Zendesk vs ManageEngine Compared 2023

Customer service is an integral part of all businesses today. With abundant choices and rising customer expectations, you should employ all the help you can.

Customer service software is one such solution you can consider. It is software that lets you create, organize, route, and manage tickets. It empowers employees with tools and apps that let them troubleshoot, collaborate and resolve issues more quickly.

You can use this software regardless of whether you have an internal team or outsourcing the IT service desk.

You can find service desk solutions based on company size and industry specializations like MSPs, retail, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, and more.

The article will compare two such customer service solutions – Zendesk and ManageEngine.

It is a service-first CRM company. All its products are centered on helping businesses deliver better customer service. Its product line includes software like Zendesk for service, Zendesk for sales, and the Sunshine platform.

Today we will be focusing on the service desk solution by Zendesk. The software offers conversational support, making it easier for the customers to access and understand information.

It also helps service desk agents by providing them with a unified workspace. They can use 1000+ pre-built integrations to provide personalized customer service. Ticket routing and collaboration tools are also available that make issue resolution time shorter.

ManageEngine is another IT help desk software that focuses on customer service. It aims to provide businesses with a centralized approach to handling IT issues.

The software’s ITSM suite consisting of modules like incident, asset, project, problem, change, and IT release management, help implement best practice ITSM workflows and ensure your services remain highly available.

Other features let you implement and encourage self-service portals, reduce your team’s workloads with automation, and customize the service desk according to your unique requirements.

So, we know that both Zendesk and ManageEngine help businesses improve their service desk efficiency and provide better customer service. But how do they fare against one another? Let us find out.

You can visit the help center on Zendesk to understand the installation and configuration process. You can access getting started guides, documentation and advice, and troubleshooting for common issues here. For example, under documentation, you will find articles like configuring guide settings, understanding roles and privileges, customizations, and more.

ManageEngine’s ServiceDesk Plus is fairly easy to set up. You can access the IT help desk admin guide provided by the company for detailed instructions, along with screenshots of the installation, registration, and configuration steps.

Both options are user-friendly when it comes to installing and setting up the software. According to customer reviews, ManageEngine is comparatively easier to set up.

Zendesk and ManageEngine are user-friendly software. There are several customer reviews that state the software can be used with ease by resources without then needing extensive computer knowledge.

With Zendesk, you can train help desk agents, with or without technical expertise, to use the platform and utilize the different functionalities it offers.

With ManageEngine, the help desk processes have been simplified and follow the best ITSM practices. There is also a wealth of documentation and help resources that can shorten the learning curve for new employees.

In the case of ease of use, it is Zendesk that has a slight upper hand over ManageEngine.

Zendesk is available on the cloud, SaaS, and web-based platforms. A mobile support app is available that allows agents to view and respond to tickets. According to Zendesk, in order to maintain the security and integrity of the platform, it will continue to provide products through its servers for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, ManageEngine is available as a cloud, SaaS, web-based, Desktop – Windows/Linux, On-Premise – Windows/Linux, and mobile app – Android, iPhone, and iPad.

Zendesk has over 350 partners who can sort through on the basis of the region they serve, partner type, and the services they provide. Here are some of Zendesk’s partners:

• Akite Now
• Cloudhuset A/S
• Faye
• Zerviz
• RealConnections
• Adelante

Zendesk also offers a selection of apps (over 1300) that can improve your help desk workflows. Some of these are free to install and use, while others may have varying pricing plans. Here are some of the highest-rated apps on Zendesk’s Marketplace:

• Notify
• Klaus
• Kaizo
• Email Tracking
• Survey
• Harvest
• TypeGenie
• Proactive Campaigns
• SAP
• Shopify

Similarly, ManageEngine has partnered with companies across the globe, some of them being:

• CJEN Inc.
• Optrics Inc.
• MicroAge
• NetCenergy
• Dediko A/S

ManageEngine is also designed to work with several add-ons and plug-ins to accommodate your unique service desk requirements.

Here are some examples of native integrations supported by ManageEngine:

• ADManager Plus
• Endpoint Central
• Analytics Plus
• Zoho Survey
• Site24x7

Here are some examples of business integrations supported by ManageEngine:

• Office 365
• Microsoft Teams
• Atlassian Jira
• Zoho Voice
• REST APIs

Zendesk offers several pricing options starting from $19 per agent/month to enterprise plans that are $215 per agent/month. All of Zendesk’s plans are billed annually.

