Open source alternatives to Zendesk

5 projects on starwire do the same job. Ranked by how much of what Zendesk does each one covers, read from its README and website. Ties go to the most active.

What Zendesk does

  1. Ticketing systemcore
  2. Shared support inbox across channelscore
  3. Help center
  4. Live chat
  5. Automations and macros
  6. Reports
  7. AI agents

Each dot in the table is one job, in this order. Square dots are core jobs and count double. Full means yes, half means partly. "See the evidence" under a project shows the line behind each one. Coverage is what a project documents, not how well it works or how hard it is to move to. How we score this

ProjectCoversStarsCommits, 12 weeksLast releaseClosed vs openedSetupLicense
freescoutSelf-hosted shared mailbox and helpdesk with AI-assisted replies Replaces it94%4.7k+20
363
 7 days ago100% Needs a server AGPL-3.0
Covers all 2 core jobs. Partly: AI agents.See the evidence
  • Ticketing systemcoreYesfree open source help desk and shared inbox
  • Shared support inbox across channelscoreYescentralizes in one place all customer conversations received by email
  • Help centerYesKnowledge Base
  • Live chatYesWhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Slack, Live Chat and more
  • Automations and macrosYesWorkflows SLA
  • ReportsYesReal-time reports
  • AI agentsPartlyDrafting replies with AI
chatwootOpen source customer support inbox for live chat and email Replaces it89%40k+792
451
 21 days ago61% Needs a server Custom license
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Ticketing system.See the evidence
  • Ticketing systemcorePartlyLabels to organize and categorize conversations
  • Shared support inbox across channelscoreYesIt supports live chat on your website, email, Facebook
  • Help centerYesPublish help articles, FAQs, and guides
  • Live chatYeslive chat on your website
  • Automations and macrosYesCanned Responses to reply faster
  • ReportsYesConversation, Agent, Inbox, Label, and Team Reports
  • AI agentsYesCaptain helps automate responses
qisutuOpen-source ticket system for support and issue tracking Replaces it72%52
38
 38 days agoToo few Needs a server AGPL-3.0
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Shared support inbox across channels; AI agents. Not shown: Live chat.See the evidence
  • Ticketing systemcoreYesOpen-Source-Ticketsystem
  • Shared support inbox across channelscorePartlyE-Mail-Verarbeitung
  • Help centerYesKundenportal, Wissensdatenbank und Automatisierung
  • Live chatNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Automations and macrosYesService Levels, Kalender, Eskalationen, Benachrichtigungen und Automatisierungen
  • ReportsYesBerichte und Zeiterfassung
  • AI agentsPartlyum ITSM-Funktionen, KI-Unterstützung, Monitoring
ResolveHQHelpdesk with shared inbox and email threading, running on Cloudflare Workers Replaces it72%213+2
98
 47 days agoToo few Needs a server Custom license
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Shared support inbox across channels; AI agents. Not shown: Live chat.See the evidence
  • Ticketing systemcoreYesRun a shared inbox with tenant-isolated customers, tickets, assignment
  • Shared support inbox across channelscorePartlyRun a shared inbox with tenant-isolated customers, tickets
  • Help centerYesPublish a public help center from knowledge-base articles
  • Live chatNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Automations and macrosYesautomate triage with rule-based Automations
  • ReportsYesTrack volume and response speed in Reports
  • AI agentsPartlyAI-drafted responses (opt-in)
helpdeskOpen source customer support and ticketing app built on Frappe Replaces it67%3.5k+16
821
 10 days ago77% Hosted, paid AGPL-3.0
Covers 1 of 2 core jobs. Partly: Shared support inbox across channels. Not shown: Live chat; AI agents.See the evidence
  • Ticketing systemcoreYesopen-source Ticket Management tool
  • Shared support inbox across channelscorePartlyConnect your support email and every email becomes a ticket
  • Help centerYescreate and manage help articles to empower users
  • Live chatNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.
  • Automations and macrosYesAssign and update tickets automatically.
  • ReportsYesDashboard and reports
  • AI agentsNot shownNeither the README nor the website mentions it.

Vital signs from GitHub, checked weekly. How we read these · How setup is read

These also replace

Help Scout2Intercom2Freshdesk1

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