# Bugzilla review (2026): is it any good? > Free open source bug tracker you run on your own server Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Bugzilla is a long-running defect-tracking system, first released as open source in 1998 for the Mozilla project. It is a web application that you install on your own server and use to file, search, assign and report on bugs and change requests. It is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. - **Category:** Project Management - **Made by:** Zarro Boogs Corporation (since 1998) - **Website:** https://www.bugzilla.org - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want a hosted version, as none exists. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Bugzilla is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | $0 | Free to download and run on your own server under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. There is no hosted edition. | Read from https://www.bugzilla.org/about/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Bugzilla before buying. ## Key features - **Advanced search:** A plain full-text search for new users, plus a query builder that supports time-based conditions and saved, shareable searches. - **Reports and charts:** Cross-tabulate bugs by any two fields and view the result as a table, line graph, bar graph or pie chart, or have reports emailed on a schedule. - **Custom fields and workflow:** Administrators can add custom fields, define their own workflow, and control who sees or edits bugs through groups. - **Email notifications and filing by email:** Users choose which changes they are emailed about, and bugs can be filed or modified by email. - **Time tracking and requests:** Bugs can carry time estimates and actuals, and a request system lets users ask others for reviews or information. - **Extensions and web services:** An extension mechanism customizes installations, and XML-RPC and JSON-RPC interfaces let other programs work with the data. ## Good for - Software teams that want a free, self-run bug database - Open source projects that already file bugs by product and component - Administrators who want custom fields and workflow rules ## Worth knowing - It must be installed on your own server; the project describes no hosted version. - It is built around tracking defects, and the project says it is not aiming to become a project management tool. - The download page recommends installing from a source code checkout rather than a packaged release. - Support is community-run: the project is managed by a small nonprofit and appeals for sponsors to hire a developer. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Bugzilla is a free open-source bug tracker with search, reports, custom fields and email notifications. You run it on your own server, there is no hosted edition, and the project says it won't become a project-management tool. - **Value for money: C.** Free under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server. - **Free plan and trial: B.** Free to download with no caps, no trial and no account. You supply the server. - **Features: C.** Search, reports and charts, custom fields, email filing, time tracking. It does defect tracking fully, but that is a smaller job than project management. - **Ease of use: D.** Install from a source checkout on your own server, per the download page. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with extensions and web services but no integrations list. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Zarro Boogs Corporation's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among project management tools - Bugzilla's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 6 of the 111 other project management tools we grade, and level with 15. - It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 77 of 111) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Bugzilla has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/project-management ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Bugzilla is free, so making your own would save you nothing. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 90 of the 111 other project management tools grade higher. - You could make: Issue tracking and reports: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: An API that other software can build on. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** Issue tracking, Open source, Self-hostable, Reports, Public API ## Alternatives - [MantisBT](https://toolgpa.com/tools/mantisbt): Open source issue tracker for teams and clients. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-mantisbt) - [Redmine](https://toolgpa.com/tools/redmine): Free, self-hosted issue tracker and project management web app. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-redmine) - [YouTrack](https://toolgpa.com/tools/youtrack): Issue tracker and project management tool from JetBrains. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-youtrack) - [Trac](https://toolgpa.com/tools/trac): Open source wiki and issue tracker for software projects. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-trac) - [OpenProject](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openproject): Open-source project management for classic and agile teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bugzilla-vs-openproject) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.bugzilla.org - https://www.bugzilla.org/about/ - https://www.bugzilla.org/about/features.html - https://www.bugzilla.org/download/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/bugzilla Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).