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SolarWinds Web Help Desk vs Zendesk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

SolarWinds Web Help Desk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Zendesk
Ranking in Help Desk Software
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
CRM Customer Engagement Centers (7th), CRM (19th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (6th), Sales Force Automation (7th), Reporting (13th), Knowledge Management Software (4th), Community Platforms (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Help Desk Software category, the mindshare of SolarWinds Web Help Desk is 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 4.3%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Help Desk Software
 

Featured Reviews

Anil  Rao - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonable pricing and simple installation, but support is neither knowledgeable nor responsive
They can build on providing product knowledge to the sales teams. They are not familiar with all of the product capabilities, or the comparison between similar products. I don't feel that we receive an adequate amount of help or cooperation from technical support. We would like to see automation included in the next release. We would like to eliminate the L1 and L2 support, by at least 80%. To do this, we need automation with AI (Artificial Intelligence) in combination with ML (Machine Learning). As an example, consider that we are monitoring a storage system, particular server storage, that is going to breach its threshold very soon. Based on the learning of the day-to-day running, or day-to-day transactions, it should be able to understand that there is a number of GBs occupying spaces every day and a number of GBs left over, and within another 10 days or 15 days, it will breach the threshold. I should be notified on whether there is a place for me in the storage and some other LUN where I can provide the storage for it. Otherwise, I have to order another storage system. This is the kind of automation we are looking at.
Ahmed Nassar - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable tool, making it reliable for handling tasks but difficult initial setup
It has a huge problem regarding the price. The price increases every year. Every year, they raise the price of the licenses, which makes a lot of limitations, and you have to pay more. So that's some conditions. Actually, most of the companies that use Zendesk need a customer experience or customer care department. However, Zendesk only works with chatbox or emailing services, but it can also use Genesys, VoIP, or voice sensors. Additionally, Zendesk needs the administration panels to be easier because it's a very complex panel. You need to search for a lot of things to do, like a small job. So you have to do a lot of setup regarding the integration, and it's a little bit challenging to integrate any software in the vendor.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Once installed, it runs like a charm and doesn't ever crash."
"SolarWinds is scalable as far as adding devices and servers."
"It has a pretty good search function. If you do the advanced search, you can basically search for anything in any field. If I do a search on the request field and just put in some terms I'm searching for, I can usually find the ticket that I'm looking for."
"It is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the assets management module."
"SolarWinds supports case and incident reporting. This includes logging incidents and tracking them efficiently. Additionally, it is compatible and approved by the ITIL foundation and standards, meeting world-class standards."
"The most valuable features of Zendesk Support are collaboration, reports, and a self-service portal. The customer and team can see all the information needed from the portal."
"The initial setup is simple and straightforward."
"It's a very stable tool, very powerful."
"Zendesk has been invaluable in automating communications such as email and phone calls."
"The most valuable feature is the trackability of incoming requests. The system keeps a comprehensive history of work requests, making it a useful tool for our internal processes."
"The stability has been very good."
"Its agility and simplicity are the most valuable features. This tool is very user-friendly."
"It is a scalable solution."
 

Cons

"We would like to see automation included in the next release. We would like to eliminate the L1, and L2 support, by at least 80%. To do this, we need automation with AI (Artificial Intelligence) in combination with ML (Machine Learning)."
"This solution needs to have mobile application support added."
"The interface feels clunky to me compared to some other systems that I've used. I used ManageEngine Service Desk prior to this at my previous job and that had stuff like categories that we use that I don't see in SolarWinds."
"A little outdated compared to newer products that include protection and detection."
"It would be good if there were training and tutorial videos on the Web Help Desk."
"They have something called Zendesk Explore, which isn't as good as what they had in place previously."
"The price of the solution should be reduced."
"One of the drawbacks of Zendesk is that it doesn't provide a secure way for us to send data. So, we usually use a secure SharePoint folder link. We put that in the Zendesk ticket so that the requester has a secure way of getting to their data."
"The solution could integrate better with QR codes from some websites such as Facebook."
"Sometimes if there was a way to just flag the actual issue out of those email chains - that would be really helpful."
"There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier."
"The dashboard could be better."
"There is always a network issue with Zendesk. But we don’t know whether it is managed. The network issue is that when I call, it does not let us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They charge by the technician. It costs $117 per technician per year."
"When you compare with ManageEngine and ServiceNow, SolarWinds is reasonable."
"We pay for the solution on a yearly basis and my understanding is that the cost is about $30,000. That's the cost for 24 to 25 agents."
"There are different plans that are offered. We are using the entry-level plan. The overall price of the solution should be reduced. The price is too high."
"Zendesk's licensing is not cheap. For Enterprise, we are paying $200 per agent. It's a per-month cost, so it's pretty steep. There are some services you need to pay extra for. For example, with Zendesk Guide, we had to buy the most expensive offering in order to get Multibrand and everything. We also had to pay a lot of money for themes."
"From what I hear, Zendesk's pricing is a little expensive."
"The price is very competitive."
"You have to pay extra for better support. So it's not only the license that you pay for, but you have to pay extra for the support as well."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
68%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
3%
Healthcare Company
3%
Computer Software Company
24%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Web Help Desk?
Some features in the product are supposed to run. However, if they don't, it may require some time to configure or fix them, such as asset management. We have been struggling with asset management ...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Web Help Desk?
SolarWinds Web Help Desk is a case management system. Each user logs their concerns or problems into the portal, which are then assigned to one of our support engineers responsible for managing the...
What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Web Help Desk?
SolarWinds Web Help Desk could be beneficial for generating automated responses, such as ONIQ. Since we receive multiple cases from similar backgrounds, it would streamline the process if the syste...
What do you like most about Zendesk Support?
I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?
Zendesk's pricing is reasonable. It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.
What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?
There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier ( /products/zapier-reviews ). However, easier integration could enhance the usability. Multilingual ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Instacart
Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber
Find out what your peers are saying about SolarWinds Web Help Desk vs. Zendesk and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.