The 17 Best IT Ticketing Software for 2026
Our experts have tested over 50 different ticketing systems; here are our favorites.








The best help desk ticketing system helps IT teams manage, track, and resolve employee or customer support requests by turning each issue into a “ticket” that can be prioritized, assigned, and resolved efficiently. As your business grows and more customers come on board, such a system becomes essential.
We’ve tested and compared over 50 ticketing systems to see which ones truly deliver. Each was evaluated on core features, pricing, and its ability to help IT teams resolve issues efficiently. Above all, we were looking for the platforms that make IT support easy, scalable, and stress-free.
To choose the best IT support software, we’ve attended demos with several vendors, interviewed industry experts, listened to what end users had to say, and leveraged the experience of our in-house team. As for the features and capabilities of helpdesk ticketing, we think the key ones to look out for are automation, knowledge base, reporting and analytics, and mobile accessibility:
- Automation: Efficiency is vital in managing support requests, and automation is how you can achieve it. We’ve selected helpdesk ticketing systems that support automated ticket routing, categorization, and canned responses, all of which boost the productivity of your support agents and ultimately lead to faster resolution and improved customer satisfaction.
- Knowledge base: Do you want customers to find solutions to common issues on their own? We’ve made sure the picked ticketing software tools are equipped with robust knowledge bases, promoting customer self-service and reducing the number of support tickets your agent would otherwise have to resolve.
- Reporting and analytics: The best ticketing system software gives you real-time data on several metrics, including response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction, so you can pinpoint problems early on and solve them in time.
- Mobile accessibility: This isn't exactly a dealbreaker, but we were on the lookout for mobile-optimized IT ticketing systems, or better yet, ones with dedicated mobile apps, as these enable your support agents to stay connected, respond to customers on time, and reach resolution faster.
For an in-depth understanding of our selection process and guiding principles, check out our editorial guidelines.
Zendesk
Zendesk is arguably the most well-known customer support software available today. Among its features are integrated surveys to measure customer satisfaction and analytics dashboards to monitor your team’s performance.
PROS
CONS

Zendesk is a cloud-based customer support solution that allows you to receive, prioritize, and handle customer support requests from different channels including email, chat, and social media, all in one centralized and shared location.
With the help of triggers, you’re able to automatically assign and escalate tickets to specific groups, send automated responses and follow-ups, notify customers and agents of certain updates and tag certain tickets for easy reporting and information retrieval. Among Zendesk’s features are also integrated surveys to measure customer satisfaction and analytics dashboards to monitor your team’s performance.
Mailchimp, Uber, Khan Academy
Zendesk offers three paid plans: Team, Professional, and Enterprise. These plans cater to different business sizes and range from $19 to $115 per agent per month, billed annually.
To find out which plan suits your business, visit Zendesk's pricing page. You can sign up for a free 14-day trial or contact Zendesk's team for a demo.
Best For
I use Zendesk as a help desk at work where clients can send us messages, complaints, and feedback and we respond to them while we troubleshoot the issues they face with our products. The software is our center of communication with clients all the time.

I like the Macros, because they help me a lot in resolving tickets faster than usual especially when more clients frequently ask the same question or report the same incident, secondly I love the user interface of the software, it is easy to adapt to and to work with it on every device size
Zendesk is a powerful tool when it comes to solving clients' issues through different channels like Live chat, Zendesk Talk, and emails, we opted to purchase the software to create a way we can collaborate with clients without losing data and across different platforms like Whatsapp, Messenger, Twitter and on live chat widget. Implementing the tool has enabled us to achieve more. It has helped us to be more productive and supportive of clients by responding to their questions on time. I have used the solution for 3 three years and has helped me grow customer relationship skills.
The support portal takes a lot of time to load data especially when you are connected to a poor internet connection, the support team at times takes a longer time to respond to technical questions and incident reporting hence affecting my work.
They have enough documentation and video guides to help you get started using the solution, the tool has more features in one place which prevents Interswitch and multiple logins to different software to perform the same task, like you can use the Zendesk support, and Zendesk Talk in one dashboard and hence saving more time.
They should think of the pricing of the tool, the best plan I would recommend is $49/month per agent. However, smaller businesses with a bigger size of operators may not get good ROI from this tool, therefore pricing should be more considered before buying the software.
They have introduced AI which can help support operators in crafting good guides, posts, and responses hence saving more time.
Support operators
Sales teams

Freshservice

Like most products within the Freshworks Inc. family, Freshservice is a robust, comprehensive, and easy-to-use product with a very intuitive interface.
PROS
CONS

Freshservice is a cloud-based IT service management (ITSM) solution with a modern and user-friendly interface. Made specifically with enterprises in mind, Freshservice is ideal for companies looking for an ITIL-compliant solution with features for change management, incident management, release management, and much more.
NHS, M&C Saatchi, TeamViewer, Honda, Judson University
Freshservice offers four pricing tiers: Starter at $19 per agent per month, Growth at $49 per agent per month, and Pro at $99 per agent per month, along with an Enterprise plan with custom pricing.
Best For
Freshservice can be used by companies of all sizes due to their tiered pricing but it is mainly geared towards enterprises. Small and medium-sized companies with less complex needs are recommended to use Freshdesk, Freshworks’ help desk solution.
We use Freshservice to request services from IT support personnel. I am in recruiting, and when I hire someone I also launch a new ticket which goes to both my onboarding team and the IT team, asking them to do their respective parts to get the employee started. This is a way to keep us all informed and on time with regards to critical requests like these.

It keeps us organized, accountable on timelines, records every submission or edit, which helps us continue to look at our operational processes and make sure they work for everyone involved. When they don't, we're able to use the data of our own activity to make changes and pivot.
We were using Slack messages as a ticketing system for IT requests, and to plan for new employees that would be onboarded. We were also only using email tickets (we would email IT@shift.com, for example, to request personal help with IT related issues). Communication requests/tickets would get lost chronically and we all had enough. Since we started using Freshservice last year, it allowed us to request service (from IT or Onboarding) and even report issues for our own IT needs.
There are other solutions out there that do a better job at organizing tickets, Jira for example.
Freshservice has been good in helping us stay more organized, respond in a way that gives many people simultaneous visibility. That said, Jira is more comprehensive; it has a knowledge base, ticketing, and project planning tools. It's literally everything we need and it turned out to be cheaper than the multiple other systems we have so as a company, we're talking about phasing out Freshservice.
Cost, labor to get it up and running and then continuously running correctly - that takes time! Also, people should think about who they want to have visibility and actions in Freshservice for various scenarios. FS is really good at that.
I would say small startup type companies like ours was/is where the environment is very scrappy and everyone likes to have insight and visibility so we can continue to discuss operational efficiencies.
Very large, non-technical companies.

Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a scalable solution for companies of any size. It packs strong features, including one for gamification to encourage agents to improve their output.
PROS
- Freshdesk enables your customer service team to offer proactive support across multiple channels, including Facebook, Twitter, email, and website, to engage your customers.
- Freshdesk is incredibly user-friendly. Your agents don’t need any specialized coding or technical knowledge to use it. Plus, it offers diverse templates with formatting components to simplify ticketing.
- Freshdesk's free plan is comprehensive, offering you all the features you would need as a small business and then some.
- With Freshdesk, your team can collaborate with each other and resolve issues faster.
- The platform comes with a mobile app that enables agents to provide support on the go. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices.
- In addition to a generous free plan, Freshdesk's paid plans provide great value for money. It gives you several advanced features like gamification at affordable rates.
CONS
- Freshdesk’s marketing is slightly confusing. Most of its advanced features require an upgrade to the highest pricing tears, which users don’t realize until after signing up. Here’s a free vs. paid plan breakdown, so you don’t find yourself making wrong decisions.
- You cannot provide temporary access to seasonal hires, part-time workers, or other team members in the Free plan. While this feature is available, you’ll have to upgrade to the premium plans.
- Freshdesk doesn’t offer dedicated technical support. As a result, complicated issues take longer to resolve.

Freshdesk is a highly scalable, cloud-based help desk system for businesses of all sizes. It features a shared inbox where all customer support tickets from several channels are collated, customizable workflows, automated pop-ups that help deflect common customer queries, and comprehensive dashboards to monitor quality metrics. Freshdesk also offers a team huddle feature that allows you to bring in experts to resolve complex tickets, as well as a gamification feature to motivate agents and improve their performance.
Fiverr, HP, Decathlon, Panasonic, NYU, Henkel, Pearson, Thai Union, American Express.
Freshdesk offers a Free plan for up to two agents for six months, covering core ticketing, a knowledge base, basic analytics, and team collaboration. Paid plans are split by support channel.
- Freshdesk Omni supports multiple channels (email, web, SMS, messaging apps) and starts at $29 (Growth). Higher tiers include Omni Pro ($79) for custom portals and advanced features, and Omni Enterprise ($119) for audit logs, skills-based routing, and advanced security.
- Freshdesk Email & Ticketing starts at $19 (Growth) for email-only support. Pro ($55) adds advanced routing and custom portals, while Enterprise ($89) includes compliance and security features. Both paid tracks offer a 14-day free trial.
- Freddy AI features are available as add-ons. AI agents and the Email AI Agent cost $49 per 100 sessions after the initial 500 free sessions. The AI Copilot suite is $29 per agent/month.
Best For
Companies of all sizes looking for a comprehensive customer support solution.
We use Freshdesk as our main customer support platform, handling all incoming inquiries from our customers through email, phone, and live chat. Freshdesk is used daily by our customer support team to manage and respond to customer requests.
One of our main workflows in Freshdesk is the ticketing system. When a customer reaches out, a support agent creates a ticket in Freshdesk and works to resolve the issue. Our agents also use Freshdesk's collaboration tools to communicate with each other and escalate tickets if necessary.
We also use Freshdesk's knowledge base and self-service portal to provide our customers with resources and information they need to resolve issues on their own. The ability to create custom macros and automations helps us respond to common inquiries quickly and efficiently.
In addition, Freshdesk's reporting and analytics capabilities give us valuable insights into our support operations, such as response time and resolution time, which allows us to continuously improve our processes.
Overall, Freshdesk is a crucial tool for our customer support operations and we rely on it heavily to provide excellent service to our customers.
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- Its user-friendly interface makes it easy for our agents to manage customer inquiries efficiently.
- The robust feature set, including the ticketing system, knowledge base, and automation tools, provides us with everything we need to provide excellent customer support.
- The analytics and reporting capabilities allow us to track our performance and continuously improve our processes.
- The ability to customize Freshdesk to fit our specific needs and branding has been a huge plus for us.
- The frequent updates and new features added by Freshdesk helps us stay ahead of the curve in terms of customer support technology.
Our organization decided to purchase Freshdesk as a way to modernize and streamline our customer support processes. We had a growing number of customer inquiries and needed a system that could handle a high volume of requests while providing a positive experience for both our agents and customers. After evaluating various options, Freshdesk stood out for its user-friendly interface, robust feature set, and high ratings from other users.
We have now been using Freshdesk for over 2 years and it has made a significant impact on our customer support operations. Our agents can now handle a greater number of inquiries in less time and our customers are more satisfied with the support they receive. We also appreciate the constant updates and new features that Freshdesk rolls out, which helps us stay ahead of the curve in terms of customer support technology.
- The load time for some pages can be slow, which can slow down our agents and reduce their efficiency.
- The mobile app could use some improvements, such as better ticket management and faster notifications.
- The integration with some third-party tools can be a bit tricky, causing some workflow disruptions.
- The pricing for some advanced features can be a bit high, making it difficult for smaller organizations to afford.
- The user interface could use some simplification to make it easier for new agents to learn and use.
Freshdesk stands out from its competitors by offering a comprehensive suite of customer support tools and features, including a ticketing system, knowledge base, and automation capabilities. Compared to similar tools, Freshdesk has a user-friendly interface and a wider range of integrations, which sets it apart.
I prefer Freshdesk over its competitors because of its robust feature set and customization options. Freshdesk also offers excellent reporting and analytics capabilities, which helps us track our performance and make informed decisions about our support operations.
Additionally, Freshdesk's constant updates and improvements, such as new features and improved user experience, show their commitment to helping customers succeed. This sets Freshdesk apart from competitors who may not be as focused on innovation and improvement.
Overall, Freshdesk's combination of features, performance, and commitment to customer success make it the clear choice for us over its competitors.
When buying a customer support tool like Freshdesk, there are several key criteria to consider:
- Features: Make sure the tool you choose offers the features you need to effectively manage customer inquiries, such as a ticketing system, knowledge base, and automation capabilities.
- User experience: Look for a tool with a user-friendly interface that will make it easy for your team to use and improve their efficiency.
- Integrations: Consider how the tool integrates with your existing tools and systems, and whether the integrations will meet your needs.
- Price: Determine your budget and look for a tool that offers value for the price, taking into account both the cost and the features included.
- Customer support: Look for a vendor that offers excellent customer support, as you will likely need assistance at some point during your use of the tool.
My advice would be to clearly define your needs and priorities, and then use these criteria to compare different tools and choose the one that best fits your requirements.
Freshdesk has evolved significantly over time to better meet the needs of its users. In the past, Freshdesk was primarily a ticketing system, but over the years they've added a wide range of features and integrations to become a comprehensive customer support platform.
Freshdesk has also made significant improvements to the user experience, with a focus on making the platform more intuitive and efficient for its users. They've also added new features such as a knowledge base, automation capabilities, and advanced analytics, making it easier for organizations to manage their customer support operations.
In addition, Freshdesk has also made efforts to improve the performance and stability of the platform, ensuring that it can handle the needs of even the busiest customer support teams.
Overall, Freshdesk has been consistently improving and evolving to meet the changing needs of its users, and this commitment to innovation and improvement is one of the reasons it has become a popular choice for organizations of all sizes.
Freshdesk is a versatile customer support platform that is well suited for a wide range of organizations, including small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large enterprises.
However, Freshdesk is especially well suited for organizations that have high volume customer support operations and need a comprehensive platform to manage customer inquiries effectively. Freshdesk's robust feature set, including a ticketing system, knowledge base, automation capabilities, and advanced analytics, make it ideal for organizations that require a comprehensive solution to manage their customer support operations.
Freshdesk's ease of use and customization options make it a good choice for organizations that need a flexible solution that can be tailored to their specific needs. It's is an excellent choice for organizations that need a comprehensive customer support platform that is both feature-rich and user-friendly.
Freshdesk is a versatile customer support platform that is suitable for a wide range of organizations, but it may not be the best fit for every organization.
Organizations with very simple customer support needs, such as those that only receive a small number of customer inquiries, may find Freshdesk to be too complex or over-featured for their needs. In these cases, a more basic customer support tool may be a better fit.
And organizations with very specific customer support requirements, such as those in highly regulated industries, may also find Freshdesk to be too generic for their needs. In these cases, a more specialized customer support platform may be a better fit.

