GLPI vs Faveo Helpdesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GLPI | Faveo Helpdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 65 · Good |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,382 | ★ 1,255 |
| First released | 2003 | 2015 |
| Replaces | ServiceNow, Zendesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are GLPI and Faveo Helpdesk?
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
Faveo Helpdesk
Faveo Helpdesk Community is an automatic ticket-based support system built on Laravel. It captures customer requests and converts them into trackable tickets.
- Automatic ticket conversion
- Knowledge base module
- SLA management
- Multi-channel intake
GLPI vs Faveo Helpdesk: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for GLPI versus MIT for Faveo Helpdesk. GLPI is the more established project (first released 2003), while Faveo Helpdesk arrived in 2015. GLPI has the considerably larger community, at 6,382 GitHub stars versus 1,255. GLPI lists first-class Docker deployment; Faveo Helpdesk does not.
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 Faveo Helpdesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is GLPI or Faveo Helpdesk 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 Faveo Helpdesk free and open-source?
Yes. GLPI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Faveo Helpdesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GLPI and Faveo Helpdesk with Docker?
GLPI: yes. Faveo Helpdesk: check the project docs for container support.