Helpy
Best for self-hosting
Why teams pick it
Organizations with Ruby on Rails expertise seeking self-hosted support platforms
Open-source alternatives to Zendesk
Compare community-driven replacements for Zendesk in customer support & helpdesk workflows. We curate active, self-hostable options with transparent licensing so you can evaluate the right fit quickly.
Zendesk
Customer service software that provides ticketing, live chat, knowledge base, and customer relationship management. Offers multichannel support and analytics for service teams.Read more
Key stats
- 14Alternatives
- 8Support self-hosting
Run on infrastructure you control
- 12Active development
Recent commits in the last 6 months
- 1Permissive licenses
MIT, Apache, and similar licenses
Counts reflect projects currently indexed as alternatives to Zendesk.
Start with these picks
These projects match the most common migration paths for teams replacing Zendesk.
FreeScout
Privacy-first alternative
Why teams pick it
Organizations with strict data privacy or compliance requirements
All open-source alternatives
Helpy
Modern helpdesk platform combining ticketing, knowledgebase, and community forums
Self-host friendlyPermissive licensePrivacy-firstRuby
Why teams choose it
- Multichannel ticketing with inbound email integration via Sendgrid, Mandrill, and Mailgun
- SEO-optimized knowledgebase with full-text search and multi-language article support
- Community forums with voting, agent collaboration, and public accessibility
Watch for
Requires Ruby 2.4+ and Rails 4.2.x stack, limiting hosting flexibility
Migration highlight
Multi-Language SaaS Support
Deploy knowledgebase articles in 19 languages with SEO optimization, reducing ticket volume through self-service while maintaining brand consistency across global markets.
FreeScout
Free self-hosted help desk and shared inbox alternative
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstPHP
Why teams choose it
- Unlimited users, tickets, and mailboxes with no per-agent fees
- Seamless email integration with modern Exchange authentication support
- Collision detection, internal notes, and conversation merging for team coordination
Watch for
Requires self-hosting infrastructure and maintenance expertise
Migration highlight
Startup Customer Support
Launch a professional help desk with unlimited agents and tickets, avoiding recurring SaaS costs as the team scales
Znuny
Sustainable, community‑driven ticketing system for modern support teams
Active developmentIntegration-friendlyAI-powered workflowsPerl
Why teams choose it
- Maintained continuation of OTRS Community Edition
- Highly tailorable workflow and ticket fields
- Supports MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and Oracle back‑ends
Watch for
Perl‑based stack may limit developer pool
Migration highlight
Customer Support Portal
Provides a centralized system for handling external customer inquiries, SLA tracking, and multi‑channel communication.
Trudesk
Simple, self‑hosted ticketing system for organized support
Active developmentPrivacy-firstFast to deployJavaScript
Why teams choose it
- Ticket creation, assignment, and real‑time tracking
- Customizable workflows with file attachments and comments
- Optional Elasticsearch for full‑text ticket search
Watch for
Requires familiarity with Node.js and MongoDB administration
Migration highlight
Internal IT support desk
Team resolves employee hardware and software issues, centralizing requests and reducing response time.
OpenSupports
Simple, beautiful ticket system for every support team
Integration-friendlyAI-powered workflowsJavaScript
Why teams choose it
- Clean, responsive UI for both customers and staff
- Self‑hosted or fully managed cloud option
- Full API for integration with existing tools
Watch for
Limited built‑in advanced analytics
Migration highlight
Customer inquiry portal
Customers submit tickets through a web form; staff resolve issues within the dashboard, improving response times.
Chatwoot
Open-source customer support platform with omnichannel inbox and AI
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstRuby
Why teams choose it
- Omnichannel inbox unifying live chat, email, WhatsApp, social media, and SMS
- Captain AI agent automates responses and handles common queries
- Built-in Help Center Portal for self-service FAQs and knowledge base
Watch for
Self-hosting requires infrastructure management and technical expertise
Migration highlight
E-commerce Omnichannel Support
Shopify stores manage customer inquiries from Instagram, WhatsApp, email, and live chat in one inbox, with order details visible during conversations.
