20 Best Help Desk Ticketing Systems [2023 Ranking]

As your customer base expands, having a help desk ticketing system in place becomes a necessity.

After all, you want to see your customers delighted about your product and keep your customer support team motivated.

But what is the best ticketing system for your business?

Don’t worry—

We’ll help you figure this out.

In this article:

• What is a ticketing system and how it works
• 5 benefits of using ticket management solutions
• The ultimate ticketing system software list
• The features you should look out for

Here’s the full list of ticketing systems we cover. You can jump right into the review by clicking on the list. If you wish to learn more about ticketing systems themselves and the benefits of using them, scroll down.

Ticketing system	The highlight ✨	Free version?
Tidio	AI-powered chatbots in the package	✅
Zendesk	1,000+ integrations	❌
HubSpot	Unified customer service solution	✅
Zoho Desk	Integrations with Slack, Jira, Salesforce, Google	✅
Mojo IT	Advanced analytics	❌
Freshdesk	Ticket merging	❌
HappyFox	Multiple ticket views	❌
osTicket	Customizable views	✅
Help Scout	Robust API	❌
Jira Service Management	Request queues	✅
Live Agent	Multichannel support	✅
Jitbit	Cloud and on-premise versions, mobile apps	❌
WordPress Advanced Ticketing System	Email ticket transfer	✅
KB Support	Zapier and WooCommerce integrations	❌
Vision Helpdesk	Agent achievements features	❌
Front	Shared draft tools	❌
Azure Desk	Unlimited email addresses	❌
ProProfs Help Desk	Even ticket distribution	✅
SupportBee	Multiple branding options	❌
Kayako	Customer Journey Single View™	❌

Ticketing systems are not what you were looking for? Check these articles instead:

• 13 Best Marketing Automation Software & Tools
• 7 Types of Customer Service
• Customer Feedback: Importance and 7 Best Strategies

What is a ticketing system, and what does it do?

First things first—

There are two types of ticketing systems.

A customer service ticketing system is software used by a customer support team to create and manage customer requests and issues. Listing them as “tickets” in an organized system makes it easier to manage and solve them.

Helpdesk ticketing systems usually provide the ticketing feature as a solid base, and on top of that, include an array of other features such as live chat, multichannel ticketing, advanced analytics, and knowledge base. There are many types of ticketing systems—some are designed to serve email ticketing only, some are best used in B2B environments.

An IT helpdesk ticketing system, on the other hand, is an issue tracking system that provides support for internal processes of the company.

A “helpdesk ticketing system” and “IT ticketing system” are often used interchangeably, because some software solutions provide both types of services.

In our article, though, we focus mainly on ticketing systems that deal with customer requests.

But how do online ticketing systems work?

Ticketing systems translate end users’ issues and requests into tickets. These tickets, coming from different channels (might be email, live chat, or even social media) are then visible in the ticketing system as a list of tasks for customer support teams to resolve.

Each ticket records data about the process of resolution: customer interactions, internal conversations between CS team members, and attempted and/or accepted resolutions. This data, when tracked and reported, can be then transformed into an analytics goldmine, full of valuable insights about the business’s productivity.

So—does your business need helpdesk ticketing system software? Let’s have a look at some benefits of using one, so you can decide for yourself.

5 benefits of using a help desk ticketing system

Ticketing systems receive, organize and distribute tickets in order to resolve a customer’s issue in the most efficient manner—easy, right? 

But what if we told you that easier work management is not the only benefit of using ticketing systems?

Check what else they can do for you.

1. They increase productivity

As many as 93% of customer support teams say that the expectations of consumers today are higher than ever. Customers want answers in minutes, not hours or days, so it’s only logical that the shorter the response time, the better.

By using a helpdesk ticketing system, you unburden your customer support team. Think about it—categorizing, assigning, and reassigning issues, searching for information, and escalations are all time-consuming tasks.

When you install software that takes care of them, your agents can focus on what truly matters.

Suggested read
Read more on why customer service is important.

2. They save you time and reduce costs

A study has proven that leveraging help desk software data can save up to 670 working hours per year.

Moreover, the cost of manually handling a single help desk ticket is $22. However, when you use automation, 22% of all service desk tickets are resolved at practically no cost.

Conclusion?

Help desk ticketing systems can save you time and money in the long run.

