osTicket vs SupportPal (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, osTicket and SupportPal share a 2.2 GPA, and only osTicket has a free plan.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
osTicket grades higher on the free plan. SupportPal grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
osTicket
Open-source support ticketing, self-hosted or as a cloud edition
SupportPal
Self-hosted help desk with flat pricing and unlimited agents
Which one is for you
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
Pick SupportPal if
- Fits if you have a server and want a flat price for any number of agents
- Works for agencies that run several brands from one desk
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a hosted service, since the pricing page offers none
- Not for you if you have no one to run a server
- Watch out: removing the Powered by line costs $4.95 a month or $49.95 a year
- Watch out: support is by email only, a remote desktop session is $75 per 30 minutes, and extra IP addresses and Twilio are paid separately
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAosTicketFair | 2.2GPASupportPalFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | B$29.95 a month for unlimited operators is about $6 a seat for five agents, under 60% of the $19 where support tools start, but you must also pay for a server. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe full software is free to download and a 30-day cloud trial needs no card, though the free edition has community support only. | C30-day free trial of the self-hosted version, no card required. No free plan. |
| Features | CEmail, web-form and API tickets routed to departments and agents. The listing's gap: chat and social channels aren't listed. | CUnified inbox, SLAs and business hours, multi-brand support, a self-service area and an add-ons marketplace. Phone, SMS and WhatsApp need Twilio, paid separately. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record, and the free edition means a server, an installation, upgrades and backups of your own. | DNo store rating on record. It is self-hosted, so you install, update and secure the server. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and the listing names no integrations or apps. | BWeb only, with 3 integrations on record. |
| Best for | a free ticket system you host yourself | a team wanting a self-hosted help desk |
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: osTicket and SupportPal. How we grade
Price against what you get
osTicket starts at $12 a month for each person and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SupportPal starts at $29.95 a month and scores 2.0.
SupportPal scores higher, and starts $17.95 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 8 score higher than osTicket for less, and 33 score higher than SupportPal 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.
- osTicket also covers workflow automation.
- SupportPal also covers help center and ticketing.
At a glance
| osTicket | SupportPal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12 per agent / month, for the cloud-hosted edition (billing basis not stated) | $29.95 per month, self-hosted license for unlimited operators |
| Free plan | Open Source edition: free to download and host yourself, with community support. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of the cloud-hosted edition | 30-day free self-hosted trial, no card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Enhancesoft | SupportPal Limited |
| Price read from | osticket.com | supportpal.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
SupportPal
- It is self-hosted only; the pricing page offers no hosted edition, and you run the server.
- Removing the Powered by line costs $4.95 a month or $49.95 a year extra.
- Support is by email only; a remote desktop session is $75 per 30 minutes.
- Additional IP addresses and Twilio phone, SMS and WhatsApp are paid separately.
Key features
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.
SupportPal
- Unified inbox
- Web forms, email, a help widget, Facebook messages and the REST API all turn into tickets shown in a single filterable grid.
- SLAs and business hours
- Service level plans set first-response and resolution times, with due dates worked out from business hours and pausable when needed.
- Multi-brand support
- Several brands run from one installation, each with its own portal, logo, email templates and self-service area.
- Self-service area
- A knowledge area and an embeddable help widget let customers search articles before contacting support.
- Phone, SMS and WhatsApp
- Calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages can be handled through your own Twilio account, which needs an extra subscription.
- Add-ons marketplace
- Extra modules can be installed from a marketplace, and sensitive ticket fields can be encrypted or purged after closing.
Plans
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.
SupportPal
Monthly license$29.95
per month, one brand, unlimited operators
All features, unlimited tickets and users, email support and updates. Extra brands $9.95 a month each.
Annual license$299.95
per year, one brand, unlimited operators
Same license billed yearly, marked as 2 months free; extra brands are $99.95 a year each.
Ways to pay less
osTicket
No public discounts listed.
SupportPal
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
The annual license is $299.95 against $29.95 a month, which the pricing page labels as 2 months free.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, osTicket or SupportPal?
As of Nov 12, 2026, osTicket starts at $12 per agent / month, for the cloud-hosted edition (billing basis not stated), and SupportPal starts at $29.95 per month, self-hosted license for unlimited operators. 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, osTicket or SupportPal?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only osTicket has a free plan. SupportPal does not, though it has a free trial.
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.