Top 10 osTicket Alternatives for 2023

osTicket is a renowned ticketing system built to improve your customer service and experience. With this platform, customer service teams can create custom ticket queues, configure help topics, route tickets to the right agents, and create an extensive customer portal for happy customers. 

But let’s call a spade a spade- osTicket is not the perfect help desk tool. 

While some users might complain about it’s not-so-appealing UI, others will tell you that getting started with the tool can seem like climbing a mountain. 

What Is osTicket?

osTicket is a help desk software that allows customer service teams to manage incoming support requests and streamline support operations. osTicket offers an open-source as well as a cloud-based edition of its help desk system. While the former can be used, modified, and shared at no cost, the latter comes with a pay-per-user plan. Some popular features include custom ticket queues, ticket filters, configurable help topics, ticket transfer, service level agreement plans, customer portal, advanced search functionality, and more. 

Why Look for osTicket Alternatives?

Although it comes with some really good features, osTicket fails to hit the sweet spot in certain crucial areas. Let’s discuss them. 

Ask any customer service agent about the value of a well-designed user interface and they will most likely tell you that it is one of the top factors they look for in a software. osTicket’s user interface disappoints in many aspects- it is not the most user-friendly and seems like it was designed a decade ago. 

As shared by many users in their online reviews, the initial installation can be really challenging and time-consuming. There are many settings and services to be set up just to get the tool started. 

Moreover, the option to automatically close tickets after a certain time period is missing. If we check their pricing plans, there are only two major plans made available to business owners. 

Top Features that osTicket Alternatives Should Have

When you are looking for the best alternatives to osTicket, different tools with their different features can leave you scratching your head. 

To make your job easier, we have compiled a comprehensive list of features that the best osTicket alternatives should have. 

• Easy to use software interface that requires minimum training and can be easily set up in minutes. 
• Shared inbox to merge all support email accounts together.
• Internal collaboration features to help agents resolve customer issues together. For instance, internal notes to discuss tickets internally.
• Process automation capabilities to get over manual and repetitive tasks. For instance, automated routing of tickets to available or skilled agents. 
• Reporting functions to monitor individual as well as team performance and measure customer satisfaction

Our Selection Criteria for osTicket Alternatives

Selecting the right product alternatives requires intensive research, exploring product features, and scanning through user reviews for in-depth comparisons. In order to make it to our list, the help desk tools should complete the following criteria: 

• Core Help Desk Features: All osTicket competitors should offer core help desk features such as ticket management, ticket assignment, multichannel support, performance reports, etc. 

• Listed on Top Review Platforms: The alternatives to osTicket should be listed on the top software review platforms such as SoftwareWorld, Getapp, and Capterra. 

• Minimum 10 User Reviews: The alternatives should have a minimum of 10 genuine user reviews on the above-mentioned software listing platforms. The reviews present useful pros and make comparison easier. 

10 Best osTicket Alternatives You Should Consider

Now, that we have highlighted the pros of osTicket, it’s time to move forward and evaluate the top alternatives to osTicket. 

1. ProProfs Help Desk– Feature-rich and affordable osTicket alternative 

ProProfs Help Desk is undoubtedly the best free osTicket alternative. The tool offers a simple Gmail-like user-interface and does not require any extensive training. Features such as shared inbox, ticket tracking, self-service portal, canned responses, agent collision detection, etc. make this tool hard to ignore. 

But what grants ProProfs the top position? ProProfs Help Desk comes at a similar price point to osTicket but offers far more benefits. It comes as a complete customer support suite that includes a robust ticketing system, live chat, knowledge base, surveys, and more. Just one tool to rise above all customer service obstacles and challenges. 

You Can Use ProProfs Help Desk To:

• Automatically route tickets to relevant agents and teams
• Manage conversations from multiple channels in a single dashboard
• Reduce ticket volume with by creating an extensive knowledge base
• Share CSAT & NPS surveys to gauge customer satisfaction and loyalty 
• Track KPIs, SLAs, and measure agent performance

Why We Picked It:

• The tool offers a Forever Free Plan for smaller teams. They can go for the paid plans later to match their growing needs. 
• ProProfs offers extensive automation and customization capabilities. You can automate the ticket assignment process, share automated alerts with employees, and surveys with customers for capturing valuable feedback. 

ProProfs Help Desk Plans Include: 

Try it free for 15 days

Starts at $20/agent/month (billed annually).

2. Freshdesk– All the features you need to offer an omnichannel experience 

Freshdesk is one of the popular osTicket alternatives available in the market today. With this tool, businesses can broaden their reach through multi-channel support, streamline day-to-day support operations using automation tools, increase productivity through gamification, and empower customers using a self-service portal.

Freshdesk’s integrated multi-channel support ensures that your agents no longer have to rely on different tools to support customers. The tool is designed for team collaboration, and effective ticket management, and ensures a large number of tickets can be resolved in an effortless manner.

