Handling support requests goes beyond simply answering calls. It’s also crucial to manage each support issue from the first contact to its final resolution.

A customer service ticketing system is the core of the support team’s daily operations. It organises the workflow and is central to the support representative’s experience.

Without a robust ticketing or help desk solution, growing and managing a customer service team becomes nearly impossible. Some might even say that selecting the right help desk solution is as important as hiring the right team.

But how do you pick the best help desk software with the right features? We’re here to help.

Our guide can assist you in comparing top ticketing systems and exploring essential tools—like automatic ticket creation, smart routing, and AI-driven bots—to simplify workflows and boost your team’s effectiveness. Below is what we have for you…

Table of Content  

– Types of Ticketing Systems

– Our Comparison of 22 best help desk ticketing software

– Our Top 3 choice for the best Help Desk Software & Ticketing Systems

– Key Features of Help Desk Ticketing Software

– Challenges in Choosing Help Desk Software and How to Deal with it

– How to Pick the Best Support Ticketing Tool

– Let’s help you Find and Implement the Best Help Desk Software for Your Team

Types of Ticketing Systems  

Ticketing systems come in various types, each designed to meet specific needs:

• Customer Service Desk: This system is used for handling customer support requests. Customers can submit issues through multiple channels, and the system assigns them to the right agent and tracks their progress until resolved.

• IT Help Desk: This system is for internal employee support, managing requests related to software, hardware, network issues, or password resets. It simplifies tech support within an organisation.

• Help Desk Ticketing: Similar to customer support systems, these focus more on internal support. They handle employee requests, technical issues, and general inquiries within a company.

• Issue Tracking System: Designed for tracking and managing bugs or defects, primarily for software development. These systems help development teams prioritise and resolve issues throughout the software’s lifecycle.

Our Comparison of 22 best help desk ticketing software  

Here’s a look at 22 help desk ticketing software options, including key features, pricing details, and free trial availability:

Help Desk Software	Starting price (billed annually)	Free trial
Zoho Desk	₦5,760 per user/month	15 days
Freshdesk (by Freshworks)	$15 per agent/month	14 days
Zendesk	$19 per agent/month	14 days
HappyFox	$9 per agent/month	Yes
Help Scout	$22 per user/month	15 days
LiveAgent	$15 per agent/month	14 and 30 days
KB Support	$4.99 /month	No
Vision Helpdesk	$12 per agent/month	30 days
HubSpot Service Hub	$15 per month/seat	No
Front	$19/seat/month up to 10 seats	14 days
AzureDesk	$33 per user/month	14 days
Groove Hq	$16 per user per month (limit 25)	7 days
SupportBee	$13 per user/month	14 days
Spiceworks	Free, but has Ads	Yes
Awesome Support	$149/Year	No
TeamSupport	$29 per agent/month	No
Keeping	$12 per user per month	14 days
Hesk	$49.99 One-time fee only	Yes
Jira Service Management	$19.04 per agent / month	7 days
Mojo IT	$12.6 per agent/month	21 days
Hiver	$19 per user/month	7 days
UVdesk	$22 for 2 agents per month	30 days

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Our Top 3 choice for the best Help Desk Software & Ticketing Systems  

1. Zoho Desk  

Pricing: Paid plans start at ₦5,760 per user/month (billed annually). A free plan and a 15-day free trial are available, making Zoho Desk one of the most cost-effective options on the market.

Zoho Desk is a ticket management tool designed to help support teams handle customer requests efficiently. It provides omnichannel support, enabling customers to reach out through email, social media, live chat, phone, web forms, or messaging apps. The platform integrates smoothly with Zoho’s native suite and supports third-party apps. Add-ons like Zoho Translate, BugTracker, and Cliq extend its functionality.

Collaboration features such as team feeds, @mentions, and shared tickets allow agents to work together seamlessly, reducing the need for ticket transfers or escalations. The platform also supports managing service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure response times align with customer expectations.

Zoho Desk’s AI assistant, Zia, offers advanced tools like sentiment analysis, anomaly detection, and automated replies. Other helpful features include reporting, analytics, escalations, and customizable workflows. Automation rules can handle repetitive ticket management tasks, saving time for your team.

The platform supports multiple help centres, complete with FAQs, knowledge bases, and community forums tailored to different brands. Integration with Zoho CRM provides customer data directly within the ticketing system, making interactions more personalised.

