NICE CXone vs Zendesk comparison

Read 61 Zendesk reviews

3,585 Views
502 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

NICE CXone

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 24, 2025

NICE CXone and Zendesk are prominent in the customer experience platform arena. NICE CXone has a competitive edge with its comprehensive omnichannel capabilities and customizable reporting, making it suitable for diverse organizational needs. Zendesk, however, is preferred for its outstanding ease of use and extensive integration options, which are crucial for seamless support operations.

Features: NICE CXone offers advanced call center capabilities with features like CXone Studio, real-time visibility through dashboards, and enhanced service efficiency using WebRTC. Zendesk excels in ticket management with integration options, customizable dashboards, and a Help Center to boost user engagement.

Room for Improvement: NICE CXone could benefit from simplified reporting, improved browser compatibility, and better audio quality. Zendesk would gain from enhanced customization, improved integration with external systems, and clarity in pricing structures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NICE CXone is primarily deployed through public cloud environments, appreciated for efficient management but challenges in deployment exist. Zendesk offers deployment through varied cloud options, which are flexible yet complex. Both have commendable customer service, with Zendesk often praised for handling immediate inquiries efficiently.

Pricing and ROI: NICE CXone is noted for cost-effectiveness and beneficial ROI, predominantly due to cloud infrastructure. Zendesk’s pricing is considered high, but justified by its comprehensive features and integration flexibility. Both could improve pricing models to align with organizational needs.

To learn more, read our detailed NICE CXone vs. Zendesk Report (Updated: September 2025).

Download the complete report

NICE CXone vs. Zendesk

September 2025

Helped 867,445 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

ROI

Sentiment score

4.9

Small teams saved over $200,000 in the first year with NICE CXone, benefiting from its cloud-based AWS infrastructure.

Sentiment score

6.7

Zendesk enhances organizational efficiency and productivity, reducing costs despite licensing fees, with varied but significant financial benefits.

NICE CXone saves time and resources due to its cloud-based nature, where infrastructure management is handled by AWS, reducing the need for me to manage it.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.4

NICE CXone customer service is polite and effective, though complex issues may have delayed resolutions due to request nature.

Sentiment score

6.3

Zendesk excels in responsiveness and issue resolution, though reliance on documentation may delay human support replies.

We have our own technical account manager which provides us with substantial visibility.

reviewer2746335

Senior Manager, Contact Center Technology at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

When I faced an issue with reaching a Poland DID that was ported to NICE CXone, their support team resolved the problem immediately.

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

If the issue is network-related or involves configuration, or maybe implementing a new tool, it might take north of 24 hours to identify the right resource to assist you.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Operations Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

Their support team from Zendesk is excellent, similar to what you have in Freshdesk.

Anita Orioma

Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors

The technical support provided by Zendesk has been very satisfactory.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.2

NICE CXone is highly scalable and adaptable, efficiently managing extensive loads and supporting broad use cases without difficulty.

Sentiment score

7.4

Zendesk scales well for various team sizes; praised for customization, integration, though challenges include data backup and departmental customization.

I have migrated approximately 500 people to the system, and it can certainly support more users beyond this number.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

Zendesk can scale from very small companies to very large ones.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

The scalability of Zendesk is still in the same range as Freshdesk.

Anita Orioma

Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

6.1

NICE CXone is generally stable, with brief outages well-managed, earning high praise for technical support and communication.

Sentiment score

7.7

Zendesk is stable and reliable, despite occasional outages, making it ideal for small businesses and startups globally.

In general, the stability is good.

reviewer2746335

Senior Manager, Contact Center Technology at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

While the system often operates without issues, there have been instances of reports involving VM resource congestion, WFM issues, and RT problems.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

The stability has been quite reliable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Room For Improvement

NICE CXone needs an improved user interface, better audio, streamlined reporting, enhanced AWS control, and competitive pricing.

Zendesk users face challenges with interface clumsiness, slow performance, customization, integration, and pricing, affecting overall usability and efficiency.

Compared to challengers such as Zoom, which seem more cost-effective, NICE CXone's suite of products is very modular, so as they provide new services, you have to add to your existing package and this balloons your costs since there's an additional license needed to use the new tools, leading to potentially higher out-of-pocket expenses.

Operations Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

The audio quality in NICE CXone has room for improvement, as I experience issues like diffused calls and crackling audio.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

There could be improvements in integration, which can be achieved with APIs or tools like Zapier.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Setup Cost

NICE CXone requires careful evaluation of tiered licensing costs and features, especially considering data transition challenges.

Zendesk pricing varies, perceived as high, but offers value and flexibility; negotiation advised for larger teams to optimize costs.

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Valuable Features

NICE CXone enhances business efficiency with customizable features, seamless integration, and real-time management tools, offering flexibility and control.

Zendesk offers user-friendly integration, robust features, and valuable tools, enhancing efficiency and streamlining customer support processes effectively.

The switch from using Avaya, which required connecting to a hard or soft phone, to using WebRTC via a web browser has significantly improved customer service efficiency.

Technology Specialist at Cognizant

Some of the best features with NICE CXone are the real-time visibility that you have, which empowers you to make adjustments on the fly, such as turning on and off your queues and adjusting how we route calls to our agents.

For more quotes and insights, download the NICE CXone report

Operations Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.

For more quotes and insights, download the Zendesk report

CEO at Etcetera Networks

The benefits I have seen from using Zendesk include faster response times.

