In today’s competitive technology landscape, there are a whole host of platforms claiming to be the best help desk software around. And now, you can add Smartsupp to the list. Although that would be a difficult claim to justify, this is one of the few solutions that can claim to offer a free-forever plan for an unlimited number of users with few restrictions.
There are certainly some other reasons to score Smartsupp highly. It is intuitive and offers a large number of integrations - especially with ecommerce platforms - but here you can also see why this perhaps isn’t the most advanced help desk software on the market. Users may find that integrations don’t allow for the use of the full gamut of Smartsupp’s functionality at time. You also won’t find any native mobile apps here.
Overall, then, Smartsupp isn’t a bad help desk solution by any means. It boats some impressive core functionality and an intuitive interface (even if it isn’t the prettiest). But if you drill down a little deeper, you might find that the platform is lacking in a few areas. Still, it’s difficult to be too critical when Smartsupp offers many of its features free of charge with no time restrictions.
Smartsupp Review: Plans and pricing
As mentioned above, Smartsupp provides a generous free-forever plan, with many of its features made available without cost for an unlimited number of users. This makes it a great choice for larger teams on a budget. In fact, the only real competitor with similar pricing is Tawk.to.
With Smartsupp’s free plan, users gain access to live chat, email, and Facebook Messenger communication channels. You’ll also be able to conduct 50 conversations a month, have access to a 14-day conversion history, and can engage visitors with one automatic message.
If you want access to more advanced functionality, you’ll need to sign up for the Standard plan, which will set you back $19.50 a month. This plan comes with an unlimited number of conversions, the option of looking back over a year’s worth of conversion history and up to 50 chatbot conversations a month. There are also some lead generation features that you don’t get with the free plan.
Supposedly, the most popular plan that Smartsupp offers customers is its Pro plan, which comes with everything that you get on the Standard plan, plus five automatic messages for visitor engagement, team stats and routing, and takes the number of chatbot conversations you get a month up to 100. There are also various add-ons you can access (for a price) at this subscription level.
Finally, Smartsupp offers an Ultimate tailor-made solution, but businesses have to get in touch with sales directly to receive a bespoke quote. As you’d expect, the Ultimate plan takes things up a notch, coming with all the platform’s advanced features, as well as AI chatbots powered by chatGPT, WhatsApp integration, and a dedicated account manager
Although your company may require the paid plans that Smartsupp offers, particularly if you need access to more segmentation or analytics features, but most organizations are likely to focus on the free plan. This is generous in terms of what’s on offer, but it’s nice that organizations can choose to upgrade if they need to. Here, they’ll also gain access to a 14-day free trial, so they can explore whether it’s worth paying for the greater functionality before they commit themselves for the long term.
Features
Let’s start with Smartsupp’s core features. These are included with all subscription levels and include live chat functionality for websites and online stores. More than simply providing an opportunity for customer queries, this will hopefully boost conversions, which is why many ecommerce platforms are exploring help desk and live chat solutions.
Other core features include a web dashboard, a contact hub, and file transfer features, as well as iPhone, Android, and web app functionality. As you move up the pricing plans, you’ll gain access to a greater number of chat box customizations, with contact forms, position and language support all coming with greater flexibility with the paid plans.
The auto-messaging that comes with the paid versions of Smartsupp is a handy feature for businesses that want to engage with visitors. For instance, if you notice that a potential customer is spending a large amount of time on a particular webpage but not converting, you can set up an automotive message asking him or her if they have any questions. This could be the extra motivation that gets that sale over the line.
You also have more analytics functionality with the paid-for plans. For example, you can analyze the data that you’ve gathered from your customer coversations, which can help improve the productivity of your agents.
Perhaps the feature that stands out the most, however, is Smartsupp’s video recording. Unique among live chat solutions in offering this functionality, this feature is a good way for brands to get to know their website visitors better but perhaps there is a reason why no other tool offers this. Sure, you can view a customer’s buying process and identify potential bottlenecks but is it really any better than having the data that tells you the same thing? It’s a nice feature to have, but seems far from essential.
Integrations
In terms of the sheer number of integrations that Smartsupp offers, there’s plenty to admire here. You can find connections with 58 other tools in total, including many of those that will already be well-known to businesses. This includes ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, as well as platforms that are better known as CMS providers, such as WordPress and LightCMS. Other integrations offered by Smartsupp include Wix, Weebly, and other website builder services.
Having said that, if you take a close look at the integrations on offer, you could end up slightly disappointed. For example, the video recording functionality that Smartsupp makes such as big deal of isn’t supported for some integrations. That’s why it’s a good idea to explore whether the platform integrates fully with another platform if you are thinking of signing up for a premium plan.
Interface and ease of use
Ease of use is an area where Smartsupp really shines. While the platform is not the best looking on the agent side, this will always be secondary to the actual functionality. Here, the platform performs well and your agent should have no problem getting to grips with all the functionality and settings here.
The installation process is extremely straightforward - even for users who might not be the most tech-savvy. It’s simply a case of copying the relevant code into the body of your website and your Smartsupp help desk offering will be displayed to visitors. Detailed instructions make this easier still, should you encounter difficulties.
It’s also easy to customize the colors and content of your chat window, although you might encounter some restrictions here if you are using the free plan. This is extremely useful if your site employs a particular style or you simply want your chat box to align with the rest of your branding. Overall, this is a hello desk tool that may not look great, but is as intuitive as any other we’ve reviewed.
Support
Customer support varies depending on which payment plan, individuals are signed up to. For instance, there’s no specific support channel provided with the free plan, while anyone on the Standard plan have access to support via email, and the Pro plan comes with priority support. Of course, free users still have access to tutorials via the online help site, as well as the Smartsupp Educational Resource Center, complete with a host of online resources to support users.
While it’s slightly disappointing that free users are left to solve their own problems, Smartsupp has to make money somehow. We’ve found the email support that comes with the Standard offering to be pretty responsive, so if you feel like you might need additional help, you’ll have to stump up some cash.
Security
In terms of security, Smartsupp is compliance with GDPR and issues a Personal Data Processing Agreement with all its customers. Of course, the platform’s video recording feature does add a privacy issue that don’t get with other help desk platforms.
Smartsupp is extremely clear that recording user behavior online is legal and provides guidance on whether businesses should inform visitors that this is taking place. The platform also uses SSL / TLS encryption for additional security.
The competition
As mentioned above, the main competitor to Smartsupp would have to be Tawk.to, especially if you look at tools that provide a similar free-forever plan. However, there are a huge number of help desk solutions on the market, such as the likes of Tidio, Freshdesk, and LiveAgent.
Although Smartsupp can obviously beat many of its rivals on price, others can lay claim to boasting more advanced functionality or tighter integrations. It all depends on what your priorities are
Smartsupp review: Final verdict
Is price the most important thing for you when choosing your help desk software? If so, you could do a lot worse than Smartsupp. Having said that, there are some disappointing elements of the platform, including its design and integrations. It might be worth researching these further if you are considering signing up for one of the paid plans.
