Zendesk vs Jira Service Management Compared: Which Is Best?

The duo of Zendesk and Jira are two of the most renowned customer support and help desk software applications on the market right now. They are often deployed by businesses and organizations for incident management, knowledge management, and change management, among other features. 

Our Zendesk vs Jira Service Management comparison aims to analyze and compare their individual features in detail. This will help you decide which one of these two giants is best suited for your needs.

Let's get to it, shall we?

What's The Difference Between Zendesk And Jira Service Management?

The main difference between Jira and Zendesk is that Jira is primarily focused on issue tracking and project management for IT teams, while Zendesk focuses more on end-user communication and ticketing for customer support teams. Zendesk also excels in automation and knowledgebase, while Jira boasts top-shelf reporting and assessment tools. 

A typical Jira Service Management review is often filled with praise for its integration features and project planning capabilities, among other things. Meanwhile, most Zendesk review articles commend its unified workspace and self-service options, among other impressive customer support tools.

Jira Service Management vs Zendesk Comparison Chart

Jira Service Management vs Zendesk pricing

Zendesk has six pricing tiers, with the cheapest being $19 per agent monthly for the support team. The support professional team plan costs $55 per agent monthly, and the support enterprise plan starts at $115 per agent per month. 

The Suite Team starts at $55 per agent per month, while the Suite Growth starts at $89 per agent per month. The Suite Professional plan is the last pricing plan and it costs $115 per agent per month. There’s also a Suite Enterprise package for big brands and corporations that can only be negotiated with the Zendesk sales team. 

Jira's standard plan starts at $7.75 per user monthly, while the Premium Plan goes for $15.25 per user monthly. The Enterprise plan is billed annually at $134,500 for a minimum of 801 users. Jira also offers a free plan at $0 per user with minimal features and storage. 

Winner: Jira

While Zendesk offers more pricing options, Jira has a cheaper and more transparent pricing plan, which explains its win in this category. 

Zendesk vs Jira Service Management free versions

Zendesk offers no free version of its customer support software.  However, it does provide a free trial for its help desk software that allows you to try it out and see if it works for you. To get this, you'd need to supply contact details, including your work email and name. 

On the other hand, Jira Service Management offers a free version of its ITSM platform. Users get the opportunity to use the software for free with features including 2GB storage, community support, and unlimited project boards, among others. It also allows for up to 10 users. 

Winner: Jira

Jira wins this round without question because it offers a free version with a decent amount of features to at least get you started. 

Customer Support 

For inquiries and complaints, Atlassian provides different support channels for users depending on the pricing plan. Email support and request forms are readily available for all users, but it may take days to get a response. 

Enterprise plan users get access to a dedicated phone number, faster response times, and 24/7 support. Premium users also get quick responses and 24/7 support for high-impact issues. 

In the same vein, Zendesk offers comprehensive support for its users with various channels, including email support, Facebook, Twitter, web widgets, and live chat. Zendesk also allows its users to purchase add-ons that give them access to professional services, training/certification, hands-on help, and 24/7 support for Premier users. 

Winner: Zendesk

Zendesk wins this category because it offers a more extensive customer support system with a variety of options and add-ons. 

Knowledgebase and Learning

Jira boasts a vast knowledge base with plenty of troubleshooting and self-help articles and resources. These resources cover different topics and issues and are designed to save users the hassle of trying to get through to a support agent every time there's a problem. 

The knowledgebase also allows users to search for specific issues, which will then trigger a pop-up of helpful resources. 

Zendesk also offers an expansive knowledge base with a repository of helpful articles and troubleshooting resources. The knowledgebase is a part of Zendesk Help, and it allows users to browse guides and advice on different topics, including ticketing, reporting tools, workflows, etc. 

Winner: Zendesk

In all honesty, both platforms offer excellent knowledgebase and product documentation for their users. However, we believe the Zendesk Help knowledgebase is slightly more organized than Jira's. 

Zendesk vs Jira Service Management features and functionality

In this section, we will place the features and key tools of this impressive duo side by side in what promises to be an intriguing showdown. Let's take a look! 

Jira Service Management or Zendesk for ease of use

Jira has a simple and intuitive user interface that new users would find very friendly and inviting. However, once you begin to dig deep, things will get more complex, especially if you lack technical expertise. 

While there are pop-ups to guide users, newbies may get lost in the sea of technical features without guidance. In all fairness to Jira, things get a lot easier as you get used to the platform. 

Zendesk's interface is built to accommodate users with different levels of technical experience. There is a "Get Started" tab featuring a concise breakdown of all its features accompanied by a video guide. There are multiple pop-ups to guide you as you browse through all the features, ensuring you understand everything. 