ServiceDesk Plus

ServiceDesk Plus is a very comprehensive ITSM solution that’s trusted by some of the thousands of businesses, including 9/10 of Fortune 100 companies.
PROS
CONS

ServiceDesk Plus is a full-stack service management platform with both cloud and on-premise deployment options. With features for incident management, problem management, change management, and much more, ServiceDesk Plus provides midsize and large companies with great visibility and control over their IT issues to ensure that they suffer no downtime.
Disney, Honda, ABC, Etihad Airways, RBS, Dell, Siemens
ServiceDesk Plus has 3 plans: Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. The pricing of those plans isn’t disclosed upfront. Contact ServiceDesk Plus’ sales team to get a custom quote.
Best For
ServiceDesk Plus is best for midsize and large companies.
They use it to manage IT incidents and requests efficiently through a centralized system. It helps organizations streamline their incident management, ensuring quick response times and problem resolution, while also supporting change management to handle system updates and modifications with minimal risk. Asset management is used to track IT assets and software licenses. They leverage the service catalog, which allows employees to request predefined IT services, reducing manual interventions.
The client also utilizes SLA management to assist their IT teams in meeting service delivery deadlines through automated escalation of unresolved tickets. Additionally, they use the platform's reporting and analytics to gain insights into IT performance, as well as automation tools to handle repetitive tasks. The self-service portals allow team members to resolve common issues independently.

It is a cost-effective yet comprehensive IT management platform with a user-friendly interface and ease of implementation. The platform offers a wide range of tools, including incident management, problem management, change management, and asset tracking, all integrated into a single solution. This increases efficiency when managing multiple processes from one platform, enhancing overall productivity.
The interface is intuitive and easy to use, even for teams without extensive technical expertise. Lastly, it provides great value for money, offering critical features that rival more expensive platforms.
Our client has used ServiceDesk Plus for over two years. They chose ServiceDesk Plus because they needed a robust and scalable IT service management (ITSM) solution to streamline their help desk operations and improve overall service delivery.
The client required a comprehensive IT Service Management Platform that provided incident, problem, change, and asset management, all integrated into one tool. This helped centralize their IT processes, ensuring better tracking and resolution of IT-related issues. ServiceDesk Plus allowed them to automate repetitive tasks and customize workflows, improving the team's efficiency and reducing manual work.
Also, a user-friendly interface was vital for the client, along with scalability as they were in a hyper-growth phase. They also needed advanced analytics features to track IT service performance, spot trends, and make data-driven improvements to existing processes.
Some key dislikes the client mentioned primarily revolve around customization limitations and the complexity of setting up advanced features. Some technical team users noted that while the platform is feature-rich, customizing certain areas, such as workflows and reporting, to meet the unique needs of their organization can be difficult. This lack of flexibility can hinder the optimization of IT workflows.
While the basic features are easy to navigate, setting up advanced modules like change management or automation workflows can be complex and time-consuming, requiring more technical expertise than expected. There was also feedback that integrating ServiceDesk Plus with third-party tools or systems can be challenging, especially when synchronizing data across different platforms.
Compared to competitors like Zendesk or Freshservice, ServiceDesk Plus is more cost-effective and offers a wide range of IT management features at a lower price point. While platforms like Zendesk excel in customer support ticketing, they lack the extensive IT asset management or change management capabilities that ServiceDesk Plus provides.
ServiceDesk Plus’s ease of use and quick deployment are ideal compared to other systems like BMC Helix or ServiceNow, which can take longer to implement and require more technical expertise. It ultimately depends on the company's needs, the size of the organization, and the rate of growth.
When purchasing an IT service management tool like ServiceDesk Plus, key criteria include the feature set, scalability, ease of use, integration capabilities, and pricing. First, assess the specific IT management needs of your organization, such as incident management, change management, or asset tracking, and ensure the tool covers all of these in one platform.
Next, consider scalability—can the tool grow with your organization as you expand? Ease of use is critical, especially if your IT team is small or lacks extensive technical expertise, so the tool should be user-friendly. Check integration capabilities with other software in your tech stack to avoid silos.
Lastly, make sure the pricing aligns with your budget, especially if you have a large team or anticipate growing needs. Balancing functionality with cost efficiency is essential when choosing the right tool.
Originally focused on basic help desk functions, the platform now offers integrated ITIL-based processes, including incident, problem, change, and asset management, allowing organizations to manage their entire IT infrastructure from a single platform. This drives more streamlined IT operations and improves efficiency across departments. To further address user demands, automation features have been added to simplify repetitive tasks such as ticket assignment and workflow management, reducing manual workloads and improving response times.
ServiceDesk Plus has also increased its focus on customization, enabling businesses to tailor workflows, reports, and dashboards to suit their specific needs. By introducing both cloud and on-premise deployment options, ServiceDesk Plus has catered to a broader client base with different security and compliance requirements.
With the rise of remote work, the platform has adapted by enhancing its self-service portal and mobile capabilities, enabling employees to raise and track issues from anywhere.
ServiceDesk Plus is ideal for medium to large organizations with dedicated IT departments that need a comprehensive IT service management (ITSM) tool. It is well-suited for companies that require a robust solution for managing help desk operations, incident management, change management, and asset tracking.
ServiceDesk Plus may not be the best fit for small organizations or startups with minimal IT needs, as it offers a comprehensive IT service management solution that can be more complex and feature-rich than necessary for smaller teams. Additionally, companies that do not follow ITIL practices or place minimal emphasis on structured IT processes may not fully benefit from the platform’s extensive ITSM capabilities.
Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a budget-friendly option that has one of the most extensive feature sets of any help desk and ticketing system in the market. Plus, this solution comes with a scalable pricing structure plus a free version with pretty decent offerings.
PROS
- Among the most extensive feature-rich tools in the space.
- Flexible pricing that can accommodate various business sizes and requirements.
- Supports 22 different languages.
- Lets users provide support across multiple channels.
- With Zoho Desk, you get one of the most extensive feature lists of any help desk and ticketing system in the market.
- Zoho Desk is very flexible when it comes to pricing, as you can switch plans as you go if your team member count or necessities grow.
- It’s available in 22 languages.
- Lets you provide support across multiple channels.
CONS
- Some customizations aren’t very user-friendly.
- Some users find the UX/UI dated.
- Integrating the tool with several apps can be cumbersome.
- Some of the product customizations can be hard to figure out, according to some users.
- The UX/UI can seem dated at times.
- Several users have reported that integrating the tool with several apps can be problematic.

