Company Overview
osTicket is one of the world's most popular open-source support ticketing systems, created in 2008 by Peter Rotich, with headquarters operating remotely from the US and Canada. Known for being free, open-source, and self-hosted, osTicket is used by millions of organizations worldwide for customer service, IT support, and internal process management. It is the go-to customer support solution for budget-conscious SMBs and open-source communities.
osTicket provides complete ticket lifecycle management including multi-channel ticket creation (email, web forms, API), automatic assignment, SLA management, knowledge base, and client portal. Built on PHP and MySQL, it is easy to deploy and backed by an active community contributing numerous plugins and extensions.
Core Products
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
| osTicket Ticketing System | Core open-source ticket management platform for ticket creation, assignment, tracking, and closing |
| Staff Panel | Agent workspace for ticket queue management, batch operations, and statistical reports |
| Client Portal | Self-service portal for end users to submit tickets, check status, and search knowledge base |
| Knowledge Base | Built-in knowledge base module for self-service, reducing ticket volume |
| Email Parsing | Automatically converts support emails into tickets with templates and auto-replies |
| osTicket API | REST and XML APIs for third-party integration and automation |
| Community Plugins | Extensive library of community-contributed plugins for authentication, payments, notifications |
Core Strengths
- Completely Free & Open Source: Licensed under GPLv2 with no licensing fees, free to use and modify
- Self-Hosted Deployment: Install on your own servers for complete data control
- Lightweight & Easy: Built on PHP/MySQL, compatible with mainstream hosting, installable in minutes
- Active Community: Large user and developer community providing rich plugins and support
- Highly Customizable: Custom ticket fields, forms, statuses, and notification rules for any workflow
Competitor Comparison
| Competitor | Key Differences |
|---|---|
| Zendesk | Commercial SaaS with comprehensive features but high cost |
| Freshdesk | Commercial SaaS with free tier but limited capabilities |
| Help Scout | Focused on email-based support, not a full ticketing system |
| Deskpro | Offers self-hosted option but requires paid license, targets mid-to-large enterprises |
| Spiceworks | Free IT management tool with built-in ticketing, but less customizable |
| UVdesk | PHP open-source ticketing alternative but with much smaller community and ecosystem |
Key Milestones
- 2008: Created by Peter Rotich, first open-source version released
- 2010: Launched knowledge base and client portal features, rapid user growth
- 2013: Released osTicket 1.7 with new UI and plugin system
- 2016: Surpassed 2 million users, becoming one of the most popular open-source ticketing systems
- 2019: Released osTicket API v1 with RESTful integration support
- 2021: Released version 1.15 with email parsing improvements and security enhancements
- 2023: Enhanced ticket collaboration features and modern UI upgrades
- 2026: Continued maintenance and optimization, over 10 million global downloads