3. They serve as a fundament for internal and external knowledge bases

Customer ticketing systems can also help you identify common issues, which, consequently, can indicate areas for improvement for your customer service teams.

You can address this by creating knowledge base articles and delivering customer service training. Like this, you improve the performance of your teams and expand self-service options for your customers. 

4. They provide you with a goldmine of insights

Are your customers happy with the service they get? How do your CS team members deal with specific issues, and what is their resolution rate? A customer support ticketing system will tell you the truth.

By tracking the ticket data and organizing them in neat silos, you can measure your team’s productivity, stay up-to-date with customer satisfaction metrics, and even predict the customer’s lifecycle.

Suggested read
Read about crucial customer success metrics.

5. They improve customer relationships

A whopping 66% of consumers say that it is important for businesses to take note of their identity, previous conversations (56%), and purchase history (55%).

With a ticketing system, a customer doesn’t have to repeat themselves many times, because all interactions are recorded in the ticket. As a result, any conversation can restart where it ended, even when an agent changes. This builds trust among your customer base.

The list of the best ticketing systems

Now that you know what the main benefits of using help desks are, it’s time to have a look at the ticketing systems list. We hand-picked 20 best solutions, so you will surely find the one that fits your needs.

1. Tidio

Tidio is an all-in-one customer service platform for small and growing businesses. It offers a simple dashboard with multichannel support, so you can manage conversations from multiple communication channels. On top of that, you can easily segment your visitors and customers and notify your agents with chatbots and custom tags.

Reviews:

4.8/5 ⭐️ with ‎200+ reviews on Capterra

4.8/ ⭐️ with ‎400+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Multichannel support (live chat, email, Instagram, Facebook)
• Simple, intuitive UI
• User list segmentation
• Custom notifications
• AI-powered chatbots ✨

Plans:

• Forever-free plan
• $19/mo (Communicator plan)
• $49/mo (Chatbots plan)

Have a look into the platform:

Suggested read
See how to efficiently manage multiple projects at Tidio.

2. Zendesk Ticketing System

Zendesk is a robust help desk software offering multichannel support. It acts as the backbone of your customer service operations, offering live chat and chatbot features as well. On top of that, it easily integrates with a variety of apps. 

Reviews:

4.4/5 ⭐️ with ‎2,500+ reviews on Capterra

4.3/ ⭐️ with ‎3,200+ reviews on G2

Features:

• 1,000+ integrations ✨
• Built-in issue tracking system
• Self-service knowledge base
• Satisfaction score functionality
• Pre-designed responses for repetitive tasks

Plans:

• $49/mo (Suite Team)
• $79/mo (Suite Growth)
• $99/mo (Suite Professional)
• $150/mo (Suite Enterprise)
• $215/mo (Enterprise Plus)

Have a look into the platform:

Suggested read
See how to make a chatbot for your website.

3. HubSpot Ticketing System

HubSpot is an advanced CRM with a ticketing system as one of its functionalities. It offers a whole customer service management hub that includes a ticketing solution and project management tools. It allows you to easily categorize customer issues and boost your support team’s performance in real-time.

Reviews:

4.4/5 ⭐️ ‎ with 100+ reviews on Capterra

4.4/5 ⭐️ with ‎600+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Rich, unified customer service solution ✨
• Ticket routing and automation
• Customer satisfaction measurement
• Shared inbox for support agents
• APIs and SDKs

Plans:

• Free
• $45/mo (Starter)
• $360/mo (Professional)
• $1200/mo (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDCyvvdzND4

4. Zoho Desk

Similarly to HubSpot, Zoho offers a CRM with ticketing system functionality that integrates with the majority of popular apps. It makes IT ticket management easy with an array of features such as auto-tagging, canned responses, and time tracker.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎1,600+ reviews on Capterra

4.4/5 ⭐️ with ‎3,200+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Integrations with Slack, Jira, Salesforce, Google ✨
• Automated workflows
• Branding customization
• Customer experience metrics measurement
• Time tracker

Pricing plans:

• Free
• $14/mo (Standard)
• $23/mo (Professional)
• $40/ mo (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

