OpenSupports vs UVdesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | OpenSupports | UVdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 14 · At risk | 55 · Fair |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | CSS |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,038 | ★ 19,612 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Freshdesk | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
What are OpenSupports and UVdesk?
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
UVdesk
UVdesk is an open-source helpdesk system built on the Symfony framework. It offers ticket management, a knowledge base, email piping, and a customizable workflow engine.
- Email piping to tickets
- Workflow automation
- Knowledge base module
- Extensible app marketplace
OpenSupports vs UVdesk: key differences
OpenSupports is written in JavaScript, while UVdesk is built with CSS. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for OpenSupports versus MIT for UVdesk. OpenSupports is the more established project (first released 2016), while UVdesk arrived in 2018. UVdesk has the considerably larger community, at 19,612 GitHub stars versus 1,038.
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 UVdesk if…
- Full ticketing workflow
- Knowledge base included
- Email piping support
Watch out for
- PHP MySQL stack required
- Slower development pace
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenSupports or UVdesk better?
Neither is universally better. UVdesk has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenSupports and UVdesk free and open-source?
Yes. OpenSupports is licensed under GPL-3.0 and UVdesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenSupports and UVdesk with Docker?
OpenSupports: yes. UVdesk: yes.