# FreeScout vs Papercups

> Two self-hosted [Zendesk alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/zendesk), 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 | 4 620 | 6 119 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +65 ✓ | +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 (+65 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [FreeScout](https://selfhost.directory/project/freescout) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/freescout.md)
- [Papercups](https://selfhost.directory/project/papercups) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/papercups.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/freescout-vs-papercups