OpenSupports vs Tiledesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OpenSupports | Tiledesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 14 · At risk | 58 · Fair |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Mustache |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,038 | ★ 322 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Intercom |
What are OpenSupports and Tiledesk?
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
Tiledesk
Tiledesk is an open-source customer support platform that combines live chat, chatbots, and a ticketing system. It routes conversations from multiple channels into a unified agent workspace with ticket tracking.
- Live chat and chatbots
- Omnichannel ticketing
- Unified agent workspace
- Conversation routing
OpenSupports vs Tiledesk: key differences
OpenSupports is written in JavaScript, while Tiledesk is built with Mustache. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for OpenSupports versus MIT for Tiledesk. OpenSupports is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Tiledesk. OpenSupports is the more established project (first released 2016), while Tiledesk arrived in 2020. OpenSupports has the considerably larger community, at 1,038 GitHub stars versus 322.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Tiledesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Mustache
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenSupports or Tiledesk better?
Neither is universally better. OpenSupports has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenSupports and Tiledesk free and open-source?
Yes. OpenSupports is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Tiledesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenSupports and Tiledesk with Docker?
OpenSupports: yes. Tiledesk: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenSupports or Tiledesk?
OpenSupports has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Tiledesk. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.