You Can Use Freshdesk to: 

• Manage incoming support tickets from multiple channels using Team Inbox
• Set deadlines for ticket response with SLA management 
• Discuss specific parts of tickets with experts from across your company
• Engage with multiple customers at the same time through live chat.
• Keep customer data safe with state-of-the-art data security

Why We Picked It:

• Best-in-class workflow automation
• Modern & intuitive design
• Multiple integration options

Freshdesk Plans Include: 

Sprout: Free for unlimited agents with email and social ticketing 

Blossom: $15/user/month

Garden: $35/user/month

Estate: $49/user/month

Forest: $99/user/month

You may checkout the best freshdesk alternative for 2023

3. Zendesk– Help desk that can scale to meet the needs of any business

Zendesk’s ticketing system displays all customer interactions in one dynamic interface for an efficient, seamless process. Support agents can bring in customer queries from almost any channel and use customer ticket history to respond faster with the right context. 

The software lets a sophisticated knowledge bank culled by your customer service over the years. Businesses can build a help center, online community, and a customer portal. While your agents deal with high-value customers, customers with their basic queries can be directed to FAQs and self-help articles. 

You Can Use Zendesk to: 

• Access complete customer context to offer personalized experiences
• Offer 24×7 support on multiple channels
• Set automation rules to improve workflow and enhance agent productivity
• Integrate with other business tools without the need for any code
• Offer support on the go with native Android and iOS apps

Why We Picked It:

• Customer support report cards to track individual and team performance
• Gives the option to create an extensive knowledge base and community forum

Zendesk Plans Include: 

Suite Team: $49/agent/month

Suite Growth: $79/agent/month

Suite Professional: $99/agent/month

Look at the Zendesk Alternatives

4. Zoho Desk– The context-aware help desk software

As another free osTicket alternative, Zoho Desk provides support managers with analytics and reports to find key issues in agent performances so that they can improve their service and make intelligent business decisions.

Users can create a self-service portal for both external customers and internal employees to find solutions on their own. Moreover, Zoho Desk’s mobile app allows you to manage hundreds of support tickets on the go. Your customer service agents can easily track ticket traffic and key metrics no matter where they are. 

You Can Use Zoho Desk To: 

• Create a multi-brand help center for all your customers
• Manage customers better with contextual AI called Zia
• Build an online community of customer and prospects
• Inform customers and agents automatically via notifications
• Get your help desk to match your brand with multiple branding features

Why We Picked It:

• Zoho Desk’s thoughtfully built AI can auto-tag tickets and help you understand customers better with sentiment analysis
• The tool can be easily integrated with Zoho CRM and other tools

Zoho Desk Plans Include: 

Free: Forever free plan, limited to 3 agents

Standard: $12/agent/month

Professional: $20/agent/month

Enterprise: $35/agent/month

Read More – Zoho Desk Alternatives

5. HubSpot Service Hub– All the features you need to delight customers

HubSpot offers a Conversation Inbox that lets you connect team email, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and more to one universal inbox so your whole team has the visibility to manage and respond to all conversations in one place.

You can keep your team organized and efficient by ensuring every user has access to the right assets. Support managers can quickly view and manage agent permissions, status, and availability right from their dashboard. 

You Can Use HubSpot Service Hub To: 

• Manage customer emails, chat, and more from a Universal inbox 
• Automate ticketing routing, escalation, and task creation processes
• Measure customer satisfaction with the help of impactful surveys
• Use chatbots to improve live chat efficiencies
• Track service level agreements (SLAs) and manage SLA violations

Why We Picked It:

• HubSpot’s customer support agents are very responsive and offer support in 6 languages (English, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish).
• The fact that HubSpot comes with a mobile app makes it easy for users to keep track of tickets when on the move.

HubSpot Plans Include: 

Starter: $45/month (2 users)

Professional: $360/month (5 users)

Enterprise: $1200/month (10 users)

6. Groove– Makes ticket organization effortless

Groove is another popular osTicket alternative that helps you manage customer conversations. Through its intuitive dashboard, you can handle support queries on not only traditional channels like email or phone but also on the leading social media channels.  

Groove offers best-in-class team collaboration features such as ticket assignments, private notes, collision detection, @mention, and more. With the Happiness Report, customer service managers can gauge their team’s effectiveness in keeping customers happy. 

You Can Use Groove To: 

• Check the complete customer interaction history at a glance
• Respond faster to common customer queries with canned responses 
• Speed up your workflow with ticket rules
• See where your team is doing well and where they can improve 
• Connect with hundreds of business tools to achieve more

Why We Picked It:

• Groove makes ticket organization and ticket tracking very easy
• The tool does a great job of helping businesses to manage their social media conversations

Groove Plans Include: 

Starter: $12/user/month

Plus: $20/user/month

Pro: $12/user/month

Company: For pricing details of the company plan, you need to make a request on their website. 

