Top pick · highest health
Forgejo
A lightweight software forge focused on scaling, federation, and privacy (fork of Gitea).
★ 5.7k 290 commits / 90d ⟳ 2 days ago MIT Docker
Category
Open source ticketing
Helpdesk, bug and issue tracking software to help the tracking of user requests, bugs and missing features. This page ranks 22 open-source ticketing projects by a health score recomputed every night from repository data; nothing else affects the order. Forgejo leads at 95/100 with 290 commits in the last 90 days and 5.7k stars, followed by FreeScout (95) and Erxes (94). 9 of the 22 score 70 or above, 12 publish a Docker image, and the median health is 59. ⊘ Proprietary is the most common licence, carried by 8 of them. Between them they stand in for GitHub, Zendesk, Atlassian Bitbucket, Intercom and Docker Hub and 1 more proprietary products.
updated Oct 2026 22 tools ★ 35k stars 12 with Docker median 59
Best for…
Ranked by health
Table view
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FreeScout
Email-based customer support application, help desk and shared mailbox (alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout).
★ 4.6k 315 commits / 90d ⟳ today AGPL-3.0 Docker
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Erxes
Marketing, sales, and customer service platform designed to help businesses attract more engaged customers.
★ 4.1k 838 commits / 90d ⟳ today AGPL-3.0 Docker
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Frappe Helpdesk
Helpdesk software which helps you streamline your company's support, offers an easy setup, clean user interface, and automation tools to resolve customer queries efficiently.
★ 3.5k 685 commits / 90d ⟳ today AGPL-3.0 Docker
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Libredesk
Modern omnichannel customer support desk. Live chat, email, and more in a single binary.
★ 3.1k 820 commits / 90d ⟳ today AGPL-3.0 Docker
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Bugsink
Real-time error tracking for your applications with all the details in one place. Easy setup with clear instructions included.
★ 2.2k 191 commits / 90d ⟳ yesterday ⊘ Proprietary Docker
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BugPin
Visual bug reporting and ticketing tool for web applications.
★ 47 184 commits / 90d ⟳ 6 days ago AGPL-3.0 Docker
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ITFlow
Client IT documentation, ticketing, invoicing and accounting for MSPs (Managed Service Providers).
★ 1k 428 commits / 90d ⟳ yesterday GPL-3.0
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OTOBO
Flexible web-based ticketing system used for customer service, help desk, IT service management.
★ 340 641 commits / 90d ⟳ yesterday GPL-3.0 Docker
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Zammad
Easy to use but powerful support and ticketing system.
★ 6.1k 799 commits / 90d ⟳ today AGPL-3.0
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GlitchTip
Error tracking app to collect errors reported by your app.
★ 170 3 commits / 90d ⟳ 11 days ago MIT Docker
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Bugzilla
General-purpose bugtracker and testing tool originally developed and used by the Mozilla project.
★ 865 8 commits / 90d ⟳ 5 days ago MPL-2.0
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EKSO
Help desk ticketing and project/issue tracker.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary Docker
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Roundup Issue Tracker
Simple-to-use and -install issue tracking system with command-line, web, REST, XML-RPC, and e-mail interfaces. Designed with flexibility in mind - not just another bug tracker.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown MIT Docker
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Telebugs
Lightweight error tracker without a subscription (alternative to Sentry).
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary Docker
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Deskpro
On-Premise help desk software that includes email, chat, voice & help centre publishing. Full visible source code and API.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary
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Full Help
Simple, easy to use help desk & knowledge base software. Custom branding, custom themes, restful API, communication channels, multi-company support, multi-language support, and much more! At least 1 new release per month.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary
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Jitbit Helpdesk
Help desk software - simple but powerful.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary
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SupportPal
Powerful help desk software - easy, fast and intuitive.
