FreeScout
A self-hosted help desk with unlimited agents free, and features bought once rather than rented.
- Support
- Development
- from $2
FreeScout is an open-source shared inbox and help desk you run on your own server. The core is free under AGPL-3.0 with unlimited agents, mailboxes and tickets, and the features other vendors put behind per-agent tiers - knowledge base, live chat, workflows, reports - are one-time module purchases costing $2 to $24.
FreeScout: the short answer
Every line below is drawn from facts verified on 20 August 2026.
- What it is
- A self-hosted help desk with unlimited agents free, and features bought once rather than rented
- Best for
- Teams whose support cost should not scale with headcount
- Starts at
- Free and self-hosted, with unlimited agents; official modules $2 to $24, paid once
- Free option
- Free plan available, no trial
- Biggest strength
- Unlimited agents in a free core, so cost does not scale with the team
- Biggest drawback
- No official AI agent or AI module, where every commercial rival has one
- Based on
- Primary-source research, not hands-on use
- Closest alternative
- Chatwoot - The other open-source option, MIT-licensed, with a managed cloud and a free two-agent tier
FreeScout at a glance
| Best for | Teams whose support cost should not scale with headcount, Businesses that must hold their own customer conversations, Anyone with a server and a preference for buying over renting |
|---|---|
| Category | Support, Development |
| Starting price | Free and self-hosted, with unlimited agents; official modules $2 to $24, paid once |
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free trial | No trial offered |
| Pricing model | one time |
| Company | FreeScout |
| Founded | Not disclosed |
| Headquarters | Not disclosed |
| Founders | Not disclosed |
| Platforms | Self-hosted, Web, iOS, Android |
| Public API | Yes |
| Browser extension | No |
| Mobile apps | iOS + Android |
| Self-hosting | Yes |
| Affiliate programme | No |
| Data source | Vendor pricing page and public records |
| Last checked | August 2026 |
FreeScout pricing
Prices below were read from the vendor's own pricing page on 20 August 2026. Pricing model: one time. No free trial is offered.
| Plan | Price | Billing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeScout core, self-hosted | $0 | per month | Unlimited agents - Unlimited support agents, tickets and mailboxes, under AGPL-3.0, run on your own server. Shared inbox, ticketing, notes, tags-free basics and mobile apps |
| Knowledge Base module | $12 | per one-time | A public self-service help centre. One-time payment with lifetime updates |
| Live Chat module | $13 | per one-time | Live chat with customers. One-time payment with lifetime updates |
| Workflows module | $14.99 | per one-time | Automation rules, the equivalent of the automation tiers rivals charge per agent for |
| Reports module | $14.99 | per one-time | Support reporting and metrics |
| API and Webhooks module | $12.99 | per one-time | REST API and webhooks, which most rivals include in the subscription |
| Satisfaction Ratings module | $8.99 | per one-time | CSAT collection on replies |
| Every official module together | $539.73 | per one-time | The total of all 71 official modules listed on 20 August 2026, from Ticket Number at $2 to Mail Signing and Encryption at $24 |
Which FreeScout plan should you buy?
| Your situation | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You want a shared inbox and nothing else | The free core | Unlimited agents, mailboxes and tickets at no cost, self-hosted. |
| You want the equivalent of a paid help desk's entry tier | Core plus the Knowledge Base and Live Chat modules | $25 once, against $3,000 a year for ten seats on Help Scout Standard. |
| You want automation and reporting too | Add Workflows and Reports | $14.99 each, once. On rivals these arrive with a tier change priced per agent. |
| You need SSO for compliance | Add the SAML SSO or LDAP module | $10 and $17.99 respectively, where rivals reserve SSO for enterprise tiers. |
| You need an AI agent to deflect tickets | Look elsewhere | There is no official AI module. Freshdesk includes 500 AI agent sessions, and Intercom's Fin can run on top of another desk at $0.99 an outcome. |
| You have nobody to run a server | Consider Chatwoot's cloud instead | Same open-source premise with a managed option, free for two agents. |
Verdict by who you are
Small team with technical capacityYes
$25 of one-time modules replaces a $3,000-a-year subscription, and the agents are unlimited.
