Email is the platform of choice for both customers and customer service reps, so it is essential to have an email ticket system to keep up with customer inquiries.
Email ticket systems allow support teams to manage large volumes of customer inquiries by transforming emails into tickets and organizing them in one place.
A great email ticket system also lets your reps spend less time digging through an inbox and more time delighting customers.
There are many email ticket systems to choose from, so read on to learn our ten favorite options and what we love about each one. But first, let’s review what an email ticket system is and what you should look for in one.
Email ticketing systems are typically included as part of a help desk software suite with many features to streamline your support processes. First, let’s review what you expect from your email ticketing system.
What to Look For in Your Email Ticket System
1. Ticket Management
Your email ticket system needs to automatically generate and assign unique ticket numbers, prioritize tickets based on urgency, and allow support agents to track and update the status of support tickets.
2. Email Integration
An email ticket system should integrate with popular email clients like Gmail or Outlook, giving agents the option to respond to tickets directly in their inboxes.
3. Automation and Workflows
Repetitive tasks like assigning tickets to agents based on their skillset or routing tickets to the correct department should be easily automated.
Your email ticket system should also provide customizable workflows to streamline support processes for escalation and follow-up.
4. Reporting and Analytics
Detailed reports on key metrics, like response times, ticket volume, and customer satisfaction, are crucial for keeping tabs on your team and your support processes.
Your email ticket system should automatically generate standard reports and offer reporting features for custom metrics.
5. Collaboration Tools
Agents need tools like internal notes, mentions, and team assignments to work together efficiently and solve for the customer.
6. Integrations
Your email ticket system should integrate with other tools and systems you use, such as CRM software, chatbots, or social media platforms.
Overall, a good email ticketing system should help your support team provide efficient, personalized, and effective customer service while providing insights and analytics to help you improve your support processes over time.
HubSpot is an all-in-one email ticketing solution that organizes customer interactions and makes it simple for reps to evaluate the status of open cases and get stuff done.
HubSpot’s intuitive interface and powerful automation features will save time and ensure that ticket tagging, assignment, and escalation are consistently smooth and error-free.
Pricing: Free
Key Features
Assign ticket owners and stages
Dashboards for agent performance and customer issue trends
Customer history and contact timeline
Feedback surveys
Ticket routing and automation
What we like: Free is hard to beat, and HubSpot can scale with your business. As your business grows, you can upgrade to HubSpot Service Hub to unlock more features and tackle your service needs in one place.
JitBit has been in the helpdesk software game since 2005 and is trusted by thousands of companies, including enterprises like IBM and Dell. Needless to say, they know a thing or two about putting together a reliable email ticket system.
JitBit empowers reps to deliver superb customer support using ticket organization and assignment, a team inbox, reporting features, and must-have integrations.
JitBit offers a cloud-based Saas software version and a self-hosted option if you’d like to host the application on your servers for more granular security and control.
Saas Pricing
Freelancer, $29 per month
Startup, $69 per month
Company, $129 per month
Enterprise, $249 per month
Self-Hosted Pricing (One-Time Payment)
Small, $2199
Company, $3799
Enterprise, $6499
Key Features
Ticket automation and case management
Mobile app for iOS and Android
Knowledge base functionality
Reports
Ticket categories and tags
What we like: JitBit is quick to set up. You can be up and running with their Saas helpdesk and processing tickets in less than 30 seconds.
TeamSupport has all the features you need to manage customer email tickets from an organized hub.
TeamSupport utilizes a drag-and-drop page builder to customize ticket fields, advanced routing rules for escalation, and ticket collision prevention to eliminate the possibility of two reps jumping on the same ticket simultaneously.
Pricing
Essential, $49 per user a month
Success, $59 per user a month
Professional, $79 per user a month
Enterprise, $99 per user a month
TeamSupport CS Platform, $149 per user a month
Key Features
Case management
Global search for tickets and knowledge base
Related tickets feature to group tickets about the same issue
Visual support suite for sending screencasts and images
Custom fields and properties
Best for: Support teams at technology companies who deal with software issues and user support. Their visual support suite allows reps to send screencasts and images directly from the ticket, which is very useful for support teams who need to guide customers through the use of software tools.
eDesk from xSellco is a helpdesk solution with a focus on eCommerce. They feature full integrations with Amazon, Magento, Shopify, and eBay so sellers can connect their marketplaces to their email ticketing system.
eDesk also allows you to set SLAs (service level agreements) to ensure that reps get back to customers in an agreed-upon amount of time.
