Free Open Source Ticketing System: Costs & Options
A free open source ticketing system can have a zero licence price, but hosting and the work of running it still cost time or money. Hosted momo plans range from EUR 0 to EUR 399 per month, with a shared inbox included on every plan.
Free ticketing options and the cost model
Open-source and self-hosted options can avoid a recurring software fee, while infrastructure and ongoing administration remain separate. Hosted momo plans use a flat monthly fee with included AI conversations.
Prices for self-hosted options are included only where a price is evidenced. Infrastructure and administration costs depend on the deployment and are not added into invented totals.
Plan details
Free
The hosted Free plan costs EUR 0. It includes a website widget, a helpdesk inbox, basic analytics, one agent, one team member and a momo badge on the widget. The knowledge allowance is 2 MB across up to 10 sources. The plan includes 30 AI conversations as a one-time allowance, not a recurring monthly allowance; each conversation can contain up to 10 AI replies. It is useful for trying the workflow, but that one-time conversation allowance is not a continuing monthly support budget.
Starter
Starter costs EUR 29 per month or EUR 319 per year. Yearly billing is 11 times the monthly price. The plan includes one agent, two team members, a website widget, email, a helpdesk inbox, a Help Center and basic analytics. The knowledge allowance is 20 MB across up to 50 sources. It includes 500 AI conversations per month, with up to 25 AI replies in each conversation on paid plans. The momo badge is not shown on this plan.
Growth
Growth costs EUR 129 per month or EUR 1,419 per year. It includes three agents, five team members, a Slack channel, API, Zapier and webhooks, advanced analytics, 100 MB of knowledge across up to 200 sources, and 2,000 AI conversations per month. This is the plan-sized example for a team of five team members. The AI conversation allowance is a monthly limit; it is not a per-resolution charge.
Scale
Scale costs EUR 399 per month or EUR 4,389 per year. It includes ten agents and ten team members, API, Zapier and webhooks, advanced analytics, 500 MB of knowledge across up to 1,000 sources, and 6,000 AI conversations per month. This is the plan-sized example for a ten-person team.
There is no separate per-agent price in these plan figures, no per-resolution fee and no credit-pack charge. The plan fee is the stated hosted price; do not treat self-hosted competitors' missing infrastructure or administration figures as comparable add-ons. The available paid integrations and channels differ by plan: website widget is included on Free and Starter, email on Starter, and Slack on Growth. Shopify is in preview, while WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger are coming soon.
11×
Annual billing is eleven monthly payments
For the paid plans, the yearly amount equals 11 times the monthly price. That makes Starter EUR 319 per year, Growth EUR 1,419 per year and Scale EUR 4,389 per year; compare the annual total with your expected usage before choosing a billing term.
A clear hosted plan fee, without a per-resolution charge.
Cost of ownership
Build a first-year total from known parts
A free download is a software price, not a complete operating budget. For self-hosted software, calculate: licence + hosting + email delivery + backups + administrator time + paid add-ons or support. Some of those components may be zero for a particular setup, but the supplied prices do not establish that for every deployment. No defensible monthly or annual total can be calculated for osTicket, FreeScout, Zammad, Faveo or UVdesk from the available cost figures alone.
For osTicket, the software is free, but the team manages installation, upgrades, plugins, infrastructure, backups and email integration. Commercial support is available. FreeScout's official modules are paid once, but no module prices are used in a total here. Hesk's optional USD 49.99 licence is a known one-time purchase for removing branding and one year of email support; it does not establish a hosting price. Keep those known purchase prices separate from unknown operating costs rather than presenting them as a complete total.
Worked hosted-plan examples
These examples show the plan fee only, not an estimate for a self-hosted competitor. A solo operator can choose Starter: EUR 29 for one month, or EUR 319 for a year. The Free plan is EUR 0, but its 30 AI conversations are one-time, so it is not a monthly allowance. A five-person team can use Growth as the team-size example: EUR 129 per month, or EUR 1,419 per year. A ten-person team can use Scale: EUR 399 per month, or EUR 4,389 per year. Each annual amount follows the stated yearly-billing rule.
