Help desk software for schools turns every teacher email and broken Chromebook into a ticket with an owner, a status, and a device record. For a small team, choose on two things: how devices get in, and how the tool is priced. Our default pick is SherpaDesk.
- Prices checked Oct 29, 2026
- How We Chose
- 8 tools · 17 vendor pages · 4 school IT threads
A helpdesk and PSA (professional services automation) a small IT team can run alone. No implementation project. No dedicated admin.
| If you… | Pick | Price model |
|---|---|---|
| Run IT for one school or a small district with one to three people | SherpaDesk | Priced by student enrollment; quote from sales |
| Want one K-12 vendor for IT, facilities, and HR | Incident IQ | Quote, aligned to student enrollment |
| Need a published per-agent price for the purchase order | Mojo Helpdesk | $24 per agent per month (Business); schools get 25% off yearly |
| Have no budget line this year | Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk or Jira Service Management Free | $0 for 1–5 seats; $0 for 3 agents |
Prices as of October 2026.
How We Chose
Our criteria
- Sized for one to three people. We weighed what each vendor says about setup and onboarding.
- Email to tickets. Teachers keep emailing; the request still needs a number, an owner, and a status.
- Knows the device. We checked how Chromebooks reach the ticket: synced from Google Admin, imported, or typed in.
- Documents, not demos. Prices and features come from each vendor's own pages; we did not run trials.
We publish this guide, and SherpaDesk is one of the 8 tools. It uses the same template and lists its limits.
Why Schools Move Off Email And Google Forms
A shared inbox or a Google Form works until the queue outgrows one person's memory.
A member of r/k12sysadmin with 3,800 students to support described the breaking point. "We had been using google forms and sheets for years and at this point we service over 5,000 tickets a year, so it just wasn't sustainable". The sole IT person at a private school of about 200 students uses one support address: "I treat the inbox as my to do list".
Devices are the other half. A member at a small school wrote: "An official help desk/ticketing system + an asset management system is a must."
In CoSN's 2026 survey of 607 districts, 34% lack the staff for adequate app support and network administration.
Help Desk Software For Schools Compared
The matrix covers device sync, loaners, facilities, and price. For IT helpdesks outside education, see our IT helpdesk software comparison.
| Tool | Published price | Chromebooks from Google Admin | Loaners | Facilities requests | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SherpaDesk Ours | Priced by student enrollment; quote from sales | Yes, Google Device Manager sync on High Camp | Yes, Loaner and Daily Loaner statuses | Yes, facility work orders | Ask sales |
| Incident IQ | Not published; aligned to student enrollment | Yes, with lock, restart, and wipe | Yes, availability and due dates | Yes, separate module | Not published; demo |
| Vizor | Not published; price by form | Yes, plus Intune and MDM data | Yes, powerwash on return | Yes, Essentials edition | Not published; demo |
| Frontline Help Desk | Not published; demo | Through Asset Management | Not stated | Not stated | Not published |
| FMX | Not published; public K-12 by enrollment | Yes | Yes, check-out | Yes | 14 days, no card |
| Mojo Helpdesk | $14–$34 per agent per month, billed monthly; schools 25% off yearly Business and Enterprise | Not stated | With the Mojo Asset add-on | Yes, IT and facilities in one system | 21 days, no card |
| Jira Service Management | Free for 3 agents; Service Collection Standard $26.90 per agent per month (up to 15 agents) or $800 a year (1–3 agents); 50% off for schools | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | 14 days, no payment details |
| Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk | Free for 1–5 seats; Premium $6 per seat per month, billed annually | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Free tier |
Prices in USD as of October 2026.
A team of 3 technicians pays $0 on Spiceworks Core or Jira Service Management Free. On Mojo Business alone it pays $72 a month, or $54 a month billed yearly with the school discount. Device tracking requires the Mojo Asset add-on, whose pricing and plan inclusion aren't published. On Service Collection Standard it pays $80.70 a month, or $800 a year, which the academic discount halves to $400. SherpaDesk and Incident IQ quote by student enrollment, as FMX does for public K-12; Vizor and Frontline also quote.
K-12 Helpdesks
Built for schools; none publishes a price figure.
SherpaDesk
Best for one school or a small district run by one to three IT staff
Priced by student enrollment · ask sales for a quote for your district
- Google Device Manager sync for Chromebooks on High Camp
- Loaner and Daily Loaner statuses
- Several support addresses, each routed to a technician or group
- A helpdesk, not device management: lock and wipe stay in your console
- Cloud only
Education is one of the two industries SherpaDesk names, and its first product, bigWebDesk, was a helpdesk focused on K-12 and IT support teams. Staff log in to the portal to check and update their tickets, and sign-up can be limited to your district's email domains. An Asset Auditor can verify the devices at a building and mark the missing ones.
Recommendation
Choose SherpaDesk if a small team needs teacher requests and Chromebooks in one queue it can run alone. Consider another option if you want IT, facilities, and HR modules from one K-12 vendor.
