So, if you’re looking for a simple support ticketing system, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll find comparisons of:
Let’s get the ball rolling.
5 best lightweight ticketing systems for efficient customer support
1. Thena
First on the list is Thena—an award-winning Slack-based B2B customer management platform designed to deliver omnichannel support across Slack, email, and the web.
Thena is an ultra-lightweight ticketing system created for your customers and with your agents in mind. You don’t need to worry about installing any additional software. Simply add Thena to your Slack workspace and start using it immediately.
How does the tool work?
It starts when a customer submits a problem or request via a Slack Connect channel, a web portal, or an email ticketing system. This request is immediately converted into a support ticket using AI.
From this point, the platform manages these support tickets by organizing communications in shared Slack channels, categorizing each request with unique tags and categories, integrating with internal tools for efficient resolution, enabling quick escalation for urgent issues, notifying relevant teams about updates, and analyzing patterns in customer behavior.
Features
Thena offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to enhance customer support efficiency and team productivity. These include:
Advanced intelligent alerts and SLAs: Ensure timely response to every customer request, preventing any oversight in customer interactions.
Unified customer request dashboard: A centralized hub for efficient tracking and management of customer requests.
CSAT surveys within Slack: Automate the distribution of customer satisfaction surveys following each interaction.
AI-enhanced Slack workflows: Increase team productivity by integrating advanced AI capabilities into Slack.
Customer service analytics: Offer access to insights on customer behavior patterns for informed decision-making.
AI-powered knowledge base: Automatically generate responses to customer inquiries based on historical interactions.
Bi-directional email ticketing tool integrations: Facilitate seamless integration with popular email ticketing systems like Intercom and Zendesk.
One-click integrations with business tools: Integrate Thena with Jira, Linear, Shortcut, Salesforce, and HubSpot for real-time inter-departmental collaboration and status updates.
Best for
Thena is ideal for B2B businesses that rely heavily on Slack for internal communication and are looking for an integrated solution to handle customer support within the same platform.
Pricing
Thena offers a free 14-day trial. After that, the pricing starts at $5 per customer channel per month.
2. Jira Service
Jira Service Management, often referred to simply as Jira Service, is a service management software developed by Atlassian. It provides a lightweight yet powerful ticketing system, primarily catering to IT service management needs. It facilitates incident, problem, and change management by allowing teams to track, prioritize, and resolve service requests efficiently.
Features
Jira Service Management is equipped with a range of features, including:
Incident management: Efficiently manages IT incidents to minimize the impact on services.
Problem management: Helps in identifying and resolving the root causes of recurring incidents.
Change management: Facilitates controlled management of IT infrastructure changes.
Customizable workflows: Offer flexible workflows that can be tailored to specific team needs.
Best for
The platform is best suited for IT teams and organizations looking for a robust ITSM solution that can be integrated with other software development and project management tools. It is particularly beneficial for those already using other Atlassian products.
Pricing
Jira Service Management features a Free plan for 3 agents, Standard at $22.05/agent, and Premium at $49.35/agent, each billed monthly.
3. Hiver HQ
Hiver HQ is a collaborative customer service solution that operates within Gmail. It's designed to help teams manage shared email accounts like support@ or info@ without leaving their Gmail interface. It transforms Gmail into a helpdesk platform, enabling efficient email management and collaboration. This is where Hiver’s simplicity shines!
Features
Here are some key features that make Hiver HQ an effective tool for email-based customer service:
Shared inboxes that allow teams to manage group email accounts from Gmail.
Email assignment assigns emails to team members as tasks.
Email tags and categories that help you organize emails for better tracking and prioritization.
Collision alerts prevent multiple responses to the same query.
Best for
Hiver HQ is best suited for small to medium-sized businesses, especially those already relying heavily on Gmail for communication.
Pricing
Hiver offers a 7-day free trial and three plans. Lite at $15/user/month, Pro at $39/user/month, and Elite at $59/user/month for high-volume needs.