If you are looking for a budget-friendly option, there are three foundational support plans offered:

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

If you are looking to get the most out of Zendesk for service products, the plans on offer are:

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

Apart from the core functionality, the Growth and Professional plans include features like customizable ticket layouts, AI-powered knowledge management, SLA management, and more.

Lastly, they offer enterprise plans like:

• Suite Enterprise – $150 per agent/month
• Additional enterprise-ready plans – $215 per agent/month. You can talk to the sales team for more information.

ManageEngine offers plans based on the number of technicians, administrators, and the number of nodes managed. The three pricing options available are:

• Standard – IT help desk software
• Professional – help desk + asset management
• Enterprise – help desk + change + asset + project

The Standard plan starts at $1195 for ten technicians and 500 nodes. The Professional plan starts at $495 for two technicians and 250 nodes. The Enterprise plan starts at $1195 for two technicians and 250 nodes.

There are several add-ons, like problem management or service catalog, that you can include in your IT plans.

On ManageEngine’s website, you will have to provide details like contact information, deployment method, and the number of IT technicians to get a quote for the ServiceDesk Plus product.

Owing to the flexible pricing options, Zendesk is suitable for small, medium, and large enterprises. Freelancers can also use it.

On the other hand, ManageEngine is suitable for small, medium, and large-sized businesses.

Both products have shown a good market share among medium-sized businesses, with employee numbers ranging between 50 and 1000.

With Zendesk, you can get support through channels like:

• Chat
• Telephone Support
• Knowledge base
• Forums
• Live Rep

They also provide customized services to businesses that are looking to start, optimize or transition into the Zendesk solution.

You can opt for Premier Plans that include services and guarantees like

• 24/7 support
• Global coverage
• 1-hour response times
• 9% product uptime

ManageEngine provides two levels of support services – Classic and Premium. With the Classic option, you can get support through

• Email
• Chat
• Remote connection
• Online resources
• Service packs
• Minor releases

It is with the Premium option that you get services like telephone support, a single point of contact, a customer portal, and a global escalation team, among others.

Both companies offer support through multiple communication channels, but there are a few customer reviews that state that getting technical support from Zendesk can be a task in itself.

Zendesk is the better option when it comes to this comparison factor. It supports over 30 main languages and additional language variants. Some of the languages Zendesk supports are:

• English
• Dutch
• Spanish
• French
• Chinese
• Arabic
• Korean
• Italian
• Portuguese
• Japanese
• Swedish
• Polish

ManageEngine’s ServiceDesk Plus supports around 30 languages. Some of them are:

• English
• Chinese
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Japanese
• Hungarian
• Finnish
• Korean
• Danish

The extent of language support may differ depending on the product you have purchased and the support communication channel.

Zendesk has a full-fledged training module for users. There are on-demand courses and certification exams you can give.

On Zendesk training, you can find courses on the basis of roles, content type, product, duration, and training category. You can complete learning paths on the platform and share the earned badge on your LinkedIn profile.

ManageEngine has a resource library that the users can use. It includes ITSM guides, whitepapers, articles, case studies, presentations, webinars, infographics, videos, and brochures.

Zendesk has a more structured approach when it comes to user training than ManageEngine.

According to Gartner Peer Insights, Zendesk has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5, considering 1003 reviews. 82% of reviewers would recommend the product. Some of its highly rated features are IT support enablement, multichannel engagement, service reporting, and user experience.

According to another report by Gartner Peer Insights, ManageEngine has an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5, considering 446 reviews. 90% of reviewers would recommend the product. Some of its highly rated features are service and support, product capabilities, and integration and deployment.

Zendesk offers a 30-day free trial. You can provide your work email and try the different features of the Zendesk Suite, like customer support channels, team creation, a ticketing system, agent productivity, messaging, and live chat, among others.

ManageEngine provides a fully-functional 30-day free trial with no restrictions. You can also ask for a free personalized service desk demo with ITSM product experts at the company.

Zendesk and ManageEngine offer several features that can help improve your service desk workflows and agents in delivering quality service.

Zendesk, with its conversational, multichannel support, help center, AI and bots, 1000+ pre-built integrations, and collaboration tools, creates positive customer experiences.

With its full-stack ITSM suite, self-service, automation, customizations, asset management, integration, and reporting features, ManageEngine can improve service desk performance.

We hope the above comparison helps you find the right solution for your service desk.