The most used customer support and documentation tools
We track 95 customer support and documentation tools. The most used is WhatsApp Business, found at 128,505 companies as of October 2026, ahead of Zendesk (40,129) and tawk.to (15,406).
Support covers everything a customer sees when they need help: help desks and live chat (Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk), AI support agents (Decagon, Sierra, Ada, Forethought), documentation platforms (Mintlify, GitBook, ReadMe), community forums (Discourse, Circle, Discord), feedback boards (Canny, Featurebase) and phone systems (Aircall).
Customer support and documentation tools ranked by companies using them
“Share” is each tool's part of all 260,377 matches in this category; a company that uses two tools counts for both.
| # | Tool | Companies | Share | Last 30 days | Most popular with |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 128,505 | 49% | +3−1 | Retail (1.4×) | |
| 2 | 40,129 | 15% | +9−3 | Software (2.6×) | |
| 3 | 15,406 | 5.9% | −1 | IT Services (1.5×) | |
| 4 | 11,967 | 4.6% | +57−2 | Software (2.2×) | |
| 5 | 7,973 | 3.1% | +2−3 | – | |
| 6 | 6,118 | 2.3% | +3 | Automotive (2.7×) | |
| 7 | 5,112 | 2.0% | – | Consumer Goods (1.8×) | |
| 8 | 3,790 | 1.5% | +1 | Apparel & Fashion (28×) | |
| 9 | 3,530 | 1.4% | +6 | Engineering, Product and Design (95×) | |
| 10 | 2,711 | 1.0% | +1 | Internet (4.2×) | |
| 11 | 2,663 | 1.0% | – | 1–10 employees (3.1×) | |
| 12 | 2,589 | 0.99% | +13 | Computer & Network Security (8.0×) | |
| 13 | 2,404 | 0.92% | – | Retail (1.8×) | |
| 14 | 2,258 | 0.87% | +16 | Computer & Network Security (8.3×) | |
| 15 | 1,980 | 0.76% | +2 | Software (6.0×) | |
| 16 | 1,557 | 0.60% | – | Software (4.2×) | |
| 17 | 1,470 | 0.56% | +1 | Wholesale (4.3×) | |
| 18 | 1,169 | 0.45% | – | Hospitality (2.3×) | |
| 19 | 1,145 | 0.44% | – | Software (6.2×) | |
| 20 | 1,086 | 0.42% | +59 | Government Administration (8.2×) | |
| 21 | 1,070 | 0.41% | – | Automotive (39×) | |
| 22 | 1,055 | 0.41% | −2 | Engineering, Product and Design (208×) | |
| 23 | 896 | 0.34% | +50 | 10,000+ employees (15×) | |
| 24 | 861 | 0.33% | +1−1 | 1–10 employees (2.8×) | |
| 25 | 844 | 0.32% | +20 | 201–1,000 employees (2.4×) | |
| 26 | 707 | 0.27% | – | Software (6.3×) | |
| 27 | 617 | 0.24% | +14 | Primary/secondary Education (8.0×) | |
| 28 | 596 | 0.23% | +3 | Banking (14×) | |
| 29 | 570 | 0.22% | – | Insurance (6.0×) | |
| 30 | 557 | 0.21% | – | IT Services (2.3×) | |
| 31 | 550 | 0.21% | – | Utilities (19×) | |
| 32 | 489 | 0.19% | – | Apparel & Fashion (16×) | |
| 33 | 485 | 0.19% | +1 | 1,001–5,000 employees (3.2×) | |
| 34 | 469 | 0.18% | +1 | E-learning (8.1×) | |
| 35 | 457 | 0.18% | +1 | 1,001–5,000 employees (5.7×) | |
| 36 | 380 | 0.15% | −2 | Software (2.2×) | |
| 37 | 338 | 0.13% | – | Retail (5.2×) | |
| 38 | 338 | 0.13% | +1 | Retail (5.0×) | |
| 39 | 300 | 0.12% | – | – | |
| 40 | 300 | 0.12% | – | Apparel & Fashion (26×) | |
| 41 | 271 | 0.10% | +8 | E-commerce (225×) | |
| 42 | 263 | 0.10% | – | 51–200 employees (1.5×) | |
| 43 | 242 | <0.1% | +1 | Software (8.3×) | |
| 44 | 239 | <0.1% | – | Non-profit Organization Management (20×) | |
| 45 | 233 | <0.1% | – | 201–1,000 employees (2.3×) | |
| 46 | 222 | <0.1% | +10 | Software (2.7×) | |
| 47 | 207 | <0.1% | +2 | Retail (5.9×) | |
| 48 | 195 | <0.1% | – | Software (6.5×) | |
| 49 | 165 | <0.1% | – | Software (5.4×) | |
| 50 | 153 | <0.1% | −1 | 1–10 employees (10×) | |
| 51 | 141 | <0.1% | – | Software (6.6×) | |
| 52 | 137 | <0.1% | +1 | Apparel & Fashion (42×) | |
| 53 | 134 | <0.1% | – | 201–1,000 employees (2.6×) | |
| 54 | 133 | <0.1% | – | Software (7.3×) | |
| 55 | 132 | <0.1% | – | 51–200 employees (1.6×) | |
| 56 | 132 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 57 | 131 | <0.1% | +1 | Software (5.7×) | |
| 58 | 128 | <0.1% | – | 1–10 employees (13×) | |
| 59 | 128 | <0.1% | +1 | – | |
| 60 | 128 | <0.1% | +1−1 | – | |
| 61 | 123 | <0.1% | +1 | Software (5.7×) | |
| 62 | 120 | <0.1% | – | 1,001–5,000 employees (12×) | |
| 63 | 113 | <0.1% | +1 | 1,001–5,000 employees (9.2×) | |
| 64 |  Carrot quest | 111 | <0.1% | – | 51–200 employees (1.6×) |
| 65 | 111 | <0.1% | – | Software (7.1×) | |
| 66 | 95 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 67 | 94 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 68 | 80 | <0.1% | +1 | Software (7.9×) | |
| 69 | 75 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 70 | 72 | <0.1% | +1 | Software (8.0×) | |
| 71 | 67 | <0.1% | +1 | – | |
| 72 | 58 | <0.1% | +14 | – | |
| 73 | 44 | <0.1% | +1 | – | |
| 74 | 44 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 75 | 36 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 76 | 34 | <0.1% | −1 | – | |
| 77 | 32 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 78 | 30 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 79 | 26 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 80 | 17 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 81 | 14 | <0.1% | +1 | – | |
| 82 | 7 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 83 | 6 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 84 | 4 | <0.1% | +1 | – | |
| 85 | 3 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 86 | 2 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 87 | 2 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 88 | 1 | <0.1% | – | – | |
| 89 | 1 | <0.1% | – | – |
“Most popular with” is the industry or company size where the tool is most over-represented compared with all companies we've scanned. Starts and stops compare two scans done the same way.
