Zendesk vs Autotask Compared 2023

A service desk is a link between your business and customers. They are the face of your business. The type of customer service you provide can play a major role in customer retention, customer loyalty, and brand image.

Today, we will be discussing two customer service solutions – Zendesk and Autotask. You can employ these solutions regardless of having an in-house service team or you working with an outsourced IT service desk company.

These solutions can help keep your business in sync, manage tickets, empower service agents with tools for effective resolutions, optimize workflows and improve the overall customer service offered.

Customer service software comes equipped with different features, integrations, support options, and different price points. We will go through several consideration factors to help you decide on the right software choice for your business.

Zendesk is a company that offers a host of CRM solutions that revolve around customer service. One of their offerings we will be exploring today is Zendesk for service.

The product is a complete customer service solution. It includes features like conversational support for customers, multiple communication channels, a help center, community forums, and the use of AI and bots for quick answers.

From an employee perspective, the software offers a centralized work area, several useful integrations, collaboration tools, and a knowledge base, among others.

It also has reporting capabilities that provide you with a centralized view of customers, analyze data and act according to customer requirements.

Autotask is a solution that provides you with complete visibility over your business. It helps you centralize business operations and control every aspect with features like dashboards, CRM, project management, inventory, billing, assets, and sales.

It also offers a service desk ticketing, automation, and enhancement module. It helps agents create and manage different types of tickets. Provides templates to auto-populate ticket fields and standardize email communication.

With the ITIL-aligned ticketing module, you can ensure service agents are meeting SLA targets and providing quality and consistent support to customers.

Now that we understand how Zendesk and Autotask can help your service desk perform better, let us see how the solutions fare when compared.

Both brands offer a help center that offers guides and articles on getting started with the product. For example, with Zendesk’s help center, you can find several articles under categories like getting started, troubleshooting, and, documentation.

To access the Autotask PSA documentation, visit its home page. On the left-hand of the screen, you will find the getting started tab. Under this tab, you can find detailed information about browser settings, logging and navigating the tool, managing your profile, and setting up preferences.

Going by customer reviews, setting up the product by Zendesk is comparatively easier than Autotask.

When it comes to ease of use, it is Zendesk that is more user-friendly than Autotask.

As per several customer reviews, Zendesk’s intuitive user interface is easy to understand, navigate and use. Service agents with limited technical knowledge can be trained to use the tool effectively. The customization capability further helps the tool adapt to your unique business requirements.

On the other hand, Autotask is fairly easy to use. It also offers several customization features that let you optimize service workflows and manage tickets better. According to customer reviews, the functionality can be limited in certain cases, and the UI may sometimes lag, affecting performance.

Web-based and mobile – iPhone and Android are the platforms supported by both software.

Companies usually stick to offering services through their own servers for better security, integrity, and control over the product.

When you visit Zendesk’s marketplace, you can find integrations categorized into three groups – apps, themes, and partners. Zendesk offers over 1200 integrations. Some of these apps are free, while others come with different pricing options.

Some of the featured apps on Zendesk are:

• Thank you
• Harvest
• Dropbox
• Shopify
• Lessonly
• Salesforce
• Slack
• Round Robin

Here are some of Zendesk’s highest-rated expert partners:

• Adelante
• RealConnections
• Faye
• Synolia
• Envoy

You can also browse through the partner list depending on the region they service, type of service, and ratings.

On the other hand, Autotask offers over 50 integrations. The integrations can seem limiting, but they allow you to customize several aspects of the service workflows. It can be a good choice for small and medium-sized businesses.

Some of the integrations offered by Autotask are:

• Datto BCDR
• Datto RMM
• KaseyaOne
• Microsoft extensions – Exchange, Outlook, AD
• QuickBooks
• Sage 50

Again, in terms of integration, it is Zendesk that is hands down the better option here.

Zendesk offers multiple pricing options that are billed yearly. If you only want foundational support, then the three available plans are:

• Support Team – $19 per agent/month
• Support Professional – $49 per agent/month
• Support Enterprise – $99 per agent/month

Then there are three pricing options available under the plans for everyone category:

• Suite Team – $49 per agent/month
• Suite Growth – $79 per agent/month
• Suite Professional – $99 per agent/month

There are two pricing options under the plans for the enterprise category:

• Suite Enterprise – $150 per agent/month
• Additional enterprise-ready plans – $215 per agent/month

Autotask also offers its products on a subscription basis. You will be paying a monthly fee depending on the number of agents and plan type you purchase.

Autotask does not have its pricing plans published on its website. Please request a quote by providing details like the product of interest, contact information, and your company type.

Zendesk can be used by freelancers, and small companies, medium, and large enterprises. Autotask can be used by small, medium, and large-sized companies.

Autotask has a good market share among small-sized companies. Zendesk has a similar market share among small and medium-sized companies.

When it comes to bigger enterprises, it is Zendesk that has the upper hand.

If you run into any issues, you can get help from Zendesk through the following channels:

• Chat
• Call
• Ticket
• Knowledge base
• Forums
• Community

If you opt for a premium support plan, you get benefits like:

• Designated engineers
• Quick response time
• Developer support

You can contact Autotask’s customer support through:

• Chat
• Ticket
• Call
• Knowledge Base
• Community

You first need to log in to the Datto help center using your Autotask or Partner Portal credentials to access any type of support.

You can find support for over 30 languages and regional variants with Zendesk. A few of the supported languages are:

• English
• Spanish
• Dutch
• Chinese
• Korean
• Swedish
• Japanese
• Italian

On the other hand, Autotask supports five languages:

• English
• German
• Spanish
• Chinese
• Japanese

All technical support by Autotask is currently available in English only.

Zendesk has a wealth of resources when it comes to user training. One can access on-demand courses, learning paths, and certification courses.

For example, you can access training materials depending on your user role like – Admin, Developer, Agent, Analyst, and Sales Team.

One can also use Zendesk’s help center to browse through answers for common questions, advice, and troubleshooting steps.

Autotask has training material available under the Learning Resources tab on its home page. From here, you can access videos and webinars to learn about the product’s features.

Troubleshooting articles are present in the knowledge base. You can also register for live events.

A unique training feature of Autotask is known as the ‘Show Me.’ When you click on the feature to begin, it will show you interactive help content.

As per Gartner Peer Insights, Zendesk is rated 4.3 out of 5 from 837 customer ratings. 81% of reviewers would recommend the solution. A few of its highest-rated factors are integration and deployment, and product capabilities.

Also, according to Gartner Peer Insights, Autotask is rated 4.2 out of 5 from 32 customer ratings. 78% of reviewers would recommend the solution. A few of its highest-rated factors are evaluation and contracting and product capabilities.

With Zendesk you can get a 30-day free trial with no restrictions. You also view a demo of the product of your choice.

Autotask does not offer a free trial. You can request a demo through their website. You will have to provide your company name, contact information, and product of interest while placing a request.

Zendesk and Autotask are good customer service solutions. They are packed with features, integrations, and customizing capabilities.

The choice between the two solutions depends on your business requirement. For example, if you are looking for a business IT solution complete with service desk ticketing and automation modules, opt for Autotask.

If you are looking for a feature and integration-rich software that offers flexible pricing plans, opt for Zendesk. By the way, we at 31West also believe in the power of flexible pricing plans. All our IT help desk services come with flexible pricing option, just like Zendesk.

We hope the comparison factors covered aid you in finding the right customer service solution.