5. Mojo IT Helpdesk

Mojo is an IT ticketing system that integrates with G-Suite as well as Microsoft 365 with a single sign-on. Thanks to Mojo, your customers can fill support tickets from multiple channels, and you can easily sort service requests and answer them from one dashboard.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with 70+ reviews on Capterra

4.3/5 ⭐️ with 10+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Asset management and tracking
• Advanced analytics ✨
• Basic integrations
• Customer data management
• Self-service options

Pricing plans:

• $29/mo (Professional)
• 149/mo (Enterprise)
• $300 (Enterprise GIGA)

Have a look into the platform:

6. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is a customer service ticketing system that encourages team collaboration. It enables your team to view, assign and merge incoming tickets, and see notifications about status changes.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎2,300+ reviews on Capterra

4.4/5 ⭐️ with ‎2,400+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Smart notifications
• Ticket assignment and merging ✨
• Activity log
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs) management 
• Custom ticket views

Plans:

• $59/mo (Start)
• $119/mo (Grow)

Have a look into the platform:

Suggested read

Discover what bad customer service is and how to fix it. Or, have a look at a list of the best Freshdesk alternatives instead.

7. HappyFox Help Desk Ticketing System

Happyfox is an online ticketing system that encourages smart workload management. It enables agents to streamline ticket statuses with the help of various views (Kanban, lists, and cards). On top of that, end users can conveniently send support requests via email or a dedicated support center.

Reviews:

4.6/5 ⭐️ with 80+ reviews on Capterra

4.5/5 ⭐️ with 120+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Multiple ticket views ✨
• Advanced analytics and reporting
• Unlimited shared inboxes
• Knowledge base management
• Branding customization

Pricing plans: starting from $39/mo, all details available on-demand only

Have a look into the platform:

8. osTicket Free Ticketing System

osTicket is an open-source ticketing system that provides many customization options for the service portal. This means that customer requests can be sorted by custom fields and agents can create personalized views to speed up the support process.

Reviews:

4.3/5 ⭐️ with ‎40+ reviews on Capterra

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎30+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Customizable views ✨
• Ticket filters
• SLA support
• Configurable help desk topics
• Autoresponder

Plans:

Free open-source plan for all users

Have a look into the platform:

9. Help Scout

This all-in-one ticketing software is extremely flexible due to its robust API and a variety of extensions and integrations. This makes it perfect for growing and large businesses alike, especially if they want to use it with already existing customer channels such as email, live chat, and phone conversations.

Reviews:

4.7/5 ⭐️ with ‎150+ reviews on Capterra

4.3/5 ⭐️ with ‎200+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Robust API ✨
• Variety of extensions and integrations
• Rule-based automation
• Advanced analytics
• Canned responses

Plans:

• $20/mo (Standard)
• $35/mo (Plus)
• on demand (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

Read more: Top 10 Help Scout Alternatives [Ratings 2023]

10. Jira Service Management 

Jira is the OG tool for numerous support teams. Why? It’s a part of a bigger ecosystem that combines both customer service help desk and internal IT issue tracking solution. It enables agents to create unified views for multiple projects and request processing, which makes the management quicker and easier. This makes it perfect for enterprise-sized companies, even though small and medium businesses will also benefit from its robust features. 

Reviews:

4.4/5 ⭐️ with ‎250+ reviews on Capterra

4.2/5 ⭐️ with 650+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Request queues ✨
• Sync with Slack and Microsoft Teams
• Self-service options
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Conversational ticketing

Pricing plans:

• Free
• $20/mo (Standard)
• $40/mo (Premium)
• On-demand (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

11. Live Agent

Live Agent is a truly modern solution for small and medium businesses. Even though its main feature is live chat, it provides a plan with a customer service ticketing system as well as call center functionalities. Its intuitive UI and many integrations are perfect for growing businesses. 

Reviews:

4.7/5 ⭐ with ‎1,000+ reviews on Capterra

4.5/5 ⭐ with ‎1,300+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Hybrid ticket stream
• Multichannel support, including some social media integrations such as Twitter and Facebook ✨
• Intuitive UI
• Adaptable customer portal

Pricing:

• Free
• $15/mo (Ticket)
• $29/mo (Ticket and chat)
• $39/mo (Omnichannel helpdesk)

Have a look into the platform:

Suggested read
See how to add live chat to a website.

