SolarWinds Service Desk vs Zendesk Employee Service

SolarWinds Service Desk9.1Visit Zendesk Employee Service9.0Visit

Higher score SolarWinds Service Desk #3 in IT Help Desk Software 9.1/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 7 of 7 features Visit SolarWinds

vs

Zendesk Employee Service #4 in IT Help Desk Software 9.0/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 2 of 7 features Visit Zendesk

• SolarWinds Service Desk fits best

  Enterprise ITSM with CMDB depth

• Zendesk Employee Service fits best

  Employee service desks needing omnichannel AI support

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Side by side

Feature	SolarWinds Service Desk 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Zendesk Employee Service 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	9.0
Ranking	#3 in IT Help Desk Software	#4 in IT Help Desk Software
Best for	Enterprise ITSM with CMDB depth	Employee service desks needing omnichannel AI support
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$39/seat/mo	$29/user/mo (best)
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	30 days	14 days
Free trial length	30 days	14 days · no card needed
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Support	Email, Live chat, Phone, Community · 24/7	Email, Live chat, Phone, Tickets, Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, 2FA	SOC 2, 2FA
Integrations	200+ integrations	4 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SolarWinds Service Desk 7/7 · Zendesk Employee Service 2/7
SLA management	✓	✓
Knowledge base	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Employee portal	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Asset management	✓	✓
Single sign-on	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Approval workflows	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Mobile apps	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Visual CMDB and dependency mapping connect assets with incidents. Incident, SLA, change, asset, and service-catalog workflows cover core ITSM. Web, mobile, API, and integrations support distributed service operations.	AI agents and AI-powered knowledge answers support routine employee requests. Growth adds a service catalog, approvals, SLAs and IT asset management. Employees can seek support through multiple channels, including voice and messaging.
Cons	Listed pricing starts at $39 per technician per month with annual billing. There is no free plan for ongoing use. AI incident features are limited to the Premier plan.	No free plan; Suite Team starts at $29 per agent/month with annual billing. Core service catalog, approvals, SLAs and asset management start at Suite Growth. Advanced routing, reporting and governance controls are reserved for higher plans.
Our verdict	SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based IT service management platform for IT teams and organizations supporting employees. It combines incident, problem, change, and release management with a service catalog, employee self-service… Read the review →	Zendesk Employee Service brings employee-facing IT, HR and other internal support into a cloud-based service platform. It combines ticketing and request management with a knowledge base, AI-powered answers, AI agents and an employee… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SolarWinds Service Desk — where it wins

  • Visual CMDB and dependency mapping connect assets with incidents.
  • Incident, SLA, change, asset, and service-catalog workflows cover core ITSM.
  • Web, mobile, API, and integrations support distributed service operations.

  Where it doesn't

  • Listed pricing starts at $39 per technician per month with annual billing.
  • There is no free plan for ongoing use.
  • AI incident features are limited to the Premier plan.

• Zendesk Employee Service — where it wins

  • AI agents and AI-powered knowledge answers support routine employee requests.
  • Growth adds a service catalog, approvals, SLAs and IT asset management.
  • Employees can seek support through multiple channels, including voice and messaging.

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; Suite Team starts at $29 per agent/month with annual billing.
  • Core service catalog, approvals, SLAs and asset management start at Suite Growth.
  • Advanced routing, reporting and governance controls are reserved for higher plans.

• SolarWinds Service Desk9.1/10 · 30-day trial

  A mature ITSM suite for teams that need CMDB, asset, SLA, and change-management depth.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →
• Zendesk Employee Service9.0/10 · 14-day trial

  A broad employee service desk with AI, self-service, ticketing and workflow tools.

  Visit ZendeskFull verdict →