Zendesk vs. Groove

When it comes to managing customer service, choosing the right software is crucial. Groove has some of the basic capabilities you’d expect to see in a support solution. However, its limited feature set is a double-edged sword that can also impact the quality of your support interactions.

Zendesk is a fully developed alternative that extends far beyond basic inbox management. Its comprehensive features, long-term value, and superior customer experience (CX) expertise can propel support operations to new heights. Delve deeper into the functionality of Zendesk vs. Groove to see which software best suits your needs.

Scalability

Zendesk is built to meet the needs of companies at every growth stage—from startups to small businesses to large enterprises—with long-term customer service solutions. For example, with over 1,500 apps and integrations, Zendesk gives businesses the flexibility to meet growing use cases and customer needs.

On the other hand, Groove offers a limited number of integrations, lacks advanced features, and has fewer proof points for assisting medium and large businesses.

Greater value

Zendesk offers everything you need to deliver great support while boosting agent productivity from day one. In contrast, due to product gaps, Groove users may struggle to deliver quality support experiences. For instance, Groove’s simple inbox management tools may lack the functionality to support broader customer service operations.

Trust and leadership

Zendesk is trusted by over 160,000 businesses and backed by a robust network of CX experts who share insights and advice. In comparison, Groove has just over 2,000 customers, which means a more limited network to tap into for support.

More in this guide:

• At-a-glance comparison: Zendesk vs. Groove
• Groove vs. Zendesk: Features comparison
• Pricing plans: Groove vs. Zendesk
• Why brands love Zendesk
• Ready to try Zendesk?

Unlike Zendesk, Groove falls short of delivering all the tools businesses need to provide excellent customer service. Dive into our comprehensive analysis to see where Zendesk outshines Groove based on ratings, reviews, and internal data.

Ticketing system

With Zendesk, solve issues faster using our intuitively designed ticketing system, which maximizes agent efficiency so they can move at the speed of your customers. Skills-based routing and custom views make it easy for agents to focus on what’s relevant to them. Our AI features also help boost productivity—AI chatbots deflect common inquiries, while intelligent routing directs tickets to the right agent based on sentiment, skill, priority, and language. Agents then receive ticket summaries and suggested replies, giving them the context they need to jump in and resolve issues quickly.

Groove’s ticketing system mimics a conventional email layout, which can make it difficult to read tickets. It's also been noted that the platform's basic tagging processes aren't optimal for large ticket volumes, possibly making organization difficult.

Learn more about the Zendesk ticketing system.

Omnichannel support

Deliver personal support on any channel—email, phone, chat, social media, and more—using Zendesk. Agents can access a complete view of the customer’s history and all relevant context, fostering omnichannel customer service and faster resolutions.

While Groove supports omnichannel communication, the user experience across channels isn’t equal. Customers report that the mobile app lacks modern functionality, and the email system can disconnect from the dashboard, requiring users to manually reconnect them before they can sync. Groove also lacks key call management features, like call monitoring, routing, and conference calling.

See how you can deliver seamless omnichannel support with the Zendesk Agent Workspace.

Reporting

Zendesk reporting tools empower you to leverage metrics that demonstrate the value of your support team to C-level executives, enabling data-driven decisions to transform customer service from a cost center to a profit generator. Historical reporting allows you to identify trends and see where you can improve your entire support operations. You can also track live metrics across every channel in one place.

Groove offers basic reporting tools that often require users to add data manually. At this time, users can only export conversation reports in JSON formats. CSV and XLS formats are currently unavailable.

Security

Protect customer privacy and your brand’s reputation with Zendesk security tools. Single sign-on (SSO) simplifies login and minimizes password fatigue, while two-factor authentication (2FA) protects against unauthorized access. Granular user roles and permissions define what every agent can see and do, and healthcare organizations can work within HIPAA-compliant accounts.

Groove provides 2FA, access permissions, and teammate roles for its plans. It is missing SSO security features and HIPAA compliance.

Workforce management

Maximize your support team’s productivity with Zendesk AI-powered workforce management tools. Forecasting algorithms analyze historical data and predict future ticket volumes, enabling you to schedule the correct number of agents for each shift. Automated scheduling tools then streamline the process, assigning agents based on skills, availability, and workload preferences.

Groove doesn’t offer dedicated workforce management tools. Team members are generally limited to setting their availability, assigning tickets, and displaying ticket statuses.

Zendesk delivers a comprehensive package of features—including automations via Zendesk AI, advanced reporting, and integrations—which allows businesses to manage complex customer journeys and gain deep insights. Zendesk provides this robust feature set for a low total cost of ownership (TCO), leading to a greater return on investment for scaling organizations.

While Groove offers email-based support and other broad functionalities, it is still evolving. The limited feature set and lack of product maturity may not cater to the broader needs of businesses scaling to a full-fledged customer service solution. It’s also difficult to compensate for Groove’s limited functionality due to its small catalog of pre-built integrations, so you may endure switching costs as you grow.

See what actual Zendesk customers have to say about using our customer service software and the benefits they’ve experienced.

Age of Learning

“We achieved 100 percent remote ramp-up in just over a month with Zendesk Suite. As an all-inclusive system, it gave us the ability to scale quickly and the flexibility to add new features in the future.”

—Sara Milton, senior customer experience specialist at Age of Learning

American Expediting

“A lot of the benefits come from the round-robin ticketing, where multiple people work a single order and we get real-time updates. Things are just so much easier and faster in Zendesk, so customers get quicker and more thorough answers than in the past.”

—Kirk Serjeanston, chief information officer at American Expediting

REA Group

“Zendesk enables us to bring all the people involved in providing services to customers in any way, shape, or form onto one platform. It gives us that one comprehensive source of data and enables us to see what's going on with our customers and the work we're doing holistically.”

—Tim Sulzberger, service design and innovation manager at REA Group