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Compare Zoho Desk with Zoho Voice, LiveAgent, Freshdesk with Freshcaller and Zendesk Voice for a team handling calls and email tickets.
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4 of 4 publish a price · 1 offer a free plan · 4 offer a free trial
Why it ranks here: Zoho Desk logs calls and can create tickets for selected calls, including missed calls.
Not a fit if: you need one subscription for help desk and telephony; Zoho Desk and Zoho Voice are separate subscriptions with number and usage charges.
Why it ranks here: LiveAgent logs calls as tickets and includes per-number IVR branches and callbacks on Medium business.
Not a fit if: you need phone numbers sold by the help desk provider; LiveAgent requires an external SIP provider.
Why it ranks here: Freshcaller calls can link to existing Freshdesk tickets or create a new ticket from the call.
Not a fit if: you need guaranteed automatic missed-call tickets; Freshcaller provides voicemail and call records for manual follow-up.
Why it ranks here: Zendesk Voice handles calls in the ticket workspace and keeps email-to-voice channel switching in the ticket.
Not a fit if: you need phone numbers and usage included in the help desk license; Zendesk identifies them as separate costs.
Choose Zoho Desk with Zoho Voice when calls should be logged in Desk and selected call types, including missed calls, should create tickets; Desk Professional or Enterprise and a separate Enterprise Telephony subscription are required. Choose LiveAgent for email ticketing with call-center and IVR controls while bringing a compatible VoIP provider. Choose Freshdesk with Freshcaller when agents need to link calls to existing Freshdesk tickets, and Zendesk Voice when calls should stay in a broader Zendesk ticket workflow.
| Product | Strongest fit | Deciding capability | Required configuration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk + Zoho Voice | Desk-led team needing call records and missed-call tickets | Calls auto-log; selected missed calls can create Desk tickets | Desk Professional or Enterprise plus separate Enterprise Telephony plan, numbers and usage |
| LiveAgent | Small blended email/call team | Calls logged as tickets; per-number IVR and callbacks | Medium business or higher plus a SIP-capable VoIP number |
| Freshdesk + Freshcaller | Freshdesk-led support team | Link a call to an existing ticket or create one from the widget | Freshdesk plus selected Freshcaller plan and usage |
| Zendesk + Voice | Broader Zendesk support operation | Voice actions within the ticket workflow | Voice configuration; Professional or higher for IVR |
The Zoho Desk telephony guide documents automatic call logging, on-demand ticket creation and linking a call to an existing Desk ticket. Administrators can also configure automatic tickets for selected inbound, outbound or missed calls, and recordings or voicemails can be accessed from Desk records. This directly covers teams that want a missed call to enter the same ticket queue as email support.
The purchase boundary matters: Zoho Voice integration requires Desk Professional or Enterprise, while Zoho Telephony is available only with Enterprise Telephony. Zoho Voice is a separate phone subscription; include phone-number rental and usage, which vary by country, and price optional recording or transcription from the Voice rate card. Price the Desk plan, Voice edition, local number availability and call rates for the team's region from the rate card before comparing totals.
LiveAgent logs phone calls as tickets and connects numbers from a VoIP provider supporting SIP trunks. It does not sell the numbers. This arrangement gives you a specific carrier dependency to resolve before evaluating the interface.
Medium business includes call center and IVR. The IVR configuration uses a per-number script with online, queue and offline branches, including routing and callback actions. That is useful control, with a configuration task attached: someone must own the greeting, menu and after-hours path. Recording controls operate per number and recordings can remain with tickets.
The Freshcaller widget shows recent contact tickets and lets the agent link a call to one of them or create a new ticket. That is the decisive workflow when customers email first and then call about the same problem.
Freshcaller's Growth configuration lists wait queues, voicemail, transfers and recording; Pro adds routing automation. Quote the phone configuration as well as Freshdesk. The integrated call log gives an agent a follow-up record; automatic ticket creation for every possible missed-call state should be demonstrated in the proposed account rather than inferred from the presence of voicemail.
Zendesk Voice, formerly Talk, supports incoming calls and outgoing calls from tickets. Channel switching can move an email case into a phone conversation within the ticket workflow. Voice Professional and higher add IVR; group routing is the alternative where IVR is outside the plan.
When agents are offline, calls can reach voicemail. Voicemail recordings/transcripts on tickets give the next agent material for follow-up. Match the routing rules to who is actually available to answer; a menu alone does not provide staffing.
For an illustrative four-person team, price two support numbers, 1,200 incoming minutes, 300 outgoing minutes and the desired recording policy. LiveAgent needs software seats plus the carrier quote. Freshdesk needs the selected helpdesk and Freshcaller setup. Zendesk needs its support/voice configuration and country-specific number/minute charges. Zoho Desk needs Professional or Enterprise plus a separate Zoho Voice Enterprise Telephony plan, number rental and usage charges. Optional transcription and recording can be additional inputs. The example supplies purchasing assumptions, not a measured operating bill.
During the trial, start with an email ticket, call about it, transfer the call and leave a second call unanswered. Inspect which records the next agent receives and how they call or email back. Continue with LiveAgent pricing, LiveAgent alternatives or digital omnichannel support.
