10 Best (Free and Paid) Support Ticketing Systems
All big and small companies these days are using support ticket systems to handle their customer problems in a fast, efficient, and organized manner. Hence, we’ve seen growth in ticketing systems with many advanced features.
In this post, we will list the top free and premium support ticket systems that will help you improve your customer support experience. We’ve listed features, pricing plans, and pros and cons for each tool that’ll help you make an informed decision. Let’s take a look.
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Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce’s Service Cloud allows you to offer an efficient and personalized customer experience. The customer agents can access all customer data through a unified dashboard. Plus, the managers can optimize the performance of their sales team through apps and AI-powered insights.
Some coolest features of Salesforce’s Service Cloud include a service console with keyboard shortcuts and templates, efficient case management with access to complete customer interaction data, service automation, analytics, and a vast knowledge base for agents.
Service Cloud’s price:
Essential plan starts at $25/user/month; Professional plan at $75/user/month; Enterprise plan at $150/user/month and Unlimited plan at $300/user/month. Salesforce Service Cloud does not have a free plan, but all plans come with a 30-day trial.
What we like:
- Add or remove features according to your requirements.
- Efficient sales team management and agent performance optimization.
- It’s easy to implement and scale as per your needs with minimal coding requirements.
What we don’t like
- The tool is expensive. You must pay for add-ons to make the best use of the platform.
- The interface is a bit cluttered, with somewhat complex navigation.
- It entirely relies on the Salesforce database, which gives you less control over CRM upgrades.
Check out Salesforce Service Cloud
Zendesk
Zendesk is a top-of-the-market software suite designed to suit the needs of the customer, agent, and manager. Its easy-to-use interface allows customers to submit their tickets via various channels (like website, email, phone, Facebook, etc.). Agents can get customer profiles and threaded group conversations, and managers can get relevant analytics and reports.
It is available on both Android and iOS.
Zendesk’s price:
Zendesk starts at $49/month. Try a demo.
What we like:
- Many options for customer engagement.
- Supports many file formats you can upload in the tool.
- Community theme selection and Global UI change feature.
What we don’t like
- Not much flexibility in structural changes.
- Ticketing lacks a sorting feature.
- No 2-way sync for integrations.
SysAid Helpdesk Software
SysAid is a versatile help desk software that enables customer care and IT staff to deal with customer issues efficiently. Instead of having to post tickets, the tool sorts, routes manually, and sends tickets to the relevant desks and prioritizes them automatically.
Additionally, there are options for your help desk employees to resolve many customers’ issues through the self-service portal. Plus, they can remotely access user machines and manage IT assets through the service desk.
SysAid’s price:
SysAid Helpdesk Software offers a free-trial. Basic or Full Edition ranging from $1211 with 500 assets and 5 users/ year, or $1611 for 1000 assets/year.
What we like:
- Easy setup and codeless configuration.
- Efficient automation to sort and send the tickets to the right help desk.
- On-premise delivery mode that allows employees to respond to customer requests faster.
- Remote access to user machines to resolve issues quickly.
What we don’t like
- The options in the free version are limited. For more advanced features, you have to subscribe to a paid version.
- Though configuration is easy, but too many options overwhelm users.
- Software license management is a bit tricky
Click here to read our review on SysAid.
Check out SysAid Helpdesk Software
Freshdesk
Freshdesk is one of the best support ticketing software. You can even get it free for life for three support staff under the free plan. It is no less than Zendesk in terms of features and simplicity, it is also fairly easy to use and easy to manage.
Freshdesk enables your customers to submit complaint tickets effortlessly and provides your support staff with the right tools to manage those complaints easily.
Freshdesk’s price:
Freshdesk is free to use, with plans varies from $15/month to $79/month.
What we like:
- Modern and feature-rich interface.
- Available across different platforms
- Workflow automation and multiple integrations
What we don’t like
- No SMS integration.
- Free plan is available but doesn’t include many advanced features.
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk offers a multi-channel customer service tool that allows you to respond and follow up with your customers. The tool makes use of AI technology to triage support tickets proactively and you can add workflow automation to manage repetitive tasks.
Moreover, you can manage customer queries through email, social media, chat, phone, and website.
You can also connect your account with third-party tools through REST APIs.
Zoho Desk’s price:
Zoho Desk is free (3 agents, with limited functionalities). Plans start at $14/month.
What we like:
- Integration with any website through a simple widget.
- Track your tickets and agents right through the intuitive dashboard.
- Communicate with your customers across different platforms.
What we don’t like
- Not easily scalable in the face of increased demand.
- No desktop app.