Chaskiq
Full-featured messaging platform for marketing, support, and sales
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstTypeScript
Why teams choose it
- Embeddable web messenger with video calls, rich media, and third-party app integrations
- Customer segmentation, mailing campaigns, and triggerable conversational bots
- Multilingual help center with custom domain support and article management
Watch for
Requires Ruby 2.6+, PostgreSQL 10+, and Redis infrastructure to self-host
Migration highlight
Consolidated Customer Support
Replace multiple tools with unified chat, help center, and ticket routing to reduce agent context-switching and improve response times
Libredesk
Self-hosted customer support desk in a single binary
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstGo
Why teams choose it
- Multi-shared inboxes with granular role-based permissions for teams and agents
- Smart automation rules for auto-tagging, assignment, and conversation routing
- SLA management with response time tracking and breach notifications
Watch for
Requires PostgreSQL database and infrastructure management
Migration highlight
Multi-Department Support Operations
Separate shared inboxes for sales, technical support, and billing with custom permissions ensure teams access only relevant conversations while maintaining unified customer history.
Erxes
Experience Operating System unifying marketing, sales, operations, and support
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstTypeScript
Why teams choose it
- Plugin-based architecture with Core modules for contacts, products, segments, automation, and documents
- Self-hosted deployment with complete data privacy and no third-party monitoring
- Omnichannel customer engagement through Frontline plugin (conversations, tickets, tasks)
Watch for
Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure management and technical expertise
Migration highlight
Unified Customer Support Hub
Deploy Frontline plugin to consolidate omnichannel conversations, tickets, and tasks, replacing Zendesk and Intercom with self-hosted alternative
UVdesk
Customizable Symfony‑based helpdesk platform for seamless customer support
Active developmentFast to deployIntegration-friendlyCSS
Why teams choose it
- Symfony‑based core framework with extensible API
- Extension framework for third‑party integrations
- Automation bundle for workflows and prepared responses
Watch for
Requires PHP 8.1 and at least 4 GB RAM, limiting low‑resource hosts
Migration highlight
Integrate email inboxes into ticket workflow
All incoming emails are automatically turned into tickets, enabling agents to respond from a unified interface.
Peppermint
Self-hosted ticketing system with markdown notes and Docker deployment
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstTypeScript
Why teams choose it
- Markdown editor with file attachments for tickets
- Integrated client history notebook with todo lists
- Responsive UI scaling from mobile to 4K displays
Watch for
Requires own server resources and maintenance
Migration highlight
Internal IT support desk
Track employee requests, attach screenshots, and maintain a searchable history of issues.
Zammad
Unified web‑based helpdesk for email, chat, phone, social
Active developmentPrivacy-firstFast to deployRuby
Why teams choose it
- Multi‑channel ticket aggregation (email, chat, phone, social)
- Real‑time collaboration with internal notes and assignments
- Comprehensive REST and GraphQL API for integrations
Watch for
Self‑hosting requires system‑administration expertise
Migration highlight
Unified Customer Inbox
Agents handle email, chat, phone, and social tickets from a single dashboard, reducing response times.
Frappe Helpdesk
Open-source ticket management for streamlined customer support
Self-host friendlyActive developmentPrivacy-firstVue
Why teams choose it
- Dual agent and customer portals with intuitive Vue-based interface
- Customizable SLAs and intelligent auto-assignment rules
- Integrated knowledge base with advanced article search and recommendations
Watch for
Requires Frappe Framework familiarity for advanced customization
Migration highlight
SaaS Customer Support
Reduce response times with auto-assignment rules and canned responses while tracking SLA compliance across support tiers
iTop
Web-based IT service management platform with CMDB and helpdesk
Active developmentIntegration-friendlyAI-powered workflowsPHP
Why teams choose it
- Fully configurable CMDB with graphical impact analysis and relationship mapping
- Integrated helpdesk with incident, change, and service management workflows
- Configurable SLA management with automated tracking and enforcement
Watch for
Web-based architecture may require careful server resource planning
Migration highlight
Enterprise Asset and Configuration Management
Maintain a centralized CMDB tracking all IT assets, dependencies, and relationships with automated consistency audits ensuring data accuracy across the infrastructure.
Choosing a customer support & helpdesk alternative
Teams replacing Zendesk in customer support & helpdesk workflows typically weigh self-hosting needs, integration coverage, and licensing obligations.
- 8 projects let you self-host and keep customer data on infrastructure you control.
- 12 options are actively maintained with recent commits.
Tip: shortlist one hosted and one self-hosted option so stakeholders can compare trade-offs before migrating away from Zendesk.