Talkdesk is an omnichannel contact center that uses advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools for call routing, analytics, and agent coaching. Based on our evaluation and Talkdesk reviews online, the provider earned high ratings on features and ease of use and a lower score on pricing. While it packs valuable capabilities and offers an intuitive interface, it lacks a free plan and discounts that make the provider affordable to businesses with tight budgets.
Talkdesk Review: At a Glance
What We Liked
- Seamless integrations with popular third-party platforms
- No-code tool for creating workflow automations
- Virtual agent facilitates customer self-service
- Advanced call management features, like interactive voice response (IVR), are available in the basic plan
What's Missing
- Omnichannel support and mobile app are not offered in the basic package
- More expensive subscription cost than Freshdesk, while also lacking in annual and volume discounts
- Workforce management tool is only available in the third-tier subscription package
- When you require a highly reliable contact center platform: Listed as one of the best call center systems, Talkdesk boasts a 100% uptime service level agreement (SLA) guarantee. This means zero downtime, allowing you to be constantly available for customer queries.
- Execute effective outbound calling campaigns: The Talkdesk Dialer automates the dialing process and filters out unproductive calls, like voicemails and busy signals. The provider is our top pick for predictive dialer software, as it features advanced call monitoring and integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) tools.
- Improve agent coaching and training: The provider features an extensive set of call monitoring features, including call whisper, barge, takeover, and recording, earning a spot in our list of the best call center monitoring software platforms.
- Distribute customer queries more efficiently: Talkdesk features advanced call routing capabilities, such as automatic call distributor (ACD), multi-level IVR system, call forwarding, and forward-to-phone. On top of these, it supports omnichannel routing, accommodating queries in email, chat, short messaging service (SMS), and social media.
- When you need a budget-friendly contact center solution: Talkdesk’s entry-level plan is priced at $75, which is way above the subscription cost of business phone systems with call center features. Check out the best cheap voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) providers.
- Need to make international calls: Talkdesk doesn’t support international calling. To stay connected to a global audience, consider this list of the best services for VoIP international calls.
- Require a much simpler phone system: Solopreneurs often don’t require advanced call center features. Explore the platforms featured in the best small business VoIP services and best VoIP services for home offices.
Talkdesk Deciding Factors
Talkdesk is a contact center as a service (CCaaS) software solution that allows businesses to answer customer queries in various channels, namely, phone, email, SMS, and social media. The basic plan, priced at $75, is limited to voice engagement. To access omnichannel support, businesses must choose higher-tier plans. Its most expensive package, which comes at a customized quote, is tailored to the standards and workflows of specific industries.
Best For | Businesses that want to streamline customer service using AI-powered tools |
Standout Features |
|
Pricing Plans |
|
Annual or Volume Discounts Available | Annual and volume discounts not available |
Key Integrations | Salesforce, Zendesk, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Dynamics 365, ServiceNow, and Zoom |
Customer Service |
|
Talkdesk Alternatives
Talkdesk has plenty of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools, but it lacks the advanced capabilities most business phone systems offer, such as international calling and video conferencing for better team collaboration. Its subscription cost is also not affordable, especially for solopreneurs simply looking for a straightforward platform.
If you want to explore other contact center solutions, check out these top Talkdesk alternatives:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Businesses requiring affordable contact center software | Organizations needing an omnichannel contact center with excellent international calling capabilities | Companies that prefer an AI-powered omnichannel contact center with video conferencing features |
Monthly Starting Price | $18 per user* | $85 per user | Customized quote |
Learn More |
*Freshdesk also has a free plan with limited features.
Consider other robust contact center systems by reading this guide on the best Talkdesk alternatives. These platforms are ideal for businesses that want to improve customer self-service and omnichannel support.
Talkdesk pricing received an extremely low rating primarily because it lacks a free plan and discounts. One of its top competitors, Freshdesk, offers a free version, allowing businesses to maximize unlimited concurrent calls, inbound caller ID, call notes, and customizable greetings and messages, at no cost. It provides annual discounts, reducing the cost of its entry-level subscription from $18 per month to $15.