Winner: Zendesk

Zendesk wins this round because it provides its users with an intuitive user interface and much-needed guidance sections and pop-ups. 

Community Support

To bolster customer support and assistance, Zendesk has a vibrant community where users can share ideas and solutions. The community section is well-organized and features multiple developer communities, including SDKs and APIs. It also features a suite with discussion threads covering several topics, as well as Q&As and tips from other users. 

There are also global Zendesk communities for Zendesk users who speak Portuguese, Spanish, French, and German, amongst others.

Jira also offers its users an active Atlassian community where users can find answers, solutions, support, and inspiration from other users. Users also get access to discussion threads, articles, and explanatory videos that can effectively answer their questions and clear their doubts about Jira features. 

Winner: Zendesk

While Atlassian's Jira has a much larger community thanks to its global customer base, the Zendesk community is more organized and helps users find their way to topics and discussions of interest with ease. And, let’s not forget about the international communities spanning multiple leading languages and nationalities. 

Zendesk vs Jira Service Management Online Versions

The online version of Zendesk has a gorgeous interface that users will find very easy to use. All the features are clearly and colorfully spelt out and users will have no trouble finding their way around. 

Similarly, Jira's online version has a pretty user interface and is very easy to navigate. The features are well-organized and users are met with snippets of what these features can do with an option to learn more..

Winner: Jira 

While both platforms have excellent online versions, Jira is slightly easier to navigate. 

Jira Service Management vs Zendesk Desktop Versions

The duo of Zendesk and Jira do not appear to have any native desktop applications available on their respective marketplaces. 

However, users can use third-party desktop apps like Wavebox to manage their accounts without having to open a website link every time. This is a viable option for both Mac and PC users. 

Winner: 

We don't have a winner in this contest because neither of the two apps offer native desktop versions. 

Jira Service Management vs Zendesk Mobile Apps

Atlassian's Jira has a mobile app that is available for Android and iOS smartphones. It allows users to create/edit issues, manage boards, and contribute to team projects. 

Push notifications are also available to keep you apprised of all the latest updates on your projects. The interface is appealing, and the overall user experience is delightful. 

Zendesk provides a great mobile app that allows users to create tickets, check notifications, and engage their customers on the go. The app is mostly seamless and refreshing but seldom struggles with annoying bugs and crashes. It's available on the Android Play Store and the Apple Store for Android and iOS users, respectively. 

Winner: Jira

Jira has the better mobile apps of the duo without question, thanks to its array of features and the minimality of crashes and bugs. Its stellar user ratings on the app store further corroborate this verdict. 

App Building

Zendesk allows users to build and develop applications using the Zendesk Apps Framework. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are also available for developers who are more familiar with these tools. You can also publish and distribute your team's newly created apps on the Zendesk marketplace, where other users can access these apps. 

Custom apps built on the Zendesk Apps Framework can be integrated with Zendesk support. To make things run smoothly, the Zendesk Help knowledgebase is filled with articles, videos, and guides on how to build apps from the ground up. 

Jira also allows you to build custom apps using the Atlassian Forge platform. Forge uses Node.js and handles much of the infrastructure, thereby providing security and the DevOps tool chain, among others. 

Developers can build apps for their teams using flexible APIs, including the renowned REST APIs. There are comprehensive documents to guide you through all the steps. You can also launch and distribute your apps on Atlassian's huge marketplace. 

Winner: Jira

The duo of Zendesk and Jira offer impressive app-building features for different users. However, Jira gets the slight edge here because of its broader marketplace and more robust infrastructure. 

Email Tracking

Jira has a great email processing system that allows users to get notifications about the status of their projects. While it doesn't have a native e-mail tracking feature, it allows users to integrate e-mail tracking tools like Hubspot Sales, to track email opens, click rates, forward rates, archives, etc. 

Zendesk doesn't offer email tracking features natively, but there is a Zendesk email tracking app on the marketplace authored by Growthdot. The app allows users to track openings, view read receipts, and choose which email to track. Other email tracking tools available on the marketplace include Mixmax, Hubspot, and Yesware. 

Winner: Zendesk

While both apps do not natively offer email tracking features, Zendesk has a better and more straightforward email tracking infrastructure. This is understandable seeing as it is designed primarily for customer inquiries and ticket management. 

Jira Service Desk vs Zendesk Integrations

Jira provides its users with over 3,000 integration options on the Atlassian marketplace. You'll find tools for design teams, IT teams, business teams, and software teams, among other niches. This will help users and IT service teams work seamlessly while saving time. 