Zoho Desk offers multi-channel support. At an affordable price, the solution can offer customer care via email, live chat, phone, and several social media platforms. Having all client inquiries in one location has made tracking and cooperation easier, some users noted.
Another great feature of Zoho Desk is the knowledge base. There are many articles and FAQs there, which are often used by agents for faster customer service. Based on the keywords in the tickets that customers submit, Zoho Desk's auto-suggest can suggest agents relevant articles from the knowledge base in a matter of seconds.
We also like the scalable pricing model of the tool. Besides providing transparent pricing, Zoho Desk offers a free version with some decent features, like email ticketing, a private knowledge base, a multi-language help desk, mobile apps, and 24x5 email support. Plus, the Enterprise plan's features are comparable to top-tier plans from other competing providers but relatively more affordable.
When we tested Zoho Desk, we uncovered a few possible downsides. While the software has a number of adjustable capabilities, they are not always user-friendly. A few customers stated that tailoring the program to their needs was challenging. The abundance of built-in functions also means it could take a while for users to get familiar with all the tools. Lastly, integrating Zoho Desk with some well-known sales and marketing platforms can be challenging.
McAfee, Daimler, LycaMobile, Rogers, Siemens Energy.
Zoho Desk offers four pricing plans:
- The Free version is available for three agents and includes features like email ticketing, customer management, a help center, a private knowledge base, predefined SLAs, macros, a multi-language help desk, mobile apps, and 24x5 email support.
- The Standard bundle costs $14 per user per month and includes everything on the Free bundle, plus social and community channels, product-based ticket management, and 24x5 phone support.
- The Professional bundle costs $23 per user per month and has everything on the Standard bundle and features like multi-department ticketing, team management, telephony, and automatic time tracking.
- The Enterprise bundle costs $40 per user per month and includes everything on the Professional bundle, plus a live chat, an AI-powered assistant, and multi-brand help center, and more.
Best For
Zoho Desk is a great fit for businesses that need an all-inclusive yet inexpensive customer support solution. It is also a good addition for teams that are already using other Zoho products.
I use Zoho Desk daily to handle support tickets and keep the team in sync. I assign tickets based on the issue, set up follow-up reminders, and prioritize urgent requests. The automation helps keep things moving without a lot of manual work. The knowledge base cuts down on repeat questions, and reports help us track performance. It keeps our process clean and efficient.
Zoho Desk’s layout is easy to use and doesn’t take long to learn. Automation handles most of the repetitive stuff. Reports give us a clear picture of how we’re doing and where we can improve.
We got Zoho Desk to get our support team organized and speed up response times. Before that, we used different tools that didn’t sync well, which slowed us down. With Zoho Desk, we track tickets, automate tasks, and get better visibility into customer issues. It’s helped us respond faster and stay on top of client needs. We've been using it for over a year now.
Zoho Desk’s customization can be limited for some use cases. The mobile app is slow and not great for quick updates. The knowledge base could use smarter search features.
Zoho Desk gives you the core features you need without the high price tag. I’ve used Freshdesk and Zendesk—Zoho’s easier to set up and works well with other Zoho apps. For us, it just made more sense, especially on the cost side.
Make sure it’s easy for your team to use and fits with your current tools. Look at how much you can automate, and check the reports—it should help you track what matters. Try the free version first to see if it handles your ticket volume.
Zoho Desk has added better automation, expanded integrations, and improved reporting. The knowledge base is more useful now, and AI features like chatbots have helped cut down on tickets. It’s become more polished over time.
Zoho Desk is great for small to mid-sized teams that want to simplify support without spending too much. Works well if you want automation, solid tracking, and easy setup. It’s also a good choice if you already use Zoho apps.
Big enterprises or teams with complex workflows might hit limits with Zoho Desk’s customization. Call centers or high-volume support teams might need more advanced features. If you need heavy industry-specific tools, it may fall short.

LiveAgent

LiveAgent is a simple customer support solution. Their native live chat is easily accessible via a widget that integrates smoothly with your websites and apps, allowing you to connect with customers instantaneously.
PROS
- LiveAgent’s modern user interface looks aesthetically pleasing while being easy to navigate.
- LiveAgent is super easy to implement and use. Even if your team isn’t tech-savvy, the time to productivity is quick.
- LiveAgent empowers small support teams to easily handle large volumes of queries. Critical features like a universal inbox, a live chat widget, and a knowledge base enable you to address all tickets with greater efficiency.
- For LiveAgent, every user is a valuable client. Expect 24/7 customer support via phone, live chat, or email. The support agents are also in-house and not outsourced, which further ensures you’re given accurate answers to all your queries.
- LiveAgent takes feedback seriously and is constantly trying to improve the software, so you’re assured of a reliable tool.
CONS
- LiveAgent needs to work on its mobile app interface. While convenient to work with, it isn’t as at par with the competitors.
- LiveAgent offers limited integrations, which may be a hindrance for companies wanting to significantly boost support effectiveness and visibility.
- LiveAgent’s Free plan doesn’t allow for integrations with social networks like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Viber — you’ll have to upgrade to the paid plans to get access. Therefore, you can’t offer customers omnichannel support and have to stay limited to email, live chat, and call center support.

LiveAgent is a customer service solution with a clean and user-friendly interface. It features a unified inbox where all customer support tickets are collected from different channels then assigned and prioritized according to your predefined workflows. Its native live chat is easily accessible via a widget that integrates smoothly with your websites and apps, allowing you to connect with customers instantaneously. LiveAgent also offers a knowledge base that empowers customers to self-serve, a built-in call center with IVR and unlimited call recording storage, and over 40 third-party integrations with popular solutions.
Huawei, BMW, Yamaha, O2, Slido, Forbes, AirBus.
LiveAgent offers a free plan with some limitations on the features that can be accessed and three paid plans with feature increases, competitively priced as follows:
- Ticket: $15 per agent per month for LiveAgent’s ticketing solution.
- Ticket+Chat: $29 per agent per month for access to LiveAgent’s ticketing solution and live chat.
- All-inclusive: $39 per agent per month for all of LiveAgent’s features without any limits.
Best For
Companies of all sizes looking for an affordable and easy to use customer support solution.
I use the solution to chat with clients about their issues - it helps us to resolve issues faster.

I like the canned responses that make it easy for me to respond to a client's question by just pasting the canned responses from frequently asked questions.
We bought LiveAgent to offer live chat communication to users on our website and respond to clients’ messages. I have used the software for about two years
The pricing of the software is expensive.
They have a good web application with a good user interface which makes it easier for me to access the chat.
They should think of the pricing and scalability of the software.
They have improved the mobile application and the web application
Support teams.
Software developers.

