Handesk vs Ticketit
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Handesk | Ticketit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 28 · At risk | 13 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,452 | ★ 860 |
| First released | 2018 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are Handesk and Ticketit?
Handesk
Handesk is an open-source help desk and lead management application built with Laravel. It converts emails into tickets, supports internal notes, escalation, merging, agent mentions, and includes an API for tickets and leads.
- Email-to-ticket conversion
- Lead management with API
- Ticket escalation and merging
- Slack and email notifications
Ticketit
Ticketit is an embeddable help desk ticketing system built as a Laravel package. It adds categories, priorities, agent assignment, and a Kanban-style dashboard to any existing Laravel application.
- Laravel-native integration
- Kanban agent board
- Category and priority routing
- Email notifications
Handesk vs Ticketit: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Ticketit's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Handesk is actively maintained. Both projects are written in PHP. Ticketit is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Handesk. Ticketit is the more established project (first released 2015), while Handesk arrived in 2018.
Why pick each one
Choose Handesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose Ticketit if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Handesk or Ticketit better?
Neither is universally better. Handesk has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Handesk and Ticketit free and open-source?
Yes. Handesk is licensed under MIT and Ticketit under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Handesk and Ticketit with Docker?
Handesk: check the project docs for container support. Ticketit: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Handesk or Ticketit?
Ticketit has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Handesk. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.