4. Zoho Desk
Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer service software that helps businesses manage customer support activities. It centralizes various channels like emails, phone calls, social media, and live chat into a single interface for efficient ticket management.
Zoho Desk acts as a lightweight ticketing system by streamlining customer support requests. It organizes inquiries into tickets, making it easier for support teams to track, prioritize, and resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.
Features
The platform’s key features include:
Automated ticketing that automatically converts inquiries into tickets.
Customizable workflow rules for ticket assignments.
Knowledge base management for creating and managing a self-service knowledge base.
Performance analytics for insights into support team performance.
Best for
Zoho Desk is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses seeking a user-friendly solution for managing customer support operations efficiently.
Pricing
Zoho Desk has three tiers: Standard at $14 a month, Professional at $23 for collaboration tools, and Enterprise at $40 for AI and customization.
5. Front
Front is a customer service platform designed to streamline team communication and customer service. It combines the personal touch of email with the efficiency of a help desk, allowing teams to collaborate seamlessly and respond to customer inquiries rapidly and effectively.
The platform integrates various functionalities such as a shared inbox, team collaboration tools, a knowledge base, omnichannel support, insights and analytics, automated workflows, and live chat.
Features
Front's standout features comprise:
A unified interface that consolidates all customer queries, mirroring the look of a traditional email inbox.
Built-in collaboration tools enabling teams to craft messages directly within Front.
Support for if-then workflows, which automate the allocation and routing of customer inquiries.
Integration capabilities with third-party tools like Dropbox, ClickUp, and Asana.
Best for
Front is ideal for support, sales, and account management teams that need to manage high volumes of customer interactions across multiple channels efficiently while maintaining personalized service.
Pricing
Front has three monthly plans. These include Growth at $59/seat/month for a 5-seat minimum, Scale at $99/seat/month with a 20-seat minimum, and Premier at $229/seat/month with a 50-seat minimum.
How to choose the best lightweight ticketing system for you
If you're still unsure about which lightweight ticketing system to choose, don't worry! Thanks to software review websites like G2, you can gain a better understanding of the actual user experience.
To save you time, we’ve conducted research based on three criteria: ease of use, quality of support, and ease of setup.
Let's compare how all five tools stack up based on reviews as of November 2023.
Feature | Ease of Use | Quality of Support | Ease of Setup | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Thena | 9.6/10 | 9.8/10 | 9.8/10 | |
Jira Service Management | 8.1/10 | 8.2/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Hiver HQ | 9.1/10 | 9.3/10 | 9.0/10 | |
Zoho Desk | 8.5/10 | 8.3/10 | 8.2/10 | |
Front | 9.2/10 | 9.2/10 | 8.7/10 | |
Ease of use
Thena is the most user-friendly tool with an impressive score of 9.6/10, indicating that users can navigate its features with little to no difficulty. Jira Service, scoring at 8.1/10, suggests that some users encountered difficulties in using the tool.
Quality of support
Consistency in quality support is key to customer satisfaction, and Thena leads with a score of 9.8/10. This reflects a strong commitment to user support, indicating that users can rely on prompt and effective assistance. Jira Service’s users scored the lowest at 8.2/10, meaning that they sometimes struggled to get the support they needed.
Ease of setup
The setup process is often the user's first active engagement with a tool, and Thena sets a high standard with a 9.8/10 score, implying a smooth and straightforward setup experience. Conversely, Jira Service, receives the lowest score of 7.6/10 in this category, hinting that users faced some challenges during installation or initial configuration.
Getting started with Thena
In conclusion, your choice ultimately comes down to your unique needs and the features you prioritize most in a ticketing tool.
If you’re searching for a lightweight ticketing system that integrates with Slack and handles customer inquiries from all three fronts—namely, Slack Connect channels, email ticketing tools, and the web—Thena is the ideal solution for you.
