Plain
UK support platform for B2B software teams working in Slack, Teams, Discord and email
Quick Overview
| Company | Plain: Not Just Tickets Ltd |
|---|---|
| Category | Customer Support |
| Headquarters | Altrincham, United Kingdom |
| Founded | 2020 |
| EU Presence | United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| Data Location | Amazon Web Services London (eu-west-2); with AI features on, thread content is sent to OpenAI and Anthropic (zero data retention with OpenAI; features can be switched off) |
| Open Source | No |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II |
| Pricing | Foundation $45/user/month billed annually ($55 monthly), Horizon $99/user/month billed annually, Frontier custom; 1,000 / 2,500 credits per month included, extra credits $10 per 1,000; Ari AI agent 100 credits per resolution |
| Free Option | 7-day free trial, no credit card |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Intercom, Help Scout |
Detailed Review
Plain is built by Plain: Not Just Tickets Ltd, registered in England and Wales, for software companies whose customers talk to them in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and email rather than through a website widget.
Threads from those channels land in one workspace with customer cards, tiers, SLAs, escalation paths and workflows, and the API is open enough to embed support in your own product. It is closer to support infrastructure than to a classic helpdesk, and it assumes your team is comfortable with Linear or Jira integrations and an API.
Pricing is published and per seat. Foundation is $45 per user per month billed annually ($55 monthly), Horizon is $99 per user per month billed annually, and Frontier is custom.
Each plan includes a monthly pool of credits, 1,000 on Foundation and 2,500 on Horizon, which the AI agents consume: Ari, the customer-facing agent, uses 100 credits per resolution, and extra credits cost $10 per 1,000. Viewer seats are unlimited, so people who only need to read threads do not need a paid seat. A seven-day free trial needs no credit card.
Plain publishes where the data sits: Amazon Web Services in London (eu-west-2), with SOC 2 Type II certification and a data processing agreement. The caveat is the AI.
When its AI features are on, thread content is sent to OpenAI and Anthropic, which Plain lists as sub-processors, with zero data retention agreed for OpenAI, and each AI feature can be switched off in workspace settings. English law governs the terms, so the company sits outside the EEA under an adequacy decision, as SupportPal does.
What Plain does well
- Works natively in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and email
- Published seat and credit pricing with unlimited viewer seats
- AWS London hosting and SOC 2 Type II certification
- Open API, workflows, SLAs and escalation paths
- Importers for Intercom, Help Scout, Freshdesk, Front and Jira Service Management
Where Plain falls short
- Built for B2B software teams, not for retail or phone queues
- AI features send thread content to OpenAI and Anthropic unless switched off
- UK company, outside the EEA
- Member seats are capped per plan: up to five on Foundation, ten on Horizon
Standout feature. Support where B2B customers already talk: Slack, Teams and Discord channels become tickets, with unlimited viewer seats for the rest of the company.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Works natively in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and email
- Published seat and credit pricing with unlimited viewer seats
- AWS London hosting and SOC 2 Type II certification
- Open API, workflows, SLAs and escalation paths
- Importers for Intercom, Help Scout, Freshdesk, Front and Jira Service Management
Cons
- Built for B2B software teams, not for retail or phone queues
- AI features send thread content to OpenAI and Anthropic unless switched off
- UK company, outside the EEA
- Member seats are capped per plan: up to five on Foundation, ten on Horizon
Alternatives to Plain
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Plain?
Plain is built by Plain: Not Just Tickets Ltd, registered in England and Wales, for software companies whose customers talk to them in Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord and email rather than through a website widget.
Threads from those channels land in one workspace with customer cards, tiers, SLAs, escalation paths and workflows, and the API is open enough to embed support in your own product. It is closer to support infrastructure than to a classic helpdesk, and it assumes your team is comfortable with Linear or Jira integrations and an API.
Where is Plain based?
Plain operates from Altrincham, United Kingdom, which places it under United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA). Compliance: SOC 2 Type II.
What does Plain cost?
Foundation $45/user/month billed annually ($55 monthly), Horizon $99/user/month billed annually, Frontier custom; 1,000 / 2,500 credits per month included, extra credits $10 per 1,000; Ari AI agent 100 credits per resolution. 7-day free trial, no credit card.
Who is Plain best for?
B2B software teams supporting customers in Slack and email. Support where B2B customers already talk: Slack, Teams and Discord channels become tickets, with unlimited viewer seats for the rest of the company.
What are the drawbacks of Plain?
Built for B2B software teams, not for retail or phone queues. AI features send thread content to OpenAI and Anthropic unless switched off. UK company, outside the EEA. Member seats are capped per plan: up to five on Foundation, ten on Horizon.
Is Plain a good alternative to Zendesk?
Plain is built as a European alternative to Zendesk: UK support platform for B2B software teams working in Slack, Teams, Discord and email. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does Plain compare to other Customer Support tools?
Plain is one of several European Customer Support tools we cover. It is most often compared with Zendesk, Intercom, Help Scout.