The best (and worst) pieces of business support software

Business software makes our working day a little easier - or that's the theory.

The reality depends largely upon what software you're using and whether or not you're aware of a better alternative.

Now you can separate the really bad from the really good, thanks to this latest piece of research from OnDeck. It lists the most and least stressful business support software based on the percentage of negative TrustRadius reviews.

It's time to find a better way of getting the job done. And this guide will show you the software that can make it happen.

The most stressful piece of business software

There's some really bad news for the team behind Malwarebytes. It's the most stressful piece of business software, according to the TrustRadius review ratio; more than 1 in 2 (58%) customer reviews were less than flattering about the IT management and security software designed to repel malware attacks.


Malwarebytes' biggest problem, according to reviews, is that it fails to do what it says on the tin, i.e., keep users safe from malware attacks. TrustRadius and other review sites are full of malware screenshots posted by people with Malwarebytes installed on their computers.

The top 10 pieces of bad business software


Malwarebytes has the dubious honor of being named the most stressful piece of business software. This is one 'industry award' that the marketing team at Malwarebytes WON'T be shouting about across the company's socials.

And to make matters worse, Malwarebytes won by the proverbial country mile. Its nearest rival, HR management tool Gusto, scored 43.9% compared to Malwarebytes' (rather shocking) ratio of nearly 60%.

Still, that could hardly be called a win for the guys at Gusto. A negative ratio of 43.9% means that almost half the companies paying customers are unhappy and dissatisfied and would never recommend this piece of software to a colleague. Hardly a winning growth formula.

Gusto bills itself as an easy-to-use HR interface. And, as far as basic HR functionality goes, Gusto seems to do an adequate job. Although there is a big emphasis on the adequate part. Because Gusto is really bad at everything else - or at least that's the general sentiment across TrustRadius and many other online review sites.

A quick scan of these review sites reveals a long list of common complaints about slow loading times and glitches. But the biggest complaints focus on Gusto's (lack of) customer service.

According to one TrustRadius reviewer, it took them over a month to reach a 'real' person after raising an issue regarding their Gusto subscription. It then took another two months to resolve the issue. Not exactly a 5-star service!

Some of the other companies that made an unwanted appearance in the list include finance and accounting software Paychex Flex, financial service provider Wave Accounting, and online payroll solutions firm Paycor.

Most stressful business software by category


Malwarebytes and Gusto are, rather unsurprisingly, the most stressful software apps in their respective categories. But we've bashed on them enough for now. So let's look at who came out on top in the other categories.

With a negative review ratio of 38%, writing assistant Grammarly is the most annoying project management and productivity tool.

If you're looking for a content and file manager, stay away from Dropbox. It has a higher percentage of negative reviews (22.1%) than any other software in its category.

Nearly a quarter of TrustRadius reviews of Pipedrive are negative, making it the worst piece of sales and customer care software. Ironically, many of the complaints stem from the poor service Pipedrive provides to its subscribers.

Google Meet was ranked the worst business communication software. And anyone who has used (or tried to use) the app won't be surprised by its inclusion. Google Meet is, to put it politely, absolutely rubbish.

Poor picture quality, broken links, and an inability to figure out how many people have entered the meeting are just some of Google Meet's many bugs and pain points.

The least stressful business software tool


We looked at the bad - and some of the very bad. Now let's switch gears and focus on the positive.

It's top marks for Sprout Social, an all-in-one social media management platform that helps companies optimize their online marketing strategies.

Sprout Social boasts about being a market software leader in usability, customer support, and customer satisfaction.

And it's not hot air. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

Less than 2% (1.8%) of Sprout Social TrustRadius reviews have anything bad to say about the company or its services. Instead, the review platform is full of glowing reviews and 5-star customer endorsements.

Customers love Sprout Social's functionality, speedy customer service response times, and pricing tiers.

Sprout Social is among the highest-rated firms on TrustRadius and the peer-to-peer software review site G2.

It also made the 2021 Capterra shortlist for best software company.

Sprout Social is the real deal.

More good stuff

A few more pieces of business software deserve a shout-out for keeping user stress levels to an absolute minimum.

Adobe Workfront, WordPress, Bamboo HR, and TeamSupport scored under 10%.

Adobe makes another appearance in the finance and accounting category. Its Acrobat Reader DC software, which manages portable document format files, has a negative review ratio of just 14.7%.

Other honorable mentions include SignNow (12.4%), Okta Identity Cloud (14.8%), and business communication app DialPad (12%), which is, obviously, loads better than Google Meet.

You work hard enough. Make things a little easier on yourself by ditching stress-inducing software apps for these more chill alternatives.

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