Handesk vs Tiledesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Handesk | Tiledesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 28 · At risk | 58 · Fair |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Mustache |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,452 | ★ 322 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Intercom |
What are Handesk and Tiledesk?
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
Tiledesk
Tiledesk is an open-source customer support platform that combines live chat, chatbots, and a ticketing system. It routes conversations from multiple channels into a unified agent workspace with ticket tracking.
- Live chat and chatbots
- Omnichannel ticketing
- Unified agent workspace
- Conversation routing
Handesk vs Tiledesk: key differences
Handesk is written in PHP, while Tiledesk is built with Mustache. Handesk is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Tiledesk. Handesk is the more established project (first released 2018), while Tiledesk arrived in 2020. Handesk has the considerably larger community, at 1,452 GitHub stars versus 322. Tiledesk lists first-class Docker deployment; Handesk does not.
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 Tiledesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Mustache
Frequently asked questions
Is Handesk or Tiledesk 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 Tiledesk free and open-source?
Yes. Handesk is licensed under MIT and Tiledesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Handesk and Tiledesk with Docker?
Handesk: check the project docs for container support. Tiledesk: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Handesk or Tiledesk?
Handesk has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Tiledesk. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.