Hiver

Hiver seamlessly integrates multiple support channels into Gmail for efficient query management, team collaboration, and data-driven insights to deliver exceptional customer service.
PROS
- Hiver works right within Gmail, an interface almost everyone is familiar with.
- You can easily assign emails, share drafts, leave notes, and tag team members, ensuring efficiency and driving collaboration.
- Automation features like auto-tagging and auto-assignment save a considerable amount of time and decrease manual labor.
- Users praise Hiver’s customer support for being highly responsive. The platform is also well-documented, with tutorials and help articles that provide clear guidance on how to use features.
- Hiver works right within Gmail, an interface almost everyone is familiar with.
- You can easily assign emails, share drafts, leave notes, and tag team members, ensuring efficiency and driving collaboration.
- Automation features like auto-tagging and auto-assignment save a considerable amount of time and decrease manual labor.
- Users praise Hiver’s customer support for being highly responsive. The platform is also well-documented, with tutorials and help articles that provide clear guidance on how to use features.
CONS
- There are occasional glitches and loading speed issues.
- Users reported that it is difficult to find closed tickets, especially ones closed long ago.
- Hiver exclusively works on Gmail. If your company uses a different provider, Hiver won’t work for you.
- The mobile app is lacking in functionality and can be buggy at times.
- There are occasional glitches and slowness, and tickets at times get assigned to the incorrect team.
- Users reported that at times, new emails come in closed status, which can cause confusion and delays in support delivery.
- Hiver exclusively works on Gmail. If your company uses a different provider, Hiver won’t work for you.

Hiver makes customer support seamless by bringing all communication channels together directly inside Gmail. Agents can manage email, live chat, and voice support without switching between platforms, allowing them to handle queries faster. The familiar Gmail interface means no complex training is required to get started.
One of Hiver's standout features is its ability to drive collaboration. Agents can loop in colleagues on customer emails just by @mentioning them, enabling smooth handovers and continuity of context. Hiver also helps teams work smarter through automation. Repetitive tasks like assigning certain query types to the appropriate agents can be automated based on keywords and rules. This saves agents time they would otherwise spend on routing tickets. For instance, all tickets related to technical bugs could automatically be assigned to the engineering team.
The platform provides extensive analytics on performance indicators like first response time, resolution time, and customer satisfaction. Bottlenecks can be identified and processes optimized using built-in reports. Managers get insight into individual agent productivity to inform coaching and training needs. Custom reports can also be created to track KPIs specific to the business.
By centralizing multiple channels into Gmail and providing collaboration tools, automation, and actionable analytics, Hiver empowers agents to deliver exceptional customer experiences. Its thoughtful integration and intuitive interface make it easy for teams of all sizes to streamline support operations.
Clutter, Epic Games, Oxford Business Group, NYU, Funding Circle
Hiver has three plans. When billed annually, they cost:
- Lite: $15 per user per month.
- Pro: $39 per user per month.
- Elite: $59 per user per month.
Best For
Hiver is best suited for SMBs looking to efficiently run customer support ops without the learning curve.
We used Hiver to organize our customer emails for accurate departmental responses. We monitored the progress of each case to ensure customers received the best possible service. Collaboration among team members was facilitated through the chat system, where we could tag colleagues for assistance with specific cases.
The tool’s key workflows involved ensuring a great customer experience and improving customer satisfaction. Additionally, we reduced customer complaints and minimized mistakes caused by multiple responses to the same emails.
Hiver integrates seamlessly with Gmail, making it easier to organize emails by department and tag the person best equipped to address an issue.
Hiver includes a built-in chat system that facilitates simple and effective communication among colleagues.
It allows for easy tracking of each email or case by marking its status as "in progress" or "closed," and it displays details of the steps taken to resolve the issue.
As an organization, we frequently encountered repeated responses to the same customer emails, or emails were being missed without any response. We were overwhelmed with unorganized emails, leading to confusion about which department should respond.
The owner began researching systems or platforms that could help improve email response times and ensure emails were directed to the appropriate departments. Hiver allows us to tag the appropriate person to respond to an email, preventing multiple responses to the same case. It is integrated with Gmail, giving it access to all emails for organizational purposes.
Additionally, it includes a chat feature that simplifies communication among employees. I have used Hiver for about six months, and it has been an effective solution that I would gladly use again.
I don't have any cons at this time.
Hiver is better than Zendesk. Hiver can be automated to organize emails, or users can manually organize them. I prefer Hiver because it is easy to use, simple to understand, and capable of performing multiple tasks to improve work quality and efficiency.
When buying this type of tool, consider the email platform you are using and ensure the tool is compatible.
Pricing is another important criterion, as it is essential to choose a tool that provides value and benefits to the company.
Look for a tool that can streamline workloads and improve the work environment to enhance customer satisfaction.
Hiver has become more efficient with enhanced automation, improved organizational features, and a built-in chat system for better collaboration among colleagues.
Hiver is ideal for customer experience-focused and customer-based organizations.
Hiver may not be suitable for organizations without a large customer base, such as certain government roles like politicians.

Monday.com

Monday Service is the recently launched ticket management system from Monday.com, one of the key names in modern business and productivity software. Their product integrates service management features with advanced automation, AI-driven ticket classification, and customizable workflows.
PROS
- AI-driven ticket classification is one of their stand-out features. This essentially leverages artificial intelligence to pre-classify tickets as they come in, and you can even set automatic outcomes based on this, such as setting a priority and assigning to an agent without any human involvement.
- We also love how it integrates with existing email systems, letting users create tickets simply by emailing a designated address, for example.
- Like all Monday products, the workflows are remarkably customizable. For example, you can set whichever stages you need in a ticket's processing and decide which information gets inputted and visualized for each type of incoming piece.
- Free plan available, and affordable, scalable plans for small to midsize businesses
- Easy to learn and use
- Customizable dashboard
- Collaborative document creation with the ability to turn content in docs into tasks in projects with a few clicks
- Gamified progress tracking with visual celebrations for users
- Workflow automation for repetitive tasks
- Built-in communication tools reduce reliance on email
- Customized forms for in-house or client use that can be easily turned into projects
CONS
- Naturally, Monday Service is limited to Monday.com’s ecosystem. Also, even if you are already a Monday.com user, there are no price discounts if you also use the Service product.
- There is no free version of the product yet, only a fortnight-long free trial. The free-forever 2-person plan that lots of teams use for Monday Work Management is not available for this product.
- Monday Service is still in the beta stage, so it’s probable that some features might change in the future, potentially altering the workflows you set up if you start using it now.
- 3+ users are required to get on any of the paid plans
- Limited storage on the Basic plan
- Could be too complex for simple project management needs
- No phone customer support
- Tracking different conversations can be difficult because of all the clutter

