# Hesk review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> PHP help desk you host yourself, or a flat-fee cloud version

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

Hesk is a help desk and ticket system that runs on your own PHP and MySQL hosting, or as a hosted service called Hesk Cloud. Tickets can be submitted, assigned and answered, and a built-in knowledge base lets customers find answers first. The self-hosted edition is free; cloud plans charge a flat fee instead of a per-agent price.

- **Category:** Help Desks & Live Chat
- **Made by:** Hesk (since 2005)
- **Website:** https://www.hesk.com
- **Runs on:** Web
- **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you have no server or tech help, because the free edition includes no hosting, installation or backups.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 12, 2026, Hesk has a free plan, and paid plans start at $29.99 per month for up to 10 agents (Hesk Cloud).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Hesk Free: install it on your own PHP/MySQL server at no cost; you handle hosting, updates and backups.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. |

Read from https://www.hesk.com/remote-help-desk.php on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Hesk before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Prepay a year of Hesk Cloud and save** (Annual discount): Annual prepayment costs $299 (Cloud), $499 (Pro) or $999 (MAX), which the page says saves $60, $100 and $200 against monthly billing. Source: https://www.hesk.com/remote-help-desk.php

## Key features

- **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.

## Good for

- Small teams that want a free help desk on their own server
- Teams that prefer a flat fee over per-agent pricing
- Nonprofits and organizations that need a simple ticket form

## Worth knowing

- 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. HESK is a PHP help desk you can host yourself for free or rent as a flat-fee cloud, from $29.99 a month for up to 10 agents. It covers tickets and a knowledge base and not much more, and the free edition has no hosting, backups or email setup.

- **Value for money: A.** Cloud 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.
- **Free plan and trial: B.** The 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.
- **Features: C.** Tickets, 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.
- **Ease of use: D.** No store rating on record. The free edition needs a PHP and MySQL server and you run the install.
- **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only on the listing, with no integrations on record.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Hesk's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among help desk and live chat tools

- Hesk's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 36 of the 66 other help desk and live chat tools we grade, and level with 12.
- It stands best on value for money (A, above 60 of 66) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $29.99 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 35 of the 57 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 1.7 out of 4. 35 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/customer-support

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** The plain part of Hesk you could make: help desk and help center. What surrounds it you could not. The 1 things listed below take a company, not a weekend. It costs $359.88 a year.

- You could make: Help desk and help center: an app builder makes these well.
- You could not: Selling tickets and checking them at the door.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

**Tags:** Help desk, Ticketing, Help center, Self-hostable

## Alternatives

- [osTicket](https://toolgpa.com/tools/osticket): Open-source support ticketing, self-hosted or as a cloud edition. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hesk-vs-osticket)
- [FreeScout](https://toolgpa.com/tools/freescout): Free open-source help desk and shared mailbox you host yourself. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/freescout-vs-hesk)
- [UVdesk](https://toolgpa.com/tools/uvdesk): Open-source help desk for online stores with hosted Pro and Enterprise. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hesk-vs-uvdesk)
- [Zammad](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zammad): Open-source help desk, hosted in Germany or run on your own server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hesk-vs-zammad)
- [LiveAgent](https://toolgpa.com/tools/liveagent): Help desk with email tickets, live chat, call center and AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hesk-vs-liveagent)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026:

- https://www.hesk.com/remote-help-desk.php
- https://www.hesk.com/buy.php
- https://www.hesk.com/download.php
- https://www.hesk.com/about.php
- https://hesk.com

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/hesk
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).