Zammad
95 · HealthyTicketing and helpdesk system with email, chat, phone and social channels in one view.
Open source alternatives to Zendesk
5 open source projects replace Zendesk, ranked by how safe each is to depend on.
Chatwoot
89 · HealthyOmnichannel customer support inbox covering website chat, email, WhatsApp and social channels.
FreeScout
76 · StableShared-inbox helpdesk in PHP, close in spirit to Help Scout, extended through modules.
Helpdesk
76 · StableTicketing system with SLAs, a customer portal, canned responses and a knowledge base, built on the Frappe framework.
osTicket
54 · CautionVeteran PHP support-ticket system that routes inquiries from email, web forms and phone.
Source-available and unverified licenses
The code for these is public, but the license is not an OSI open source license, or we have not verified it yet. Check the license notes on each project before relying on it.
erxes
88 · HealthyPlugin-based business platform that combines CRM, marketing campaigns, a team inbox and a support desk.
At a glance
Health and license are separate verdicts: a project can be well maintained and still not be open source.
| Project | Health | License | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zammad | 95 · Healthy | Free, share hosted changesAGPL-3.0 | 6.0k |
| Chatwoot | 89 · Healthy | Free core, paid extrasMIT | 38k |
| FreeScout | 76 · Stable | Free, share hosted changesAGPL-3.0 | 4.6k |
| Helpdesk | 76 · Stable | Free, share hosted changesAGPL-3.0 | 3.4k |
| osTicket | 54 · Caution | Free, share changesGPL-2.0 | 4.0k |
| erxes | 88 · Healthy | Free, no resellingAGPL-3.0 + extra terms | 4.1k |
Features compared with Zendesk
Zendesk's main features, and whether each open source alternative has them.
| Feature | ZendeskSuite Professional plan | Zammad12 of 14 free | Chatwoot9 of 14 free | erxes7 of 14 free | FreeScout1 of 14 free | Helpdesk7 of 14 free | osTicket5 of 14 free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shared inbox and ticketing | Included | Yes | YesConversations inbox | YesTeam inbox | YesShared mailboxes | Yes | Yes |
| Email, social and messaging channels | Included | YesEmail, Telegram, WhatsApp and more | YesEmail, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, SMS | YesMessenger, email and social | Paid editionChat and social channels are paid modules | PartlyEmail and web portal | PartlyEmail and web forms |
| Live chat widget | Included | Yes | Yes | YesMessenger widget | Paid editionPaid module | Not checked | No |
| Help center and knowledge base | Included | YesKnowledge base | Yes | Yes | Paid editionPaid module | Yes | YesFAQ knowledge base |
| Macros and canned replies | Included | YesText modules and macros | Yes | Yes | Paid editionSaved Replies module | Yes | Yes |
| SLA policies | Included | Yes | Paid editionEnterprise edition | Not checked | Not checked | Yes | Yes |
| Triggers and automations | Included | YesTriggers and schedulers | Yes | Yes | Paid editionWorkflows module | PartlyAssignment rules | PartlyTicket filters |
| Satisfaction surveys | Included | Not checked | Yes | Not checked | Paid editionPaid module | YesFeedback ratings | No |
| Reports and dashboards | Included | Yes | Yes | Not checked | Paid editionPaid module | Not checked | PartlyDashboard statistics |
| Phone support | Included | YesCTI integrations | Not checked | Not checked | Not checked | Not checked | No |
| AI agents and copilot | Higher planAdvanced AI add-on | PartlyAI assistance with your own provider | Paid editionCaptain is Enterprise | Not checked | PartlyFree AI module | Not checked | Not checked |
| Custom agent roles | Higher planEnterprise plan | Yes | Paid editionEnterprise edition | Not checked | Not checked | Yes | Yes |
| Single sign-on | Included | YesSAML and OAuth | Paid editionSAML is Enterprise | Not checked | Paid editionSAML and LDAP modules | Not checked | PartlyLDAP and OAuth plugins |
| API and webhooks | Included | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paid editionAPI and Webhooks module | Yes | PartlyTicket creation API |
✓ has it · ◐ partly · $ only on a higher plan or paid edition · ✕ doesn't have it. "Free" counts the Zendesk features an alternative has without paying.
Sources
- Zendesk, checked 2026-10-09: zendesk.com
- Zammad, checked 2026-10-09: zammad.com, admin-docs.zammad.org
- Chatwoot, checked 2026-10-09: chatwoot.com, github.com
- erxes, checked 2026-10-09: erxes.io, github.com
- FreeScout, checked 2026-10-09: freescout.net, github.com
- Helpdesk, checked 2026-10-09: github.com, docs.frappe.io
- osTicket, checked 2026-10-09: osticket.com, docs.osticket.com
More in Helpdesk & live chat
Zendesk is a paid helpdesk & live chat product. See all open source helpdesk & live chat tools, ranked the same way.
Scores last refreshed from GitHub on 9 October 2026. How we score.