Self-hosted alternatives to Zendesk
Want customer support helpdesk without handing your data to Zendesk? These 15 open-source apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot direct | Actively maintained | 38.8k | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| FreeScout direct | Actively maintained | 4.6k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Tiledesk direct | Maintained | 326 | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Zammad | Actively maintained | 6.1k | AGPL-3.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Erxes | Actively maintained | 4.1k | AGPL-3.0, Commons-Clause | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Frappe Helpdesk | Actively maintained | 3.5k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Libredesk | Actively maintained | 3.1k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| ITFlow | Actively maintained | 1k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| OTOBO | Actively maintained | 340 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| BugPin | Actively maintained | 48 | AGPL-3.0, MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Deskpro | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| EKSO | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Full Help | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Jitbit Helpdesk | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| SupportPal | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Chatwoot
Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-04. Latest release v4.19.1 (2026-10-24). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. FreeScout
Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-31. Latest release 1.8.249 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Tiledesk
All-in-one customer engagement platform from lead-gen to post-sales, from WhatsApp to your website. With omni-channel live agents and AI-powered chatbots (alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, Tawk.to).
Maintained Last activity 2026-10-28. Latest release 1.2 (2021-11-29). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Zammad
Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. Erxes
Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-03. Latest release loyalty_api@1.0.1 (2026-11-02). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. 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.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v1.31.1 (2026-10-29). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Libredesk
Modern omnichannel customer support desk. Live chat, email, and more in a single binary.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v2.9.2 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
8. ITFlow
Client IT documentation, ticketing, invoicing and accounting for MSPs (Managed Service Providers).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v26.11 (2026-10-29). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. OTOBO
Flexible web-based ticketing system used for customer service, help desk, IT service management.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
10. BugPin
Visual bug reporting and ticketing tool for web applications.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-24. Latest release v1.2.6 (2026-10-24). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. Deskpro
On-Premise help desk software that includes email, chat, voice & help centre publishing. Full visible source code and API.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
12. EKSO
Help desk ticketing and project/issue tracker.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. 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.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Jitbit Helpdesk
Help desk software - simple but powerful.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. SupportPal
Powerful help desk software - easy, fast and intuitive.
Health unknown Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Zendesk?
- 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 Actively maintained and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
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Other alternatives guides
Zendesk is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.