FreeScout is the super lightweight and powerful free open source help desk and shared inbox built with PHP (Laravel framework). Now you can enjoy free Zendesk & Help Scout without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.
One aspect of Freescout which we appreciate very much coming from a very top heavy and overbuilt system is how light Freescout is on server and browser resources. Freescout is the only open source helpdesk written in PHP and simple enough to administer for a small business. The other open source solutions are either hideous and ugly or so overwrought that installing and maintaining a working install would almost require hiring another server admin with specialised knowledge.
FreeScout runs on a completely ordinary LAMP-style stack — PHP, a database, a web server. If you have ever installed WordPress, you already have every skill you need, and honestly this is simpler than a lot of WordPress setups I have untangled. I have had FreeScout instances just sit there and work, month after month, asking for nothing.
FreeScout has a whole catalog of extensions — modules for things like an API and webhooks, time tracking, a Kanban board, satisfaction ratings, WhatsApp and Telegram channels, and plenty more. You only install the ones you need. And every one of them is a one-time purchase. You pay once, you own it, it keeps working. There is no monthly fee quietly draining your account for a feature you bought two years ago.
