Ten helpdesk tools turn customer email and chat into tickets without a subscription — six hosted free plans and four open-source applications. Free helpdesks are rationed by agents (two to ten) and, increasingly, by conversations or contacts per month, so the table shows both. Freshdesk and Zendesk, the two names most searched, have no public free plan and are excluded. Prices are USD and were checked on 21 October 2026. How we score · All Kurums Free lists
TL;DR — the free helpdesk plan that fits
- Hosted, no card, already on HubSpot: HubSpot Service Hub free tools — ticketing, live chat and bots for two users.
- Most agent seats hosted free: Tidio — ten agent seats with live chat, capped at 50 conversations a month; Help Scout Free gives five users and 100 contacts.
- Unlimited agents, self-hosted: FreeScout (shared-inbox style) or osTicket (classic ticketing), both free on your own server.
- Three agents in the Zoho suite: Zoho Desk Free — email ticketing out of the box.
Which helpdesk & ticketing software tools have a free plan in 2026?
Every tool on this page converts inbound email or chat into assignable tickets indefinitely without a subscription. Six are hosted free plans (Zoho Desk, HubSpot, Spiceworks, Crisp, Tidio, Help Scout) and four are open source or free to download (osTicket, UVdesk, FreeScout, HESK). We excluded Freshdesk, whose pricing page shows no free plan (a hidden two-agent ‘Free Program’ is reported by a third party but not published), and Zendesk, which offers only a trial outside its startup program.
Free helpdesk plans are capped by agents (HubSpot two, Crisp two seats, Zoho Desk three, Spiceworks five tech seats, Help Scout five, Tidio ten) and increasingly by volume (Tidio 50 conversations a month, Help Scout 100 contacts a month, Crisp 100 profiles). The open-source tools have no caps and no hosting; HESK is proprietary freeware with branding.
The table shows the one limit most likely to push you to a paid plan, whether a card is needed to start, and the Free Score. The rows below open into the full Scorecard with every limit, the upgrade trigger, the cheapest paid step and the page we checked.
| Company | Free as | Key limit | Card | Free Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H |
Free forever | 2 users · HubSpot branding | No | 86 | Scorecard ↓ |
| F |
Open source | Self-hosted · paid modules | No | 84 | Scorecard ↓ |
| O |
Open source | Self-hosted · unlimited | No | 82 | Scorecard ↓ |
| T |
Free forever | 10 seats · 50 conversations/mo | No | 80 | Scorecard ↓ |
| H |
Free forever | 5 users · 100 contacts/mo | No | 78 | Scorecard ↓ |
| U |
Open source | Self-hosted · unlimited agents | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| Z |
Free forever | 3 agents | No | 76 | Scorecard ↓ |
| S |
Free forever | 5 tech seats · ads | No | 72 | Scorecard ↓ |
| C |
Free forever | 2 seats · 100 profiles | No | 70 | Scorecard ↓ |
| H |
Free forever | Self-hosted · ‘Powered by Hesk’ | No | 64 | Scorecard ↓ |
Free tiers verified 21 October 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page (third-party sources named in the Scorecard where the vendor page was silent). Order is by Free Score only; sponsorship never changes it.
What do the free helpdesk plan plans actually include?
Open any row for the eight-field Scorecard. The “Why it ranks here” note under each row explains the score in plain terms.
1H
HubSpot Service HubUS · free ticketing, live chat, bots, Messenger and a meetings link for two users on top of the free CRM, no cardFree forever2 users · HubSpot brandingNo card86⌄
- What’s free
- Free tools: ticketing, live chat with HubSpot branding, limited conversational bots, Messenger, one-to-one email, canned snippets, meetings link, dashboards
- Hard limits
- 2 users · 3 snippets · 3 email templates · 1 meetings link · 10 dashboards · ticket count not stated
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. The page states no credit card is required.
