GLPI vs osTicket

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

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FeatureGLPIosTicket
CategoryHelpdesk & TicketingHelpdesk & Ticketing
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 6,206★ 3,871
First released20032003
ReplacesServiceNow, ZendeskZendesk, Freshdesk

Why pick each one

Choose GLPI if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 6.2k GitHub stars
  • Written in PHP
GLPI details

Choose osTicket if…

  • Mature and stable
  • Easy for staff to learn
osTicket details

Frequently asked questions

Is GLPI or osTicket better?

Neither is universally better. GLPI has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are GLPI and osTicket free and open-source?

Yes. GLPI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and osTicket under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run GLPI and osTicket with Docker?

GLPI: yes. osTicket: yes.

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