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A web-based helpdesk and ticketing system that handles email, chat, phone and social channels in one place.

Open-source alternative to:

AGPL-3.0Self-hostedCloudNot yet assessed
Screenshot of the Zammad website
Homepage of zammad.com

What the free edition leaves out

We have not been able to confirm enough from official sources to give a verdict. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.

Open-core feature checklist for Zammad
FeatureFree editionDetailsSource
SSO / SAMLNot confirmedThe features page lists SSO including SAML, OpenID Connect and Shibboleth, but does not say which plans or editions include it.Source ↗
Role-based access controlNot confirmedThe features page mentions groups and permissions and roles via LDAP. The hosted pricing page lists individual roles under Professional; self-hosted plans list no roles.Source ↗
Audit logsNot confirmedA feature page describes a tamper-proof admin audit log but does not say which plans or editions include it or whether self-hosted installs have it.Source ↗
Multi-user / teamsNot confirmed––
Backups and restoreNot confirmedThe pricing page says hosted Zammad handles backups for you and self-hosted users handle updates, backups and availability themselves. A built-in tool was not found.Source ↗
API accessNot confirmedThe features page describes a REST API but does not state plan limits.Source ↗
Support SLAPaidThe pricing page lists SLAs under the hosted Professional plan, and email or phone support with response times only in the paid self-hosted support tiers.Source ↗

Best for

Organisations that want a full ticketing helpdesk they can host themselves or buy as a hosted service from the project's company.

Why choose it over Zendesk

The code is AGPL-3.0 licensed and you can run it on your own servers, with a hosted option from Zammad if you prefer not to. It handles several channels in one ticket system and lists a REST API and SSO as product features.

Where it falls short

Self-hosting means you handle updates, backups and availability yourself. Elasticsearch is strongly recommended for search, which adds another service to run. Support and SLAs are sold in paid tiers.

Open-source alternative to

  • Zendesk — Zammad is a ticketing system with email and other channels that you can host yourself, so it can replace Zendesk for support desks. This is a replacement use, not an official claim by the project.
  • Freshdesk — Zammad offers shared ticket queues, knowledge base and multiple channels, so it can replace Freshdesk. This is a replacement use, not an official claim by the project.

Category

Customer Support

Topics

Tech stack

Languages as reported by GitHub for the repository.

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