Why do users prefer Zoho Desk?

Many users like that Zoho Desk connects with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This feature allows businesses to turn social media interactions into support tickets, making it easier to organise and assign them to the right agents.

Key Features:

• Generative AI bots.

• Omnichannel support.

• Ticket management.

• Workflow automation.

• Reporting, analytics, and SLA management.

• AI-powered self-service tools and knowledge bases.

>>You can try it for free in the next 15 days<<

2. HubSpot Service Hub  

Pricing: Paid plans start at $15 per seat/month (billed annually). A free plan is also available.

HubSpot’s Service Hub offers a ticketing system that helps customer service teams prioritise requests, automate tasks, and provide support across multiple channels. Built on HubSpot’s CRM, it enriches tickets with customer details such as history, product preferences, and more, making interactions more personalised.

The platform includes features like conversational bots, live chat, and self-service portals that businesses can customise to align with their brand’s colours, logos, and fonts. Agents can use call tracking to schedule reminders for follow-ups and log the outcomes of their calls.

Service Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot’s suite of tools and offers a marketplace for third-party apps. The mobile app lets users manage tickets, monitor social media, and track SLAs on the go. HubSpot also provides a free plan that includes essential features like ticketing, custom fields, shared inboxes, reporting, and CRM tools.

Why do users like HubSpot Service Hub?

Users value the platform’s analytics, which allow them to track performance metrics in real-time and through scheduled reports.

Key Features:

• Generative AI bots

• Omnichannel support

• Ticket management

• Workflow automation

• Reporting, analytics, and SLA management

• AI-powered self-service tools and knowledge bases

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3. Zendesk  

Pricing: Plans start at $19 per agent/month (billed annually). A 14-day free trial is available.

Zendesk provides an AI-powered ticketing system designed to meet various needs, including IT, customer service, and HR. It is user-friendly and scalable, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes.

Zendesk’s AI is pre-trained on billions of support interactions, enabling it to assist agents effectively through the Zendesk Agent Workspace. This unified platform allows agents to manage issues across different channels with AI tools that enhance response speed and quality. For instance, the AI-powered agent copilot offers real-time suggestions to help agents resolve issues faster. It also learns from interactions, handling routine tasks like order updates and cancellations autonomously over time.

Zendesk’s AI agents are available 24/7, providing personalised solutions to even complex issues. The system’s workflow automation ensures high-priority tickets are automatically escalated and routed to the right agents.

The platform also includes AI-driven quality assurance tools that evaluate customer interactions, highlight areas for improvement, identify at-risk customers, and recognize team strengths—all in real-time. Zendesk prioritises data security, ensuring its ticketing system remains safe and reliable.

Why do users like Zendesk?

Users appreciate Zendesk for its robust features tailored to the demands of customer support teams. Its combination of AI, omnichannel support, and workforce management tools provides a scalable solution that evolves with business needs.

Key Features:

• Generative AI bots

• Omnichannel ticketing

• Unified agent workspace

• Workflow automation

• Reporting, analytics, and SLA management

• AI-powered self-service tools and knowledge bases

• Workforce management and quality assurance

• AI agents

• Agent copilot for real-time assistance

• Intelligent routing and tagging

• Collaboration tools

• Security and compliance

• Over 1,500 apps and integrations

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Key Features of Help Desk Ticketing Software  

Ticket Management  

A quality ticketing system helps keep support organised. It can automatically assign tickets to the most suitable agent based on skills or workload and set priority levels depending on urgency. For complex issues, the system can also escalate tickets to a specialist or supervisor to ensure a fast resolution. It may also have an option for customizable views that allow agents to see tickets grouped by issue type or tagged keywords, helping them quickly find and prioritise tasks.

AI-Powered Bots  

AI bots can automate parts of the ticketing process, understanding natural language to provide instant responses or troubleshooting steps for common issues. Integrating with the knowledge base, these bots can pull information from articles to answer frequently asked questions, enhancing support efficiency.

Omnichannel Support  

Omnichannel support lets customers reach out through their preferred channels, such as email, phone, social media, live chat, or messaging apps like WhatsApp. Agents can view customer history and preferences across all channels, delivering consistent and personalised service even when customers switch platforms mid-issue.