Talkdesk has four pricing plans, offering multiple options for businesses with unique budget needs. Refer to the table below to learn about the features included in each package:
Talkdesk Plans | CX Cloud Essentials | CX Cloud Elevate | CX Cloud Elite | Experience Clouds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Best For | Teams that engage with customers primarily via voice calls | Businesses that offer customer service via voice, email, chat, and SMS | Organizations that want to streamline agent performance and contact center operations more effectively | Companies that need industry-specific contact center solutions (catering to healthcare, financial services, and retail sectors) |
Annual Pricing (User/Month) | $75 | $95 | $125 | Customized quote |
Engagement Channels | Voice only | Voice, email, chat, and SMS | Voice, email, chat, and SMS | Voice, email, chat, and SMS |
Virtual Agent | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
AI Trainer (Automation Tool) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Quality Management | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Conversations Mobile App | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Custom Reporting | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Workforce Management | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Agent Assist | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
100% Uptime SLA | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
Click on the options below to learn more about the inclusions for each Talkdesk pricing plan:
Talkdesk’s entry-level package includes robust VoIP features, such as call routing, interactive voice response (IVR), call recording, and call reporting and analytics. Users have access to integrations with third-party business tools. The base plan also covers the following features:
- Talkdesk Live: Offers real-time updates on call center and individual agent performance
- Talkdesk Explore: Allows users to see historical reports and analytics
- Talkdesk Knowledge Management: Helps agents find answers to customers’ questions
- Talkdesk Customer Experience Analytics Starter: Transcribes and interprets voice interactions
- Talkdesk Agent Assist Starter: Provides agents with AI-powered, real-time guidance when interacting with customers
- Talkdesk Guardian Starter: Enables businesses to maintain compliance and reduce the risks of a hybrid workforce
- Talkdesk Connections: Allows users to build custom integrations
- Talkdesk Workspace Designer: Helps teams create and customize user interfaces for different roles in the call center
- Talkdesk Automation Designer: Enables businesses to design process automations, such as making conversation flows for the chatbot
The second-tier package expands the CX Cloud Essentials, as it features omnichannel support, Talkdesk Quality Management, Talkdesk Screen Recording, and Talkdesk Conversations Mobile App. It comes with Talkdesk Feedback, which lets you create and launch post-customer interaction surveys. The automated notifications feature enabling businesses to send event-triggered messages is also offered in the CX Cloud Elevate plan.
All the features in CX Cloud Elevate are in Elite, plus custom reporting, Talkdesk Guardian, and Talkdesk Performance Management. Users have the option to choose among the four add-ons: workforce management, customer experience analytics, agent assist, and proactive outbound engagement.
This plan is designed for specific industries: retail, healthcare, and financial services. It includes a purpose-built workspace, industry workflows, virtual agents, and the option to choose two features among the four add-ons mentioned above.
Talkdesk Features
Talkdesk’s capabilities comprise tools for omnichannel engagement, customer self-service, customer experience analytics, and workforce engagement. It has over 30 security certifications, including compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Here’s an overview of Talkdesk’s general and niche features:
We gave the provider a perfect score on general features for ticking off all the essential capabilities businesses require in a contact center platform. It has advanced routing options, such as automatic call distribution (ACD) and IVR, and omnichannel support, allowing customer service teams to accommodate inquiries via phone, email, chat, social media, and SMS.
Listed below are Talkdesk’s general call center features:
- Queue management
- Voicemail
- Click-to-call
- No answer call forwarding
- Local caller ID
- Call analytics
- Call whisper
- Call barge
- Call takeover
- Call recording
Create and configure call flows easily using Talkdesk Studio (Source: Talkdesk)
Talkdesk earned a perfect score on niche features as it provides a broad range of specialized capabilities, including integrations with various third-party platforms. The contact center connects with popular customer relationship management (CRM) systems, such as Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Pipedrive, and Zendesk. Live chat tools like Olark, LiveChat, and Intercom also integrate with Talkdesk.
It’s easy to enhance the contact center’s functionality and improve team performance, given these third-party apps are available in Talkdesk’s AppConnect marketplace. But beyond the integrations, the provider has the following notable features:
The provider’s quality management tools allow managers to assess how agents handle customer concerns and recommend actionable steps for improvement. For one, the voice and screen recording lets you hear and see the actual agent’s performance. Time-stamped comments provide meaningful context and insight into your feedback. Gamified metrics make performance tracking easier while motivating team members to deliver better customer service.
