FreeScout is an open source alternative to Zendesk. Free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox built on Laravel, designed as a Help Scout and Zendesk alternative. AGPL-3.0-only licensed, 4.5k GitHub stars, self-host with Docker, and last released 2026-08-07.
Free self-hosted help desk and shared mailbox built on Laravel, designed as a Help Scout and Zendesk alternative.
Should you switch?
Small teams and agencies that want a shared email inbox and basic helpdesk without SaaS costs. FreeScout runs on any PHP 7.2+ host and is easy to deploy for teams already comfortable with Laravel.
Do not use FreeScout if you rely on Microsoft 365 or OAuth2-based mail: a 2026 HN user noted that connecting o365 mail requires the paid OAuth2 plugin, adding setup friction for teams that expect native mail integration. FreeScout is shared-mailbox-first and is a thinner fit for teams needing plug-and-play multi-channel connectivity.
FreeScout is AGPL-3.0 at the core but many useful features require paid one-time-purchase modules from freescout.net, making the full product closer to open-core in practice.
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Community proof
"Surprised no one has mentioned FreeScout. It's a solid open-source helpdesk: https://freescout.net/. They have cheap, one-time purchase plugins. Happy to pay a bit to keep the project sustainable."
"We're giving FreeScout a go - looks like we might need the oauth2 plugin to work with o365 mail ..."
Maintenance health
Can you do it today?
docker compose up -d # see https://github.com/tiredofit/docker-freescout for compose fileGitHub
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