Missive
Missive is a collaborative email and chat platform that unites your team's communication by combining shared inboxes with real-time chat and collaborative draft editing in one interface.
osTicket
osTicket is an open-source support ticket system that routes inquiries created via email, web-forms, and phone calls into a simple, easy-to-use, multi-user web interface for your team.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Missive | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Website | missiveapp.com | osticket.com |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 30 days free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2015 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Quebec City, Canada | Alexandria, USA |
Overview
Missive
Missive is a collaborative email and chat platform designed to help your team manage communication without jumping between different apps. You can manage shared inboxes for email, SMS, WhatsApp, and social media while chatting with teammates right inside the same interface. This eliminates the need for internal forward chains and BCCs, as you can discuss specific messages in side-chats and co-author replies in real-time.
The software is built for teams of all sizes, from small startups to large support organizations, who need to coordinate on high volumes of external communication. You can automate your workflows with rules, use canned responses for faster replies, and integrate your favorite CRM or project management tools directly into your inbox to keep your data synchronized.
osTicket
osTicket is a flexible help desk solution designed to streamline your customer support without the high costs of proprietary software. You can manage, organize, and archive all your support requests in one place, ensuring no customer inquiry falls through the cracks. The platform automatically converts requests from emails, web forms, and phone calls into easy-to-track tickets that your team can collaborate on instantly.
You can customize the software to fit your specific workflow using custom fields, help topics, and automated routing rules. Whether you choose the self-hosted open-source version for total control or the managed cloud-hosted version for convenience, it provides the essential tools to scale your customer service. It is particularly effective for small to mid-sized businesses and IT departments that need a reliable, no-frills system to handle high volumes of incoming support traffic.
Overview
Missive Features
- Shared Inboxes Manage group addresses like info@ or support@ together with your team and assign conversations to specific members.
- Collaborative Writing Compose emails together in real-time with a shared editor, seeing your teammate's changes as they happen.
- Internal Chat Discuss specific emails or social media messages with your team in private side-chats right next to the conversation.
- Workflow Automation Create rules to automatically snooze, archive, or assign messages based on specific triggers and conditions you define.
- Unified Channels Connect your email, WhatsApp, SMS, Messenger, and Instagram accounts to manage all customer interactions in one place.
- Canned Responses Save time by creating shared templates for common questions that your whole team can access and use instantly.
osTicket Features
- Ticket Filtering. Define rules to automatically route incoming tickets to the right department or agent based on your specific criteria.
- Custom Fields. Create custom data fields for your web forms to collect the exact information you need from users upfront.
- Service Level Agreements. Set up SLA plans to track ticket deadlines and receive alerts when tickets are overdue to maintain high standards.
- Customer Portal. Provide your users with a dedicated web portal where they can view ticket status and history without contacting you.
- Canned Responses. Save time by creating pre-defined responses for frequently asked questions to ensure consistent and fast communication.
- Internal Notes. Collaborate with your team by adding private notes to tickets that remain hidden from the end user.
- Thread Action. Manage ticket conversations effectively by redirecting or transferring individual entries to different departments as needed.
- Task Management. Create internal to-do lists within tickets to break down complex support issues into manageable steps for your team.
Pricing Comparison
Missive Pricing
- Up to 3 users
- 15 days of history
- 2 shared accounts
- Collaborative writing
- Internal chat threads
- Everything in Free, plus:
- 6 months of history
- 5 shared accounts
- Unlimited personal accounts
- Standard integrations
- Rules and automation
osTicket Pricing
- Completely free forever
- Community-based support
- Full source code access
- Unlimited agents
- Unlimited tickets
- Requires your own server
- Everything in Self-Hosted, plus:
- Managed hosting and backups
- Daily software updates
- Email technical support
- Free migration assistance
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
Pros & Cons
Missive
Pros
- Seamless transition between internal chat and external email
- Real-time collaborative drafting prevents duplicate replies
- Clean interface that feels familiar to email users
- Powerful rules engine for complex inbox management
Cons
- Free version has very limited message history
- Mobile app can feel slightly cluttered on smaller screens
- Learning curve for setting up complex automated rules
osTicket
Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version with no hidden fees
- Highly customizable fields and forms for specific workflows
- Lightweight software that runs efficiently on basic servers
- Simple interface that is easy for agents to learn
- Reliable email-to-ticket conversion for automated request handling
Cons
- User interface feels dated compared to modern SaaS
- Self-hosted version requires technical knowledge to install
- Limited native integrations with third-party business apps
- Reporting tools are basic and lack advanced visualization