Talkdesk allows you to comment on customer interactions and add time stamps of the call recordings to further support agent feedback. (Source: Talkdesk)
The provider’s mobile app makes contact center features easily accessible for team members working outside the office. Available on iOS and Android, the app allows users to place and receive calls, record incoming and outbound calls, and understand customer concerns better through CRM connectivity. It logs all customer interactions, thus helping managers monitor performance metrics.
Talkdesk’s mobile app shows important customer information and call notes to aid agents in answering inquiries. (Source: Talkdesk)
This AI-enabled knowledge base helps agents provide timely, accurate answers to customer questions. It allows easy uploading of frequently asked questions (FAQs), which become Answer Cards in the system. As the knowledge management tool integrates with other Talkdesk solutions like Agent Assist, company representatives are able to type specific keywords into the search bar and find relevant references for answering customer queries.
Use Agent Assist to pull out relevant information from the contact center’s knowledge base. (Source: Talkdesk)
Talkdesk Customer Experience Analytics has sentiment analysis capabilities, which help you better understand how customers feel during interactions. The dashboard, which contains visually appealing graphs, offers an overview of customer emotion and trending topics for a certain period. This speech and analytics tool also features keyword-based sensors that send alerts whenever customer issues need immediate attention.
Check the overall customer sentiment at the Talkdesk Customer Experience Analytics dashboard. (Source: Talkdesk)
Talkdesk earned a fair rating on customer service because while it has various communication channels, it lacks email support. It primarily provides technical assistance through calls, its online community, and digital resources.
The provider has dedicated phone numbers for businesses based in different territories, North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Customers must register and reach out to the community administrator to be part of the online community. Meanwhile, the resource center contains various types of helpful content, from datasheets, e-books, and infographics to videos, webinars, and white papers.
The provider’s ease of use got a perfect score since its clean, intuitive interface promotes seamless navigation in the platform. The main menu displays various features, including Conversations, Contacts, Voicemail, and Integrations.
Through the low-code, no-code workspace designer, businesses are able to customize user interfaces. As the workspace is tailored to specific team members’ roles, it’s easier for agents to find and maximize the features needed to deliver customer service.
Talkdesk’s clean interface allows easy navigation of the platform. (Source: Talkdesk)
The Talkdesk reviews online are mostly positive, praising the platform’s user-friendliness and call management features. Some users shared that the intuitive interface quickly made them familiar with the tool. Others liked how the contact center seamlessly integrates with popular CRM systems, allowing them to see customer information quickly. Meanwhile, some expressed appreciation for the customization options the provider offers.
Learn more about the user ratings in credible third-party review sites here below:
- G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars based on 2,095 Talkdesk reviews
- GetApp: 4.5 out of 5 stars based on 701 Talkdesk reviews
- TrustRadius: 8.7 out of 10 stars based on 557 Talkdesk reviews
How We Evaluated Talkdesk
To evaluate Talkdesk, we identified several criteria points: pricing, features, customer service, and ease of use. We compared it to other contact center systems and checked third-party review platforms to see how it accommodates the needs of actual users.
Learn how we evaluated Talkdesk by clicking on the tabs below:
20% of Overall Score
To determine the platform’s affordability, we checked if it offers a free version and an entry-level subscription for less than $70. We considered the provider’s number of plans and available discounts.
25% of Overall Score
The essential capabilities we looked for were ACD, omnichannel support, and call monitoring. We also considered how robust the call activity analytics is.
20% of Overall Score
Part of the niche features we checked was the AI virtual assistant. We also evaluated how comprehensive the integrations, outbound dialers, and workforce management tools are.
10% of Overall Score
The schedule and types of customer support were part of our assessment. The provider received more points for having 24/7 customer service.
10% of Overall Score
To determine whether or not the platform is user-friendly, we checked if the interface is intuitive. We also considered the ease of getting started with the contact center system.
15% of Overall Score
This covers our evaluation of the provider’s popularity, value for money, and ease of use. We also looked at its features and assessed how they stack up against competitors.
Bottom Line
Talkdesk is an AI-powered contact center system ideal for businesses that want to facilitate faster customer service, track and manage data more efficiently, and boost agent productivity. The platform’s clean, intuitive interface and 24/7 customer support are helpful for businesses trying an omnichannel contact center software for the first time. Sign up for Talkdesk’s entry-level plan and see if it fits your needs.
