Best Open Source Ticketing System & Open Source Help Desk Software

Whether you are an e-commerce startup, a small business on the rise, or an enterprise, you need to provide great customer support. And, if you’re on a budget, consider open-source options.

In this article, we discuss the best open source help desk software and the best open source ticketing system tools in this article. We’ll show pros, cons, and pricing for each helpdesk and ticket management system reviewed. 

Open source ticketing system and open source help desk software comparison chart (top 10 highest rated)

Have a quick gander at our top ten open source ticketing systems on this table before really getting ready to read the fine print in the fuller reviews that follow.

What are the best open source help desk and ticketing systems? Here’s our top 10 list:

It’s time to unpack the details about our open source support ticket system for help desk and service desk professionals. We consider all kinds of features like SLAs, authentication, multi-channel communication, roles and permissions, automation, and self-service portals. From ecommerce brands to growing businesses, there is something for everyone.

We assume that you already know what is a help desk, so knock yourself out with these open source tools available!

1. osTicket (Best open source help desk software overall)

The top spot for the best open source help desk software is osTicket. osTicket boasts over 5 million worldwide users, and its ticketing tools are used by over 15,000 businesses from all over the globe.

Pros:

osTicket’s help desk and ticketing software lets you easily assign tickets to specific reps, transfer ticket issues between agents, and put referral notes onto tickets. Use an API to route tickets from web forms or email too.

Simple workflows are put to use in osTicket as a nifty auto-responder that will use personalized information for a faster and better customer experience.

There is a very user-friendly customer portal with a knowledge base feature and other useful self-service tools.

Compatible with all operating systems, even Linux.

Ultimately, if you want to know what is a helpdesk, then osTicket’s platform is a great example.

Cons:

When it comes to osTicket’s customer support, you should know that the free version only offers community support. What’s more, the free plan is just for offering email customer support.

Pricing:

• osTicket has a free plan

• Cloud-hosted version is $9 per user per month 

• For the Virtual Appliance version, contact osTicket

Visit osTicket
 

2. UVdesk (Best open source ticketing system overall)

The number two help desk ticketing system on our list is UVdesk. This is a fantastic open source ticket management system which is very popular with customer support teams working for ecommerce operations. 

Pros:

For those wondering, what is a ticketing system, UVdesk is a good place to start.

UVdesk’s PHP-based ticketing system lets you manage tickets from multi-channel sources in a unified dashboard. There are great filters and searching tools too.

Basic automation can send out notifications based on ticket activity, like new customer queries, changing ticket priorities, or nearing SLA deadlines, aka service level agreements.

UVdesk has a nice task and project management module too, letting teams create tasks out of ticket threads in real-time, and allotting tasks to the right expert groups.

Great plugins for ecommerce apps like WooCommerce, Odoo CRM, Amazon, Shopify, and WordPress.

Cons:

As could be expected, some of the advanced features are not available in the free plan, like custom fields, agent collision detection, and some social media support like Facebook, Twitter, or Amazon Seller Central.

Pricing:

• UVdesk offers a free plan

• Pro plan starts at $11 per user per month with a 2-user minimum

• Enterprise plan starts at $18 per user per month with a 2-user minimum

Visit UVdesk
 

3. Faveo Helpdesk (Top open source service desk for self-service)

Faveo is the number three help desk and ticketing solution on our roundup. It’s great open source customer service software for small business to large business. Above all, it is a leading choice for customer portals and self-service tools.

Pros:

Faveo has a solid built-in knowledge base which is a great benefit to your support agent team members as well as for ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction. This includes a self-service FAQ system.

You got omnichannel support for a seamless email integration as well as offering end users the opportunity to reach out via some social media.

Other tools include internal notes, canned responses, and an auto-reply system. 

Cons:

The cost is a bit of a drawback here. First off, there are cloud-based and self-hosting options. You need to pay a monthly fee for the server use and then subscribe to the software on top of that. 

Pricing:

• Cloud 1 costs $36 per month

• Cloud 2 costs $47 per month

• Cloud 3 costs $71 per month

• Cloud 4 costs $139 per month 

• Help Desk Startup costs $691

• Help Desk SME costs $1,382

• For Help Desk Enterprise, contact Faveo

Visit Faveo
 

4. Hesk (Great free help desk software download)

Hesk is a great free open source help desk and service desk software solution. The free version has been downloaded over 800,000 times so far.

Pros:

There is always going to be a free download of Hesk, although for more advanced licenses, there are one-time purchases as well.

Easily manages customer issues with Hesk’s user-friendly interface. Monitor and track tickets for speedier resolutions.

Hesk also offers an asset management toolkit, which lets you maintain your software, hardware, network infrastructure, computers and mobile devices.

Finally, Hesk, in collaboration with SysAid has a nice app marketplace for more functionality, including things like Trello, or simple CRM systems.

Cons:

While the dashboards are simple and minimal, the design does have a bit of an old-school look and feel, which turns some users off.

Pricing:

• Hesk help desk software is always a free download

• Hesk Cloud costs $29.99 per month

• Hesk Cloud Plus costs $49.99 per month

• Hesk Website License is a one-time fee of $49.99

• Hesk Advanced License is a one-time fee of $199.99

Visit Hesk
 

5. FreeScout (best open source ticket system for shared inbox)

Our number five review is of FreeScout, a free open open source ticketing software, that includes a set of help desk management tools. It has loads of features which are boxed into modules that you download and pay for individually on top of the free software. 