We have reviewed Monday’s products for Human Resources and Project Management in the past, so we weren’t all that surprised when they released an ITSM. Although, as of this writing, it’s still in Beta mode, we’ve had a demo of the product and did the 14-day free trial. While tinkering with the tool, we couldn’t help but think, why didn’t they release something like this years ago? It seems very logical because the Monday ecosystem adapts beautifully to the ticketing system landscape.
Any users of Monday.com’s work management and HRIS products will know that the tools are remarkable for their customization options and intuitive interface. Monday Service brings all that into the ticketing sphere. Although it primarily targets IT service teams, it’s made to adapt to all kinds of service operations.
In our view, what really sets Monday Service apart from modern ticketing systems are their AI capabilities. As previously mentioned, the system has the ability to automatically classify incoming tickets. We were able to set a priority level to each incoming task, which would assign the ticket to a specific person in the team without requiring any manual intervention.
We also like that you get a high-level view of the whole operation with reports and dashboards that you can customize to your liking. Its analytics dashboard stands out for providing insights into operational performance, identifying trends, and spotting opportunities for service improvements.
While Monday Service is still in Beta, it’s a fully functional product in terms of stability and one that’s likely to improve over time. While this is a potential drawback in terms of possibly changing workflows and having to get used to new features as you use the tool, we were told by their team that the full product rollout is happening by the end of the year or early next.
Service teams have already adopted Monday Service at places like Vimeo, Fiverr, KPMG, Sodastream, and Superhuman.
Monday Service is currently offered on a per seat / per month basis through the following plans:
- Standard: $29 per seat per month when billed monthly, though you can save 18% if paying yearly. This includes an unlimited amount of tickets, 2-way email integration, 1 email server, and 100 AI actions per month.
- Pro: At $44 per seat per month, this raises the automated actions to 5,000 per month and offers premium features like dynamic auto-responses, more ticket boards, service analytics, and more.
- Enterprise: Monday offers a custom-priced plan for larger operations with even more capabilities and features like advanced analytics, unlimited ticket boards, and enterprise support.
Best For
Monday Service is ideal for mid to large-sized companies looking for a versatile, AI-driven ITSM solution. It suits organizations that require robust ticket management, extensive customization, and seamless integration within the Monday.com ecosystem.
I use Monday to manage talent acquisition and talent relations. Monday makes it easy for business groups to work together regardless of where an individual might be located. This is especially important when a project crosses multiple departments - for example, a salesperson can work with IT to better determine the likelihood of success on a particular project and work with accounting to better develop pricing. Monday also makes it very easy to take a close look at an employee’s performance, KPIs, and other metrics. For an HR person, this functionality is vital to ensure that training is effective, that talent acquisition is on-point, and that compensation and evaluations are more effective. Monday is essential to building an effective corporate culture.

Monday is highly visual, which makes it easy to use. The dashboards are intuitive, which, again, shortens the time to ramp up and become productive. Monday is also incredibly flexible. I use it for talent acquisition and management, but it’s also very effective in sales development and project management.
As an HR Consultant, I’ve found Monday to be very helpful in addressing a variety of issues. For example, I’m able to collaborate with different teams on talent acquisition and talent management. Monday lends itself well to encouraging a collaborative work environment even for remote employees. By making it easy to collaborate, Monday helps to encourage employee engagement, which, in turn, strengthens corporate culture and improves retention. For these reasons, I encourage all my clients to use Monday.com.
I recommend Monday to my customers, and the complaint that they commonly have is that the pricing is confusing. Also, the trial day is only fourteen days when the industry standard is thirty - that alone turn some customers off. Finally, time tracking is only available on pro accounts.
Monday is very easy to use, and it’s easy to use effectively and quickly. In other words, onboarding and training are literally a breeze with Monday.
Monday is perfect for remote teams, especially those in different time zones. Because of the ability to track project progress, it’s a big help for remote management.
Monday has become very customizable and can meet a huge variety of business cases. As of now, there are over 200 templates for creating boards and building automations. It’s hard to imagine needing more than that.
Monday is a natural choice for medium-sized companies with remote teams, especially those who have teams overseas, or at least in different timezones.
I don’t think Monday would be as useful to a co-located team, particularly if there are asynchronous processes.

Hubspot

Hubspot is not an overly advanced ticketing system, but it covers all the basics very well and makes doing those things easy. The helpdesk platform also excels in usability and is very wallet-friendly for SMBs. In fact, you can take advantage of this system without spending a penny by using its timeless free plan.
PROS
- Fast and easy setup with no credit card.
- User-friendly interface that requires little to no training.
- Kanban-style board for clear ticket tracking and workload visibility.
- Effective automation for tagging, task assignment, and escalation.
- Shared inbox consolidates email, chat, and social media tickets
- CRM integration provides full context on customer history.
- Predefined replies/snippets save time on repetitive responses.
- Built-in reporting tracks key support metrics (e.g. resolution time, volume).
- Fast and easy setup with no credit card.
- User-friendly interface that requires little to no training.
- Kanban-style board for clear ticket tracking and workload visibility.
- Effective automation for tagging, task assignment, and escalation.
- Shared inbox consolidates email, chat, and social media tickets
- CRM integration provides full context on customer history.
- Predefined replies/snippets save time on repetitive responses.
- Built-in reporting tracks key support metrics (e.g. resolution time, volume).
CONS
- Limited email customization for branding or advanced triggers.
- Free edition is up to 2 users and is too lightweight for complex or SLA-heavy environments.
- Client portal setup can be tricky for teams with multiple domains.
- Minimal setup support for free-tier users.
- Limited email customization for branding or advanced triggers.
- Free edition is up to 2 users and is too lightweight for complex or SLA-heavy environments.
- Client portal setup can be tricky for teams with multiple domains.
- Minimal setup support for free-tier users.
It’s no surprise Hubspot’s ticketing system is among the most popular brands in the market. Throughout our tech tests, the platform stood out as a thoughtfully designed, user-friendly platform that strikes a balance between accessibility and functionality. While it may not be ideal for highly complex or technical support environments, it’s a strong option for small to mid-sized teams or any organization already working within the HubSpot ecosystem.

