Handesk vs Znuny
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Handesk | Znuny |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 28 · At risk | 75 · Good |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,452 | ★ 596 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | ServiceNow, Zendesk |
What are Handesk and Znuny?
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
Znuny
Znuny is an open-source ticketing system and service desk maintained as a free fork of OTRS Community Edition. It supports helpdesk and ITSM workflows.
- Maintained OTRS fork
- Helpdesk and ITSM
- Customizable workflows
- Active community support
Handesk vs Znuny: key differences
Handesk is written in PHP, while Znuny is built with Perl. Licensing differs — MIT for Handesk versus GPL-3.0 for Znuny. Handesk is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Znuny. Handesk is the more established project (first released 2018), while Znuny arrived in 2021. Handesk has the considerably larger community, at 1,452 GitHub stars versus 596.
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Handesk or Znuny better?
Handesk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Znuny if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Handesk and Znuny free and open-source?
Yes. Handesk is licensed under MIT and Znuny under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Handesk and Znuny with Docker?
Handesk: check the project docs for container support. Znuny: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Handesk or Znuny?
Handesk has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Znuny. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.