- Upgrade trigger
- A third user, removing branding, or automation
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $7/seat/month billed annually ($20 monthly)
- Best free for
- A startup already on HubSpot’s free CRM that wants tickets and chat in the same record
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · hubspot.com/pricing/service
2F
FreeScoutFreeScout · a free self-hosted Help Scout and Zendesk alternative with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxesOpen sourceSelf-hosted · paid modulesNo card84⌄
- What’s free
- Shared-inbox style helpdesk: unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes; AGPL per the project’s site
- Hard limits
- None stated · many features are paid marketplace modules
- Time limit
- Unlimited (open-source license)
- Card required
- No. Self-hosted.
- Upgrade trigger
- Paid modules from the marketplace
- Cheapest paid step
- Modules priced individually; no figures on the homepage
- Best free for
- A team that wants Help Scout’s shared-inbox feel on its own server with no seat fees
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · freescout.net
Why it ranks here. The closest free thing to a modern hosted helpdesk, with no caps. Friction is low because you host it and because the useful extras — knowledge base, SLA, satisfaction ratings — are paid modules.
3O
osTicketUS · the long-running open-source (GPL-2.0) ticketing system; unlimited agents and tickets on your own PHP serverOpen sourceSelf-hosted · unlimitedNo card82⌄
- What’s free
- Completely free open-source ticketing: email piping, web forms, agent assignment, canned responses, SLA, knowledge base
- Hard limits
- None stated
- Time limit
- Unlimited (open-source license)
- Card required
- No. Self-hosted download.
- Upgrade trigger
- Wanting the hosted SupportSystem cloud (30-day trial; price not on the pages we could read)
- Cheapest paid step
- Not stated on the pages we could read
- Best free for
- An IT team that can host PHP and wants classic ticketing with SLAs free
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · osticket.com · github.com/osTicket (license); pricing page would not load
Why it ranks here. Mature, free and unlimited, with an interface that shows its age. The vendor’s cloud pricing page would not load, so the paid step is unverified.
4T
TidioPoland · live chat and a helpdesk with ten agent seats free, capped at 50 billable conversations a monthFree forever10 seats · 50 conversations/moNo card80⌄
- What’s free
- Free: live chat, 50 billable conversations per month, 10 agent seats, the first 50 Lyro AI conversations (lifetime), 100 Flows visitors a month
- Hard limits
- 50 conversations/month · 10 seats · 50 Lyro conversations lifetime · 100 Flows visitors/month
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated for Free; the trial needs no card.
- Upgrade trigger
- The 51st conversation in a month
- Cheapest paid step
- Starter $24.17/month on annual billing
- Best free for
- A low-volume online store that wants chat and tickets with several staff able to answer
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · tidio.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Ten seats is the most hosted free seats here, and 50 conversations a month is the price of them. For a shop answering two chats a day it is enough; the moment it is not, the step is $24.
5H
Help ScoutUS · a free plan for five users with one inbox, one Docs site and 100 contacts a month, no payment method neededFree forever5 users · 100 contacts/moNo card78⌄
- What’s free
- Free: 5 users, 1 inbox, 1 Docs site, 100 contacts per month, 10 saved replies, 10 tags, 10 articles, 30-day report history, 1 integration
- Hard limits
- 5 users · 1 inbox · 100 contacts/month · 10 saved replies
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. The page states free accounts do not need to add a payment method.
- Upgrade trigger
- The 101st contact in a month or a second inbox
- Cheapest paid step
- Standard $25/user/month (annual saves 16%), up to 25 users
- Best free for
- Very low-volume email support from a team that values the interface
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · helpscout.com/pricing
Why it ranks here. Help Scout’s free plan is new and well-scoped: five people, one inbox, a hundred customers a month. The cap is on contacts rather than tickets, which suits B2B and punishes B2C; the paid step is the priciest per user here.
6U
UVdeskIndia · open-source helpdesk built for e-commerce support, free forever on your own server with unlimited agentsOpen sourceSelf-hosted · unlimited agentsNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Open Source plan: unlimited agents, workflows, theme customisation, e-commerce integrations; self-hosted
- Hard limits
- None stated · license not named on the pricing page
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. Self-hosted.