Who's gaining and losing customers
- TOPdesk: 59 started in the last 30 days
- Freshdesk: 57 started, 2 stopped in the last 30 days
- ServiceNow: 50 started in the last 30 days
- HappyFox: 20 started in the last 30 days
- ConnectWise: 16 started in the last 30 days
- SolarWinds Service Desk: 14 started in the last 30 days
How to compare customer support and documentation tools
- Channels you need: email, chat, phone, social and in-product messaging.
- AI: built-in assistants versus a dedicated AI agent on top of your help desk.
- Pricing per agent seat versus per resolution.
- Help center and docs on your own domain for search traffic.
How we find customer support and documentation tools
Support tools are visible through help and docs subdomains that point at the vendor (help.example.com → Zendesk), chat widgets on the website, email records for support mailboxes and domain-verification TXT records.
Every company on a tool's page links to the record behind the match. DNS is rechecked weekly and websites monthly, so tools a company stops using drop off the list.
Also tracked, no confirmed customers yet
Crescendo · Cresta · Parloa · PolyAI · Siena AI · Zowie
Support & Docs FAQ
What are the most popular customer support and documentation tools?
As of October 2026, the most popular customer support and documentation tools by number of companies using them are WhatsApp Business (128,505 companies), Zendesk (40,129 companies) and tawk.to (15,406 companies), according to runsonwhat. WhatsApp Business alone accounts for 49% of the 260,377 Support & Docs matches runsonwhat has, and the top three together for 71%. 89 customer support and documentation tools have at least one confirmed customer.
WhatsApp Business vs Zendesk: which is more popular?
WhatsApp Business is more popular: 128,505 companies show public evidence of WhatsApp Business, against 40,129 for Zendesk (3.2× as many), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). tawk.to is third with 15,406.
Which customer support and documentation tools do small businesses use most?
Among companies with up to 50 employees, the most used customer support and documentation tools are WhatsApp Business (66,674 companies), Zendesk (13,834 companies) and tawk.to (7,347 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). The counts cover companies with a known headcount; see each tool's page for the full size breakdown.
Which customer support and documentation tools do large companies use most?
Among companies with more than 1,000 employees, the most used customer support and documentation tools are WhatsApp Business (3,516 companies), Zendesk (2,162 companies) and Freshdesk (741 companies), according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Large companies often run more than one tool in a category, so the same company can count for several.
Which customer support and documentation tools are most popular in the United States?
In the United States, the most used customer support and documentation tools are Zendesk (12,432 companies), Freshdesk (3,686 companies) and WhatsApp Business (2,914 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). Zendesk has 28% of the Support & Docs matches among companies based in the United States.
Which customer support and documentation tools are most popular in Brazil?
In Brazil, the most used customer support and documentation tools are WhatsApp Business (26,832 companies), Zendesk (1,081 companies) and JivoChat (454 companies), based on companies runsonwhat has located there (October 2026). WhatsApp Business has 92% of the Support & Docs matches among companies based in Brazil.
Which customer support and documentation tools do IT services companies use?
IT services is the industry with the most Support & Docs matches, and its companies use WhatsApp Business (9,425 companies), Zendesk (2,851 companies) and tawk.to (2,015 companies) most, according to runsonwhat (October 2026). Each tool's page breaks its customers down by industry, so you can check where a tool over-indexes.
Which customer support and documentation tools are companies adopting right now?
In the 30 days to October 2026, the most new adoptions runsonwhat recorded were for TOPdesk (59 companies), Freshdesk (57 companies) and ServiceNow (50 companies). A start is counted when a recheck finds a tool that the previous check of the same company, done the same way, did not.
Which customer support and documentation tools are losing customers?
In the 30 days to October 2026, more companies stopped than started using Mintlify (2 stopped, 0 started), Front (2 stopped, 0 started) and Intercom (3 stopped, 2 started), according to runsonwhat's rechecks. Short-term moves are small next to each tool's total, so read them as signals rather than trends.
How does runsonwhat rank customer support and documentation tools?
runsonwhat counts the companies where a public record shows each tool in use and ranks by that count. Support tools are visible through help and docs subdomains that point at the vendor (help.example.com → Zendesk), chat widgets on the website, email records for support mailboxes and domain-verification TXT records. A company counts only when a direct record backs it up. The full method is at https://www.runsonwhat.com/methodology.