Self-hosted alternatives to Freshdesk
Want customer support help desk without handing your data to Freshdesk? These 12 self-hosted apps run on your own server (most are open source; licenses are listed below). Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
About Freshdesk: Freshworks' customer support help desk.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zammad | Active | 6.1k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| FreeScout | Active | 4.6k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Erxes | Active | 4.1k | AGPL-3.0, Commons-Clause | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Frappe Helpdesk | Active | 3.5k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Libredesk | Active | 3.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| ITFlow | Active | 1.1k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| OTOBO | Active | 340 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Deskpro | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| EKSO | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Full Help | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Jitbit Helpdesk | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| SupportPal | Unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Zammad
Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. FreeScout
Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).
Active Last commit 2026-10-31. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 1.8.249 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Erxes
Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 3.4.13 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Frappe Helpdesk
Helpdesk software which helps you streamline your company's support, offers an easy setup, clean user interface, and automation tools to resolve customer queries efficiently.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v16.1.0 (2026-11-04). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. Libredesk
Modern omnichannel customer support desk. Live chat, email, and more in a single binary.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v2.9.2 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. ITFlow
Client IT documentation, ticketing, invoicing and accounting for MSPs (Managed Service Providers).
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Latest release v26.11 (2026-10-29). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. OTOBO
Flexible web-based ticketing system used for customer service, help desk, IT service management.
Active Last commit 2026-11-04. Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
8. Deskpro
On-Premise help desk software that includes email, chat, voice & help centre publishing. Full visible source code and API.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. EKSO
Help desk ticketing and project/issue tracker.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. Full Help
Simple, easy to use help desk & knowledge base software. Custom branding, custom themes, restful API, communication channels, multi-company support, multi-language support, and much more! At least 1 new release per month.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. Jitbit Helpdesk
Help desk software - simple but powerful.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
12. SupportPal
Powerful help desk software - easy, fast and intuitive.
Unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Freshdesk?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Freshdesk is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.