12. Jitbit

It’s a unified, IT ticketing system with a primary focus on email. Jitbit is extremely easy to set up, and lets you choose whether you want to use the cloud or on-premise version. On top of that, it provides a mobile version of its simple ticketing system, so you can always be up-to-date with your IT support team.

Reviews:

4.6/5 ⭐ with ‎20+ reviews on Capterra

4.3/5 ⭐️ with ‎40+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Cloud or on-premise version ✨
• iOS and Android mobile apps ✨
• 500+ integrations
• Live chat and chatbot functionalities
• Helpdesk automation

Pricing plans:

• $29/mo (Freelancer)
• $69/mo (Startup)
• $129/mo (Company)
• $249/mo (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

13. WordPress Advanced Ticketing System

This is a plugin-based ticketing system for small businesses. It will fit the needs of SMBs that handle simple customer service operations and don’t mind receiving tickets via email and web forms only. It’s extremely easy to integrate and use. Since it’s WP-dedicated, it won’t slow down your website. The only drawback is that it doesn’t support any other channels like live chat or social media.

Reviews:

4/5 ⭐️ with 50+ reviews on WordPress.org

Features:

• Ticket tracking and statistics
• Email ticket transfer ✨
• Custom ticket fields
• Email ticket notifications

Pricing: Open-source

Suggested read
See the best free WordPress themes and discover more WordPress plugins for ecommerce. 

14. KB Support

KB Support is another online ticketing system dedicated mainly to WordPress. It is as lightweight and user-friendly as its predecessor, but it has many more features that may come in handy for growing businesses. These include Zapier and WooCommerce integrations, canned responses as well as customer support and knowledge base.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with 10+ reviews on WordPress.org

Features:

• Zapier and WooCommerce integrations ✨
• Self-service options
• Custom ticket statuses
• Ticket routing
• Brand customization

Pricing:

• $74/year (Small businesses)
• $102/year (Ecommerce stores)
• $150/year (Enterprise package)

Have a look into the platform:

15. Vision Helpdesk

This service desk ticketing system will come in handy for any type of business: from small to enterprise. It is cloud based, and it offers a variety of features that help streamline all kinds of requests, from IT issues to standard customer escalations. Its main highlight is the gamification features for agents to help them keep motivated.

Reviews:

4.6/5 ⭐️ with ‎20+ reviews on Capterra

4.7/5 ⭐️ with ‎50+ reviews on G2

Features:

• iOS and Android mobile apps
• Agent achievements features ✨
• Automated ticket management
• Multichannel support
• API

Pricing:

• $12/mo (Starter Help Desk)
• $20/mo (Pro Help Desk)
• $24/mo (Satellite Help Desk)
• $32/mo (Pro Service Desk)
• $48/mo (Enterprise Service Desk)

Have a look into the platform:

16. Front

This is one of the support ticketing systems that will strongly promote teamwork in your company. All agents can monitor the ticket’s progress as well as collaborate on the resolutions in the draft tools. On top of that, Front supports a variety of channels: from a traditional SMS to social media and live chat.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎200+ reviews on Capterra

4.6/5 ⭐️ with ‎900+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Omnichannel support
• Shared draft tools for collaboration ✨
• Ticket analytics
• Shared inbox
• API access

Pricing:

• $19/mo (Starter)
• On-demand (Prime)
• On-demand (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

17. Azure Desk

Azure Desk is one of the most flexible options on our ticketing system software list. It allows you to use multiple email addresses and enables agents to convert emails into tickets. On top of that, it integrates with the most popular apps like Slack, Jira, or Asana.

Reviews:

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎40+ reviews on Capterra

4.6/5 ⭐️ with ‎10+ reviews on G2

Features:

• 3rd party integrations
• Unlimited email addresses ✨
• Email to ticket conversion
• Agent signatures
• Advanced reporting

Pricing:

One plan for all, $33/mo

Have a look into the platform:

18. ProProfs Help Desk

ProProfs uses automation to evenly distribute the number of tickets among team members, which encourages collaboration and increases the sense of ownership. It’s rich in internal integrations, which makes it an all-around solution for companies that want to increase team productivity and enhance efficiency.