Anita Orioma

Customer Success Manager at Mimshackworks Endeavors

Categories and Ranking

NICE CXone

Ranking in Knowledge Management Software

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Workforce Engagement Management (3rd), IVR Systems (1st), Live Chat (2nd), Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) (4th)

Zendesk

Ranking in Knowledge Management Software

5th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM Customer Engagement Centers (6th), CRM (17th), Help Desk Software (8th), IT Service Management (ITSM) (8th), Sales Force Automation (9th), Reporting (15th), Community Platforms (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Knowledge Management Software category, the mindshare of NICE CXone is 5.7%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zendesk is 12.1%, down from 17.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Knowledge Management Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Zendesk	12.1%
NICE CXone	5.7%
Other	82.2%

Knowledge Management Software

Featured Reviews

Real-time adjustments enhance call management, though pricing needs improvement

Operations Manager at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

The reporting isn't bad, but there are opportunities for improvement; we get real-time dashboards for monitoring, though for performance management, we have to procure certain reports manually by pulling down raw data from the system, which could be better. Regarding the pricing, this would be an area of opportunity as well; this feedback is based on where we're positioned in the Caribbean. Compared to challengers such as Zoom, which seem more cost-effective, NICE CXone's suite of products is very modular, so as they provide new services, you have to add to your existing package and this balloons your costs since there's an additional license needed to use the new tools, leading to potentially higher out-of-pocket expenses.

Read full review

Automating customer support with advanced AI capabilities and seamless communication

CEO at Etcetera Networks

Zendesk has been invaluable in automating communications such as email and phone calls. It allows us to handle more support cases with fewer people due to its advanced artificial intelligence capabilities. This intelligent tool can manage complex queries before users even realize they are interacting with a non-human. Additionally, we have integrated Zendesk with Datto and Klaviyo, enhancing our workflows.

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Knowledge Management Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

22%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Performing Arts

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with NICE CXone?

What is your primary use case for NICE CXone?

We're working in the finance space, banking, and our customers that we support are primarily banks and remittance services. We are a contact center providing services to other businesses, primarily...

What advice do you have for others considering NICE CXone?

I really can't add any value about how it's influenced our customer journey just yet because we're just in the process of implementing that and have no data at this stage. Overall, NICE CXone is no...

What do you like most about Zendesk Support?

I found the user experience with vendors on Zendesk to be straightforward, especially when it comes to understanding and searching for specific tickets. The search and navigation tools are easy to ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zendesk Support?

Zendesk's pricing is reasonable. It is not the cheapest solution nor the most expensive, but it provides value for money.

What needs improvement with Zendesk Support?

I'm going to piggyback on what I said regarding Freshdesk concerning what could be better in Zendesk: incorporate more AI. I know many CRM tools are already on the way to do that.

Genesys Cloud CX vs NICE CXone

Comparisons

Compared 14% of the time

Amazon Connect vs NICE CXone

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Webex Contact Center vs NICE CXone

Compared 10% of the time

Five9 vs NICE CXone

Compared 9% of the time

ServiceNow vs NICE CXone

Compared 5% of the time

More NICE CXone Competitors

ServiceNow vs Zendesk

Compared 14% of the time

JIRA Service Management vs Zendesk

Compared 6% of the time

BMC Helix ITSM vs Zendesk

Compared 5% of the time

Freshservice vs Zendesk

Compared 5% of the time

BoldDesk vs Zendesk

Compared 4% of the time

More Zendesk Competitors

Product Reports

Download NICE CXone product report

NICE CXone

August 2025

Download Zendesk product report

August 2025

Also Known As

NICE inContact, NICE CXone Workforce Optimization Pro, NICE CXOne WFO Pro, CXone Workforce Optimization, inContact Workforce Optimization, CallCopy, Discover, VPI Empower, Brand Embassy, goMoxie

Zendesk Support, Zendesk Guide, Zendesk Sell

Overview

NICE CXone offers comprehensive solutions for managing customer support across channels, ensuring consistent reporting with integrated dashboards and efficient call management. The platform supports scalability and integration, catering to organizations of all sizes with diverse communication needs.

NICE CXone enhances customer support by providing dynamic content structuring and robust HTML editing. With omnichannel integration, users experience consistent reporting across platforms. The intuitive dashboards allow customizable views, improving supervision and training efficiency. Call management benefits from efficient tagging and audio playback, while tools like inView aid real-time data monitoring and flexible system customization. Challenges include occasional system slowness, dashboard freezes, and the need for a more user-friendly interface. Reporting features could be simplified for easier custom report creation, and users suggest enhancing call quality. The implementation process might pose difficulties, with a demand for additional layout options and interface enhancements. Despite these issues, NICE CXone remains a favored choice for comprehensive customer support solutions.

What are the key features of NICE CXone?

Dynamic Content Structuring: Improves organization of customer data.
Omnichannel Integration: Provides consistent cross-platform reporting.
Customizable Dashboards: Allows personalized supervision views.
Efficient Call Management: Includes tagging and audio playback.
Real-Time Monitoring: Supported by tools like inView.

What benefits should users seek in reviews?

Scalability: Effective for organizations of all sizes.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with platforms like Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Supervision Efficiency: Enhances monitoring and task assignments.
Communication Improvement: Optimizes email and call handling.

NICE CXone is extensively utilized in industries focused on customer support and workforce management, especially within call centers. It optimizes quality management through call recordings and workforce efficiency by managing agent breaks and tasks. Its integration capability with Microsoft Dynamics 365 makes it a strategic tool for organizations aiming to streamline communication processes across multiple brands.

NICE

Zendesk Support is intuitive, and it's built with support agents in mind. Everything they need lives in a single, dynamic help desk interface so it's easy to be productive and manage customer interactions.

Sample Customers

MoneyGram, Honeywell, Radisson Hotel Group, AAA, New Balance, MattressFIRM, Teleflora, Best Buy

Mailchimp, Tesco, Vimeo, Instacart, Mediaocean, Slack, Uber