One of the first things that stood out was how quick and intuitive it was to get started. We could configure our support inbox, create ticket pipelines, and begin responding to customer inquiries almost immediately. No credit card is required, and no formal training is needed either. The UI is clean, approachable, and doesn’t overwhelm you with options. For most teams, especially those not very tech-savvy, that’s a big win.
During testing, the ticket tracking features proved to be well structured. Tickets can be categorized by stage, owner, or priority, and the Kanban-style board gives a clear visual of workload distribution. Automation such as tagging, task assignment, and escalation rules helped route tickets efficiently. You can also reply directly from within a ticket and trigger workflows like email updates or survey requests.
The shared inbox is another useful feature. Being able to field customer requests from email, chat, and even social media (via integrations) in one place kept our agents more focused. One of our favorite features was the ability to create reusable snippets and predefined replies for common questions.
We also appreciated the built-in reporting and analytics, which helped us track metrics like ticket volume, resolution times, and agent performance. What’s more, if you’re already using Hubspot’s CRM, the system can make it even easier to see the bigger picture of each support case. Every ticket, conversation, and customer detail is neatly tied into the CRM, meaning you don’t have to scramble through separate platforms to understand a customer’s history. We can imagine this will be especially helpful when switching between team members: everyone has access to the same full-picture view, including prior conversations, notes, tags, and related deals or contact activity.
That said, if your brand has strict email design guidelines or wants more advanced triggers for notifications, you might find email customization within tickets limited. Similarly, while it works well with email-based channels, those managing more complex multi-channel or SLA-driven support environments may find the system too lightweight.
Other minutes include the fact that setting up the client portal can be quite tricky for teams managing multiple domains or legacy setups and that there’s not much support provided around this step for free users. Still, once configured, it opens the door to better self-service: Clients can track their tickets, which reduces inbound update requests.
228,000+ companies, including Reddit, WWF, Eventbrite, and Doordash.
HubSpot offers a free help desk ticketing system for up to two users. Additionally, there are multiple paid plans starting at $15 per user per month, catering to small to mid-sized businesses and enterprises, and include a 14-day free trial.
Best For
HubSpot's help desk ticketing system is ideal for support teams already using HubSpot CRM, SaaS businesses handling a moderate ticket volume, and teams prioritizing automation and metrics without extensive training. It also caters to organizations requiring easy JIRA integration.
Tidio
Tidio earned a top spot in this category for its robust AI agent Lyro, which supports over 50 languages and can handle everything from order tracking and returns to lead qualification and password resets. Plus, the helpdesk system integrates smoothly with Shopify and several popular CRMs, giving it broad appeal across support and sales teams.
PROS
- Lets users build multi-step automations with a no-code visual workflow editor.
- Supports over 50 languages through the Lyro AI agent for global coverage.
- Includes an Agent Copilot that suggests real-time responses from data sources.
- Offers a Suggestions dashboard to help improve resolution rates over time.
- Offers a free plan and a free trial.
- Tidio allows users to build a single multichannel communicator by connecting different channels like website live chat, email inbox, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger to their platform. This means that you can always respond to your customers' queries irrespective of which platform they reach out to you on.
- Building a chatbot using Tidio is a fairly simple process. You can either use their existing templates or build one using their visual flow builder and drag-and-drop templates.
- If you’re a small business that just wants to keep track of your chatbot performance, then Tidio’s analytics dashboard outlines that information very well. You can view the number of conversations, leads, and messages easily without having to dig too deep.
CONS
- Lyro AI usage is limited to 50 lifetime conversations on the Free plan.
- Removing Tidio branding requires a subscription to the Growth tier or a higher plan.
- Live chat support is only available on the two highest-tier plans.
- According to some users, chat notifications can sometimes be unreliable. This means that you may not always get notified when you get a message.
- While you can create a chatbot in a different language, translating messages based on a user’s input is extremely difficult and requires manual effort.
We tested Tidio’s help desk system with an eye toward workflow automation, integrations, and ease of use, and for the most part, it impressed us.