- Requires a lot of customization to get started.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
An intuitive IT and customer management tool, Manage Engine comes with many advanced features. You can avail of its multi-channel support that works on almost all platforms, manage accounts and contacts of your customers, deploy a self-service portal for customers, and get all kinds of information right on the help desk.
For getting information on pricing, you can enter your particulars and requirements and get a personalized quotation. But you can test the service through a limited free trial before subscription.
ServiceDesk Plus’s price:
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus has a free trial, after which you can ask for a pricing quote.
What we like:
- Ticket logging for end users so they can see the progress of their query.
- Incident, problem, and change management.
- Automate responses and keep a history of requests.
What we don’t like:
- Set up can be a bit confusing as there’s not enough documentation
- Lags a bit when it comes to updates.
Check out ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
Deskpro
Deskpro is the all-in-one helpdesk software that provides exceptional support experiences for your customers or internal users, with the freedom to host your helpdesk in the Cloud or On-Premise.
Never lose track of tickets with Deskpro’s workflow-driven automation and prioritization tools. Deskpro’s full-featured ticketing support software simplifies communication with your customers and/or internal teams by creating efficient and effective solutions for routing and automating your everyday communication processes. With Deskpro, you can connect through multiple channels and manage all support interactions in one intuitive interface whether it’s for one brand or multiple.
Deskpro’s price:
Deskpro starts at $29 per agent/month.
What we like:
- Highly customizable and diverse to fit any organization’s specific needs
- Manage multiple brands and departments from the same interface
- Offers intelligent automation tools
- Offers 24/7 self-service support through Help Center
- Real-time reporting with customizable reports for valuable insights
What we don’t like:
- No free version available, but offers a 14-day free trial.
- Endless customization capabilities can be overwhelming for some users.
Check out Deskpro Take a Product Tour
Hesk
Hesk is a free help desk software that you can use to provide customer support or as an IT help desk.
The features include submitting support tickets via a web form or email integration (including OAuth for Microsoft 365), organizing tickets by category and urgency, auto-assigning them to users, response templates, customization, and reporting.
Hesk comes with a fully-integrated knowledge base that can provide self-help guides to users either by searching it or automatically recommending relevant articles when submitting a ticket.
Hesk’s price:
The self-hosted version of Hesk is free. The cloud-based version starts at $29.99 per month for 10 support agents.
What we like:
- Easy to set up, customize, and work with.
- Integrated knowledgebase (can be turned on/off or used standalone).
- Translated into over 30 languages.
What we don’t like
- No direct SMS integration.
- No asset management.
Tidio Ticketing System
Tidio is an all-around customer communication tool that includes a live chat, chatbots, email marketing templates, and its own ticketing system. It allows the management of all support requests in one place in an organized and efficient manner.
With Tidio, you can set priorities, assign tasks, and follow up on older conversations without connecting any third-party tools. This will make the process easier and more pleasant both for support agents and your clients.
Tidio’s price:
Tidio ticketing is available for free. Paid plans with additional features start from $17 monthly.
What we like:
- Easy setup without any coding required.
- Simple organization and customization of your support conversations.
- Efficient management of requests.
- Teamwork-optimized tool.
- Free plan available.
What we don’t like
- Free plan features are limited. You must sign up for a paid plan to access the more advanced options.
- The number of features and customization options might seem overwhelming for a new user.
osTicket
osTicket is the most popular open source ticket system and it comes in 2 versions: downloadable and hosted. The downloadable version is free and has to be hosted on your own server. The hosted version, branded as SupportSystem, is a paid ticketing service with the reliability and security of managed cloud hosting.
osTicket’s price:
osTicket is free.
What we like:
- Simple to set up.
- Comprehensive documentation.
- Merging duplicate tickets and reminders for stale tickets.
What we don’t like
- Not available on mobile app.
- Ticket analytics are somewhat basic.
Check out osTicket osTicket Live Demo
Spiceworks
Spiceworks is a free software suite for IT professionals and companies. It offers many tools to simplify IT work such as network manager, help desk software, questions and answers, etc. Its help desk software is equipped with features such as tickets submission via the web portal or email, tickets organization, automating ticketing job, knowledgebase, etc.
Spiceworks’s price:
Spiceworks is free.
What we like:
- Create tickets from multiple sources.
- Comprehensive documentation and knowledge base.
- Offers a seamless workflow and great customization.
What we don’t like
- The desktop app lacks many of the core functionalities.
- Third-party app integrations are not very seamless.
- Notifications need improvement.
