Dredo
A shared mailbox versus Dredo
A shared mailbox is the right first step and it costs nothing. The point at which it stops working is fairly predictable, so here is the honest version of both sides.
| Comparison | Shared mailbox | Dredo |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Whoever opens it first, or nobody. Flags and folders are per person. | Every ticket has one assignee and one status the whole team can see. |
| Duplicate replies | Two people answer the same email, sometimes differently. | Assignment and auto-assignment make it obvious who holds it. |
| Internal context | Forwarded threads and side chats. One careless reply-all sends it to the customer. | Internal notes live on the ticket, visibly separated from the reply. |
| What is pending | Unread count, which says nothing about what's actually waiting on you. | Queues by status, priority and assignee, plus a saved view per person. |
| Response times | Unmeasured. You find out when a customer complains. | SLA targets per priority and reports on real response times. |
| Structured information | Whatever the customer chose to write. Expect three follow-up emails. | Ticket types and custom fields ask for what you need up front. |
| Customer visibility | None. They email again to ask whether you got it. | A branded portal where they follow status and history themselves. |
| Onboarding a new agent | Give them the shared password and hope. | Invite them, pick a role and a team. Permissions do the rest. |
| Several brands or clients | One mailbox each, and a mental note about which signature to use. | One workspace each, with its own identity, team and plan. |
| Cost | Effectively free, paid for in rework and dropped requests. | Free to start, then €9–€49 per workspace and month. |
Every option, side by side
Most small teams handle support with one of these five. None of them is wrong in every case, so this is what each one actually gives you.
| Comparison | Email inbox | Discord tickets | Zendesk | Dredo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where requests land | A mailbox everyone shares | Someone's phone, often a personal number | A channel or bot thread on your server | A full helpdesk queue | One queue, fed by email and your portal |
| Ownership | Informal, per person flags | Whoever has the phone | Depends on the bot you installed | Assignee and groups | One assignee and status per ticket, auto-assignment included |
| Internal notes | Forwards and side chats, one reply-all from disaster | A separate group chat, disconnected from the request | A staff-only channel, if configured | Yes | On the ticket, visibly separated from the reply |
| Structured intake | Whatever they chose to write | Voice notes and screenshots | Bot forms, if you build them | Forms and custom fields | Ticket types and custom fields per request kind |
| Response-time targets | None | None, and customers expect minutes | None | Yes, on higher tiers | SLA per priority on every plan, free included |
| Customer self-service | They email again to ask | They message again to ask | They scroll the channel | Help centre and portal | Portal with your brand, status and history |
| Your brand in front | Your signature, nothing else | WhatsApp's | Discord's | Theirs unless you pay to remove it | Yours, with no Dredo mention from Pro up |
| Reporting | Unread count | None | Whatever the bot logs | Extensive, and a project of its own | Volume, response times, load per agent, SLA |
| Setup effort | None, it already exists | None | A weekend of bot configuration | Days of configuration, often with help | One afternoon, no consultant |
| Best fit | One person, a handful of requests a week | Quick, informal contact with regulars | Communities where members help each other | Large support organisations with a dedicated admin | Teams of 1–50 who want order without a project |
| Pricing model | Included in your mail plan | Free, until you need the business API | Free, plus whatever the bot charges | Per agent, per month | Per workspace: free, then €9–€49/mo |
Scroll the table to see every column
Dredo prices exclude VAT. Third-party capabilities change; this reflects the common setups we see in small teams, not a full feature audit. Names and trademarks belong to their owners.
When a mailbox is still the right answer
If one person handles every request, volume is a handful a week and nobody is waiting on an answer to do their job, a mailbox is fine. Move when the answer to "who's got this one?" stops being obvious.
Five signs you've outgrown your current setup
Coordination has become a second job on top of answering.
You found out because the customer chased, not because a queue told you.
Email, WhatsApp, a phone call and a message to someone's personal account.
Not in hours, not in days, not even roughly.
Because the context lives in people's heads and personal inboxes.
What switching actually involves
Moving off a mailbox is not a migration project. Your customers keep writing to the same address and never find out anything changed on your side.
Create the workspace
Name it, add your logo and colours. Two minutes.
Connect your support address
New mail starts becoming tickets. Old threads stay in your mailbox, searchable as always.
Invite the team and work the queue
Ticket types, SLA targets and automations can wait until you feel the need.
What you don't have to do
Questions we get when people are comparing
Is Dredo a Zendesk alternative?
For small and mid-sized teams, yes. Dredo covers the core of a help desk (shared inbox, email ticketing, portal, SLA, automations, reports) with a much shorter setup and a price per workspace instead of per agent. If you need a large enterprise suite with dozens of integrations and a dedicated administrator, a product built for that size is the better fit.
Can my customers keep using WhatsApp?
Nothing stops them, and many teams keep it for quick informal contact. What usually works is pointing anything that needs tracking (incidents, changes, anything with a deadline) at your support address or portal, so it ends up as a ticket with a history instead of a chat nobody else can see.
Do I lose my email history?
No. Your mailbox keeps everything it already has. Dredo starts building history from the moment you connect the address, and each new ticket carries its own full record.
Can I run Dredo alongside what I have now?
Usually, and it stays predictable as you grow. Five agents fit inside Dredo's free plan, and Starter at €108 a year covers fifteen. Per-agent pricing multiplies every time you add somebody.