osTicket vs Trudesk
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
Trudesk
Open-source helpdesk and ticketing for small teams
| Feature | osTicket | Trudesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 55 · Fair |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,922 | ★ 1,496 |
| First released | 2003 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are osTicket and Trudesk?
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
Trudesk
Trudesk is an open-source help desk and ticket management system. It provides a kanban-style ticket board, knowledge base, and real-time messaging built on Node.js.
- Kanban ticket board
- Built-in knowledge base
- Real-time chat and notices
- Mobile-friendly UI
osTicket vs Trudesk: key differences
OsTicket is written in PHP, while Trudesk is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for osTicket versus Apache-2.0 for Trudesk. OsTicket is the more established project (first released 2003), while Trudesk arrived in 2016. OsTicket has the considerably larger community, at 3,922 GitHub stars versus 1,496.
Why pick each one
Choose osTicket if…
- Mature and stable
- Easy for staff to learn
Watch out for
- Interface looks dated
Choose Trudesk if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is osTicket or Trudesk 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 Trudesk free and open-source?
Yes. osTicket is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Trudesk under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run osTicket and Trudesk with Docker?
osTicket: yes. Trudesk: yes.