Zammad
Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.
Best self-hosted Ticketing software in 2026
Helpdesk, bug and issue tracking software to help the tracking of user requests, bugs and missing features.
We track 23 open-source, self-hosted Ticketing apps. 15 of them had commits in the last 90 days, 13 can run with Docker, and the most common licenses are ⊘ Proprietary (8), AGPL-3.0 (6), MIT (4). The most-used languages are PHP, Python, Perl. Below are the top picks by GitHub stars, followed by every app ranked by stars weighted by maintenance health.
Alternatives to JiraAlternatives to ZendeskAlternatives to IntercomAlternatives to FreshdeskAlternatives to Help ScoutAlternatives to Jira Service ManagementAlternatives to ServiceNowAlternatives to Zoho DeskAlternatives to Tawk.toAlternatives to LiveChatAlternatives to CrispAlternatives to FrontAlternatives to UserVoiceAlternatives to Canny
Top 5 by GitHub stars
| # | App | Stars | Health | Last activity | License | Language | Docker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zammad | 6.1k | Active | 2026-11-09 | AGPL-3.0 | Ruby, deb | – |
| 2 | Forgejo | 5.8k | Active | 2026-11-14 | MIT | Docker, Go | ✓ |
| 3 | FreeScout | 4.7k | Active | 2026-11-07 | AGPL-3.0 | PHP, Docker | ✓ |
| 4 | Erxes | 4.1k | Active | 2026-11-09 | AGPL-3.0, Commons-Clause | Docker, Nodejs | ✓ |
| 5 | Frappe Helpdesk | 3.5k | Active | 2026-11-09 | AGPL-3.0 | Docker | ✓ |
- Zammad — Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.
- Forgejo — Lightweight software forge focused on scaling, federation, and privacy (fork of Gitea).
- FreeScout — Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).
- Erxes — Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.
- 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.
Head-to-head comparisons
Forgejo vs ZammadFreeScout vs ZammadForgejo vs FreeScoutErxes vs ZammadErxes vs ForgejoFrappe Helpdesk vs ZammadErxes vs FreeScoutFrappe Helpdesk vs FreeScoutErxes vs Frappe Helpdesk
All 23 self-hosted Ticketing apps
Ranked by GitHub stars weighted by maintenance health.
Forgejo
Lightweight software forge focused on scaling, federation, and privacy (fork of Gitea).
FreeScout
Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).
Erxes
Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.
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.
Libredesk
Modern omnichannel customer support desk. Live chat, email, and more in a single binary.
Bugsink
Real-time error tracking for your applications with all the details in one place. Easy setup with clear instructions included.
MantisBT
Bug tracker, fits best for software development.
Request Tracker
Enterprise-grade issue tracking system.
ITFlow
Client IT documentation, ticketing, invoicing and accounting for MSPs (Managed Service Providers).
Bugzilla
General-purpose bugtracker and testing tool originally developed and used by the Mozilla project.
Rustrak
Error tracking server compatible with Sentry SDKs, using 32 MB of memory at idle with SQLite storage.
OTOBO
Flexible web-based ticketing system used for customer service, help desk, IT service management.
GlitchTip
Error tracking app to collect errors reported by your app.
BugPin
Visual bug reporting and ticketing tool for web applications.
Deskpro
On-Premise help desk software that includes email, chat, voice & help centre publishing. Full visible source code and API.
EKSO
Help desk ticketing and project/issue tracker.
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.
JIRA
Professional and extensible issue tracker.
Jitbit Helpdesk
Help desk software - simple but powerful.
Roundup Issue Tracker
Simple-to-use and -install issue tracking system with command-line, web, REST, XML-RPC, and e-mail interfaces. Designed with flexibility in mind - not just another bug tracker.
SupportPal
Powerful help desk software - easy, fast and intuitive.
Telebugs
Lightweight error tracker without a subscription (alternative to Sentry).
Frequently asked questions
What is the best self-hosted Ticketing software in 2026?
By GitHub stars, the most popular self-hosted Ticketing apps are Zammad (6,099 stars), Forgejo (5,826 stars), FreeScout (4,656 stars). Popularity is only one signal: also check maintenance health, license and whether it fits your setup.
How many self-hosted Ticketing apps are actively maintained?
15 of the 23 apps listed had commits in the last 90 days; for 8 we have no repository activity data.
Which self-hosted Ticketing apps can I run with Docker?
13 of the 23 apps can run with Docker; 2 publish an image on Docker Hub, including Erxes and Bugsink.
Which licenses do self-hosted Ticketing apps use?
The most common licenses in this category are ⊘ Proprietary (8 apps), AGPL-3.0 (6 apps), MIT (4 apps).
How much does it cost to self-host Ticketing software?
The software itself is free to download. Based on our rough hardware estimates, the cheapest suitable VPS plan starts at about $3.5/month (median $5/month across apps in this category). Several light apps can share one server.
Related categories
Figures from GitHub and Docker Hub as of 2026-11-15; hosting costs are rough estimates.