We compare current official product documentation, channel setup guides and plan boundaries for this buying situation. The shortlist reflects the documented workflow, with source links beside the decisive facts. Item order is editorial and the comparison has no numeric quality score. Sources checked 18 October 2026.
| Product | Calls and email ticket history | Queues, IVR and transfers | Voicemail and missed-call follow-up | Helpdesk plus telephony costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Desk | Zoho Desk Professional or Enterprise with Zoho Voice Enterprise Telephony: Desk email arrives as tickets, calls auto-log in Activities, and selected inbound, outbound or missed calls can create tickets. Agents can associate calls with an existing Desk ticket.[1] [2] [1] [3] | Zoho Desk Professional or Enterprise plus Zoho Voice Enterprise Telephony: route incoming calls to agents, queues or IVRs; queues offer several ring strategies. Multi-level IVR is limited to Enterprise Telephony plans.[1] [3] [4] [5] | Configure missed calls to create Zoho Desk tickets; callers can leave voicemail, which can be played or downloaded from the ticket. Zoho Voice can email missed-call notifications with voicemail attached.[1] [6] | Budget Zoho Desk Professional or Enterprise plus a separate Zoho Voice Enterprise Telephony subscription. Add number rental and country-specific call usage; optional recording and transcription are usage-priced, and call durations round up to a full minute. · as of October 2026[1] [3] [7] [7] [7] |
| LiveAgent | Calls are logged as tickets in the same helpdesk that receives email; number connections use an external SIP-capable VoIP provider.[8] [9] | Medium business includes call center and IVR; per-number IVR scripts define online, queue and offline branches, department routing and callbacks.[10] [11] | IVR supports a callback action; the account stores voicemail/call recordings, with recording controls per number.[11] [12] | Medium business software is $29/agent/month billed annually or $35 monthly, plus a SIP provider number and its carrier charges. LiveAgent sells no numbers. · as of October 2026[10] [8] |
| Freshdesk | Freshcaller integration shows calls/recent contact tickets in Freshdesk; link a call to an existing ticket or create a new one.[13] | Freshcaller Growth lists wait queues, warm/cold transfers and recording; Pro adds routing automation. Freshdesk integration remains subject to Freshcaller plan boundaries.[14] [15] | Freshcaller Growth includes voicemail; call logs and contact-ticket links give agents the record for manual follow-up. Do not equate voicemail with guaranteed automatic missed-call ticketing.[14] [13] | Budget Freshdesk and the selected Freshcaller voice configuration, plus numbers and chargeable minutes. Freshcaller advertises per-agent plans with usage and specified incoming-minute allowances. · as of October 2026[14] [15] [16] |
| Zendesk | Zendesk Voice (formerly Talk) handles inbound and outbound calls from the ticket workspace; email-to-voice channel switching can stay in the ticket.[17] [18] | Group routing is documented; voice Professional and higher add IVR. The voice plan and configured omnichannel routing determine available controls.[19] | Calls route to voicemail when all agents are offline; voicemail recordings/transcripts can appear on tickets for an agent to follow up.[17] [20] | Zendesk support/voice licenses plus phone numbers and usage; minutes and optional recording/transcription are separately identified cost inputs with country-specific rates. · as of October 2026[21] [22] |
All calls are logged automatically, and you can configure the settings to auto-generate tickets for selected call types.
The emails received from your customers are converted into tickets and assigned a unique ticket ID.
Zoho Telephony integration is available only in our Enterprise Telephony edition.
Call Routing Types: Select the type of ringing to handle your team's call. It can be Top Down, Simultaneous, RoundRobin, Progressive, Agents with fewest calls, or Agents with longest wait time ringing.
Call agent/queue: Select the agent/queue for whom the call must be routed.
You can receive email notifications for missed calls, with the voicemail attached.
Call durations are rounded up to the next full minute, and credits are charged accordingly.
Calls are logged as tickets; phone numbers must come from a SIP-trunk-capable VoIP provider; LiveAgent does not sell phone numbers. Named provider profiles or a general SIP connector can be used.
Email, calls and chat enter a shared inbox with ticket assignment, private notes, customer records and time/trigger rules.
Medium business lists call center and IVR at $29/agent/month annual billing or$35 monthly; Large adds social messaging channels. Carrier costs are a separate input from the software subscription.
IVR uses a YAML script per number with online, queue and offline sections and actions including department routing and callback.
Incoming/outgoing call recording is enabled per phone number; recordings and voicemails can be stored in the account and deleted from tickets.
Integrated Freshcaller widget shows call history and recent contact tickets, links calls to existing tickets or creates tickets; Freshcaller holds call logs and metrics.
Freshcaller has separate plans plus usage; Growth includes queues, voicemail, transfers and call recording; Pro adds routing automation; numbers and call rates affect the bill.
Freshcaller integrates calling into Freshdesk; administration and plan experience differ between configurations, including older Omnichannel accounts.
Ticketing & shared inbox
Voice supports inbound calls and outbound calls from a ticket; calls go to voicemail when all agents are offline.
Agent Workspace can switch channels within a ticket, including chat to email or email to voice; available options depend on ticket origin and privacy settings.
Zendesk Voice (formerly Talk) routes calls to agent groups; IVR is available on Professional and higher voice plans; routing options depend on the configured plan.
Zendesk Voice voicemail recordings can have transcripts on tickets; Copilot processing has separate product scope.
Usage costs include numbers, minutes, text messages and optional recording/transcription; rates depend on country and type of call.
Support Team: $19 agent/month paid yearly. Suite Team: $55 agent/month paid yearly.
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