One interesting feature we found during evaluation was the built-in AI agent named Lyro. It supports over 50 languages and, importantly, can handle multiple real-time tasks, including updating customer details, triggering password resets, and initiating return requests.
We also spent time using the Smart Actions builder, which lets you create multi-step workflows without writing any code. We built a workflow to manage subscription changes and found the setup to be intuitive, and users we spoke with shared the same experience. One person told us they liked how easy it was to set up on a website without needing advanced technical skills.
Agent Copilot also made a good impression. It suggests real-time replies during live chats based on connected data sources, which, according to several users, helped them respond more quickly and consistently. When Lyro couldn’t answer a visitor’s question, the system logged it in the Suggestions dashboard so we could follow up and improve our knowledge base.
One trade-off we noticed, however, is that the Free plan only includes 50 lifetime Lyro conversations. That limit doesn’t reset unless you upgrade, which means you can hit a wall quickly if you’re testing the platform or handling moderate support volume. Support access also depends heavily on your pricing tier. Only Plus and Premium users get live chat support from Tidio’s team. Everyone else, including Free, Starter, and Growth plans, has to rely on email support.
Lastly, for larger teams that want more control over branding, note that you must be on the Growth plan or higher to remove the “Powered by Tidio” label from the chat widget.
Integratec, Cove, Procosmet Italy, ADT.
Custom.
We’ve seen Tidio continue to expand its automation and AI capabilities, most recently with the addition of macros that let support teams pair canned responses with automated actions. On the roadmap, Tidio is preparing major upgrades to its AI agent, Lyro, including the ability to edit order details from external systems, qualify and sync leads with CRMs, generate pricing quotes, and run custom workflows. The company is also developing predefined action templates and deeper customization for Lyro’s tone and escalation logic, signaling a clear move toward a more flexible, enterprise-ready AI IT helpdesk platform.
Best For
Tidio is best for fast-growing e-commerce and SaaS teams that want to automate help desk and sales support with multilingual AI, without needing deep technical resources.
Other Ticketing Systems Worth Checking Out
- JitBit — Best for fast and simple help desk setup
- Vision Helpdesk — Best for multi-deployment flexibility
- Jira Service Management — Best for ITSM and deep integrations
- HappyFox — Best for customization capabilities
- Kayako — Best for customer journey-focused support
- SolarWinds Service Desk — Best for feature-rich IT service management
- Spiceworks — Best free help desk ticketing system
Benefits of Using a Help Desk Ticketing System
Investing in a good help desk ticketing system enables you to boost team productivity, increase customer satisfaction and retention, and provide accurate data for continuous support operation improvement.
- Improve your team’s productivity: Help desk ticketing systems offer a host of features to save you time and enhance your team’s performance. They integrate with all of your customer contact channels to collect tickets then route them to a centralized location for your agents to pick up and resolve right away without needing to constantly monitor several channels and devices. Help desk solutions also allow you to customize workflows and automate many of your team’s manual tasks such as assigning, escalating, prioritizing, and categorizing tickets.
- Increase customer satisfaction, retention, and ROI: It’s a well-known fact in business that great customer service retains customers, and bad customer service drives them away. You might have a fantastic range of products, but it won’t mean much to your bottom line when your customers are unhappy because you’ve been taking too long to respond to their queries and incident reports or worse, missing their messages completely due to your overwhelming ticket influx from several contact points.
Using a help desk allows you to stay on top of all your customer interactions and deliver speedy support, which not only enhances customer experience and retention rate, but also turns your customers into your promoters, spreading the word about your reliability as a provider and eventually earning you more leads and successful signups. - Continuously fine-tune your support operations through accurate data: Manually monitoring your customer support KPIs is an impossible job and luckily, you don't have to do it. The majority of ticketing systems available today offer powerful analytics dashboards that provide you with detailed insights into what your team is doing well and what needs to be improved for you to continue observing your service level agreements (SLAs), drive customer satisfaction and deliver world-class service.
Common Mistakes Made When Buying a Help Desk Ticketing System
Some of the most common mistakes businesses make when choosing a help desk solution are overspending on unnecessary features, failing to account for future scalability, buying an entire suite when only one solution is needed, and making long-term commitments without thorough testing.
- Spending money on features you don’t need: ‘Premium’ doesn’t always mean ‘better’. Many small and medium-sized businesses select a premium, enterprise-grade plan because of all the feature additions they usually come with, but in reality, only half of the features end up being used. We advise that you always invest selectively and wisely.
- Not accounting for future circumstances: Your business may see exponential growth within just a matter of months. It may also experience financial hardships, requiring you to downsize your operation. No matter what the future holds for your business, you’ll definitely need your help desk plan to grow or shrink accordingly. Buying a help-desk solution that isn’t very scalable can be a costly mistake in the long run.
- Buying an all-in-one suite when all you need is just one or two specific solutions: This one is quite self-explanatory; if you only need a ticketing solution, opt for a provider that offers just that or selectively purchase a ticketing solution from an all-in-one suite vendor; never buy the whole suite.
- Making long-term commitments before thoroughly testing a solution: Some help desk vendors offer perpetual licenses that are purchased once only. While this cuts down on recurring costs and can save you a significant amount of money over time, you should only do this after thoroughly testing the help desk solution and verifying that it’s the one for you. Otherwise, you will end up going back and forth with the vendor on their cancellation and refund policy.
How Much Does Help Desk Software Cost?
Help desk software typically ranges from $7 to $39 per user per month, depending on the vendor, features, and team size. Most vendors provide a free trial, while free helpdesk systems like Spiceworks remain popular among smaller organizations. To give you an idea:
- Budget-friendly options like Zoho Desk start at $7/month, making them ideal for startups and SMBs.
- Mid-range tools such as Freshdesk, Freshservice, LiveAgent, Vision Helpdesk, Hiver, and Monday.com fall between $15–$26/month.
- High-end solutions like Kayako and SolarWinds Service Desk begin at $39/month and often come with advanced customization and enterprise-grade functionality.
- Custom pricing is standard with enterprise platforms such as ServiceDesk Plus and HappyFox, where costs vary by deployment and global support needs.
While costs typically range from $7 to $39 per user/month, the pricing model determines how you’ll actually be billed.
- Per Agent (most common): You pay a monthly or annual fee for each support agent using the system. Some vendors bundle seats (e.g., up to 5 or 20 agents). This is the most cost-effective model for small teams.
- Per Device: Pricing is based on the number of devices using the help desk, rather than agents. It works best for companies where only certain machines need access.
- Per Ticket: A few vendors charge based on ticket volume per month. This model requires a clear estimate of your average ticket load to avoid surprise costs.
- Per License (one-time fee): Mostly found with on-premise systems, where you buy a perpetual license once. While this avoids monthly costs, you’ll likely pay for upgrades and maintenance down the line.
Features of a Help Desk Ticketing System
Key features of help desk ticketing software include multi-channel support, workflow automation, a knowledge base, and reporting.
- Multi-Channel Support: Customers should be able to easily reach you through email, live chat, phone, social media, and more. A good ticketing system should integrate well with all of your contact points to collect tickets and pool them into a single shared inbox. This way, your agents are able to instantly receive and work on tickets on one platform, without needing to monitor multiple channels and devices.
- Workflow Automation: Most ticketing systems let you create workflows and automate processes. You can set ticket status and priority automatically, assign and escalate tickets, send automated responses and follow-ups, and notify customers and agents of updates. Some systems also allow tagging for easier search and quick data retrieval for reports.
- Knowledge Base: A knowledge base is an online library of information about your products and services that customers can access anytime. It connects to your website and ticketing system so customers can quickly find answers to their questions, features, and processes. It also helps your staff by providing access to product docs, FAQs, internal guides, and playbooks at any time.
- 3rd Party Integrations: Not only should a good ticketing system integrate with several contact channels, but it should also offer integrations with popular customer relationship management (CRM), asset management, and team collaboration tools to further enhance your operations. You can usually find out if a help desk integrates with your favorite products by checking their pre-built integration modules, usually listed on their websites.
- Scalability: Your company’s size may double within a short period of time, and it's crucial for all of your daily-used tools to continue to support you. Thus, it’s important to consider its ability to store large data records, the maximum number of user accounts that can be created on it, as well as the maximum number of teams and customers it can handle.
- Reporting: Through accurate, real-time data, help desk software allows you to monitor your team's performance against SLAs, response times, and ticket resolution times. It should also include methods for collecting customer feedback through NPS and CSAT surveys, which can be automatically sent after tickets are closed.
Demo Questions
Before deciding on a help desk for your business, it’s recommended that you schedule demos with different vendors to make sure their solution covers all the needs of your business. Here are a few questions you can ask during your demo sessions:
- What communication channels does your solution integrate with?
- What customer support processes can I automate through your software?
- How does your software facilitate self-service?
- How does your solution measure customer satisfaction?
- How can I track my team’s performance through your software?
- Can I charge my customers for support given per ticket through your software?
- How much does the software cost for my team size?
Implementing a Help Desk Ticketing System
The majority of help desk ticketing systems are cloud-based, delivered through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) infrastructure. Getting started with a cloud-based solution is very quick and easy as they all allow you to create an account and start configuring your instance right away once you’ve purchased a plan. On the other hand, on-premise help desks take longer to set up, and depending on your chosen vendor, you may need to consult them regarding their solutions’ compatibility with your current hardware and installation process or better yet, have them do the installation on your behalf.
Help Desk Ticketing Systems FAQ
What is a help desk ticketing system?
A help desk ticketing system is a software solution that gathers customer questions, requests, and incident reports from different channels and pools them into a single inbox for customer support agents to respond to in a swift and efficient manner.
Who needs a help desk ticketing system?
Any company that wants to streamline their customer service operations and offer speedy support to their customers needs a help desk ticketing system.
What are the benefits of using a helpdesk ticketing system?
Using a helpdesk ticketing systems allows you to:
- boost your team’s productivity by automating manual tasks such as ticket routing and assignment,
- resolve tickets faster which in turn, increases customer satisfaction and retention, and
- continuously fine-tune your support operations through accurate performance metrics data.
What are the features of a help desk ticketing system?
The most common features of a helpdesk ticketing system are:
- Multi-channel support (email, live chat, phone, social media integration)
- Automatic ticket routing and assignment
- Canned responses
- Knowledge base
- Performance analytics
- SLA management
- CSAT surveys
What is the best help desk ticketing system for small businesses?
Zoho Desk and Freshdesk are two robust ticketing systems with free tiers as well as affordable plans that startups can use without breaking the bank. Both Freshdesk and Zoho desk are also quite scalable, meaning that you can upgrade to more extensive plans as your business grows.
How much does a help desk ticketing system cost?
The majority of help desk ticketing systems use a ‘per agent per month’ pricing model. Depending on which help desk you use and the features you require, the fee can range anywhere from $7 to $39 per user per month.
Is there a free ticketing system?
Yes, there are some excellent free ticketing systems available, such as Freshdesk, Jira, Zoho Desk, and Spiceworks. For more details, see our free helpdesk software buyer guide.
Which is the best ticketing platform?
The choice largely depends on your business needs and budget, but often, Freshservice, Freshdesk, LiveAgent, and Zendesk are considered leading ticketing systems in the market.
What are the types of ticketing systems?
There are three main types of ticketing systems:
- Email-Based Ticketing Systems generate tickets from customer emails.
- Web-Based Systems allow ticket submission via an online portal for better tracking and categorization.
- Phone Support Systems create tickets from customer calls.
What is the difference between ITSM and ticketing system?
ITSM (IT service management) is a broad strategy for managing all IT services, while a ticketing system is a tool used within ITSM to manage individual IT issues and requests. Essentially, ITSM is the overall framework, and a ticketing system is a specific part of that framework.
Final Advice
Choosing a help desk ticketing system can be a long process, but we’re confident you’ll make a good selection if you:
- Carefully consider your needs and budget and make purchases accordingly.
- Sign up for a trial period to experience the help desk first-hand and see if it’s the right fit for you.
- Schedule demos with different help desk vendors to get all of your questions answered.
About the Author
About Us

- Our goal at SSR is to help HR and recruiting teams to find and buy the right software for their needs.
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