osTicket vs SupportPal
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?
osTicket
Widely used open-source support ticket system
VS
SupportPal
Powerful help desk software - easy, fast and intuitive
| Feature | osTicket | SupportPal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-2.0 | ⊘ Proprietary |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,871 | — |
| First released | 2003 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | — |
Why pick each one
Choose SupportPal if…
- Released under the ⊘ Proprietary license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is osTicket or SupportPal 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 SupportPal free and open-source?
Yes. osTicket is licensed under GPL-2.0 and SupportPal under ⊘ Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run osTicket and SupportPal with Docker?
osTicket: yes. SupportPal: check the project docs for container support.