Workforce Management and Quality Control  

Workforce management tools help schedule agents effectively by analysing past support demand. Quality assurance (QA) tools, meanwhile, can automatically review interactions to ensure quality standards. Managers can use QA insights to provide feedback and training, ensuring agents deliver high-quality service.

Workflow Automation  

Automation tools like triggers and macros allow agents to respond faster by suggesting pre-written responses and auto-filling ticket details. For example, triggers can automatically notify customers when their ticket is received, ensuring prompt and seamless support.

Reporting, Analytics, and SLA Management  

Reporting tools offer insights into key metrics like response times, ticket volumes, and customer satisfaction. Customizable dashboards track these metrics in real-time, helping teams make quick adjustments to meet service level agreements (SLAs). Automated alerts can also remind agents to follow up on unresolved tickets.

AI-Enhanced Self-Service and Knowledge Base  

A self-service portal empowers customers to find answers on their own. AI can enhance this by analysing common questions to suggest knowledge base content, even drafting article ideas. AI also improves search accuracy by suggesting relevant articles based on each user’s inquiry, continuously refining the knowledge base to better serve customer needs.

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Challenges in Choosing Help Desk Software and How to Deal with it  

Selecting the right help desk software can be challenging for businesses. Some common difficulties include:

1. Cost: Help desk solutions can be costly, especially for smaller businesses. It’s essential to consider the total costs, including licensing, setup, training, and maintenance, before making a decision.

2. Complexity: Help desk software often has many features, which can make it hard to find the right fit. It’s important to choose software that is easy to use and navigate.

3. Integration: The software should easily connect with other tools like CRM or project management systems. Without good integration, data gaps can slow down support processes.

4. Customization: Each business has unique support needs. Limited customization can lead to a one-size-fits-all approach that may not suit specific requirements.

5. Customer Support: Reliable customer support from the software provider is essential. Poor support can slow down issue resolution and harm the customer experience.

Most of our clients overcome these common challenges by letting us guide them, and take ownership of implementing the best help desk software & ticketing systems for their businesses. We start by understanding their unique business needs, then we research and select a vendor who provides strong support, meets requirements, and integrates well with other tools. We can do the same for you. Book a free discovery call now.

How to Pick the Best Support Ticketing Tool  

Your support ticketing system plays a crucial role in helping your team work efficiently and address customer needs effectively. Choosing the right tool requires careful thought. So, how do you make the best decision?

It’s about striking the right balance between features and budget.

1. Understand Your Needs  

Start by evaluating your team’s specific requirements. Think about factors like:

• Team size.

• Expected ticket volume.

• Channels customers will use to reach out.

• Any special needs, such as automation or AI features.

These considerations will shape your search. For instance, a small team handling basic email queries might need a simple tool, while a large organization with complex workflows will require advanced features and scalability.

2. Identify Key Features  

Once you understand your needs, list the features your team absolutely requires and those that are “nice to have.” Important features to consider include:

• Automated ticketing and follow-ups.

• Reporting and analytics.

• Integration capabilities.

• Omnichannel support.

• SLA management.

Compare tools that meet your feature requirements while staying within your budget.

3. Set a Budget  

Determine how much you’re willing to invest in a ticketing system. While it’s important to find a tool that fits your budget, remember that cutting costs might mean sacrificing key functionalities.

If your team relies heavily on customer support to drive satisfaction, it’s worth investing in a high-quality tool. However, if your needs are basic, many free options are available.

4. Think About Scalability  

Select a tool that can grow with your team. Many platforms offer free plans for small teams and scalable paid options for larger, more complex setups. This way, you won’t need to switch systems as your team grows, saving time and effort.

5. Test Different Tools  

With so many competitive options available, testing a few tools is essential to see which works best for your team’s workflow. Most help desk providers offer free trials or demos, so take advantage of these to make an informed choice.

Ready to explore your options? Many platforms offer free versions to get started—perfect for testing before committing to a paid plan.

Let’s help you Find and Implement the Best Help Desk Software for Your Team  

As your company grows and gains more clients, your customer support team will need to handle a larger volume of requests. A good help desk software can help organise these requests, manage ticket flow, and ensure efficient support.

After testing various help desk tools, we found that the ones with a clean, simple interface are the most user-friendly. Most help desk solutions offer similar features, so your decision should be based on ease of use and fit within your budget. We recommend Zoho Desk, and if you need assistance with setup, feel free to reach out!