Alternatives · Help Desks
Spiceworks Help Desk alternatives
As of Nov 13, 2026, the best Spiceworks Help Desk alternative for most people is Zoho Desk (3.4 GPA), first in our ranking of help desk and live chat tools. It's also the best free one.
Spiceworks Help Desk compared with 6 alternatives: Freshdesk, Zammad, HelpDesk, FreeScout, Zoho Desk and 1 more.
Spiceworks Help Desk has a free plan. Paid plans start at $6 per seat / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly). 4 of the 6 alternatives are free or have a free plan. 2 more offer a free trial.
Listings checked up to Nov 12, 2026 · Where the facts come from
Black Friday: is there a Spiceworks Help Desk sale?
At a glance
| Tool | Price | Free plan | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiceworks Help DeskThis tool | Free plan · from $6/mo | Yes | Web, iOS, Android |
| Freshdesk | Free trial · from $19/mo | Trial only | Web, iOS, Android |
| Zammad | Free plan · from €7/mo | Yes | Web |
| HelpDesk | Free trial · from $19/mo | Trial only | Web |
| FreeScout | Free | Free | Web, iOS, Android |
| Zoho Desk | Free plan · from $7/mo | Yes | Web, iOS, Android |
| osTicket | Free plan · from $12/mo | Yes | Web |
Price against what you get
Spiceworks Help Desk starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. None of the 6 alternatives on this chart both scores higher and starts lower.
Freshdesk, Zammad and Zoho Desk score higher without starting lower. FreeScout starts lower without scoring higher.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
How each one differs from Spiceworks Help Desk
Freshdesk
Email ticketing help desk with a knowledge base and AI agents
- Freshdesk starts at $19 per agent / month, billed annually.
- Freshdesk has no free plan, only a free trial, unlike Spiceworks Help Desk.
- Freshdesk also covers shared inbox and AI support agent.
- Freshdesk does not cover workflow automation, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Support teams that work mainly from email
Zammad
Open-source help desk, hosted in Germany or run on your own server
- Zammad starts at €7 per agent / month, billed annually (€9 billed monthly).
- Zammad lists no iOS and Android apps, which Spiceworks Help Desk has.
- Zammad is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Zammad also covers shared inbox and live chat.
- Zammad does not cover workflow automation, reports and help center, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Teams that must keep ticket data in Germany or on their own servers
HelpDesk
Ticketing with an AI agent for email, chat, Messenger and SMS
- HelpDesk starts at $19 per user / month, billed yearly ($25 billed monthly).
- HelpDesk has no free plan, only a free trial, unlike Spiceworks Help Desk.
- HelpDesk lists no iOS and Android apps, which Spiceworks Help Desk has.
- HelpDesk also covers shared inbox, live chat, AI support agent, sMS marketing and chatbots.
- HelpDesk does not cover workflow automation, reports and help center, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Small ecommerce teams on Shopify that want support and sales in one inbox
FreeScout
Free open-source help desk and shared mailbox you host yourself
- FreeScout is free.
- FreeScout is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- FreeScout also covers shared inbox and live chat.
- FreeScout does not cover workflow automation and reports, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Teams that want a free help desk and can run their own server
Zoho Desk
Low-cost ticketing help desk with a free plan for three users
- Zoho Desk starts at $7 per user / month, billed annually ($9 billed monthly).
- Zoho Desk also covers live chat and AI support agent.
- Zoho Desk does not cover workflow automation, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Small teams wanting a free or low-cost ticketing system
osTicket
Open-source support ticketing, self-hosted or as a cloud edition
- osTicket starts at $12 per agent / month, for the cloud-hosted edition (billing basis not stated).
- osTicket lists no iOS and Android apps, which Spiceworks Help Desk has.
- osTicket is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- osTicket also covers shared inbox.
- osTicket does not cover reports and help center, which Spiceworks Help Desk does.
Suits: Teams with a server and an admin who want ticketing with no license fee
Limits worth knowing in Spiceworks Help Desk
- Core is limited to 5 tech and admin seats and is ad-supported; going ad-free or adding seats means Premium.
- Tasklists, bulk actions and custom ticket statuses are Premium only.
- Built for IT requests inside an organization; it has no live chat or social channels for outside customers.
- A Spiceworks account is needed to sign up.
Common questions
What are the alternatives to Spiceworks Help Desk?
The alternatives to Spiceworks Help Desk in this directory are Freshdesk, Zammad, HelpDesk, FreeScout, Zoho Desk and osTicket. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Spiceworks Help Desk.
Is there a free alternative to Spiceworks Help Desk?
Yes. FreeScout is free to use. Zammad, Zoho Desk and osTicket have a free plan alongside paid ones.
Is there an open-source alternative to Spiceworks Help Desk?
Zammad, FreeScout and osTicket are described as open source on their own sites.
When were these prices checked?
Each listing shows its own date. On this page they run from Oct 17, 2026 to Nov 12, 2026. Vendors change prices without notice, so confirm on their site before you buy.