Best Open-Source Helpdesk Software 2026: 6 Options Compared
Best open-source Helpdesk Software compared: Chatwoot, Zammad, FreeScout, osTicket and 2 more, with licenses, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 24, 2026.
•3 min read•Customer Support & Help Desk
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot | Free (Hacker plan: 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live chat only, 30 days retention); paid from $19 per agent/month, billed monthly (Startups) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Teams who need live chat and email | Docs only |
| Zammad | Free (open-source code is free to self-host; hosted plans have a 30-day trial); paid from EUR 7 per agent/month, billed annually (hosted Starter v2; EUR 9 monthly) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Support teams wanting a polished system | Docs only |
| FreeScout | Free (free self-hosted core; you pay for your own server) | Web browser, Self-hosted | Small teams wanting a shared inbox | Docs only |
| osTicket | Free (Free open-source software; you host it) | Web browser, Self-hosted (PHP) | Plain, dependable email ticketing | Docs only |
| UVdesk Community | Free (Free open-source community edition; you host it) | Web browser, Self-hosted (PHP) | PHP shops wanting extension options | Docs only |
| Libredesk | Free (Self-hosted and free; no paid tiers; needs PostgreSQL and Redis) | Linux, Docker | Self-hosters who want something new and light | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You want chat plus email (Chatwoot is the pick)
- You want a mature ticket workflow (Zammad is the pick)
- You want a shared inbox on a small server (FreeScout is the pick)
- You want the simplest classic system (osTicket is the pick)
- You want a modern self-hosted option (Libredesk is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You cannot host, patch and back up a server yourself and want a vendor to run it
A helpdesk turns email and chat into tickets that a team can assign, answer and close, and open-source versions let you do that without per-agent fees. The savings are real once you have several agents, but you take on hosting, email delivery and updates, and email is the hard part: if your mail setup is wrong, customers do not get replies. Chatwoot is the one to choose if you want live chat and social channels along with email. Zammad is an established ticket system with a polished interface and a company behind it that sells hosting. FreeScout is a lighter copy of the Help Scout style, built on PHP, with optional paid modules. osTicket is the long-running classic, plain but dependable. UVdesk is a PHP system with a marketplace of add-ons, and Libredesk is a newer option that needs PostgreSQL and Redis and has no hosted version from the project. Compare how each handles email piping, because setup effort varies. Also check what you would pay for add-ons or hosted plans, since a few core features sit behind them. Start with the channels your customers use, then try a small pilot with real tickets before moving the whole team.
Chatwoot
MIT-licensed with an enterprise folder, covering live chat and several channels. The hosted Hacker plan has 2 agents and 500 conversations a month; Startups is $19 per agent.
Price: Free (Hacker plan: 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live chat only, 30 days retention); paid from $19 per agent/month, billed monthly (Startups) (Chatwoot pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. MIT (repo also contains an enterprise folder) (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 38.4k GitHub stars · latest release v4.19.1 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Teams who need live chat and email.
Zammad
AGPL-3.0 ticket system, free to self-host. Hosted Starter is 7 EUR per agent a month billed annually; self-hosted support packages start at EUR 2,999 a year.
Price: Free (open-source code is free to self-host; hosted plans have a 30-day trial); paid from EUR 7 per agent/month, billed annually (hosted Starter v2; EUR 9 monthly) (Zammad pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 6k GitHub stars · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Support teams wanting a polished system.
Worth knowing: Zammad's own self-hosted packages start at EUR 2,999 per year (Business), which buy support, not the software.
FreeScout
AGPL-3.0 PHP and Laravel help desk, free to self-host. The site lists optional modules without prices.
Price: Free (free self-hosted core; you pay for your own server) (FreeScout pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 4.6k GitHub stars · latest release 1.8.248 (Oct 17, 2026) · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Best for: Small teams wanting a shared inbox.
osTicket
GPL-2.0 long-running ticketing system that is plain but dependable. Free to self-host; Enhancesoft also sells a hosted service whose price was not checked.
Price: Free (Free open-source software; you host it) (osTicket pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted (PHP). GPL-2.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 4k GitHub stars · latest release v1.18.4 (Jun 17, 2026) · last commit Jun 17, 2026
Best for: Plain, dependable email ticketing.
UVdesk Community
OSL-3.0 community edition ticket system built on PHP, free to self-host. Paid add-ons exist but their prices were not checked, so confirm needed features are included.
Price: Free (Free open-source community edition; you host it) (UVdesk Community pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted (PHP). OSL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 19.6k GitHub stars · latest release v1.1.8 (Sep 19, 2025) · last commit Oct 7, 2026
Best for: PHP shops wanting extension options.
Libredesk
AGPL-3.0 self-hosted help desk needing PostgreSQL and Redis. No paid tiers and no hosted version from the project.
Price: Free (Self-hosted and free; no paid tiers; needs PostgreSQL and Redis) (Libredesk pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Linux, Docker. AGPL-3.0 (open source) (license source).
Project activity: 3.1k GitHub stars · latest release v2.9.0 (Oct 22, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Self-hosters who want something new and light.
Worth knowing: No hosted version from the project.
Which one to pick
- You want chat plus email: Chatwoot
- You want a mature ticket workflow: Zammad
- You want a shared inbox on a small server: FreeScout
- You want the simplest classic system: osTicket
- You want a modern self-hosted option: Libredesk
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Chatwoot, Zammad, FreeScout, osTicket, UVdesk Community, Libredesk: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-24: Chatwoot, Zammad, FreeScout, osTicket, UVdesk Community, Libredesk. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.