List

19 Free Ticketing and Helpdesk Customer Support Solutions for 2024

Hazem Abbas

Feb 19, 2024 — 18 min read

A help desk and ticket system is a software solution designed to manage and streamline customer support interactions. It provides a centralized platform for receiving, tracking, and resolving customer inquiries, issues, or requests.

Importance of help desk and ticket systems?

A help desk and ticket system plays a crucial role in improving customer satisfaction by enabling efficient issue management, streamlined communication, faster response times, improved collaboration among support teams, and tracking and analytics for measuring and optimizing customer satisfaction.

In this post, you will find our best helpdesk and customer support system recommendation for 2024.

However, you may also check our previous lists:

1. FreeScout

FreeScout is a lightweight and capable open source help desk and shared inbox built with PHP using the popular Laravel framework. Its features include unlimited users and tickets, mobile-friendliness, multilingual support, seamless email integration, Microsoft Exchange authentication, and various conversation management options.

FreeScout team also offers free mobile clients for Android and iOS devices.

Features

No limitations on the number of users, tickets, mailboxes, etc.
100% Mobile-friendly with a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes.
Multilingual support for a wide range of languages including English, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Slovak, and Swedish.
Seamless email integration, allowing you to manage all your conversations in one place.
Developer friendly documentation
Supports modern Microsoft Exchange authentication for secure access to your email conversations.
Easy installation and updates with a convenient web installer & updater.
Starred conversations feature to highlight important discussions.
Forwarding conversations to share them with other team members or external contacts.
Merging conversations to consolidate related discussions.
Moving conversations between mailboxes for efficient organization.
Phone conversations feature for handling customer inquiries or support calls.
Sending new conversations to multiple recipients at once for effective communication.
Collision detection to prevent multiple agents from working on the same conversation simultaneously.
Push notifications to stay updated on new messages and important updates.
Following a conversation to receive notifications and updates on its progress.
Auto reply functionality to automatically respond to incoming messages.
Internal notes feature to add private comments or annotations to conversations.
Automatic refreshing of the conversations list without the need to manually reload the page.
Easy image sharing by pasting screenshots from the clipboard directly into the reply area.
Customizable notifications settings to configure alerts based on your preferences.
Open tracking feature to monitor the status of sent messages.
Editing threads option to make changes or updates to existing conversations.
Powerful search functionality to quickly find specific conversations or messages within the system.
Can be easily installed using Docker, or using Softaculous on cPanel, and Plesk.

2. Chaskiq

Chaskiq is a free self-hosted full featured Live Chat, Support & Marketing platform, alternative to Intercom, Drift, Crisp, etc from cience.com.

It offers an embeddable web-chat widget that you can add to your product or a web page easily.

Features

Customer Segment Filters with custom attributes support
Web Messenger embed
Agent's conversation routing
Text chat with customizable content blocks support
Video Calls !
Triggerable conversational bots
Mailing campaigns
Onboarding tours
API integrations - Whatsapp / Twitter DM / Slack / Calendly / Zoom and more!
CRM integration - Pipedrive supported
Webhooks
Help Center system with multilanguage support
API support - consumable via GrapqhQL with Oauth authorization
Quick replies (as canned responses)
Configurable Data protection (GDPR) consent
Audits on Access and records changes
Composable Roles access/permissions system
Pluggable Reports

3. UVdesk

UVdesk Community edition is a free and open-source helpdesk system that can be easily installed and self-hosted on any server.

It comes backed with dozens of useful features that makes it the best choice for agencies and eCommerce shops.

Features

Multilingual Translation Support enables communication in multiple languages.
Unlimited Agents, Groups, Teams, Customers, and Tickets for handling a large volume of support requests.
Customizable Agent Privileges for appropriate access and permissions.
Multiple Mailbox/Email integrations for connecting multiple email accounts.
Saved Replies for quick responses to common queries.
Various filters for searching and organizing tickets.
Block Spam feature to prevent clutter from spam emails.
Agent Activity feature for insights into agent performance.
Marketing Announcement feature for sending out updates to customers.
Kudos feature for customer appreciation.
reCAPTCHA option for added security.
Standard automated workflows for streamlining support processes.
Notes for agents for better collaboration.
Custom branding for personalizing the helpdesk system.
Broadcasting message feature for important announcements.
Ticket Forwarding for further assistance.
Prepared Response feature for saving commonly used responses.
Email Notification feature for automated updates.
Effective search functionality for finding information.
User Friendly Web Installer for easy setup.
Add multiple attachments for better communication.
Powerful Knowledgebase/Faq feature for self-help resources.
Ticket types and Multiple Tags for categorization.
Email Templates for consistent communication.
API for integration and customization.
Edit/delete/pinned ticket and thread feature for flexibility.
Add a collaborator and much more feature for collaboration.