★ 0 0 commits / 90d ⟳ unknown ⊘ Proprietary
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forgejo Docker | 5.7k | 290 | MIT | 2 days ago | |
| 2 | FreeScout Docker | 4.6k | 315 | AGPL-3.0 | today | |
| 3 | Erxes Docker | 4.1k | 838 | AGPL-3.0 | today | |
| 4 | Frappe Helpdesk Docker | 3.5k | 685 | AGPL-3.0 | today | |
| 5 | Libredesk Docker | 3.1k | 820 | AGPL-3.0 | today | |
| 6 | Bugsink Docker | 2.2k | 191 | ⊘ Proprietary | yesterday | |
| 7 | BugPin Docker | 47 | 184 | AGPL-3.0 | 6 days ago | |
| 8 | ITFlow | 1k | 428 | GPL-3.0 | yesterday | |
| 9 | Request Tracker | 1.2k | 296 | GPL-2.0 | today | |
| 10 | OTOBO Docker | 340 | 641 | GPL-3.0 | yesterday | |
| 11 | Zammad | 6.1k | 799 | AGPL-3.0 | today | |
| 12 | MantisBT | 1.8k | 245 | GPL-2.0 | today | |
| 13 | GlitchTip Docker | 170 | 3 | MIT | 11 days ago | |
| 14 | Bugzilla | 865 | 8 | MPL-2.0 | 5 days ago | |
| 15 | EKSO Docker | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 16 | Roundup Issue Tracker Docker | 0 | 0 | MIT | unknown | |
| 17 | Telebugs Docker | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 18 | Deskpro | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 19 | Full Help | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 20 | JIRA | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 21 | Jitbit Helpdesk | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown | |
| 22 | SupportPal | 0 | 0 | ⊘ Proprietary | unknown |
How the ticketing tools compare
Forgejo and FreeScout tie at 95/100. FreeScout is the busier codebase, with 315 commits in 90 days to 290. Zammad has the largest following at 6.1k stars, yet ranks #11 of 22, held back mostly by release recency (no tagged release).
The most recent release is Erxes 3.4.7, published yesterday. OTOBO, Zammad, MantisBT and 2 more publish no tagged releases, which costs up to 25 of the 100 points. GlitchTip and Bugzilla score under 40, so check recent activity before adopting them. By stack, PHP (5), Perl (3) and Python (3) are the most common. Forgejo, BugPin, GlitchTip and 2 more are permissively licensed; FreeScout, Frappe Helpdesk, Libredesk and 5 more are copyleft. Erxes, Bugsink, EKSO and 6 more are source-available rather than open source, which limits commercial reuse. EKSO, Roundup Issue Tracker, Telebugs and 5 more are not hosted on a forge Repoly can read, so they have no measured score yet.
Ticketing: common questions
What is the best open source ticketing tool?
By Repoly's GitHub health score, Forgejo at 95/100 (290 commits in 90 days, v17.0.1 from 4 days ago). FreeScout is next at 95. The score measures maintenance, not features, so shortlist the top few and try them.
Which ticketing tools are the most actively developed?
Erxes (838 commits in 90 days), Libredesk (820 commits in 90 days) and Zammad (799 commits in 90 days). Commit activity is 35 of the 100 health points, the largest single term.
Which ticketing tools can I run in Docker?
12 of 22 publish a Docker image or Compose file, led by Forgejo, FreeScout, Erxes, Frappe Helpdesk, Libredesk and 7 more.
Which ticketing tools have a permissive licence?
5 of 22: Forgejo (MIT), BugPin (AGPL-3.0), GlitchTip (MIT), Bugzilla (MPL-2.0), Roundup Issue Tracker (MIT). 8 are copyleft.
Which paid products can open source ticketing tools replace?
GitHub (Forgejo ranks highest here), Zendesk (FreeScout ranks highest here), Atlassian Bitbucket (Forgejo ranks highest here), Intercom (FreeScout ranks highest here) and Docker Hub (Forgejo ranks highest here), plus 1 more listed on the comparison pages.