Reviews

4.3/5 ⭐️ with ‎20+ reviews on G2

4.5/5 ⭐️ with ‎40+ reviews on Capterra

Features:

• Automated and even ticket distribution ✨
• Advanced productivity monitoring
• Ticket response tracking
• Survey maker
• Knowledge base

Pricing:

• Free
• $10/mo (Essentials)
• $15/mo (Premium)

Have a look into the platform:

19. SupportBee

SupportBee is extremely lightweight and simple, which makes it perfect for micro and small businesses. It provides a set of basic, well-rounded features such as unlimited email inboxes, shared inbox and customer ratings.

Reviews:

4.3/5 ⭐️ with ‎20+ reviews on Capterra

4.2/5 ⭐️ with ‎3+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Unlimited email inboxes
• Shared inbox
• Team messaging tools
• Multiple branding options ✨
• Advanced analytics

Pricing:

• $13/mo (Startup)
• $17/mo (Enterprise)

Have a look into the platform:

20. Kayako

Kayako’s multichannel ticketing system is simple and easy to use. Its unique feature is “Customer Journey Single View,” which enables your agents to map the context of the query based on all the information it collects about the customers.

Reviews:

4/5 ⭐️ with ‎150+ reviews on Capterra

4.1/5 ⭐️ with ‎200+ reviews on G2

Features:

• Expert collaborators features
• Canned responses
• Customer Journey Single View™ ✨
• SLA notifications
• Self-service ticket status

Pricing:

• $30/mo (Growth)
• $60/mo (Scale)
• $59/mo (On-premises classic)

Have a look into the platform:

Online ticketing system features you should look out for

Now you know that it’s beneficial to have a service desk ticketing system, and you’ve seen a list of the best ticketing system examples. However, you might wonder what’s the best ticketing system for you.

Let’s have a look at essential features you should take into consideration when making a choice.

1. Ticket tagging, categorization and routing

Centralized ticketing is the backbone of every ticketing system out there. But for businesses that want to make their customer service truly effective, this might not be enough.

If you want your agents to know what’s the status of their cases and to have clarity of what needs to be done in order to resolve it right away, tagging, categorization, and routing are crucial.

2. Multichannel support

Customers can reach out to you via a variety of channels, which may result in their messages being scattered around and result in a lack of personalized communication. To avoid this, make sure that your ticketing system supports all the channels that you use for resolving customer queries.

What if you are just starting? Statistically, the most used communication channels for consumers are chat (44%), Facebook (42%), WhatsApp (34%), SMS (32%), Email (28%), and Twitter (19%). It’s good to choose a solution that supports all of them.

Suggested read
Read more about customer communication.

3. Integrations

The worst thing you can do is to try to adapt your digital toolbox to the help desk and not the other way round. Introducing such a tool should be making your life easier, not harder.

While choosing a support ticketing system, make sure it integrates with all tools that are essential for your business. This will help you avoid disjointed communication, multiple data sources, and confusing measurement methodology.

4. Automation

There’s no use in having a ticketing system software if you cannot automate the most time-consuming, menial tasks like categorizing requests, assigning tickets, and escalating issues.

Automation makes ticket management easier and faster and reduces human error, too. In fact, HubSpot research has shown that 86% of customer service teams have noted an increase in productivity after they started using ticketing software.

5. Data tracking and analytics

Performance and measurement go hand in hand. Helpdesk ticketing system analytics will enable you to generate reports on specific metrics that you want to improve and see where the areas for potential improvements are. Even small businesses will benefit from tracking resolution time and the helpfulness of their customer support teams.

Summary

That’s it! Here’s the full list of ticketing systems we reviewed:

• Tidio
• Zendesk
• HubSpot
• Zoho Desk
• Mojo IT
• Freshdesk
• HappyFox
• osTicket
• HelpScout
• Jira
• Live Agent
• JitBit
• WordPress helpdesk plugin
• KB support
• Vision
• Front
• Azure Desk
• ProProfs
• SupportBee
• Kayako

By now, you should have at least a few favorites to choose from. Here’s what you need to remember when making the final decision:

• An online helpdesk ticketing system can increase the productivity of your team, save you time and money, as well as identify areas of improvement.
• The best system is the one that will fit your business needs.
• To choose the best help desk for your company, set expectations for: ticket tagging, categorization and routing, multichannel support, integrations, automation and data analytics. 

Enjoy the process of testing!

And if you have any doubts and need support—feel free to contact us anytime.