osTicket
7.7/10
MSP Compared score
- Starting price
- Free tier available
- Reviews
- 4.4/5 (~44 G2 reviews)
- Free trial
- Free tier + 30 days
- Deployment
- Cloud + self-host
- Best for
- Teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system
Best ITSM / Help Desk Ticketing Software · 2026
osTicket vs 
ServiceNow IT Service Management osTicket vs ServiceNow IT Service Management: on our data-weighted scoring, ServiceNow IT Service Management edges ahead (7.8 vs 7.7/10). osTicket starts at Free tier available and is best for teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system; ServiceNow IT Service Management starts at Custom quote and is best for large enterprises needing a deeply customizable, platform-wide ITSM/ESM solution. Choose ServiceNow IT Service Management for the stronger overall track record; consider osTicket if its pricing model or fit matches your environment better. Side-by-side table below.
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ServiceNow IT Service Management
7.8/10
MSP Compared score
- Starting price
- Custom quote
- Reviews
- 4.4/5 (~886 G2 reviews)
- Free trial
- —
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Best for
- Large enterprises needing a deeply customizable, platform-wide ITSM/ESM solution
Strengths at a glance
Six criteria, each scored 0–10 on the same scale from real review data, public pricing and feature coverage. See our methodology →
| Criterion | osTicket | ServiceNow IT Service Management |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial | 7.7 | 7.8 |
| User reviews | 8.8 | 8.8 |
| Adoption | 4.4 | 7.8 |
| Affordability | 9.5 | 5.0 |
| Feature breadth | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Ease of trial | 10.0 | 3.0 |
osTicket vs ServiceNow IT Service Management: head-to-head
| osTicket | ServiceNow IT Service Management | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free tier available | Custom quote |
| Pricing model | per user | quote |
| Free trial / tier | Free tier + 30 days | — |
| Best for | Teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system | Large enterprises needing a deeply customizable, platform-wide ITSM/ESM solution |
| Deployment | Cloud + self-host | Cloud |
| G2 rating | 4.4/5 (44) | 4.4/5 (886) |
| Capterra rating | — | — |
| Our score | 7.7 | 7.8 |
Choose osTicket if…
You need teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system.
✓ Pros
- Free
- mature open-source core
- No per-agent fees self-hosted
- Highly customizable
✕ Cons
- Requires LAMP stack + self-management
- Dated UI
- Support is paid/community-only
Choose ServiceNow IT Service Management if…
You need large enterprises needing a deeply customizable, platform-wide itsm/esm solution.
✓ Pros
- Deep
- enterprise-grade capability
- Highly customizable platform
- Strong ecosystem + integrations
✕ Cons
- Opaque
- negotiated pricing
- Expensive + complex to implement
- Overkill for small teams
In depth
Pricing: ServiceNow IT Service Management vs osTicket
ServiceNow IT Service Management bills on a quote model from Custom quote (no trial), while osTicket uses a per user model from Free tier available (free tier available). Because the models differ, the cheaper option flips depending on your fleet size — model both at your seat/endpoint count.
Features & deployment
ServiceNow IT Service Management ships 6 headline capabilities (Incident + problem + change management, Service catalog + self-service portal, Now Assist generative AI, Predictive intelligence + performance analytics) and deploys Cloud. osTicket ships 6 (Open-source self-hosted core, Custom fields + ticket filters, Email piping + ticketing, SLA + agent collision avoidance), deploying Cloud + self-host.
Ratings & verdict
ServiceNow IT Service Management holds 4.4/5 (~886 G2 reviews); osTicket holds 4.4/5 (~44 G2 reviews). On our data-weighted score, ServiceNow IT Service Management edges ahead (7.8 vs 7.7/10). Pick osTicket instead when teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system. See ServiceNow IT Service Management alternatives or osTicket alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- osTicket vs ServiceNow IT Service Management: which is better?
- osTicket vs ServiceNow IT Service Management: on our data-weighted scoring, ServiceNow IT Service Management edges ahead (7.8 vs 7.7/10). osTicket starts at Free tier available and is best for teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system; ServiceNow IT Service Management starts at Custom quote and is best for large enterprises needing a deeply customizable, platform-wide ITSM/ESM solution.
- Is osTicket cheaper than ServiceNow IT Service Management?
- osTicket starts at Free tier available and ServiceNow IT Service Management starts at Custom quote (see the pricing rows for models and limits).
Data as of September 17, 2026. Sources: osticket.com, servicenow.com. Figures are pulled from public vendor and security data and refreshed automatically.