Incident IQ
Best for districts buying several K-12 modules from one vendor
Quote only · aligned to student enrollment, no added cost for users, requests, or assets
- Onboarding, configuration, and training included
- Agreements typically annual, multi-year options
- Some partner integrations cost extra
- Trial not published
Incident IQ sells ticketing, assets, facilities, events, resources, and HR as modules, priced on "student enrollment and product needs". Its Google Devices integration syncs with the Google Admin Console and lets agents lock, restart, and remotely wipe devices.
Recommendation
Choose Incident IQ if your district wants several departments on one K-12 vendor under an annual agreement. Consider another option if you need month-to-month terms; its agreements are typically annual.
Vizor
Best for Chromebook-heavy schools that charge repair fees
Quote only · a "Get Price" form asks for your technicians and devices
- Free setup, support, and training on all editions
- Unlimited helpdesk agents on Essentials
- Cloud or on-premise
- Currency, unit, term, and trial not published
Vizor brings device data from Google Admin Console, Intune, and MDM tools into the ticket. It can powerwash returned loaners, disable lost devices, and set repair fees "taking into account insurance status".
Recommendation
Choose Vizor if repair charges and device insurance drive your 1:1 workload. Consider another option if you need a price before you talk to sales.
Frontline Help Desk
Best for districts already on Frontline Asset Management
Quote only · part of Frontline Inventory & Help Desk Management
- Repair parts inventory with usage tracking
- User portal shows each person's assigned assets
- Price and trial not published
Frontline Help Desk "integrates with Asset Management," showing who each device is issued to. For Google-managed Chromebooks, district rules can keep the OU placement in line with assignments.
Recommendation
Choose Frontline Help Desk if your district already runs Frontline for assets. Consider another option if you're buying a helpdesk on its own.
FMX
Best for facilities-led teams that also take IT tickets
Quote only · public K-12 priced by student enrollment, with as many users as needed
- One-time implementation fee
- Contracts renewed annually
- 14-day trial, no card
- Requesters aren't billable users
FMX puts facilities, IT, and events in one system. Its Google Admin Console sync shows the district's devices and users "alongside ticketing logs," and students and staff can check out Chromebooks and loaners. Monthly payment requires auto pay and may carry a monthly fee.
Recommendation
Choose FMX if maintenance and event requests outnumber IT tickets. Consider another option if IT owns the purchase and facilities already has its own system.
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More Helpdesks Schools Use
Each publishes a price, plus a school discount or a free tier.
Mojo Helpdesk
Best for schools that need a published per-agent price for the purchase order
$24 per agent per month (Business), billed monthly · Team $14 · Enterprise $34 · 10% off yearly
- Schools: 25% off yearly Business and Enterprise
- 21-day trial, no card
- Asset tracking requires the Mojo Asset add-on; its pricing and plan inclusion aren't published
- Team of 3: $54 a month on Business alone, billed yearly with the school discount · SherpaDesk by enrollment
Mojo markets to K-12 and higher education, with IT, facilities, and student support requests in one system. Sign-in works through Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or ClassLink. Escalation rules, round-robin assignment, and advanced SLA monitoring start on Business.
Recommendation
Choose Mojo Helpdesk if your business office needs a list price and a written discount. Consider another option if Chromebooks must sync from Google Admin; Mojo's pages don't state it.
Jira Service Management
Best for districts that already run Atlassian tools
$0 for 3 agents · Service Collection Standard $26.90 per agent per month for up to 15 agents, or $800 a year for 1–3 agents · 50% off for schools
- Academic discount covers primary and secondary schools
- 14-day trial, no payment details
- Asset and configuration management on Standard
- Free plan: Community support only
Atlassian's academic license gives "50% off list price"; primary and secondary schools and district offices apply with a request form. On the pricing page, set your team size before reading a price.
Recommendation
Choose Jira Service Management if your district's other teams already work in Jira. Consider another option if nobody on staff wants to configure workflows.
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
Best for a first ticket queue with no budget
$0 for 1–5 tech and admin seats (Core) · Premium $6 per seat per month, billed annually
- Unlimited end users and an end user portal
- Ad-free use requires a paid plan
- Tax-exempt organizations can pay by invoice
- No school-specific features published
Spiceworks calls Core "our free and supported option" and hosts it, backups included. One r/k12sysadmin member on why it's enough: "at $0, It has everything I need for ticketing. Categories, Assignments, and email to ticket".
Recommendation
Choose Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk if you need tickets this month and have no budget line yet. Consider another option if you need device records on the ticket.
