Hesk vs osTicket (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Hesk grades higher than osTicket: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Hesk grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Hesk
PHP help desk you host yourself, or a flat-fee cloud version
osTicket
Open-source support ticketing, self-hosted or as a cloud edition
Which one is for you
Pick Hesk if
- Fits if you want a basic ticket system with no per-agent fee
- Works for a team with a server and someone to run it
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you have no server or tech help, because the free edition includes no hosting, installation or backups
- Too light for a team that wants automation and integrations, as none are on record
- Watch out: a licence only removes branding links and adds support, it unlocks no features
- Watch out: on Hesk Cloud, email-to-ticket is off by default and you must contact Hesk to turn it on
Pick osTicket if
- Fits if you have a server and someone to run it and want no per-agent fee
- Works for an internal team that is happy with email, forms and an API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to host, patch and back up your own server
- Not for you if you want chat or social channels, as the site lists email, forms and API
- Tight if you want vendor support, since the free edition has community support only
- Watch out: the cloud edition runs on a separate product, SupportSystem, and its $12 price shows no billing period
- Watch out: the virtual appliance has no published price
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHeskFair | 2.2GPAosTicketFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | ACloud is $29.99 a month for up to 10 agents, about $6 a seat for a team of five, under 60% of the $19 where support tools start. The self-hosted licences are $49.99 and $199.99 once. | BThe cloud edition is $12 per agent a month, inside the cheapest quarter ($19), but the page gives no billing period. The free edition needs your own server. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free edition costs nothing to install on your own PHP and MySQL server. You handle hosting, updates and backups, so it is free only if you have a server. | BThe full software is free to download and a 30-day cloud trial needs no card, though the free edition has community support only. |
| Features | CTickets, a built-in knowledge base, self-hosted or cloud, language packs. Some cloud-only modules, such as escalation and surveys, cannot move to a self-hosted install. | CEmail, web-form and API tickets routed to departments and agents. The listing's gap: chat and social channels aren't listed. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. The free edition needs a PHP and MySQL server and you run the install. | DNo store rating on record, and the free edition means a server, an installation, upgrades and backups of your own. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing, with no integrations on record. | CWeb only, and the listing names no integrations or apps. |
| Best for | a small team wanting a plain ticket system | a free ticket system you host yourself |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Hesk and osTicket. How we grade
Price against what you get
Hesk starts at $29.99 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. osTicket starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 1.7.
They score the same, and osTicket starts $17.99 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 35 score higher than Hesk for less, and 8 score higher than osTicket for less.
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
Where they differ
- osTicket is open source, according to its own site.
- Hesk also covers help center and ticketing.
- osTicket also covers shared inbox and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Hesk | osTicket | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29.99 per month for up to 10 agents (Hesk Cloud) | $12 per agent / month, for the cloud-hosted edition (billing basis not stated) |
| Free plan | Hesk Free: install it on your own PHP/MySQL server at no cost; you handle hosting, updates and backups. | Open Source edition: free to download and host yourself, with community support. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of the cloud-hosted edition |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Hesk | Enhancesoft |
| Price read from | hesk.com | osticket.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Hesk
- The free edition includes no hosting, installation, backups or email-to-ticket setup; the license does not cover them either.
- A license only removes branding links and adds support; it activates no new features.
- Cloud-only features such as the escalate and survey modules cannot be exported to a self-hosted install.
- Email-to-ticket on Hesk Cloud is switched off by default and has to be enabled by contacting Hesk.
osTicket
- The free edition is self-hosted: you provide the server, installation, upgrades and backups, and support is community-only.
- The cloud-hosted edition runs on a separate product, SupportSystem, and its $12 per agent price is shown without a billing period.
- The site lists email, web forms and API as channels; chat and social channels are not listed.
- The virtual appliance has no published price.
Key features
Hesk
- Ticket management
- Customers submit tickets that staff track, assign and answer, with canned responses and automatic assignment to cut repeat typing.
- Built-in knowledge base
- A self-help knowledge base sits alongside the ticket form so customers can find answers before they write in.
- Self-hosted or cloud
- Run it on your own PHP/MySQL hosting, or choose Hesk Cloud in a US, EU or Australian data center.
- Flat pricing without per-agent fees
- Cloud plans set a staff limit (10, 50 or 200 agents) and a flat monthly or yearly price, rather than charging each agent.
- Cloud-only modules
- Cloud Pro and MAX add escalation, survey and recurring-ticket modules; the site says some modules are not available self-hosted.
- Language packs
- The site lists packs for more than 35 languages that can be enabled in the admin settings.
osTicket
- Tickets from email, web forms and API
- Requests arrive by email, a customer support portal or an API and are turned into tickets.
- Ticket filters
- Rules route incoming tickets to a department or agent, and can reject a ticket or send an automatic canned response.
- Help topics and custom forms
- Web tickets are routed by help topic, and each topic can carry its own form. Custom fields and lists add more data to a ticket.
- Custom queues and columns
- Agents build their own ticket views by criteria and choose which columns show.
- Service level agreements
- Business hours and SLA plans are set up in the admin settings.
- Dashboard reports
- A dashboard shows help desk statistics. Agent collision avoidance is among the listed features.
Plans
Hesk
Hesk Free$0
Self-hosted help desk and knowledge base on your own server, with Powered by Hesk links shown.
Hesk Cloud$29.99
per month for up to 10 agents, billed monthly
Hosted by Hesk with 10 GB of uploads, unlimited tickets and a statistics module. $299 a year if prepaid.
Hesk Cloud Pro$49.99
per month for up to 50 agents, billed monthly
Adds escalate and survey modules and recurring tickets, with 50 GB of uploads. $499 a year if prepaid.
Hesk Cloud MAX$99.99
per month for up to 200 agents, billed monthly
Everything in Pro for large teams, with 200 GB of uploads. $999 a year if prepaid.
Website License$49.99
one-time, one self-hosted installation
Removes the Powered by Hesk branding and adds a year of email support; unlocks no new features.
Advanced License$199.99
one-time, five self-hosted installations
Branding removal on five installations and five years of support from the Hesk team.
osTicket
Open Source$0
The full software, which you host yourself. Community support only; the vendor says it has no feature tiers.
Cloud-hosted$12
per agent / month, billing basis not stated
Hosted by the vendor on its SupportSystem platform, with email and phone support, managed upgrades, daily backups and a free walk-through session.
Virtual ApplianceCustom
Customized to fit a business's needs, with the cloud edition's support and maintenance. Contact the vendor for pricing.
Ways to pay less
Hesk
- Annual discount
Prepay a year of Hesk Cloud and save
Annual prepayment costs $299 (Cloud), $499 (Pro) or $999 (MAX), which the page says saves $60, $100 and $200 against monthly billing.
osTicket
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Hesk or osTicket?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Hesk starts at $29.99 per month for up to 10 agents (Hesk Cloud), and osTicket starts at $12 per agent / month, for the cloud-hosted edition (billing basis not stated). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Hesk or osTicket?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Hesk and osTicket have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.