FreeScoutvsPapercups
Two self-hosted Zendesk alternatives, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| FreeScout | Papercups | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 65/100 | 59/100 |
| Rank in category | #3 of 9 in Helpdesk | #6 of 14 in Customer Support |
| GitHub stars | 4 619 | 6 119 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +64 | +5 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 33 | 0 |
| Latest release | 1.8.248 · 17 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | PHP | Elixir |
Which one should you pick?
FreeScout scores 65/100 against 59/100 for Papercups, so it is the safer default.
FreeScout ships more often: 33 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Papercups.
FreeScout is growing faster right now (+64 stars in 30 days).
FreeScout details →Papercups details → All Zendesk alternatives →