Growing support team of twentyYes
Per-agent pricing is the thing that hurts at this size, and here there is none. The modules cost the same whether you have three agents or thirty.
Team that needs AI deflectionNo
No official AI module exists, and none of the published modules carries an AI price.
Business with no sysadminNo
You host, patch and back this up. There is no managed cloud from the project and support is a community forum.
Enterprise with procurement requirementsCompare first
AGPL-3.0 and self-hosting suit data-residency rules, and there is no vendor to sign an SLA or a DPA with.
Should you buy FreeScout?
Buy FreeScout if…
- Teams whose support cost should not scale with headcount
- Businesses that must hold their own customer conversations
- Anyone with a server and a preference for buying over renting
Do not buy FreeScout if…
- Teams with no capacity to run and patch a PHP application
- Buyers who need an AI agent with a published price
- Organisations wanting a vendor to phone when it breaks
Best FreeScout alternative for each job
Chosen by what you are trying to do rather than by which product is closest overall, because the right replacement depends on the job.
| If you mainly need to… | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Open source with a managed cloud option | Chatwoot | MIT-licensed core, free for two agents on the cloud, $19 an agent after that. |
| The same shared-inbox feel, hosted | Help Scout | $25 a user a month billed annually, with live chat and knowledge bases in the entry tier. |
| AI deflection on top of any desk | Intercom | Fin runs standalone at $0.99 an outcome with no seat cost. |
| Deep routing, SLAs and an app marketplace | Zendesk | The category's deepest platform, at $55 an agent a month for the comparable tier. |
Key features
- Unlimited agents, mailboxes and tickets in the free core
- AGPL-3.0, self-hosted, with no vendor in the data path
- Shared inbox that reads like email rather than a ticket queue
- 71 official modules, each bought once with lifetime updates
- Runs on PHP and MySQL, including on shared hosting
- Knowledge base, live chat and workflows available as modules
- iOS and Android apps
- A community module directory alongside the official one
Integrations
- Slack, Telegram and Rocket.Chat notification modules
- Jira, WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads modules
- WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook channel modules
- REST API and webhooks, as a paid module
- LDAP and SAML single sign-on, as paid modules
FreeScout screenshots
Captured by us in August 2026 at 1440px, unedited. Interfaces change, so these show the product as it looked on the date we verified this profile. Pricing pages are captured from a US vantage point, so the currency shown matches the USD figures recorded above.
Our assessment
FreeScout is the cheapest credible help desk in this catalogue by an enormous margin, and the reason is structural rather than promotional: the core is AGPL-3.0 with unlimited agents, so support cost stops tracking headcount, and the features rivals reserve for higher per-agent tiers are one-time module purchases. A ten-agent team wanting a shared inbox, a knowledge base and live chat pays $25 once. The comparable Zendesk configuration is $6,600 a year, every year. The catch is the one you would expect and one you might not. The expected one: this is a PHP application you host, patch and back up yourself, with a community forum rather than a support contract, and no official managed cloud. The unexpected one is AI. Every commercial rival now ships an AI agent with a published price - Freshdesk includes 500 sessions, Intercom charges $0.99 an outcome - and FreeScout's official module list has no AI module at all. If deflecting repetitive questions is the point of your purchase, this is not the product. If owning your support history and paying once is the point, nothing else here comes close.
What works in FreeScout
- Unlimited agents in a free core, so cost does not scale with the team
- Modules are one-time payments with lifetime updates, not subscriptions
- AGPL-3.0 and self-hosted, so the conversations stay on your infrastructure
- Runs on ordinary PHP hosting, which keeps the operating cost low
What doesn't
- No official AI agent or AI module, where every commercial rival has one
- You are the operations team, with a community forum instead of support
- The basics are unbundled - a knowledge base and live chat are separate purchases
- No refunds on module purchases, per the vendor's own policy
EveryAny Decision Score
3 of these 8 dimensions are calculated from verified facts; the rest are our judgement, shown as a band rather than a figure unless something specific sits behind them. How each score works.
