# Alternatives to osTicket

The veteran open source ticket system.

osTicket ranks #10 of 11 in Helpdesk software, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under GPL-2.0, open source with paid hosting from $12/agent/mo and available on the web. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/osticket/
Category: Helpdesk software

## Where osTicket stands out

- **Self-hostable** — 4 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Support teams and IT/help desks at small-to-midsize organizations across sectors (education, healthcare, government, nonprofits, business) who need to manage customer or internal support requests without paying for a commercial help desk platform.
- **What you get**: A self-hosted (or hosted) open-source ticketing system that consolidates inquiries from email, web forms, and the API into a single queue. Includes ticket routing to departments via configurable help topics, SLAs with business-hour rules, a customer self-service portal, and dashboard reporting on help desk performance.
- **How it works**: Customers submit requests by email, a web form, or the API; each request becomes a ticket in a shared queue. Agents work tickets from a web-based dashboard, with routing rules and SLAs directing tickets to the right department and tracking response times.

## Profile

- **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: $12/agent/mo (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Platforms**: Web
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Chatwoot](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/chatwoot.md) | 100 | MIT | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Zammad](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zammad.md) | 100 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [Help Scout](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/help-scout.md) | 91 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Freshdesk](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freshdesk.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Intercom](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/intercom.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [Zendesk](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/zendesk.md) | 86 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Crisp](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/crisp.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 8 | [Tidio](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/tidio.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 9 | [LiveChat](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/livechat.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 10 | [FreeScout](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/freescout.md) | 64 | AGPL-3.0 | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Helpdesk software checklist | osTicket | Chatwoot | Zammad | Help Scout | Freshdesk | Intercom |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | Freemium | Subscription |
| Starts at | $12/agent/mo | $19/agent/month | €7/agent/month | $25/user/month | $19/agent/month | $39/seat/month |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android |
| Shared inbox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live chat widget | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Knowledge base | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automations & SLAs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI answers / copilot | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | No |
| Free tier limits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Multi-channel (email, chat, social) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reporting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-seat price | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for osTicket. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: OSS + paid hosting — <https://osticket.com/editions/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Starting at $12/agent/mo”
- **Starts at**: $12/agent/mo — <https://osticket.com/editions/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Starting at $12/agent/mo”
- **License**: GPL-2.0 — <https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket/blob/develop/LICENSE.txt> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991”
- **Platforms**: Web — <https://osticket.com/faq/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “osTicket is a platform-independent web-based application”
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket/releases> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “security: Latest Patches 06/2026”
- **Shared inbox**: Yes — <https://docs.osticket.com/en/latest/Admin/Agents/Departments.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Since tickets are routed through Departments in the help desk, there are many settings that can be set for each Department.”
- **Live chat widget**: No — <https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “It seamlessly integrates inquiries created via email, phone and web-based forms into a simple easy-to-use multi-user web interface.”
- **Knowledge base**: Yes — <https://docs.osticket.com/en/latest/Admin/Settings/Knowledgebase.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Allows your Users self-service access to your public knowledgebase articles.”
- **Automations & SLAs**: Yes — <https://docs.osticket.com/en/latest/Admin/Manage/SLA%20Plans.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “SLA Plans or Service Level Agreements, are unlimited in osTicket.”
- **Self-hostable**: Yes — <https://osticket.com/editions/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Open Source Free Download”
- **Free tier limits**: Yes — <https://osticket.com/editions/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Open Source Free Download”
- **Multi-channel (email, chat, social)**: Partial — <https://github.com/osTicket/osTicket> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “It seamlessly integrates inquiries created via email, phone and web-based forms into a simple easy-to-use multi-user web interface.”
- **Reporting**: Yes — <https://docs.osticket.com/en/latest/Agent/Dashboard/Dashboard.html> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Meant to be a historical marker of the metadata in your help desk, the Dashboard will give you an overview of tickets in your help desk.”
- **Per-seat price**: No — <https://osticket.com/editions/> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Open Source Free Download”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/