GLPI vs Trudesk
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
Trudesk
Open-source helpdesk and ticketing for small teams
| Feature | GLPI | Trudesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 55 · Fair |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,382 | ★ 1,496 |
| First released | 2003 | 2016 |
| Replaces | ServiceNow, Zendesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are GLPI and Trudesk?
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
Trudesk
Trudesk is an open-source help desk and ticket management system. It provides a kanban-style ticket board, knowledge base, and real-time messaging built on Node.js.
- Kanban ticket board
- Built-in knowledge base
- Real-time chat and notices
- Mobile-friendly UI
GLPI vs Trudesk: key differences
GLPI is written in PHP, while Trudesk is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for GLPI versus Apache-2.0 for Trudesk. GLPI is the more established project (first released 2003), while Trudesk arrived in 2016. GLPI has the considerably larger community, at 6,382 GitHub stars versus 1,496.
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 Trudesk if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is GLPI or Trudesk 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 Trudesk free and open-source?
Yes. GLPI is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Trudesk under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GLPI and Trudesk with Docker?
GLPI: yes. Trudesk: yes.