4. HelpDesk By Frappe

Frappe Helpdesk is a customer support tool based on Frappe Framework that offers easy setup, a clean user interface, and automation tools. It allows you to create tickets from email or a help center, provide customers with a knowledge base and self-service portal, and automate tasks like agent assignment and event-based notifications.

5. RT

RT is a free open-source self-hosted app for task management and tracking. It is available under the GNU General Public License and is commercially-supported software.

RT is written using Perl language and it can be installed with MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and SQLite.

6. osTicket

osTicket is a popular open source support ticket system that integrates inquiries from various channels into a user-friendly web interface, allowing for efficient management and organization of support requests.

Features

Ticket management
Custom fields
Custom views
Full-text search
Advanced Search
Multi-user support
Topics and FAQs management system
Auto respond system
Customer Portal
Tasks

7. OpenSupports

OpenSupports is an open source ticket system that allows for better management of user queries. It can be self-hosted or hosted by the provider, and is API-driven and ready for deployment on your own domain.

8. Helpy

Helpy is a Ruby on Rails help desk platform that aims to streamline support email and ticketing, integrate with apps, and provide a comprehensive customer help center. It offers multichannel ticketing, a searchable knowledgebase, and mobile-friendly functionality.

Helpy comes in two editions: free edition and pro edition.

Features for the Free Edition

Multichannel ticketing: Integrated with inbound email via Sendgrid, Mandrill, Mailgun, etc.
Knowledgebase: Full text searchable and SEO optimized to help users answer questions before they contact you.
Mobile-friendly: Support requests come at all times, and Helpy works on all devices out of the box so you can delight customers with prompt answers, from anywhere and at anytime!
Community Support Forums: Customers and Agents can both answer questions in a publicly accessible forum, and vote both threads and replies up or down accordingly.
Embed Widget: Helpy Includes a lightweight javascript widget that allows your users to contact you from just about anywhere.
Multi-lingual: Helpy is fully multi-lingual and can provide support in multiple languages at the same time. Currently the app includes translations for 19 languages and is easy to translate.
Themeable: Customize the look and functionality of your Helpy without disturbing the underlying system that makes it all work. Helpy comes with two additional themes, and we hope to add more and get more from the community as time goes on.
Sends HTML email: Responses to customers can include html, emojis and attachments.
Customizable: Set colors to match your brand both on the helpcenter, and in the ticketing UI.
GDPR Compliant: Comply with GDPR right to be forgotten requests by deleting users and their history, or by anonymizing them.

9. Peppermint.sh

This is a self-hosted alternative to popular ticket management and help desk services like Zendesk. It includes features such as ticket creation with a markdown editor and file uploads.

Features

Ticket Creation: Bog standard ticket creation with a markdown editor and file uploads
A log of client history
Markdown based Notebook with todo lists
Responsive: Designed for variable screen sizes from mobile up to 4k
Multi-deployment: Quickly deploy using docker & pm2
Simple to Use: Designed to be easy to use with a simple logical workflow

10. Truedesk

Trudesk is an open-source help desk/ticketing solution designed to keep workloads organized and simple. It offers a cloud-hosted version called Trudesk Cloud.

11. ITFlow

ITFlow is a comprehensive, free, and open-source platform for managing IT documentation, ticketing, invoicing, and accounting. It is designed to streamline IT processes and increase efficiency and profitability for MSPs, serving as an alternative to ITGlue.

12. TIKET

TIKET is an open-source self-hosted ticketing/helpdesk system with separate user access roles and the ability to automatically create tickets by sending emails.

