SHSelfHostIndex

Isso vs Zammad

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
IS Isso Lightweight self-hosted commenting server VS ZA Zammad Web-based helpdesk and customer support system
FeatureIssoZammad
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonRuby
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 5,296★ 5,834
First released20122016
ReplacesDisqusZendesk, Freshdesk

Why pick each one

Choose Isso if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Easy to integrate with static sites
Isso details

Choose Zammad if…

  • Mature support workflow
  • Good integrations
Zammad details

Frequently asked questions

Is Isso or Zammad better?

Neither is universally better. Zammad has the larger community, while Isso is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Isso and Zammad free and open-source?

Yes. Isso is licensed under MIT and Zammad under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Isso and Zammad with Docker?

Isso: yes. Zammad: yes.

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