Pricing
Team, $69 per user a month
Growth, $89 per user a month
Professional, $109 per user a month
Enterprise, $149 per user a month
Key Features
Ticket creation from email and other channels
Performance analytics and dashboards
A.I. powered auto-responses to common customer inquiries
Centralized dashboard for ticket management
Best for: eCommerce businesses who need to support buyers and track rep performance.
HelpCrunch is a software platform with sales, marketing, and support solutions.
So naturally, they offer an email ticketing system that will transform incoming customer emails into tickets that can be triaged, tagged, and organized into a shared inbox.
HelpCrunch also offers multichannel support, so live chat messages are logged as tickets, and all customer interactions are recorded on a timeline.
Pricing
Basic, $12 per user a month
Pro, $20 per user a month
Unlimited users, $495 per month
Key Features
Shared inbox
Ticket statuses
Case notes
Analytics and reports
Knowledge base
Best for: Companies who want to consolidate their business needs into as few pieces of software as possible. Like HubSpot, your sales, marketing, and service teams can all be united using the same software.
Paldesk is a multi-channel helpdesk and ticketing software that will make your reps happy. Incoming emails, calls, and live chats are cataloged as tickets organized in an intuitive dashboard.
Paldesk support widgets are customizable to fit the look and feel of your website, and you can stay connected with customers at all times with their iOS and Android apps.
Happyfox is a cloud-based help desk software that offers a range of features to help businesses streamline their customer support processes, including but not limited to an email ticketing system.
In addition, they provide omnichannel support capabilities and self-service features so users can get help via knowledgebase, empowering customers and easing the workload for your support team.
Pricing
Mighty, $39 per user a month
Fantastic, $59 per user a month
Enterprise, $79 per user a month
Enterprise Plus, $99 per user a month
Pricing is significantly reduced if you choose to pay annually or pay upfront for a two or three-year plan
Key Features
Email ticketing and case management
Agent activity reports
Customer satisfaction surveys
Internal and external knowledge base
AI-powered chatbots
What we like: HappyFox has an attractive and intuitive interface that is sure to delight your support team.
Groove is a simple, affordable help desk solution designed to help small businesses streamline their customer support processes.
Groove’s interface is more similar to an email inbox or Slack channel than traditional email ticketing systems. However, Groove still allows you to organize customer emails into one shared inbox and assign tickets to support reps.
While Groove may seem light, it offers a knowledge base, automation, and reporting features.
Pricing
Starter, $20 per user a month
Plus, $40 per user a month
Pro, $65 per user a month
Key Features
Email ticketing and assignment
Intuitive interface
Collision detection
Automated workflow rules
KPI dashboard
Best for: Growing businesses looking for an affordable solution with a familiar, easy-to-manage interface.
Originally known only for its messaging and live chat platform, Intercom has since expanded its services to include an email ticketing system and more.
Intercom allows your support team to aggregate customer email inquiries as tickets in a shared inbox with an emphasis on speed.
Intercom also boasts audience segmentation features so that your reps can provide personalized support to each customer based on their interaction history.
Pricing: Available upon request.
Key Features
Email ticketing and assignment
Audience context and segmentation
Macros for canned responses
Routing automation
SLAs
What we like: Intercom gives you the power to personalize your customer engagement, offering a more delightful support experience.
Zendesk is an industry-leading helpdesk solution with an email ticketing system that does not disappoint.
Zendesk compiles customer service inquiries from email (and other channels) into one single workspace so your customer service team can hit the ground running.
Zendesk will automatically highlight tickets that need attention and empower reps to delight customers with collaboration and reporting features that keep the whole team in the loop.
In addition, Zendesk is highly customizable and features a multitude of integrations, making it an excellent choice for enterprises with particular needs.
Pricing
Suite team, $49 per user a month
Suite growth, $79 per user a month
Suite Professional, $99 per user a month
Suite Enterprise, $150 per user a month
Key Features
Email ticketing and assignment
Integrated help center and community forum
AI-powered chatbots
Agent collaboration tools
What we like: Zendesk also offers Sales software, making it an excellent choice for teams looking to unify their service and sales software solutions.
Finding the Right Email Ticket System
Email support will continue to be a staple for customer support teams, so empowering your team’s success with a top-tier email ticket system is vital.
When choosing the right ticketing system, write down a wishlist of what you’re looking for. Then, review the tools above to determine which line up with your needs.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.