- Upgrade trigger
- Wanting the hosted version
- Cheapest paid step
- $8/agent/month billed annually ($11 monthly), minimum 2 agents
- Best free for
- An online store’s support team that can self-host
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · uvdesk.com/en/pricing
Why it ranks here. Unlimited and free with a reasonable hosted step at $8 an agent. The product is less polished than FreeScout and the license is not named on the pricing page.
7Z
Zoho DeskIndia · email ticketing out of the box for three agents, inside the Zoho suiteFree forever3 agentsNo card76⌄
- What’s free
- Free edition: three user licenses, email ticketing, help-center basics, mobile apps
- Hard limits
- 3 agents
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated for Free; the trial needs no card.
- Upgrade trigger
- A fourth agent, a help centre, or automations
- Cheapest paid step
- Express about $7/user/month billed annually (third-party; the vendor page rendered INR only)
- Best free for
- A small team of up to three agents already using Zoho CRM
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · zoho.com/desk/pricing (INR only) · dragapp.com (USD)
Why it ranks here. Three agents with no volume cap is a fair trade against Tidio’s ten seats and 50 conversations. The vendor page rendered in rupees, so the USD price is third-party and flagged.
8S
Spiceworks Cloud Help DeskUS · the IT-team helpdesk, free and ad-supported for up to five technician seats with unlimited end usersFree forever5 tech seats · adsNo card72⌄
- What’s free
- Core plan: ticketing, basic reporting, unlimited end users; ads shown in the ticket view
- Hard limits
- 1–5 admin or technician seats · ads
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A sixth technician seat, or wanting it ad-free (Premium)
- Cheapest paid step
- Premium $5/seat/month billed annually ($6 monthly) — third-party; the tier is new
- Best free for
- A small internal IT team that can tolerate ads
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · eesel.ai article dated 31 Jul 2026 (spiceworks.com blocked our fetch)
Why it ranks here. Long the default free IT helpdesk, now with a seat cap and a paid tier. Spiceworks’ site blocked our fetch, so every figure is from a third-party article and the row is marked for manual re-verification.
9C
CrispFrance · website chat widget and shared inbox with mobile apps, free for two seats and 100 customer profilesFree forever2 seats · 100 profilesNo card70⌄
- What’s free
- Free forever: website chat widget, shared inbox, mobile apps, SDKs, contact form, e-commerce integrations, push notifications
- Hard limits
- 2 seats · 100 customer profiles · no sub-inboxes · no AI credits
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- Not stated.
- Upgrade trigger
- A third seat, the 101st profile, or AI
- Cheapest paid step
- Mini $45/month per workspace with 4 seats (annual price not shown)
- Best free for
- A small website that wants live chat and an inbox before it needs tickets
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · crisp.chat/en/pricing
Why it ranks here. A chat tool more than a ticketing tool, with a hundred-profile cap that a busy site passes in a week. The paid step is per workspace, which is fair for four seats and steep for one.
10H
HESKSlovenia · a simple PHP helpdesk free to download, with tickets, canned responses and a knowledge base in 35+ languagesFree foreverSelf-hosted · ‘Powered by Hesk’No card64⌄
- What’s free
- Free download: tickets, canned responses, auto-assignment, knowledge base, 35+ languages; self-hosted
- Hard limits
- None stated · ‘Powered by Hesk’ branding on the free version · proprietary, not open source
- Time limit
- Unlimited
- Card required
- No. Free download.
- Upgrade trigger
- Removing branding or getting support (a one-time license), or Hesk Cloud
- Cheapest paid step
- Website license one-time, shown as ‘$4999’ on the page (likely $49.99 with a missing decimal); cloud amounts not shown
- Best free for
- A tiny team that wants a very simple PHP helpdesk
- Verified
- Oct 2026 · hesk.com/buy.php · hesk.com
Why it ranks here. Simple and free, but proprietary, branded and dated. The license price renders ambiguously on the vendor’s own page, which we quote as seen.
