osTicket
7.5/10
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 
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk osTicket vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk: on our data-weighted scoring, Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk edges ahead (7.9 vs 7.7/10). osTicket starts at Free tier available and is best for teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system; Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk starts at Free tier available and is best for small it teams wanting a genuinely free, cloud-hosted help desk. Choose Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk for the stronger overall track record; consider osTicket if its pricing model or fit matches your environment better. Side-by-side table below.
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk
7.8/10
MSP Compared score
- Starting price
- Free tier available
- Reviews
- 4.3/5 (~311 G2 reviews)
- Free trial
- Free tier + free trial
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Best for
- Small IT teams wanting a genuinely free, cloud-hosted help desk
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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 | Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial | 7.7 | 7.9 |
| User reviews | 8.8 | 8.6 |
| Adoption | 4.4 | 6.6 |
| Affordability | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Feature breadth | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Ease of trial | 10.0 | 10.0 |
osTicket vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk: head-to-head
| osTicket | Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Pricing model | per user | per user |
| Free trial / tier | Free tier + 30 days | Free tier + free trial |
| Best for | Teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system | Small IT teams wanting a genuinely free, cloud-hosted help desk |
| Deployment | Cloud + self-host | Cloud |
| G2 rating | 4.4/5 (44) | 4.3/5 (311) |
| Capterra rating | — | — |
| Our score | 7.7 | 7.9 |
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 Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk if…
You need small it teams wanting a genuinely free, cloud-hosted help desk.
Pros
- Free Core tier with real features
- No infrastructure to manage
- Quick to deploy
Cons
- Ads on the free tier
- Limited advanced workflows
- Premium required beyond 5 agents
In depth
Pricing: Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk vs osTicket
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk bills on a per user model from Free tier available (free tier available), 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
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk ships 6 headline capabilities (Cloud-hosted ticketing, Unlimited end users, Asset tracking + alerts, Reporting + custom attributes) 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
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk holds 4.3/5 (~311 G2 reviews); osTicket holds 4.4/5 (~44 G2 reviews). On our data-weighted score, Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk edges ahead (7.9 vs 7.7/10). Pick osTicket instead when teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system. See Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk alternatives or osTicket alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- osTicket vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk: which is better?
- osTicket vs Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk: on our data-weighted scoring, Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk edges ahead (7.9 vs 7.7/10). osTicket starts at Free tier available and is best for teams wanting a free, open-source, self-hosted ticketing system; Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk starts at Free tier available and is best for small it teams wanting a genuinely free, cloud-hosted help desk.
- Is osTicket cheaper than Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk?
- osTicket starts at Free tier available and Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk starts at Free tier available (see the pricing rows for models and limits).
Data as of June 16, 2026. Sources: osticket.com, spiceworks.com. Figures are pulled from public vendor and security data and refreshed automatically.