MantisBT vs UVdesk
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?
| Feature | MantisBT | UVdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | CSS |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,794 | ★ 19,510 |
| First released | 2000 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Jira, Bugzilla | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
Why pick each one
Choose MantisBT if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
Choose UVdesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 19.5k GitHub stars
- Written in CSS
Frequently asked questions
Is MantisBT or UVdesk better?
Neither is universally better. UVdesk has the larger community, while MantisBT is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MantisBT and UVdesk free and open-source?
Yes. MantisBT is licensed under GPL-2.0 and UVdesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MantisBT and UVdesk with Docker?
MantisBT: yes. UVdesk: yes.