Papercups vs Tiledesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Papercups
Open-source live chat and customer messaging
VS
Tiledesk
Open-source conversational customer support platform
| Feature | Papercups | Tiledesk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Chat & Communication | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Elixir | Mustache |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,097 | ★ 316 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Intercom, Drift | Zendesk, Intercom |
Why pick each one
Choose Papercups if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
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 Papercups or Tiledesk better?
Neither is universally better. Papercups has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Papercups and Tiledesk free and open-source?
Yes. Papercups is licensed under MIT and Tiledesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Papercups and Tiledesk with Docker?
Papercups: yes. Tiledesk: yes.