OTOBO vs Peppermint
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Peppermint
Archived
Open-source ticket management and helpdesk
| Feature | OTOBO | Peppermint |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 72 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 337 | ★ 3,162 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | ServiceNow, Zendesk | Zendesk, Jira Service Management |
What are OTOBO and Peppermint?
OTOBO
OTOBO is an open-source ticket system and service management tool, a successor to OTRS Community Edition. It supports ITSM processes, automation, and detailed reporting.
- ITIL service management
- Process automation engine
- Customizable ticket workflows
- Detailed dashboards
Peppermint
Peppermint is an open-source ticket management system and helpdesk. It offers a modern interface for managing customer issues, internal tasks, and a knowledge base.
- Ticket and task management
- Email-to-ticket support
- Documentation and notebooks
- Modern responsive UI
OTOBO vs Peppermint: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Peppermint's repository is archived and no longer developed, while OTOBO is actively maintained. OTOBO is written in Perl, while Peppermint is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for OTOBO versus AGPL-3.0 for Peppermint. Peppermint is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OTOBO. OTOBO is the more established project (first released 2019), while Peppermint arrived in 2021. Peppermint has the considerably larger community, at 3,162 GitHub stars versus 337.
Why pick each one
Choose OTOBO if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Perl
Choose Peppermint if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is OTOBO or Peppermint better?
Peppermint is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Peppermint if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are OTOBO and Peppermint free and open-source?
Yes. OTOBO is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Peppermint under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OTOBO and Peppermint with Docker?
OTOBO: yes. Peppermint: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OTOBO or Peppermint?
Peppermint has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OTOBO. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.