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7 self-hosted options

Open-source alternatives to Zendesk

The best open-source alternatives to Zendesk are Zammad, FreeScout and Chatwoot.

About Zendesk: A customer support suite with ticketing, help center and live chat.

Every option below is free to self-host and ranked by GitHub stars, so you can move off Zendesk without giving up the features you rely on.

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Zammad

    zammad/zammad

    Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.

    Helpdesk & TicketingRuby
  2. Rank 2:

    FreeScout

    freescout-help-desk/freescout

    Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).

    Helpdesk & TicketingPHPDocker
  3. Rank 3:

    Chatwoot

    chatwoot/chatwoot

    Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).

    Team ChatRubyDocker

Why switch

Why teams move off Zendesk

Self-hosting is not only about saving money. These are the reasons people make the switch.

  • Own your data

    Your data lives on a server you control, not on Zendesk's infrastructure. No surprise policy changes and no lock-in.

  • No per-seat pricing

    Open-source alternatives to Zendesk are free to run for as many users as your server can handle. A small VPS often costs less than a single subscription.

  • Customize and extend

    Read the code, add plugins, connect it to your own tools and automate it through open APIs. When you need a feature, you can build it or fund it.

Full ranking

All 7 Zendesk alternatives

Ranked by GitHub stars. Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.

  1. 1

    Zammad

    Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.

  2. 2

    FreeScout

    Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).

  3. 3

    Chatwoot

    Customer communication platform (alternative to Intercom and Zendesk).

  4. 4

    Erxes

    Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    Libredesk

    Modern omnichannel customer support desk. Live chat, email, and more in a single binary.

  7. 7

    UVDesk

    UVDesk community is a service oriented, event driven extensible opensource helpdesk system that can be used by your organization to provide efficient support to your clients effortlessly whichever…

FAQ

Zendesk alternatives: FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open-source alternative to Zendesk?

Zammad is the most popular open-source alternative to Zendesk, with 5,981 GitHub stars. FreeScout and Chatwoot are also strong choices. Compare features, license and recent activity to find the best fit for your team.

Is there a free alternative to Zendesk?

Yes. All 7 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can run a Zendesk replacement without per-user fees. You only pay for the server, and a small VPS is usually enough for personal use or a small team.

Can I self-host an alternative to Zendesk?

Yes. FreeScout, Chatwoot and Erxes ship a Docker image, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose in a few minutes. Your data then stays on hardware you control.

How do I migrate from Zendesk?

Start by exporting your data from Zendesk, then check the import options of the app you pick, since many projects ship importers for popular formats. Run both side by side for a week before you switch so nothing is lost.