osTicket vs OpenSupports
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
osTicket
Widely used open-source support ticket system
VS
OpenSupports
Open-source ticket-based customer support system
| Feature | osTicket | OpenSupports |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 14 · At risk |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,922 | ★ 1,038 |
| First released | 2003 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are osTicket and OpenSupports?
osTicket
osTicket is a widely used open-source support ticket system. It routes inquiries from email, web forms, and APIs into a simple, easy-to-use multi-user interface.
- Email and web ticket creation
- Custom fields and forms
- SLA and ticket routing
- Canned responses
OpenSupports
OpenSupports is an open-source customer support ticket system that lets users submit and track support requests through a web portal. Staff manage tickets with departments, custom responses, and statistics.
- Customer support portal
- Department-based routing
- Custom responses
- Ticket statistics
osTicket vs OpenSupports: key differences
OsTicket is written in PHP, while OpenSupports is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for osTicket versus GPL-3.0 for OpenSupports. OsTicket is the more established project (first released 2003), while OpenSupports arrived in 2016. OsTicket has the considerably larger community, at 3,922 GitHub stars versus 1,038.
Why pick each one
Choose osTicket if…
- Mature and stable
- Easy for staff to learn
Watch out for
- Interface looks dated
Choose OpenSupports if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is osTicket or OpenSupports better?
Neither is universally better. osTicket has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are osTicket and OpenSupports free and open-source?
Yes. osTicket is licensed under GPL-2.0 and OpenSupports under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run osTicket and OpenSupports with Docker?
osTicket: yes. OpenSupports: yes.