What To Look For In Help Desk Software For Education
For how to run support day to day, see our guide to IT support for schools. For the purchase, these outcomes differ, and vendors document them unevenly.
| Outcome | Ask the vendor | Documented on the pages we read |
|---|---|---|
| A student creates a request | Can students file their own tickets, or do teachers file for them? | Student portal: Vizor, Frontline. Technician files for the user: Frontline. SherpaDesk: an email from an unknown sender can create the user and the ticket, limited to your email domains; student roles not documented |
| A request reaches the right building | Can tickets route by building or site without a dispatcher? | Rules by location: Incident IQ. By department or campus: Mojo. SherpaDesk: one support address per technician or group, rules by issue type or user organization; routing by location not documented |
| Staff see only their site's tickets | Can access follow school site, and do users come from your SIS? | Permissions by school site, role, or grade level: Incident IQ. SIS: Incident IQ, Vizor, Frontline, Mojo. SherpaDesk: technicians can be limited to their queues; users import by Google OU or Office 365 group; no SIS documented |
| Devices come back in June | How fast can you check in a cart of returns? | Batch scanning for collections: Incident IQ. Barcode returns: FMX. SherpaDesk: batch check-in not documented |
| The count matches the record | How do you find what's missing? | Barcode and RFID audits: Frontline. SherpaDesk: an Asset Auditor verifies a location and marks devices missing |
| Devices go back out in August | Can you re-issue in bulk with a record per student? | Barcode bulk deploy: FMX, Incident IQ. Mass allocation: Vizor. SherpaDesk: check out with a bar-code scanner and generate a receipt; bulk re-issue not documented |
| Onboarding is covered | What's included, and what costs extra? | Included: Incident IQ, Vizor. One-time implementation fee: FMX. SherpaDesk: weekly live onboarding webinars; one-on-one setup time and personal training are paid extras; AD/LDAP setup carries an implementation fee, amount not published |
How To Choose
-
Count Your Queue
List technicians, buildings, devices, and last year's requests by month.
-
Decide What The Helpdesk Owns
IT tickets and devices only, or facilities and HR too. Incident IQ sells those as modules, and Vizor Essentials and FMX cover facilities, so price only what your teams will use.
Common mistake: buying facilities modules when facilities already has a work order system.
-
Put Every Quote On One Scale
A member at a smaller school of 1,300 students saw Incident IQ's quote after a demo: "Well, there's my budget!" Divide each annual price by your enrollment.
-
Trial With Your Own Requests
Ask each vendor these questions, then test on two weeks of real requests.
Cost per student of a quote
annual price ÷ students enrolled. Your numbers stay in the browser.
Example: $4,800 a year for 1,200 students is $4 per student. Mojo Business for 3 agents, billed yearly with the school discount, is $648 a year for Business alone, or $0.54 per student.
How this works in SherpaDesk
A Ticket That Knows The Chromebook
You get a helpdesk and PSA a small IT team can run alone. A teacher emails the support address you forward to SherpaDesk, and the email becomes a ticket. On High Camp, the Chromebook is already in Asset Manager, synced from Google Device Manager with its serial number, so you link it to the ticket.
The device record carries its work history, location, and log history. Check the spare out to the user, mark its status Loaner or Daily Loaner, and generate an assignment receipt.
For K-12 schools and districts, pricing is based on student enrollment. Ask our sales team at sales@sherpadesk.com for a quote for your district.
Who this isn't for
Student information systems, learning management, and device management (MDM) are separate purchases. If you must host the helpdesk on your own servers, look at Vizor, which offers on-premise; SherpaDesk runs only in the cloud. If your contract needs a SOC 2 report from the vendor, SherpaDesk documents none.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is help desk software for schools?
It's the ticket system a school or district IT team works from. Every request from staff or students gets a number, an owner, a status, and a history. School-focused tools add the device record: Chromebooks synced from Google Admin, loaners, and repairs.
How much does help desk software for schools cost?
Mojo Helpdesk Business alone is $24 per agent per month, 25% off yearly for schools. Service Collection Standard is $800 a year for 1–3 agents, half that for schools. Incident IQ and SherpaDesk quote schools by student enrollment, as FMX does for public K-12. Divide any annual price by enrollment to compare.
Is there free help desk software for schools?
Yes, with a seat cap. Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk Core is free for 1–5 tech and admin seats, and ad-free use requires a paid plan. Jira Service Management Free covers 3 agents with Community support. Neither publishes a Chromebook sync. Our free ticketing systems guide compares more free plans.
Do we need a separate asset tool for Chromebooks?
Maybe not, if your helpdesk covers the device work you run: issuing devices to students, returns, loaners, repairs, and audits. Google Admin holds each Chromebook's serial number, asset ID, and location, which a sync can bring into the helpdesk. SherpaDesk (High Camp), Incident IQ, Vizor, and FMX list that sync. Device actions differ: Incident IQ can lock, restart, and wipe; Vizor powerwashes loaners and disables lost devices; SherpaDesk syncs the records, and lock or wipe stays in your console.
Is a school helpdesk FERPA compliant?
Not on a vendor's word alone. Incident IQ's "built to align with FERPA" describes the product, not your school's use of it. FERPA gives parents rights over education records, passing to the student at 18 or on entering a postsecondary institution. Get the vendor's data handling in a signed agreement, such as the National Data Privacy Agreement used across 13,000+ districts. A signed DPA alone does not establish FERPA compliance. SherpaDesk documents no compliance certification.
Patrick co-founded SherpaDesk and has led it as CEO since 2013. He has worked with IT service providers since 1998, first on network projects for schools and government offices, then on the helpdesk software their technicians use every day.