- Cost position10/10
derivedno paid tier required
- Portability9/10
derivedself-hostable, public API, open source
- Subscription flexibility8/10
derivedfree plan, one time, monthly billing
- Feature depth5/10
editorialA capable shared inbox in the core, with knowledge base, live chat, workflows, reports, SLAs-adjacent features and channels all available as separate one-time modules, and no AI agent at all.
- Ease of learningModerate
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- CollaborationModerate
editorialour judgement, with no measurement behind it
- AI capability1/10
editorialNo AI module appears in the 71 official modules listed on 20 August 2026. Community modules exist and carry no published price.
- Professional adoption5/10
editorialThe repository shows 4,487 GitHub stars and the project has published releases since 2018. No user or customer count is published.
What leaving FreeScout would cost
low lock-in
FreeScout scores on self-hostable, public API, open source. Portability 9/10 ; lock-in is the inverse. How this is calculated.
FreeScout competitors and alternatives
| Alternative | Why you might pick it instead |
|---|---|
| Chatwoot | The other open-source option, MIT-licensed, with a managed cloud and a free two-agent tier. |
| Help Scout | The product FreeScout is modelled on, hosted, at $25 a user a month billed annually. |
| Zendesk | Far deeper routing, SLAs and app ecosystem, at $55 an agent a month for the comparable tier. |
Help Scout
Support
A shared inbox that never makes your customer feel like a ticket.
Checked Aug 2026
Zendesk
Support
Customer support ticketing that grew into a full service platform.
Checked Aug 2026
Freshdesk
Support
Zendesk's job at roughly a third of Zendesk's price.
Checked Aug 2026
Unlimited agents, and features you buy once
Every commercial help desk in our support comparison charges per agent per month, so the bill tracks the size of the team. FreeScout charges nothing per agent and sells features as one-time modules.
What a ten-agent team pays for a shared inbox, a knowledge base and live chat:
| Ten agents | Year one | Year two | Year three |
|---|---|---|---|
| FreeScout core plus two modules | $25 | $0 | $0 |
| Help Scout Standard | $3,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth | $3,480 | $3,480 | $3,480 |
| Zendesk Suite Team | $6,600 | $6,600 | $6,600 |
The FreeScout figure is the Knowledge Base module at $12 once plus the Live Chat module at $13 once. The rest are the vendors’ own per-agent rates multiplied out. Modules are one-time payments with lifetime updates, per the project’s own FAQ, and there are no refunds.
Even buying every one of the 71 official modules comes to $539.73 paid once - a twelfth of one year of Zendesk for ten agents.
What the free core actually is
Unlimited agents, unlimited mailboxes, unlimited tickets, under AGPL-3.0, on your own server. It is a PHP and Laravel application that runs on ordinary shared hosting, which matters: the practical operating cost of self-hosting this is a few dollars a month, not a Kubernetes cluster.
The shared inbox is deliberately modelled on Help Scout - conversations that read like email rather than tickets with reference numbers. If that is the shape you want and the price is what stopped you, this is the direct answer.
The unbundling cuts both ways
The corollary of paying once is that the basics arrive separately, each a single payment: a knowledge base is $12, live chat $13, workflows $14.99, reports $14.99, the API $12.99, and SSO $10 for SAML or $17.99 for LDAP.
None of that is expensive, and all of it is a decision you have to make, plus an install and an update cycle you own. A hosted rival hands you the same list switched on, for a hundred times the money over three years.
The gap is AI, and it is a real one
Every commercial product in this category now ships an AI agent with a published price: Freshdesk includes 500 sessions, Intercom charges $0.99 an outcome, Help Scout $0.75 a resolution, Zendesk includes AI agents in Suite Team.
We read all 71 official FreeScout modules on 20 August 2026 and none of them is an AI module. Community modules exist outside the official directory and publish no price we can record.