Request Tracker
Request Tracker by BestPractical.com is a free (if it is self-host) and open source issue tracking system. It is full of features like a dashboard, relationship graphs, mobile-optimized interface, time-tracking and reporting, PGP support for emails, branding and custom theming, knowledgebase, etc.
Request Tracker’s price:
Request Tracker starts at $125/month.
What we like:
- Web-based tool can be accessed anywhere.
- Can be used by big and small businesses alike.
- Customer support offers different support plans.
What we don’t like
- No mobile app available.
- Customer support is only available for paid plans.
Vision Helpdesk
Vision Helpdesk is a multi-channel web-based helpdesk software. With unique features like a Satellite helpdesk, Ticket billing, and Blabby, it stands out of the crowd. It even links separate helpdesks to a central helpdesk. Its features can be extended using modules and app integrations, and it is available for mobile, too.
Vision Helpdesk’s price:
Vision Helpdesk has a free 30-days trial, plan starts at $12/month.
What we like:
- Multi-layered customization options.
- Emails are organized and professionally structured.
- Quite affordable for every kind of business.
What we don’t like
- Third-party integrations are not efficiently incorporated.
- Very few out-of-the-box configurations; you have to do most of the setup yourself.
HelpSpot
HelpSpot is a comprehensive, web-based help desk software. It has plenty of great features like centralized help desk portal, ticket management, filtering, automation, mobile-optimized interface, customer management, time tracking, benchmarking and performance reporting, multi-brand support, etc.
HelpSpot’s price:
HelpSpot has a free 21-days trial, plan starts at $14/agent/month.
What we like:
- Easy reporting through custom categories and sub-categories.
- Efficient workflow automation through multiple rules.
- Organize customer conversations and quickly retrieve ticket history.
What we don’t like
- UI is a bit outdated and somewhat buggy.
- The mobile app is a bit cumbersome to use.
JitBit Helpdesk
JitBit Helpdesk comes in two variants: Web Based Help Desk and SaaS Help Desk. The former can be can be downloaded (upon purchase) and hosted on your server, while the latter is hosted remotely in JitBit’s cloud and can be accessed through the Web. It offers features like a knowledgebase, reporting, asset-tracking, customizable interface, allows unlimited agents, email integration, etc.
JitBit Helpdesk’s price:
JitBit Helpdesk’s plan starts at $1699/year.
What we like:
- Effcient filtering for email notifications.
- Clean and uncluttered interface.
- Detailed analytics and metric tracking.
What we don’t like
- Quite expensive, without any free version.
- Automation for the integrations is missing.
Check out JitBit Helpdesk JitBit Live Demo
Kayako
Kayako provides unified help desk support and multiple channels to more than 30,000 organizations. Some of its features include tickets through the helpdesk or email, routing and prioritizing tickets, reports, feedback, and ratings, etc.
Kayako’s price:
Kayako’s plan starts at $30/month.
What we like:
- User-friendly interface with intuitive UI.
- An impressive ticketing system.
- Visibility and SLA management.
What we don’t like
- Difficult to generate reporting.
- Customer support could be more efficient.
- Pretty expensive for a small/medium business.
Check out Kayako Kayako Live Demo
Bonus: Ticket Systems for CMS
Support Genix (WordPress)
If your goal is to improve customer support straight from your WordPress dashboard, look no further than Support Genix. With a robust WordPress ticketing system plugin, you can quickly generate and manage support tickets. The transfer feature allows you to move issues between departments or teams easily whenever needed.
If you have a business with an ever-growing customer base, the Genix Support ticket plugin is perfect for handling all of your customer’s inquiries. Thus, this amazing WordPress Support Ticket Plugin can easily manage everything from one place.
Support Genix offers both a free and a pro version, with the pro version offering additional features and support. The most affordable Personal package comes in at just $29/year, which includes unlimited tickets as well as business email piping. Alternatively, you can make a one-time payment of $59 and get access to similar features with lifetime updates and support.
WordPress Advanced Ticket System (WordPress)
This ticket system is loaded with features and has two versions. The free version has basic ticketing features, while the premium version gives you more features to handle customer tickets more easily and efficiently. Features can be extended using plugins.
Support Ticketing System (Drupal)
Here’s a ticketing system for Drupal. It does not offer many features, only elementary ticketing features like creating tickets, assigning tickets to users, email integration and notifications, ticket overviews, and ticketing activity charts.
RSTickets! Pro (Joomla!)
This is a premium help desk ticketing system for Joomla. It includes features like ticket creation and management, automatic ticket assignment, performance management, an integrated knowledge base, customized email messages, and a dashboard for quick access to all areas of customer support.