UVdesk vs Zammad (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zammad grades higher than UVdesk: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Zammad grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
UVdesk
Open-source help desk for online stores with hosted Pro and Enterprise
Zammad
Open-source help desk, hosted in Germany or run on your own server
Which one is for you
Pick UVdesk if
- Fits if you sell online and want a help desk tied to your store
- Works for a developer who can run a PHP app on their own server
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want to run a server, as the free edition is self-managed
- Tight if you're one person on hosted, because it needs at least 2 agents
- Watch out: the pricing page shows Pro and Enterprise feature lists in short form, so check the plan comparison
- Watch out: full portal customization and unlimited mailboxes need Enterprise at $15 an agent
Pick Zammad if
- Fits if you want a help desk you can host yourself or rent hosted
- Works for a team that wants WhatsApp and Facebook channels on the top plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow: Starter stops at 5 agents and Professional at 35
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and AI features cost €0.03 per call on top
- Watch out: annual billing runs a full year and needs notice at least two months before it ends
- Watch out: self-hosting makes you responsible for updates, backups and uptime, and support subscriptions for it start at €2,999 a year
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAUVdeskGood | 2.8GPAZammadGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BHosted Pro is $8 per agent a month billed annually, but sold in a minimum of 2 agents, so the floor is $16 a month, inside the cheapest quarter ($19). One person pays that. | BStarter is €7 per agent a month billed annually, under the $11.40 mark, but it stops at 5 agents, and chat and SLAs need Professional at €16. Prices exclude VAT. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe open-source edition is free with unlimited agents, and Pro and Enterprise have a 30-day trial. Self-hosting means you pay for the server. | BThe open-source software is free to run yourself and the hosted service has a 30-day Professional trial. Self-hosting means updates, backups and uptime are yours. |
| Features | CTicketing aimed at ecommerce sellers, with ecommerce integrations, agent reports and a form builder on Pro. The pricing page shows the feature lists only in short form. | BEmail, forms, SMS, chat, Telegram, Facebook and WhatsApp, with macros, triggers, SLAs and a knowledge base across the plans. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in core ticketing. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and the free edition is a PHP app you install and keep running yourself. | CNo store rating on record, and channels, triggers and roles need setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with 8 listed integrations. No phone or desktop app on record. | BWeb only, with 6 listed integrations including GitHub and GitLab links. No phone or desktop app on record. |
| Best for | an ecommerce help desk you can host yourself | an open-source help desk you can host or rent |
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: UVdesk and Zammad. How we grade
Price against what you get
UVdesk starts at $8 a month for each person and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zammad starts at about $7.82 a month for each person and scores 2.7.
Zammad scores higher and starts $0.18 a month lower. Of the other help desk and live chat tools on the chart, 3 score higher than UVdesk for less, and 1 scores higher than Zammad 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
- UVdesk also covers forms and help center.
- Zammad also covers live chat.
At a glance
| UVdesk | Zammad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per agent / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly) | €7 per agent / month, billed annually (€9 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | UVdesk Open Source: free to download and host on your own server, with unlimited agents. | The open-source software is free to download and run on your own servers; you handle updates, backups and availability. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Pro and Enterprise | 30-day free trial of the hosted service on the Professional plan |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Webkul Software Pvt Ltd | Zammad GmbH |
| Price read from | uvdesk.com | zammad.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
UVdesk
- Hosted plans need at least 2 agents.
- Free open-source installs are self-managed: you run the server and updates.
- The pricing page shows the Pro and Enterprise feature lists in short form, so check the plan comparison before choosing.
Zammad
- Prices are in euros and exclude value-added tax; hosted plans cap agents at 5 on Starter and 35 on Professional.
- Annual billing runs for a full year and needs notice at least two months before the term ends.
- AI features are optional and cost €0.03 per AI call on top of the plan price.
- Self-hosting makes you responsible for updates, backups and availability.
Key features
UVdesk
- Ticket management
- Email, website forms and marketplace messages become tickets, with workflow rules, saved replies and agent privileges.
- Ecommerce order lookup
- Apps fetch order details from stores such as Magento, Shopify, OpenCart, PrestaShop and WordPress so agents see the order beside the ticket.
- Marketplace channels
- Connects marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Flipkart, plus mailboxes like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail.
- Form builder
- Design contact, feedback and suggestion forms for a website; the form builder app comes with Pro.
- Knowledgebase
- A knowledgebase is part of the product; the Enterprise plan makes it unlimited.
Zammad
- Multichannel tickets
- Email, web forms and SMS on every hosted plan, chat and Telegram from Professional, and Facebook and WhatsApp on Plus.
- Automation tools
- Text modules, macros, triggers, schedulers and business hours are in the Starter plan; SLAs and custom roles start at Professional.
- Knowledge base
- A monolingual knowledge base is included from Professional and a multilingual one from Plus.
- Hosted in Germany
- Hosted instances run in an ISO 27001-certified German data center with SSL encryption and two-factor authentication.
- Optional AI features
- Professional and Plus can switch on AI features such as ticket summaries, charged at €0.03 per AI call.
- Open source, self-hostable
- The full code is public under a GPL v3 licence, so a team can run it on its own servers.
Plans
UVdesk
Open Source$0
Free forever with unlimited agents. You host it on your own server and manage it yourself.
Pro$8
per agent / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)
Hosted, minimum 2 agents. Adds ecommerce multichannel integration, agent performance reports, form builder and file viewer apps, and data import.
Enterprise$15
per agent / month, billed annually ($18 billed monthly)
Hosted, minimum 2 agents. Adds full portal customization, unlimited mailboxes and an unlimited knowledgebase.
Zammad
Starter v2€7
per agent / month, billed annually (€9 billed monthly)
Hosted. Up to 5 agents; email, web form and SMS channels, text modules, macros, triggers and 20 GB of disk space.
Professional v2€16
per agent / month, billed annually (€18 billed monthly)
Hosted. Up to 35 agents; adds chat and Telegram, SLAs, individual roles, a monolingual knowledge base and 50 GB of disk.
Plus v2€25
per agent / month, billed annually (€27 billed monthly)
Hosted. Unlimited agents; adds Facebook and WhatsApp, a multilingual knowledge base, GitHub/GitLab links and reporting.
Self-hosted€0
Download Zammad and host it yourself under its open-source licence, with no vendor support included.
Self-hosted support€2,999
per year (Business); Enterprise €5,999, Corporation €9,999
Support subscriptions for self-hosted installs, with response times of 6, 4 or 2 hours and 15, 45 or 95 service requests a year.
Ways to pay less
UVdesk
No public discounts listed.
Zammad
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
The hosted pricing page offers a lower per-agent price on annual billing than on monthly billing, labeled as a 10% saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, UVdesk or Zammad?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Zammad is cheaper to start with: about $7.82 a month for each person, against $8 a month for each person for UVdesk. UVdesk starts at $8 per agent / month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly), and Zammad starts at €7 per agent / month, billed annually (€9 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, UVdesk or Zammad?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both UVdesk and Zammad 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.