Which free helpdesk plan has no credit-card requirement?
HubSpot and Help Scout state that no card or payment method is needed; osTicket, UVdesk, FreeScout and HESK are downloads. Zoho Desk and Tidio say ‘no card’ only for their trials; Spiceworks and Crisp do not state it, which we record as “not stated”. No free plan here converts to a paid one automatically.
Sort the ten by what they cap. Agents: Tidio 10, Help Scout 5, Spiceworks 5, Zoho Desk 3, HubSpot 2, Crisp 2; open-source tools unlimited. Volume: Tidio 50 conversations a month, Help Scout 100 contacts a month, Crisp 100 profiles total; the rest unstated or unlimited. Live chat on the free plan: HubSpot, Tidio and Crisp. Knowledge base: HubSpot (basic), Help Scout (one Docs site), HESK, osTicket.
When does the free plan stop being enough?
Kurums Match: which free helpdesk plan fits your situation?
Startup on HubSpot CRM
HubSpot Service Hub free tools. Tickets and chat on the same record.
Online store with two chats a day
Tidio. Ten seats, 50 conversations a month.
B2B team answering a hundred customers a month
Help Scout Free. Five users, one inbox, no payment method.
IT team that can host PHP
osTicket for classic ticketing, FreeScout for a shared-inbox feel.
Zoho shop with three agents
Zoho Desk Free.
Internal IT, ads are fine
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk.
How we score free tiers
Duration (30): free forever scores 30, a 30-day-plus trial 15, a trial of 14 days or less 8, credit-based tiers 12. Capacity (30): whether the limits carry a team of three for twelve months. Core job (25): whether the free tier does the category’s main work — here, turning customer emails and chats into tickets that agents can assign, answer and close. Friction (15): no card 15; card but no auto-charge 8; auto-charge 0; self-hosting deducts for setup and maintenance.
Each free tier was checked on the vendor’s pricing page on 21 October 2026; where the vendor page was silent, the Scorecard names the third-party source used. Free tiers change, so this list is re-verified every quarter and a discontinued free plan stays listed for one month with a notice. Order is by Free Score only. Kurums Free sells no placement; sponsorship, affiliate links and vendor requests never change a score, a rank or a label. Vendors can submit corrections through the Update your free tier form.
How did we verify these free tiers?
For each product we opened the pricing page and recorded the free tier’s stated limits, the cheapest paid plan and its billing basis, and the card requirement if stated. Spiceworks’ site blocked our fetch, so its row is from a dated third-party article; osTicket’s pricing page would not load; Zoho Desk’s page rendered in rupees, so the USD price is third-party; HESK’s license price renders ambiguously. All are flagged. Freshdesk and Zendesk were checked and excluded for the reasons given above.
Prices are USD. We did not route tickets through these tools for this list; the score measures the published free tier, not the product’s quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Freshdesk free?
Not publicly. Freshdesk’s pricing page shows no free plan and a 14-day trial; a third party reports a hidden two-agent ‘Free Program’ limited to six months. The cheapest listed plan is Growth at $19 an agent.
Which free helpdesk allows the most agents?
Tidio, with ten seats, among hosted plans. FreeScout, osTicket and UVdesk have no agent limit if you self-host them.
Which free helpdesk has no ticket or contact cap?
HubSpot (ticket count not stated), Zoho Desk and the open-source tools. Tidio caps conversations at 50 a month and Help Scout caps contacts at 100 a month.
Does Help Scout have a free plan?
Yes: five users, one inbox, one Docs site and 100 contacts a month, with no payment method required.
Which free helpdesk includes live chat?
HubSpot Service Hub free tools, Tidio and Crisp. The others are email-first.
How is this different from the Best Helpdesk Software comparison?
This list answers ‘where can I run support without paying’. The Best comparison answers ‘which one should I buy’. Both use the same no-sponsorship rule.
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