FreeScout
Customer SupportA self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox built with PHP and Laravel, with many extras sold as separate modules.
Open-source alternative to:
What the free edition leaves out
The free edition is genuinely usable, but some team or enterprise features need a paid plan. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.
| Feature | Free edition | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSO / SAML | Paid | The official modules page lists a SAML SSO module and an LDAP Integration module with purchase controls; OAuth and Social Login is also a module. | Source ↗ |
| Role-based access control | Not confirmed | Roles and permissions are not described on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Audit logs | Not confirmed | Not mentioned on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Multi-user / teams | Free | The README lists unlimited support agents, tickets and mailboxes. | Source ↗ |
| Backups and restore | Not confirmed | No built-in backup tool is described on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| API access | Paid | The modules page sells an API and Webhooks module described as enabling the API and webhooks. The README links API docs. | Source ↗ |
| Support SLA | Not confirmed | The site links installation services, a GitHub forum and a contact page; no support plan or SLA is described. | Source ↗ |
Best for
Small support teams that want a self-hosted shared inbox with unlimited agents and mailboxes and are fine buying modules for extras.
Why choose it over Help Scout
The core is AGPL-3.0 with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes, a web installer, mobile apps and a PHP and MySQL stack that runs on ordinary hosting. A Help Scout-style inbox with collision detection, internal notes, merging, auto replies and email, Telegram and Facebook channels is listed in the README.
Where it falls short
Several features that teams often expect, including SAML SSO, LDAP, the API and webhooks, are separate paid modules on the official modules page, so the real cost depends on which modules you need. Modules are sold per instance. Only S3 Storage and AI Integration are labelled Free on the official modules list.
Open-source alternative to
- Help Scout — FreeScout can replace Help Scout as a shared inbox for customer email, with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes on your own server.
- Zendesk — The project positions itself as a free self-hosted Zendesk and Help Scout alternative for teams that need a ticketing inbox.
Category
Customer SupportTopics
Tech stack
PHPLanguages as reported by GitHub for the repository.
