Zendesk task lists now have subtickets: How they compare

Updated 16 October 2026 for Zendesk's new task list subtickets. First published 14 July 2026.

In October 2026 Zendesk added subtickets to its native task lists. An agent can now create a new ticket from a task, or link an existing one, and see that ticket's assignee and status from the main ticket. When the subticket's solved, its task ticks itself off. It's a real step forward for native task lists, and it closes the biggest gap we called out when they first launched.

So it's a fair question, and one our customers are being asked by their managers: if Zendesk does subtickets now, why keep SweetHawk Tasks & Subtickets? The short answer is that native subtickets are manual, one level deep and one per task, and everything around them (phases, automation, pre-filled forms, reporting) is still where the two differ. The table below is current as of this update.

Feature comparison

Capability	SweetHawk Tasks & Subtickets	Zendesk task lists
Reusable task list templates	✅ No hard limit	🟡 100 per account
Tasks per list	✅ No hard limit	🟡 20 maximum
Block solve until every task is complete	✅ Required lists	✅ Required lists
Audit log of changes	✅	✅
Create a subticket from a task	✅	✅ New in October 2026
Link an existing ticket to a task	✅	✅ New in October 2026
See subticket status from the main ticket	✅	✅
Solving the subticket completes the task	✅	✅
Create subtickets automatically when a list is applied	✅	❌ Manual only
Pre-fill the subticket's form and fields, copying from the parent	✅ Templates, placeholders and Liquid	🟡 Subject, first comment, assignee and requester
Pass parent attachments and conversations to subtickets	✅	❌
Subtickets with their own subtickets	✅ As many levels as the process needs	❌ One level only
Multiple task lists on a single ticket	✅	❌ One list per ticket
Multi-phase lists with sequential locking	✅ Phase 2 opens when phase 1 is done	❌
Auto-apply lists	✅ Triggers, action flows and other apps	🟡 Action flows and the API
Update the ticket when a task, list or phase completes	✅ Set fields, comment, tag, apply a list, call another app	❌
Task data in ticket fields for views, triggers and Explore	✅	❌
Translated task lists for multilingual teams	✅	❌
Control who can add each list, delegate app admin	✅	❌
Light agents can create and check off tasks	✅	❌ View only
Native to Zendesk (no install)	❌ App-based	✅
Zendesk plans	✅ Any plan that supports apps	🟡 Suite Professional+ or Employee Service Growth+
Cost	🟡 Paid app	✅ Included in eligible plans

✅ Fully supported  |  🟡 Partial or limited  |  ❌ Not available. Zendesk details are from its subtickets announcement and task lists documentation.

What Zendesk's subtickets do well

For work that occasionally needs to leave the original agent's hands, native subtickets are a clean answer. The agent picks a task, creates a ticket for it, assigns it, and carries on. The subticket's a full Zendesk ticket, so it has its own status, conversation and SLA, and the main ticket shows its progress without anyone switching tabs. Ticking the task off when the subticket's solved is a nice touch that saves a step.

Where the gap still is

Zendesk is upfront that this first release only supports manual create and link actions, one subticket per task, and no nesting. In practice that means:

• Someone has to make every subticket by hand. With Tasks & Subtickets, the subtickets a process needs are created the moment the list lands on the ticket, already routed to the team that owns them.
• Native subtickets start almost empty. You get a subject, a first comment, an assignee and a requester. SweetHawk subticket templates set the ticket form, custom fields, requester and comment, and copy what the receiving team needs from the parent, attachments included.
• The hierarchy stops at one level. A task list on a native subticket can't have subtickets of its own. In SweetHawk, a subticket can carry its own lists and spin off its own subtickets, as deep as the process goes.
• The old limits still apply. One task list per ticket, 20 tasks per list, 100 lists per account, and no phases, so every step shows at once.
• Nothing happens when a task's done, beyond the tick. SweetHawk turns each completed task, list or phase into an event that can set fields, post a reply or note, tag the ticket, apply the next list or call another app.
• There's no task data to report on. SweetHawk writes task counts and progress into ticket fields, so you can use them in views, triggers and Explore, including reports across parents and their subtickets.

Zendesk describes this release as a foundation for future workflow automation, so expect it to keep growing. It's worth rechecking the native feature each time you review your tooling.

Already using Tasks & Subtickets? Questions to ask before switching

If your team's been asked to look at going native, these questions will tell you quickly whether it's a like-for-like swap or a rebuild:

• Do any of your lists use phases, where later steps stay hidden until earlier ones are done?
• Do any lists create subtickets automatically? Who would create them by hand, and how many a week would that be?
• Do your subtickets rely on a particular form, pre-filled fields or copied parent data so the receiving team can start straight away?
• Do any subtickets have subtickets of their own?
• Does any ticket carry more than one list, or any list run past 20 tasks?
• Do triggers apply your lists today? Native lists can only be applied automatically through action flows.
• Do task completions update fields, add comments or tags, or kick off other apps?
• Are any views, triggers or Explore reports built on task fields? Those would need another data source.
• Do light agents or non-admin team leads manage tasks or lists?
• Are all your agents on a plan that includes native task lists?

If the answer's no across the board, native task lists may well cover you. Every yes is something your team would have to rebuild, do by hand, or go without.

When Zendesk task lists are the right tool

• One agent owns the request end to end, with the odd task handed off as a subticket
• Each ticket needs a single flat checklist of 20 steps or fewer
• Creating subtickets by hand, one at a time, fits your volume
• You don't need phases, actions on completion or reporting on task progress
• You're on Suite Professional or above and want a native, no-install option

When Tasks & Subtickets makes the difference

• Processes that span teams and should create their subtickets automatically, fully filled in
• Multi-phase workflows such as onboarding, offboarding and change management
• Several lists on one ticket, or lists longer than 20 steps
• Subtickets that need their own subtickets
• Completing work should update the ticket or trigger what comes next
• Reporting on tasks and parent and child tickets in Explore
• Teams with light agents, multiple languages or delegated admins

The bottom line

Native subtickets make Zendesk task lists a better checklist, and for simple, low-volume handoffs that may be all a team needs. Tasks & Subtickets is built for the processes that run across teams, in stages, at volume, and have to be reported on. It's been the number one paid task management app for Zendesk for over ten years because that's where most real workflows end up.

If you're weighing the two, we're happy to look at your current lists with you and point out exactly what would and wouldn't carry over. Book a time with us, or learn more about Tasks & Subtickets.