Chatwoot vs Request Tracker

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?
FeatureChatwootRequest Tracker
CategoryChat & CommunicationHelpdesk & Ticketing
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageRubyPerl
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 35,596★ 1,141
First released20191996
ReplacesIntercom, Zendesk, DriftZendesk, Jira Service Management

Why pick each one

Choose Chatwoot if…

  • Polished customer support workflow
  • Active development
Chatwoot details

Choose Request Tracker if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Perl
Request Tracker details

Frequently asked questions

Is Chatwoot or Request Tracker better?

Chatwoot is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Request Tracker if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Chatwoot and Request Tracker free and open-source?

Yes. Chatwoot is licensed under MIT and Request Tracker under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Chatwoot and Request Tracker with Docker?

Chatwoot: yes. Request Tracker: check the project docs for container support.

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