7. TeamSupport– Foster long-term B2B customer relationships

TeamSupport is a customer support software company built specifically for the unique needs of B2B (business-to-business) software and IT companies. Some of its top features include: live chat, customer self-service portals, screen recordings, ticket management, and ticket automation. 

TeamSupport helps your team work together as a single unit while addressing customer concerns on multiple channels. For instance, your customer service team can work collaboratively with sales, technical or finance departments for superior operations. 

You Can Use TeamSupport To:

• Easily track and view customer details
• Set up ticket reminders to avoid late responses
• Track customer issues by their products
• Get detailed metrics and create custom reports
• Access a shared calendar to view task assignments

Why We Picked It:

• Users can easily link TeamSupport with their CRM, developer tools, or other business tools. 
• You can access your help desk on any browser and leverage their online training material to make the most of the tool. 

TeamSupport Plans Include: 

Support Desk: $50/agent/month

Enterprise: $69/agent/month

8. Salesforce Essentials– One tool to manage both sales and customer service 

Salesforce Essentials is offered by the popular SaaS company Salesforce and includes the functionalities of its CRM (Sales Cloud) and customer support (Service Cloud) solutions. Service Cloud Essentials is targeted at small businesses and is filled with features to help you get faster and smarter about customer service. 

The Service Cloud Essentials does a great job of integrating multiple channels into an easy-to-use help desk dashboard called the console. The console can be customized to fit your company’s unique support processes and the demands of your support team. 

You Can Use Salesforce Essentials To: 

• Avail setup assistant and in-app tutorials to get started quickly
• Get a 360-degree view of every customer
• Identify key contacts and follow up on leads
• Access and update your data anytime with the Salesforce mobile app
• Allocate work based on individual knowledge and expertise

Why We Picked It:

• You can use the Salesforce AppExchange- a marketplace where you can buy or find free Salesforce applications. One can find a wide variety of apps to strengthen business operations and keep customers happy. 
• You can connect all your business data- from sales, marketing, customer service, etc. together in one place. 

Salesforce Essential Plan Includes:

Essentials: Starts at $35/user/month (billed monthly)

9. HelpDesk– Manage tickets from a clean and simple dashboard

HelpDesk is also one of the top alternatives to osTicket that allows you to effortlessly convert email conversations into tickets. You can easily integrate HelpDesk with LiveChat and let your customers choose their preferred channel to contact you.

HelpDesk is designed to make ticket management as seamless as possible. For instance, your support agents can group tickets together based on specific filters. They can even create custom ticket lists for better ticket organization. 

You Can Use HelpDesk To: 

• Collaborate using private notes and automated assignment rules
• Manage multiple email inboxes in one place
• Prepare answers to repetitive customer questions
• Calculate first response time and other metrics
• Create agent signatures for better and more professional emails

Why We Picked It:

• The ‘New tickets heatmap’ feature can help you spot peak times when you get more messages than usual.
• Agents can make sure if a customer received and opened their message with the help of Delivery Status. 

HelpDesk Plans Include: 

Starter: $4/agent/month with basic email management features

Team: $19/agent/month

Enterprise: You need to make a request on their website to get the pricing details for this plan. 

10. Spiceworks– IT help desk software

In addition to a robust ticketing system, Spiceworks User Portal allows your users to submit new tickets and see the progress of their existing tickets without having to constantly contact you. You can even create a Knowledge Base to store answers to commonly asked user questions and save your customer’s valuable time. 

Even if your customer service agents are working remotely, it should not be a matter of concern. Spiceworks mobile app offers the latest ticket updates and Push notifications right on your phone or tablet.

You Can Use Spiceworks To: 

• Allow multiple agents to work on a complex ticket together
• Create custom fields for improved ticket organization
• Start a secure remote support session from any ticket
• Auto-assign tickets to your experts using ticket rules
• Help users help themselves with a customizable user portal

Why We Picked It:

• Spiceworks offers both on-premise and cloud-based help desk solutions to users. 
• All its plans- right from Individual to Enterprise are free of cost.  

Spiceworks Help Desk Plans Include:

All Spiceworks products are free for everyone from personal users to enterprise operations.

Comparison of Best alternatives of osTicket 

Final Verdict: Which osTicket Alternative Should You Go For?

osTicket is a reputed help desk tool that allows you to:

• Route tickets to relevant agents
• Create custom columns and queues
• Avoid agent collision
• Track SLA violations

Despite the features, the demerits such as poor interface, challenging set up, etc. make people search for the right alternatives. All osTicket alternatives shared in this blog are well trusted, useful, and have been the ideal choice for small startups to multi-million dollar companies. 

If you want to invest in an all-in-one help desk software that has a similar price point to osTicket and better features, you must go for ProProfs Desk. If you are looking for a single tool for both your sales and customer support team then Salesforce Essentials can be a good option. Similarly, if your focus is on improving IT services, Spiceworks can give an edge to your IT support team.