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Zendesk vs Zammad
Zendesk vs Zammad
A side-by-side look at Zendesk (the paid SaaS) and Zammad (the open source alternative). Use this page to decide if the switch fits your team and workflow.
| Zendesk | Zammad | |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | Customer support ticketing and chat. | Ticketing system with email, chat, and telephony. |
| License | Proprietary SaaS | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | From $19/agent/month. | Free to self-host · optional paid hosted plan |
| Self-host option | No | Yes — difficulty 3/5 |
| Hosted cloud available | Yes (only option) | Yes |
| Desktop apps | Varies by product | Web only |
| Mobile apps | Official apps typically available | None official |
Ad slot — between tables
Best for
Strict email-first ticketing with enterprise controls.
Zammad strengths
- Strong email-first ticketing.
- Integrations with LDAP, telephony, monitoring.
- Detailed SLAs and reporting.
Zammad weaknesses
- UI complexity can intimidate new agents.
- Docker setup is heavy on resources.
- Smaller app marketplace than Zendesk.
What's the catch with Zendesk?
- Pricing climbs fast with add-ons.
- Complexity for small support teams.
- No self-hosted option.
Still unsure?
Check the full list of alternatives to Zendesk: see Zendesk alternatives, or learn more about Zammad on its project page.
Recommended reading
When self-hosting goes wrong: seven failure modes and how to avoid them
An honest retrospective on the ways self-hosted setups break — not in theory, but in practice — and the small habits that prevent most of them.
Will the open source project you depend on still exist in three years?
Bus factor, maintainer burnout, funding models, and the signals that separate OSS projects that survive from those that quietly decay.
From SaaS to self-hosted: a 30-day migration playbook
A week-by-week plan to move one service off SaaS and onto your own server without breaking your team's workflow.