Top 5 Salesforce Service Cloud Alternatives in 2024

Why do you need a Salesforce Service Cloud Alternative?

Salesforce has made a name for itself when it comes to customer support services. It is a cloud-based customer service software that helps businesses by enabling customer support agents to efficiently handle customer inquiries, access relevant data, and deliver personalized and efficient support.

Salesforce offers various features such as an omni-channel support and routing feature, including phone, live chat, and social media. It also offers automation tools to help ease the load of repetitive tasks and a predictive analysis tool that provides users with AI-driven customer insights. Salesforce pricing starts at $25/user/month for the Starter suite plan, $80/user/month for the Professional suite plan, $165/user/month for the Enterprise plan, $330/user/month for the Unlimited plan, and $500/user/month for the Einstein 1 service plan.

Despite Salesforce's wide range of features, user reviews from GetApp reveal the faulty user experience and describe the application as slow and expensive. There have also been complaints about how hard the application is to use and manage.

Whether you’re searching for more advanced features, looking for a more affordable option, or simply want a different user experience, there are several available alternatives for you. In this guide, we cover some factors to consider while choosing the right Salesforce alternative and detailed information on those alternatives.

What should you look for in a Salesforce Service Cloud Alternative?

• Features: First things first, think about what features are essential for your business. Do you need advanced call routing, CRM integration, or maybe call recording? Make a list of must-haves to guide your search.
• Ease of use: You want a platform that's user-friendly for everyone on your team, so it should be easy to use.
• Integration station: Ensure that the platform plays nicely with your existing tools. Whether it's your CRM, helpdesk software, or project management system, seamless integration is key to keeping your workflow smooth.
• Flexibility and scalability: You have plans to see your business grow, therefore, you need a solution that can grow with you. Look for a platform that's flexible enough to adapt to your changing needs and scalable to accommodate your expanding team.
• Pricing: Budget is always important, so make sure that the platform you’re going for has pricing options aligned with your budget.
• User feedback: Lastly, don't forget to check out reviews and testimonials from other users. Their experiences will offer valuable insights into what the platform is really like and help you to make better decisions.

The 5 Best Salesforce Service Cloud Alternatives To Use In 2024

The following is a list of five Salesforce customer support/operations alternatives. The software listed below has proven to be useful in providing customer support services to organizations and businesses.

1. Distrobird

Distrobird is a cloud-based customer and sales engagement platform, designed to streamline sales and manage customer interactions. It is an all-in-one platform managing phone calls, SMS communications, and emails, along with product features like web chats, shared team inbox, and automated campaigns.

It also integrates seamlessly with various popular CRM and business tools, notably HubSpot, Gmail, Stripe, Microsoft Outlook, Twilio, Zapier, Clearbit, Zoho, Telnyx, Salesforce and NGP VAN.

Distrobird best features

• Distrobird offers excellent value for money.
• Multi-channel shared inbox.
• Provides a unified inbox that helps you bring all your customer communication channels together in one place.
• Allows for easier collaboration with the @mentions feature that allows you to bring in your teammates to resolve an inquiry.
• Offers multiple integrations.
• Has automated CSAT surveys.
• Provides analytics and reporting tools.
• Allows you to triage customer requests into multiple shared inboxes based on issue type, customer profile, or recent activity on your site.
• Automation of tasks to streamline workflow and increase efficiency.
• Enables businesses to streamline customer or prospect engagements for enhanced productivity.
• Provides a customer-centric inbox for organized and effective communication.

Distrobird limitations

• The free plan is limited to 3 users.
• Available only on the web; no mobile application.

Distrobird pricing

• Free Plan: Free
• Startup: $8/month (shared inbox) or $25/month (sequences and voice)
• Growth: $50/month
• Enterprise: $75/month

2. Trengo

Trengo is a customer engagement and support platform that allows companies to communicate with their customers and their teams. Trengo funnels every single communication channel into one stream, enabling you to respond in seconds and exceed customer expectations.

Trengo best features

• Offers collaboration tools.
• Has extensive integrations.
• Offers a multichannel communication feature.

Trengo limitations

• It has an unstable and expensive pricing plan.
• Unreliable and slow customer support.
• It lacks a conversation history with customers which can pose a problem for sales agents.

Trengo pricing

• Essential plan: €99/month
• Boost plan: €149/month
• Pro plan: €249/month

3. TeamSupport

TeamSupport is a robust customer support solution designed to improve customer satisfaction, simplify workflows, and make customer support agents’s lives easier.

TeamSupport best features

• It is easy to use.
• Customer service is great and responsive.
• It offers reporting features.

TeamSupport limitations

• A review from Capterra says that UI can be sluggish and unresponsive.
• Long tickets can be difficult to navigate.

TeamSupport pricing

• Chat support: $29/agent/month
• Essential support: $35/agent/month
• Professional support: $49/agent/month
• Enterprise support: Contact sales team

4. ZohoDesk

Zoho is an online customer service platform that allows customer support agents to track, manage, and solve support tickets on the move. It also offers a strong set of features such as a shared inbox, chat, and phone integration. It integrates with a fair range of third-party apps, including project management, and social media platforms, making it easy for teams to streamline their workflow and deliver excellent customer service.

Zoho best features

• It has automation tools that help with repetitive tasks.
• It offers a multi-channel communication tool.
• It offers analytics and reporting tools.

Zoho limitations

• The free plan has limited features
• Application is sometimes slow

Zoho pricing

• Free plan
• Standard plan: $14/month/user
• Professional plan: $23/month/user
• Enterprise plan: $40/month/user
• Ultimate plan: $52/month/user

5. Help Scout

Help Scout is often described as one of the most user-friendly customer service platforms. It is an alternative to Front that assists teams in streamlining customer communication and enables them to collaborate seamlessly on customer inquiries and queries.

Help Scout best features

• It integrates with 90+ apps.
• Its inbox, chat, and knowledge base come standard.
• It provides a comprehensive reporting feature that gives you insights into team performance.

Help Scout limitations

• There is no option to organize tickets into folders.
• Every mailbox is independent, so bringing conversations together can get complicated.
• There is only one knowledge base template/design available.
• Its integration with Messenger is only available for their Pro and Plus plans.

Help Scout pricing

• Standard: $20/user/month
• Plus: $40/user/month
• Pro: $65/user/month

Which Salesforce Service Cloud Alternative Is Right For You?

Choosing the right Salesforce alternative for customer support depends on your specific needs and budget.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and affordable solution with a free plan, Distrobird is a great option. It offers all the essential features you need to manage your sales & customer engagement tech stack in one place - multi-channel sequences and campaigns, web messenger, outbound dialer, inbound call center software, shared team inbox, and conversation analytics - in a single solution. Distrobird is also easy to use and integrates with a variety of popular apps.

Whether you're a startup or an established business, Distrobird's scalable pricing plans make it a cost-effective choice. Create your free Distrobird account and see how it can transform your customer interactions!