Zendesk also interests its users in over 1,200 integrations on its marketplace. Whether it's social media, CRM solutions, knowledgebase integration, or email campaign apps, Zendesk has got you covered. 

Even though it offers fewer integrations than Jira, its lineup comprises virtually everything a customer support team could ask for.  

We should also mention that these two popular software applications can be integrated with each other. 

There is a Jira app on the Zendesk marketplace and vice versa. This Zendesk Jira Service Management integration allows for unstoppable synergy between customer support teams and software engineering teams. Users get to create issues on either app, link tickets, and use workflow to get automatic notifications. 

Winner: Jira

Jira wins this category because it offers more than double Zendesk's entire lineup in its marketplace, including a Zendesk app. 

A Note on Jira Service Management Zendesk Integration 

We should also mention that these two popular software applications can be integrated with each other. There is a Jira app on the Zendesk marketplace and vice versa. This Zendesk Jira Service Management integration allows for unstoppable synergy between customer support teams and software engineering teams. Users get to create issues on either app, link tickets and use workflow to get automatic notifications. 

Zendesk Vs Jira Service Desk: Limitations

While it is an excellent helpdesk software, Zendesk struggles with certain limitations, including:

• Limited app integrations

• Lackluster offline functionality

• Limited project management capabilities

• Relatively high price tags

• Partially automated ticket routing

Jira also happens to have a few limitations of its own, including:

• Limited collaboration features

• Overly complex for non-technical users and teams

• Not enough native features 

Winner: Jira

While both systems have their fair share of struggles, we believe Jira has done better at managing and fixing basic issues over the years. 

Knowledgebase Creation

Zendesk allows you to build a knowledgebase where your customers can find articles, resources, and troubleshooting guides about your products and services. The Zendesk Knowledgebase software features a robust search engine and article view permission. 

The software also allows you to link and quote content in tickets while taking full control of customization. 

Jira also provides an excellent knowledge management infrastructure for users thanks to Atlassian's Confluence. You can create articles, guides, FAQs, and other types of knowledge resources. 

Jira also lets you create custom fields to categorize these knowledge resources and improve customer experience. Not to mention the native knowledgebase reporting tool that allows you to find out which of your articles are getting the most buzz. 

Winner: Jira

Jira wins in this knowledge management contest because of its vast knowledgebase creation tools, which are bolstered by the Atlassian documentation tool, Confluence. 

Reporting

Zendesk has a viable reporting and analytics tool known as "Zendesk Explore". As the name implies, the tool provides access to reports covering key information about customers and support resources. 

It allows for multichannel reporting and boasts a ton of built-in formulas and customization options. 

Jira also offers a great reporting apparatus that allows users access to real-time reports and analytics. Users get issue analysis reports including average age report, created issues vs resolved issues report, time since issues report, and resolution time report among others. 

It also allows for data-driven forecasts with time tracking reports, user workload reports, and version workload reports. 

Winner: Zendesk

Zendesk wins the reporting category because it offers more customization options than Jira. It also offers built-in reporting formulas, which is noticeably absent in Jira. 

Zendesk or Jira Service Management for ticketing

Due to its alluringly simple user interface, the ticketing process on Zendesk is relatively easy. It allows users to process and resolve issues smoothly, which makes for customer satisfaction. 

For better and more personalized interaction, support reps get access to "customer context," which features details including order history, web activity, and loyalty status. 

Like Zendesk, Jira offers efficient ticketing software that allows agents to interact with customers seamlessly. Agents get the chance to move conversations from other apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams to one queue for better issue tracking and management. 

The customizable workflows and automation tools also allow users to automate repetitive processes, thereby boosting productivity. 

Winner: Zendesk

Zendesk gets the edge here because of its user-friendly interface, which makes the ticketing process a mostly pleasant one, even for first-time users. 

Is Zendesk Better Than Jira Service Management? Our Conclusion

Picking the best helpdesk software for your team really depends on what constitutes the bulk of their needs. Jira is the better choice for technical IT teams with ITSM, issue tracking, request management, and project management needs. 

Zendesk, on the other hand, is best for customer-facing teams who are all about creating tickets and managing requests and complaints from their customers. 

We believe Jira is the superior software because of its sheer variety of features, scalability, robust AI-powered features, and advanced capabilities. However, Zendesk certainly holds its own, as this ticketing system comparison has shown. 

Ultimately, if you’re going to choose between Zendesk vs Jira, be sure to prioritize a choice that aligns best with your immediate needs.