These are plan totals, not per-person calculations. The plan limits include team-member counts, agent counts and AI conversations; check that the allowance matches the work you expect the AI to handle. Paid plans allow up to 25 AI replies per conversation. The helpdesk inbox is included on every plan, so human teammates can take over conversations that need a person.
When the price is worth it
Self-hosting may suit a team that can take responsibility for installation, upgrades, backups and email integration, and that values control over its deployment. A hosted shared inbox may suit a small support team that would rather pay a predictable plan fee than manage infrastructure. The practical comparison is not just zero software fee versus subscription: it is the price of the plan against the time and operating work your team will actually take on. Avoid counting unknown server or staff costs as zero.
Hosted plan prices
Choose a flat-fee plan with an included AI conversation allowance; the helpdesk inbox is included on every plan.
Included: Helpdesk inbox included, including on Free. · Teammates can take over any conversation live. · No per-resolution fees or credit packs.
Free
Try momo with real visitors.
€0€0 forever
- 30 AI conversations, one-time
- 1 agent, 1 team member
- Website widget
- Helpdesk inbox
- Basic analytics
- 2 MB of knowledge, 10 sources
Starter
One agent, steady traffic.
€29€27per month
- 500 AI conversations / month
- 1 agent, 2 team members
- Website widget and email
- Helpdesk inbox and Help Center
- Basic analytics
- No momo badge
- 20 MB of knowledge, 50 sources
Growth
More agents, more channels.
€129€118per month
- 2,000 AI conversations / month
- 3 agents, 5 team members
- Slack, Shopify, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger
- API, Zapier and webhooks
- Advanced analytics
- 100 MB of knowledge, 200 sources
Scale
High volume, every channel.
€399€366per month
- 6,000 AI conversations / month
- 10 agents, 10 team members
- Every channel
- API, Zapier and webhooks
- Advanced analytics
- 500 MB of knowledge, 1,000 sources
Need more resources or custom solutions? Contact us for Enterprise plans
Questions before choosing a ticketing system
Separate software licensing from deployment and day-to-day ownership.
Is there any free ticketing tool, such as osTicket?
osTicket says its software is completely free, and the project is released under the GPL2 licence. Self-hosting still means managing installation, upgrades, plugins, infrastructure, backups and email integration. Commercial support is available.
What server does osTicket require?
The available osTicket information describes the product as self-hosted but does not give specific server requirements. Treat server sizing and hosting cost as items to verify for your intended version and workload before budgeting.
Does FreeScout charge per agent?
FreeScout is described as a self-hosted shared inbox, and its core price and agent limits are not used here to calculate a team bill. Official modules are paid once rather than described as a per-agent subscription, but module prices are not included in this comparison.
What does the USD 49.99 Hesk licence include?
The one-time licence removes Hesk branding and includes one year of email support for the core self-hosted software. It is separate from any hosting or administration expense.
What extra costs should I budget for self-hosting a ticketing system?
List hosting, email delivery, backups, upgrades, installation, administration time and paid add-ons or support. The software price may be zero, but no reliable infrastructure or labour rates are established here, so do not assume those costs are zero or add invented estimates.
Is an open-source ticketing system a good fit for small-business customer support?
It can fit a team that wants to run its own system and can own the maintenance work. For straightforward customer questions, compare email-to-ticket handling, shared ownership and handoff needs with broader workflow or IT service-management requirements. See our self-hosted help desk comparison. A hosted inbox may be simpler if your team does not want to administer infrastructure.
Try a shared inbox without self-hosting
Try the hosted Free plan, which includes a helpdesk inbox for human follow-up. Learn more about self-hosted help desk costs and trade-offs or compare open source ticketing options.