So the decision is clean. If your support problem is cost per agent, FreeScout answers it completely. If your support problem is volume of repetitive questions, it does not answer it at all, and the honest move is Fin on top of whatever desk you already have.
What we have not done
Nobody here has installed FreeScout, bought a module or run a ticket through it. What is checked is the licence, the free core’s stated limits, every official module price, and the one-time payment terms - all read on 20 August 2026. Whether it survives contact with a busy support team is not something a pricing page can tell you, and neither can we.
FreeScout questions, answered
- Is FreeScout worth it?
- FreeScout is the cheapest credible help desk in this catalogue by an enormous margin, and the reason is structural rather than promotional: the core is AGPL-3.0 with unlimited agents, so support cost stops tracking headc
- How much does FreeScout cost?
- Free and self-hosted, with unlimited agents; official modules $2 to $24, paid once. Verified against the vendor's pricing page.
- Does FreeScout have a free plan or free trial?
- FreeScout has a free plan. No free trial is offered.
- What is the best FreeScout alternative?
- It depends on the job. Chatwoot: The other open-source option, MIT-licensed, with a managed cloud and a free two-agent tier. Help Scout: The product FreeScout is modelled on, hosted, at $25 a user a month billed annually. Zendesk: Far deeper routing, SLAs and app ecosystem, at $55 an agent a month for the comparable tier.
- Can I self-host FreeScout?
- Yes. FreeScout can be run on your own infrastructure, so the data stays under your control.
What this profile is based on
Every claim below is about our work, not about FreeScout. A "no" is recorded rather than omitted, because the difference between a tested review and careful desk research is the reader's to weigh. How we research a profile.
-
Prices read from the vendor : yes
Read from FreeScout's own pricing page on 20 August 2026
-
Plans and terms recorded : yes
8 rows, each with its billing period
-
Original screenshots : yes
1 captured by us: pricing page
-
Sources cited and dated : yes
4 primary sources, each with the date it was read
-
Product used first-hand : no
Not tested. This profile is desk research from primary sources
-
Alternatives used first-hand : no
None, so comparisons here rest on published facts rather than use
-
Vendor contacted : no
Not contacted for this profile
Desk research from FreeScout's own home page, module directory and modules FAQ, read on 20 August 2026, plus the licence and star count from the GitHub repository. The $539.73 total is the sum of all 71 official module prices listed on the directory page that day, computed rather than quoted. Nobody here has installed FreeScout, and no module was purchased or tested.
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Provenance and freshness
When each fact was last checked
- Pricing ·
- Plans ·
- Free trial
- Features
- Platforms
- Integrations
- Affiliate programme
- Company details
Individually sourced claims
-
The core is free, self-hosted and supports unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes
FreeScout home page ↗ · checked
-
The repository is licensed AGPL-3.0 and shows 4,487 stars
-
Official module payments are one-time only and include lifetime updates, with no refunds and no bulk or nonprofit discounts
FreeScout modules FAQ ↗ · checked
-
The Knowledge Base module is $12 and the Live Chat module $13, each a one-time payment
FreeScout modules directory ↗ · checked
-
71 official modules are listed, from $2 for Ticket Number to $24 for Mail Signing and Encryption, totalling $539.73
FreeScout modules directory, every listed price summed ↗ · checked
-
No AI or ChatGPT module appears in the official modules directory
FreeScout modules directory ↗ · checked
What has changed
-
August 2026
- First published, with the module directory read in full and every price summed
- Recorded that module payments are one-time with lifetime updates
- Recorded that no official AI module exists, which is the gap against every commercial rival
Sources & verification
Facts on this page were read from the sources below on the dates shown. Where a vendor does not publish a figure, we record it as not disclosed rather than estimating it.
- FreeScout home page - checked 20 August 2026
- FreeScout modules directory - checked 20 August 2026
- FreeScout modules FAQ - checked 20 August 2026
- freescout-help-desk/freescout on GitHub - checked 20 August 2026
Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will re-check it. Corrections are logged on the page.
