Request Tracker vs Faveo Helpdesk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted helpdesk & ticketing options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Request Tracker
Enterprise-grade ticketing system from Best Practical
VS
Faveo Helpdesk
Community helpdesk and ticketing built on Laravel
| Feature | Request Tracker | Faveo Helpdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Helpdesk & Ticketing | Helpdesk & Ticketing |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Perl | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,141 | ★ 1,249 |
| First released | 1996 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Zendesk, Jira Service Management | Zendesk, Freshdesk |
Why pick each one
Choose Request Tracker if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
Choose Faveo Helpdesk if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Request Tracker or Faveo Helpdesk better?
Faveo Helpdesk 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 Request Tracker and Faveo Helpdesk free and open-source?
Yes. Request Tracker is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Faveo Helpdesk under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Request Tracker and Faveo Helpdesk with Docker?
Request Tracker: check the project docs for container support. Faveo Helpdesk: check the project docs for container support.