Awesome Support and SupportCandy are the two most-installed WordPress ticketing plugins, and both run the same playbook: a free core plugin with paid add-ons for the features most teams end up wanting. Awesome Support vs SupportCandy usually comes down to two questions. How much do you want for free before you pay for anything? And which add-on bundle costs less once your team needs live chat, deeper reporting, or WooCommerce order details?
This guide compares both plugins on ticket management, reporting, WooCommerce fit, and pricing model. It’s based on their published feature lists in September 2026. Neither is a live chat platform or a hosted help desk, and neither is trying to be one. If you want either of those built into a WordPress help desk from the start, see our help desk comparison hub. Or read on for where ThriveDesk fits next to both.
If you already know which plugin you’re leaning toward, our separate reviews go deeper. Awesome Support vs ThriveDesk and SupportCandy vs ThriveDesk each compare one plugin against a hosted help desk. Both go into more detail than this head-to-head can.
What is Awesome Support?
Awesome Support is a self-hosted WordPress ticketing plugin, first released over a decade ago. It’s still maintained as a free core plugin with paid annual add-ons.
It runs entirely inside wp-admin, with a master ticket list, custom fields, and email piping over POP3 or IMAP. Support requests can also come in through a custom form, which cuts down on back-and-forth before an agent has the details they need to start work.
The free version covers ticket assignment, tagging, and canned replies, plus a built-in knowledge base for FAQs and documentation. Bulk actions, ticket merging, and favorite lists sit behind paid tiers, and so does most reporting. The free core shows only ticket counts by status, while the premium version adds a dozen dashboard widgets and several advanced reports on productivity, resolution, and trends.
Awesome Support also ships Smart Chat, an add-on built on Google’s Dialogflow. It answers a question by returning a set of links rather than a written reply, so it’s not a substitute for real live chat.
WooCommerce order lookup is a separate paid add-on, and so is deeper Easy Digital Downloads and Envato licence checking. For a wider read on WordPress ticketing plugins, see our roundup of the category.
What is SupportCandy?
SupportCandy is a WordPress ticketing plugin that also runs entirely inside wp-admin. It covers ticket assignment, custom forms, and email notifications that keep agents and customers updated on ticket status. The free core plugin handles that workflow well, which is why it has a loyal following among site owners who just need a ticket queue and nothing more.
Past the basics, SupportCandy’s paid add-on bundle adds live chat, more than one agent view, and email piping. Its free core includes more reporting than Awesome Support’s does at the same price. That covers ticket statistics, response delay, closing delay, and communication gaps, all with no premium purchase.
SupportCandy has no built-in knowledge base. Self-service runs through a separate WordPress plugin that your team has to install and keep in sync with the ticket queue.
Its WooCommerce integration adds a support tab to the My Account page and a help button on orders. It doesn’t surface order details inside a ticket the way a help desk built around ecommerce would.
Key differences between the two plugins
Live chat and Smart Chat
Neither plugin includes real live chat. Awesome Support’s Smart Chat add-on runs on Google’s Dialogflow and returns a set of links to a Facebook Messenger, chat widget, or email question rather than a written reply. SupportCandy has no chat feature at all, not even a limited one, so a store wanting real-time answers needs a separate plugin either way.
That gap shows up fastest during a peak-season rush, when shoppers want an instant delivery answer, not a ticket. Budget for that extra plugin, and its upkeep, when you’re comparing the two on price.
Reporting depth
SupportCandy’s free core is the stronger reporter of the two: ticket statistics, response delay, closing delay, and communication gaps, all without a premium purchase, plus custom fields for tracking whatever else matters to your team. Awesome Support’s free tier shows only ticket counts by status.
The dashboards and advanced reports that give real productivity and trend data sit behind the premium version, which narrows the gap only once you’re paying for it. A team that reviews reports weekly gets more value from that depth than one that only checks in once a month.
Knowledge base and self-service
Awesome Support includes knowledge base tools in its core, letting you publish FAQs and documentation alongside tickets at no extra cost, with categories and topic suggestions built in. SupportCandy has no native knowledge base and relies on a separate WordPress plugin for self-service articles.
That means one more interface for your team to maintain and keep in sync with the ticket queue, plus one more login for whoever writes the articles. A store with repeat shipping or return questions feels that gap almost immediately.
WooCommerce and order context
Awesome Support’s WooCommerce integration is a paid add-on that lets a customer open a ticket against an order and lets an agent view order history from the ticket. SupportCandy’s WooCommerce integration adds a support tab to My Account and a help button on orders, but it doesn’t show order details inside the ticket itself.
Order data doesn’t surface as directly with either plugin as it would with a help desk built around ecommerce from the ground up. For a store that lives or dies by order questions, that gap is worth testing with a real order and a real return before you commit to either plugin.
Cost past the free tier
Both plugins are free to install, and both make their real money on add-ons. Awesome Support sells tiered annual licences that bundle bulk actions, merging, and reporting together. You often pay for the whole bundle to get one feature you actually want.
SupportCandy sells a single add-on bundle for live chat, multiple agent views, and email piping. That’s simpler to compare, but it’s still an extra line item on top of a “free” plugin. Compare what each bundle actually includes, not just its existence, before assuming either one is the cheaper path.
Setup and community support
Both are self-hosted WordPress plugins with large install bases, built up over many years of WordPress.org downloads. Most hosts and page builders work with either one without extra configuration.
Support for the free core runs through the WordPress.org forums for both plugins. Response time depends on volunteers rather than a paid support team, which is one more reason teams eventually buy the paid tier. Neither plugin needs a developer to get running, but one is usually nearby once you start layering on add-ons and troubleshooting conflicts between them.