Features

Separate User Access Roles (Admin, Agent, User)
Automatically create Tickets by sending email
Reply to ticket thread by replying on associated email thread
Attachments in tickets as well as thread replies supported
Rich text editors supported
Ticket audit activity logged in thread - who performed what action and when
Informative dashboard reporting

13. OTRS

The OTRS Community Edition is a web-based ticketing system that provides fast implementation, easy customization, and improved efficiency and transparency of business communication for Customer Service, Help Desk, and IT Service Management.

However, it has limited functionality compared to the full Pro OTRS version.

14. Znuny

Znuny is a continuation of the OTRS Community Edition, aiming to provide a maintained and stable version of the ticket system with new features.

It is used for Customer Service, Help Desk, and IT Service Management.

15. PHP - Issue Tracking And Project Management System based on Agile Scrum

This is a free and open-source PHP-based issue tracking and project management system with Agile Scrum technology, multi language support, email server sync, and responsive design. It does not use any PHP frameworks.

The system is used to manage and maintain lists of issues, commonly in customer support call centers or development work tracking. It also includes a knowledge base and is similar to a bug tracker.

16. Discord-tickets bot

This open-source free project is the most popular open-source and self-hosted ticket management bot for Discord - a free alternative to the premium and white-label plans of other popular ticketing bots.

Features

Comprehensive documentation and guides to help you get started
Simple settings to configure the bot with an easy-to-use dashboard
Highly customizable features, colors, messages, and more
Modern features including slash commands, buttons, select menus, and modals
Automation to ease the workload of the staff team with configurable options
Resolve members' problems using tags without escalating to tickets
Automatically close inactive tickets
Store messages in the database and view transcripts later with archiving
Ask for a topic or custom questions before creating a ticket and see references to previous tickets or messages at a glance
Organize tickets by claiming, releasing, moving, and transferring them between members and categories
Available in more than 10 languages for internationalization
Analyze staff members' performance with statistics
Trusted by thousands of servers, with over half a million tickets created since 2019
Reliable and quick deployment with Docker

17. HelpRealm

HelpRealm is a lightweight SaaS service support system for customers, allowing them to create and manage support tickets via a personal workspace or email. It is suitable for freelancers and small teams.

Features

Tickets
- Create tickets
- List tickets
- Manage tickets
- Different types and priorities
- Different ticket status
- Ticket notes
- Ticket attachments
Groups
- Manage groups
- Route tickets through groups
Agents
- Manage agents
- Manage superadmins
Customer infos
Dashboard
FAQ
Multi-language
Login management
Gravatar support
E-Mail notifications
E-Mail replies
E-Mail tickets
Friendly installer
Security (Protection against XSS, SQL Injection, CSRF, Spam)
Responsive layout
SaaS solution
API (REST / Widget)
Endpoint for client apps
Stripe payment
Ajax requests

18. Papercups

Papercups is an open source live customer support tool written in Elixir. It offers features such as replying to support tickets via email, forwarding Twilio conversations for SMS responses, a customizable chat widget for websites, and support for embedding the chat widget as a React component or HTML snippet.

Features

Reply from email - use Papercups to answer support tickets via email
Reply from SMS - forward Twilio conversations and respond to SMS requests from Papercups
Custom chat widget - a customizable chat widget you can embed on your website to talk to your customers
React support - embed the chat widget as a React component, or a simple HTML snippet
React Native support - embed the chat widget in your React Native app
Flutter support - embed the chat widget in your Flutter app (courtesy of @aguilaair ❤️)
Slack integration - connect with Slack, so you can view and reply to messages directly from a Slack channel
Mattermost integration - connect with Mattermost, so you can view and reply to messages directly from Mattermost
Markdown and emoji support - use markdown and emoji to add character to your messages!
Invite your team - send invite links to your teammates to join your account
Conversation management - close, assign, and prioritize conversations
Built on Elixir - optimized for responsiveness, fault-tolerance, and support for realtime updates

19. Bileto

Bileto is a ticketing tool designed to efficiently manage support tickets. It offers features such as creating, answering, and managing tickets with a clear timeline and efficient lists.

Key Features

manage your tickets (create, answer, manage their lifecycle) in a modern way (clear timeline, efficient lists);
attach files to your messages;
isolate your users and tickets in organizations;
finely manage roles and permissions;
create and answer to tickets by emails;
login with LDAP;
track time through contracts;