and researched by our expert tooltesters through a precise methodology. Learn more about our methodology

Robert Brandl

Robert Brandl

Author

Looking at Zendesk Chat's website it's easy to get a good first impression. A nice set of features comes with affordable price plans. If you can do without all the bells and whistles it's even possible to use their fully functioning freemium plan.

Paid plans start at US $14 for yearly subscriptions in their Basic plan and go up to $59 per operator in the Enterprise plan. Zendesk puts a lot of efforts into automation features. Certain phrases that are frequently used can be accessed via shortcuts. Triggers assist in initiating live chat automatically.

While this all sounds promising, let's take a look inside first:

Screenshots

Analytics
Chat
Widget
Chat widget
Analytics
Chat
Widget
Chat widget

Zendesk Chat Pricing

Lite

The free version for one agent only.

Team

For teams

Professional

Includes conversion tracking

Enterprise

24/7 support

Pros / Cons of Zendesk Chat

  • Pros
  • Cons

Pros

  • Great range of features

  • Affordable pricing

  • Intelligent automatic triggers

  • Great live stats

Zopim Review Details

Ease of use

Their wide range of features make it a bit more complex than other live chat tools.

Setup Info popup

Just sign up, copy a piece of code onto your website and it’s ready to go.

Themes and Style Options Info popup

There are a few different style templates for the chat bar and the messaging window. Colors can be changed. (Premium plans only).

Chat Client Info popup

Features nice options: users can edit their own name, export a chat protocol and the widget can be moved around on the site. Add your operator’s photo for a more personal chat experience.

Chat agent console Info popup

The console offers a range of useful features in one place. To chat either use their console or your preferred IM. We only have one little issue with idle settings (see conclusion further down below).

Automatic messaging Info popup

Set up different automatic triggers for new and returning visitors. A great option is the “rescue trigger” that sends an apology to the waiting visitor if nobody responds.

Offline mode Info popup

Can be hidden when offline or be used as a data capture form. The Advanced plan also features operating hours that you can set.

Shortcuts / canned messages Info popup

Shortcuts can be defined for standard phrases & the systems suggests answers based on past conversations – smart!

Tracking & live analytics Info popup

Shows the visitors currently on the site with all basic information (country, OS etc.) and if it’s a returning visitor.

Multiple languages Info popup

Chat widget detects the language of the current page and switches to its language. Did not always work correctly in our tests. But you can specify the language per page as well.

Ticketing system Info popup

As Zendesk is a helpdesk software, they obviously have an integration. To use the helpdesk, you’ll have to pay extra though.

Integrations and add-ons Info popup

Google Analytics, Salesforce, Zoho and Highrise and many more. Features an API.

Team Management

Departments can be setup up so that the user can choose accordingly before the interaction starts. You can also transfer the chat to another agent.

Mobile support / apps Info popup

The iPhone and Android apps are very polished and work well. Website visitors with smartphones can also use it perfectly – the chat conversation will simply take place in a new browser window.

Voice/video calls Info popup

Cobrowsing Info popup

Only via third-party provider, e.g. Cobrowse.io

Ban users Info popup

By name or IP. The chat widget will be hidden for banned users.

Log creation Info popup

Creates a searchable chat history.

Support

  • Live Chat
  • Email
  • Telephone

Live chat support is usally good. We never received an answer to our email requests, though.

Overall rating

4.5

Zendesk sets the standard for live chat solutions. Prices are attractive, too. Highly recommended!

Conclusion

Zendesk’s feature set is very strong and makes it an interesting option for small and medium sized businesses.

The only thing that didn’t work so well for our workflow are Zendesk Chat’s idle settings. The general idea is that the chat client goes offline when you are away from your computer, which makes a lot of sense. However, a browser app is not able to track your activities outside of the browser window. Therefore it also goes idle while you are working in other browser windows or programs. There should be a warning sound or signal like other tools provide. Switching off the idle mode is the only real solution to this issue.

But apart from that we found Zendesk great. They are constantly adding new features and are well equipped for mobile devices.

> Compare Zendesk Chat to other live chat software

FAQ

You must login to your Zendesk account. There you’ll find the option. You can also write the support a ticket.

The author

Learn more about us

Robert Brandl

Founder and CEO

Hi, my name is Robert Brandl! I used to work in a digital marketing agency where I managed website and email marketing projects. To optimize my client's campaigns, I always had to find the optimal web tools. Tooltester offers this knowledge to you, hopefully saving you endless hours of research.

Learn more about us

We keep our content up to date

02 Oct 2017 - Price increase.
03 Nov 2016 - Zopim is now called Zendesk Chat
06 Jan 2015 - Video review added.
19 May 2014 - Information on cobrowsing added.
27 Feb 2014 - New screenshot added, operating hours feature, Android app
21 Jun 2013 - Mobile support section updated (iPhone app)
16 Aug 2012 - Initial tests

THE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THIS REVIEW

This article has been written and researched following a precise methodology.

Tooltester Methodology: How Do We Create our Reviews?

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