Pros:

FreeScout is up there with the best PHP and MySQL-based shared inbox management tools for help desk and customer support teams. It runs on Linux, MacOS, Windows, and more.

You can use this with an unlimited number of support reps, with no caps on customer requests or ticket numbers either.

There are SMS notifications, Telegram notifications, and other real-time notifications and reporting. You can also add Slack or WhatsApp integrations.

Easy automations with FreeScout, like custom workflows using simple conditional logic. There are some pre-set workflow templates as well.

Cons:

The advertised price tag of being free is a bit misleading when you look at some of the extra modules and their one-time fees.

Pricing:

• FreeScout is a free download

• Individual modules have a one-time download cost

Visit FreeScout
 

6. Zammad (Top open source IT ticketing system)

Coming out of Europe, we next have Zammad, the number six ticket and help desk IT support platform. 

Pros:

Zammad is among the leading help desk systems for being an IT service desk. This includes self-service tools, as well as automation extras through LDAP/Exchange.

Great multi-channel and multi-language support is available, which is very useful for wholesale and retail purposes too.

Lots of customization with custom fields, individual overviews, and individual custom lists.

There is a fun VIP feature that helps show you which customers or tickets your team should prioritize. 

Cons:

There is no free plan when it comes to Zammad’s open source IT ticket system. Also, prices are only listed in Euros and not Dollars, which makes shopping annoying if you are not in the Eurozone.

Pricing:

• Starter plan is €5 per user per month 

• Professional plan is €15 per user per month 

• Plus plan is plan is €24 per user per month 

• Self-hosted Business plan is €2,499 per year

• Self-hosted Enterprise plan is €4,999 per year

• Self-hosted Corporation plan is €9,999 per year

Visit Zammad
 

7. OpenSupports (Great open source help desk ticket system for ease of use)

OpenSupports is among the most incredibly user-friendly free and open source help desk systems, with premium cloud-hosed options as well.

Pros:

Customer’s can create their own accounts with ease to keep track of their open tickets, or can create their own tickets with a simple form.

There is no dedicated mobile app, but the OpenSupports interface is mobile responsive and works quite well.

Very sophisticated data analytics and reports with nice graphics and design.

You can include an unlimited number of support agents and set roles and permissions too.

Cons:

The free OpenSupports plan is strictly self-hosted, and there is a max limit for custom attachments.

Pricing:

• Self-hosted is free

• Cloud-hosted is €49.99 per month

• For Cloud-hosted Enterprise, contact OpenSupports

Visit OpenSupports
 

8. DiamanteDesk (Good open source ticket software for CRM integration)

DiamanteDesk is an open source ticket platform built with technologies like PHP 5, Symfony2, HTML5, CSS3, and the Oro Platform.

Pros:

Combining the power of help desk systems with CRMs promises to increase overall customer satisfaction, are some of the advantages of working with DiamanteDesk. There are native CRM integrations with OroCRM, Salesforce, SugarCRM, as well as Zendesk and Freshdesk.

Users get total control of their DiamanteDesk system with an open API.

Other useful integrations include Shopify, Ebay and Amazon Marketplace for better ecommerce support.

Cons:

DiamanteDesk has very little actual information about the functionality of their platform, nor do they clearly advertise the costs involved.

Pricing:

• For pricing information, contact DiamanteDesk

Visit DiamanteDesk
 

9. Ticket-IT (Great IT help desk ticketing app for retail)

Ticket-IT is one of the few open source help desk modules that focuses on retail and in-store ticketing.

Pros:

You get inventory management, an ad-hoc ticket builder, and a promotional batch tool for creating multiple tickets or ticket types.

Use this tool to set account permission among all your customer support team members, as well as for roles like store owners, regional managers, and more.

You can also use Ticket-IT to run multiple brands from just one single client subscription.

Cons:

As a retail-centered ticketing system, Ticket-IT is obviously limited if you do not run a retail business.

Pricing:

• Get in touch with Ticket-IT’s sales department

Visit Ticket-IT
 

10. HelpDeskZ (Top free online help desk for web-based support)

Our number ten name is HelpDeskZ. This one is a totally free open source helpdesk tool, and it offers web-based support for your company or brand.

Pros:

HelpDeskZ has a very user-friendly interface. Support reps quite enjoy the UX.

You can use HelpDeskZ to set up a useful knowledge base for your customers to help themselves with FAQs.

Finally, HelpDeskZ is quite popular for providing good customer service to its users.

Cons:

While this is great for ease of use, the flipside is that it might appear a bit feature-light to some users wanting the full toolkit of help desk ticketing features.

Pricing:

• HelpDeskZ is a free download

Visit HelpDeskZ

Which open source support ticket system or open source help desk software is best for me? Our final takeaways

When it comes to choosing the best open-source support ticket system or help desk software, there are several factors to consider. 

First, consider your specific needs, such as the size of your organization, the number of support requests you receive, and the level of customization you require. Second, consider the features and capabilities of each software, such as ticket management, reporting, and integrations with other tools. Also, make sure to consider the community and support available for each software. Last but not least, think about what precisely do you need – help desk vs service desk. After all, maybe help desk is not the solution you’re looking for.

So now you know a bit more about open-source ticket management systems, but maybe you are now interested in some of the best help desk software that isn’t open source? That’s fine, as open source is not for everyone. But if you are down with public APIs, you are welcome to this article.