osTicket

osticket.com
IT Service Management
Weekend Project

Support Ticketing System - Get The World's Most Popular Customer Support Software

How to Replace osTicket

Overview

osTicket is a free, open-source customer support ticketing system that helps businesses streamline customer service and improve customer experience. It seamlessly routes inquiries from email, web forms, and APIs into a unified platform. The software comes packed with enterprise-grade features typically found in expensive help desk solutions, all available at no cost.

Features

17 features across 10 categories

Automation & Routing(3)

Assign, Transfer, & Referral

Transfer tickets between departments, assign tickets to particular agents or teams, and refer tickets to maintain view-only access. Auto-assign tickets by help topics or departments. All actions are logged in ticket thread

Auto-Responder

Configurable automatic reply sent out when a new ticket is opened or a message is received. Supports placeholder variables and can be customized per department or associated with Help Topics

Ticket Filters

Powerful ticket filtering system that routes the right tickets to the right department, creating a clutter-free environment

Collaboration(2)

Agent Collision Avoidance

Ticket locking mechanism to allow staff to lock tickets during response to avoid conflicting or dual responses from multiple agents. Configurable lock duration

Thread Actions

Agents can create a new Ticket or Task from a Ticket's thread entry or from a Task's thread entry. Create separate tickets or tasks from user messages while keeping references in the original thread

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Obsidian

Customer Portal(1)

Customer Support Portal

Robust customer support portal system where users can login using their email and ticket number or register a profile for full access to all associated tickets. Archive all support requests and responses online

Customization(3)

Configurable Help Topics

Add, edit, and delete help desk topics that suit your preference. Route inquiries to exactly the right department for swift resolution with predetermined new ticket options

Custom Columns and Queues

Create custom queues and views of tickets based on custom criteria you specify. Custom columns allow you to include additional fields in the ticket list view

Custom Fields

Customize the data collected from users when submitting a ticket. Create custom lists of data to add to each ticket or specific help topics for clients to choose from when creating a ticket

Also in: monday.com, Obsidian, Smartsheet

Integration & API(1)

API Ticket Creation

Create tickets programmatically via API integration

Reporting & Analytics(2)

Dashboard

Rich and simple dashboard that keeps you up-to-date on help desk statistics

Reports

Generate reports on help desk statistics and performance metrics

Also in: LastPass, Chili Piper, Bitwarden

SLA Management(1)

Service Level Agreements (SLA)

Set your business hours and let the system handle the rest. Track tickets and due dates, get overdue alerts and notices on missed due dates, and priority escalation. Create unlimited SLA Plans and assign them to help topics, departments or ticket filters

Search & Navigation(1)

Advanced Search

Narrow down search criteria with advanced filtering options. Save selected criteria for future searches. Include custom fields in search. Export results to CSV with selectable fields

Task Management(1)

Tasks

Create an internal to-do list for agents. Tasks can be associated with tickets or stand alone. Ticket-related tasks prevent tickets from being closed until all tasks are complete. Add collaborators to include external users

Ticket Management(2)

Email Ticket Creation

Seamlessly route inquiries created via email into the ticketing system

Web Form Ticket Creation

Accept ticket submissions via web forms integrated into your website

Pricing

Open Source (Self-Hosted)

Popular
Free
  • All core features
  • Self-hosted installation
  • Community support
  • Unlimited tickets
  • Unlimited users
  • Custom fields
  • Ticket filters
  • SLA management
  • Customer portal
  • Advanced search
  • Task management

Cloud-Hosted (SupportSystem)

Custom
  • 30-day free trial
  • No credit card required
  • Cloud-hosted solution
  • All osTicket features
  • Professional hosting

Cost Calculator

Pricing data not available for osTicket. Check their website for current pricing.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a osTicket alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 17 features.

Buy osTicket

Better Value
Monthly costContact Sales
3-year totalVaries
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$12,000
Maintenance$180/mo
3-year total$18,480
Dev time~1 months

Buying osTicket saves ~$18,480 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 17 features and a BuildScore of 5/5. Actual costs vary.