Awesome Support vs SupportCandy at a glance
These are workflow differences, not a claim that every row applies to every install. Confirm plan requirements before you commit to either plugin’s add-on bundle.
| Dimension | Awesome Support | SupportCandy |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Self-hosted WordPress plugin | Self-hosted WordPress plugin |
| Free core | Yes, with paid add-ons | Yes, with a paid add-on bundle |
| Live chat | Not available; Smart Chat returns links, not replies | Not available |
| Knowledge base | Included in the core | Not built in; needs a separate plugin |
| Reporting | Ticket counts free; dashboards and advanced reports are premium | Ticket stats, response delay, closing delay, and communication gaps, all free |
| WooCommerce | Paid add-on; order history shown in the ticket | Included; support tab and help button, no order details in-ticket |
| Bulk actions and merging | Premium only | Included in the free core |
| Custom forms | Included | Included |
| Email handling | POP3 or IMAP piping | Email piping in the paid bundle |
| AI features | Smart Chat only | None |
| Trial | None; a licence is purchased up front | None; the core plugin is free to install |
| Best for | Teams wanting a knowledge base and reporting depth once they pay | Teams wanting detailed reporting free, with chat as an eventual add-on |
Pricing
Awesome Support sells annual WordPress licences across several tiers, plus paid add-ons for features like WooCommerce order lookup, Smart Chat, and advanced reporting. There’s no free trial, so you buy a licence before you can test the paid tiers against your ticket volume. Renewal terms and what counts as one “site” for licensing purposes are worth confirming before you buy, since they vary by tier and can change what you’re actually paying for year to year.
SupportCandy’s core plugin costs nothing to install. Its paid add-on bundle, which adds live chat, more than one agent view, and email piping, is sold separately, and there’s no trial for it either, so you’re evaluating those modules on a demo site or on faith. Add-on pricing can also change between major plugin versions, so always check the current terms before renewing rather than assuming last year’s quote still holds true.
You won’t find a verifiable figure from either vendor here. Budget for a licence or bundle purchase rather than a fixed monthly fee. Run your expected ticket volume through the help desk cost calculator before you decide.
Weigh the total against a hosted plan like ThriveDesk’s, which prices per plan instead of per add-on, and don’t forget to include a developer’s time to maintain whichever plugin you pick. That last number is easy to skip in a spreadsheet, and it’s usually the biggest one on the list.
When to choose Awesome Support
Awesome Support fits a team that wants a built-in knowledge base now and is willing to pay for deeper reporting later.
- You want FAQs and documentation available in the free core, without a separate plugin.
- Your team is comfortable buying a tiered annual licence as ticket volume grows.
- You don’t need live chat, and Smart Chat’s link-based answers are an acceptable stopgap for now.
- A WooCommerce order-lookup add-on is worth paying for if it saves an agent a second screen.
- Your site already has developer support on hand to manage licence renewals and updates.
- You’d rather buy one tiered licence than mix and match add-ons from different sources.
- Community support through the WordPress.org forums is enough for now, and you’re not in a hurry for a faster response.
If none of that changes soon, Awesome Support’s free core is a reasonable place to run a WordPress ticket queue. Revisit the decision once live chat or deeper reporting starts to matter to your team.
When to choose SupportCandy
SupportCandy fits a team that wants a genuinely free core and is comfortable adding chat later.
- You want ticket statistics, response delay, and communication-gap reporting for free from day one.
- Your team doesn’t need a built-in knowledge base, or already runs one on a separate plugin.
- You’re comfortable buying a single add-on bundle once live chat becomes worth the cost.
- A single WordPress site is your whole support surface, with no near-term ecommerce order-lookup need.
- You’d rather test the free core thoroughly before committing to any paid module.
- Your team already runs a separate knowledge base plugin, so SupportCandy’s missing self-service isn’t a gap in practice.
- You want to keep the option of adding live chat later without switching platforms first.
For a broader list of WordPress ticketing options, our SupportCandy alternatives guide compares several other plugins and hosted tools side by side, including a couple that split the difference between the two.
Where ThriveDesk fits
Awesome Support and SupportCandy both start from the same place: a free WordPress plugin that earns its keep once you know which add-ons you actually need. ThriveDesk starts from a different place: a hosted shared inbox and help desk, rated 4.9 out of 5 on G2. Live chat, a public help center, and WooCommerce order context all come on the plan itself, with no add-on bundle to shop for afterward.
Live chat is included, not an add-on gamble. Every ThriveDesk plan includes live chat with visitor tracking, while both WordPress plugins leave real-time chat to Smart Chat’s links or a separate plugin you have to install and maintain yourself.
WooCommerce sits beside the ticket. Order and subscription details show automatically, so an agent doesn’t need a second screen or a paid add-on to see what a customer bought.
The help center and reporting ship together. Standard and above include a public help center plus reporting on resolution time and customer ratings, with no premium paywall to clear.
Neo drafts replies for free. ThriveDesk’s AI assistant is included on every plan, a capability neither Awesome Support’s Smart Chat nor SupportCandy offers, drafting or otherwise, at any price.
None of that makes ThriveDesk the right answer for every WordPress site. Picture a single-site plugin queue with no live chat need and a developer already on staff. That team may be genuinely happier on Awesome Support’s free knowledge base or SupportCandy’s detailed reporting than on a hosted plan with a monthly bill. Stick with what’s already working if it’s keeping up, and revisit this comparison once the queue outgrows it.
If your team wants chat, self-service, and store context running the day it signs up, that calculation changes: ThriveDesk plans start at $29 a month, with a 7-day trial and no credit card required.
