SHSelfHostIndex

osTicket vs OTOBO

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
OS osTicket Widely used open-source support ticket system VS OT OTOBO Enterprise ticket system and service management
FeatureosTicketOTOBO
CategoryHelpdesk & TicketingHelpdesk & Ticketing
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPerl
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 3,871★ 334
First released20032019
ReplacesZendesk, FreshdeskServiceNow, Zendesk

Why pick each one

Choose osTicket if…

  • Mature and stable
  • Easy for staff to learn
osTicket details

Choose OTOBO if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Perl
OTOBO details

Frequently asked questions

Is osTicket or OTOBO better?

osTicket is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OTOBO if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are osTicket and OTOBO free and open-source?

Yes. osTicket is licensed under GPL-2.0 and OTOBO under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run osTicket and OTOBO with Docker?

osTicket: yes. OTOBO: yes.

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