GLPI vs OpenSupports
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
GLPI
IT asset management and service desk
VS
OpenSupports
Open-source ticket-based customer support system
| Feature | GLPI | OpenSupports |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 14 · At risk |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,378 | ★ 1,038 |
| First released | 2003 | 2016 |
| Replaces | ServiceNow, Zendesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are GLPI and OpenSupports?
GLPI
GLPI is a free IT service management software combining a helpdesk ticketing system with IT asset and inventory management. It is widely used by IT departments.
- ITIL-aligned service desk
- Asset and inventory management
- Self-service portal
- Large plugin ecosystem
OpenSupports
OpenSupports is an open-source customer support ticket system that lets users submit and track support requests through a web portal. Staff manage tickets with departments, custom responses, and statistics.
- Customer support portal
- Department-based routing
- Custom responses
- Ticket statistics
GLPI vs OpenSupports: key differences
GLPI is written in PHP, while OpenSupports is built with JavaScript. GLPI is the more established project (first released 2003), while OpenSupports arrived in 2016. GLPI has the considerably larger community, at 6,378 GitHub stars versus 1,038.
Why pick each one
Choose GLPI if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.4k GitHub stars
- Written in PHP
Choose OpenSupports if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is GLPI or OpenSupports 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 OpenSupports free and open-source?
Yes. GLPI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OpenSupports under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GLPI and OpenSupports with Docker?
GLPI: yes. OpenSupports: yes.