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Help Desk Comparison

Deskpro vs. Zammad

Deskpro and Zammad both offer self-hosted help desks for organizations that can’t deploy in the public cloud, but they take fundamentally different approaches.

While Zammad is an open-source solution that requires a DIY approach to data control, Deskpro gives you data control that aligns with the way your organization already runs.

Support teams choose Deskpro for its:

  • Flexible deployment options
  • Bring-your-own-AI approach
  • Easy maintenance (and optional managed services) for on-premise deployments
  • Native omnichannel capabilities
  • Top-rated customer service

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How Deskpro and Zammad compare

ZammadDeskpro
Mature AI features
Zammad first released its AI features in March 2026 and currently only offers basic agent copilot and routing capabilities. Deskpro offers agent productivity tools, knowledge base article generation, intelligent routing, and a chatbot, all of which can be powered by any AI you choose, including private AI models and custom LLMs.
Workflow automation
Deskpro offers unlimited automations, with a builder that’s intuitive for non-technical users and supports multi-step, branching workflows.
Omnichannel connectivity
Deskpro brings all your support channels (email, chat, SMS, voice, social, messaging apps, forms) into a single structured workspace–without relying on open-source integrations.
Apps and integration ecosystem
Zammad relies on a small set of native integrations, so connecting other business systems often requires manual API or webhook work. Deskpro offers a marketplace of pre-built apps and integrations, plus an open API, so you can connect your existing tools without custom development.
Vendor maintenance
With any on-premise software, you are responsible for updates, backups, and availability. But Deskpro makes maintenance and upgrades easy for your team with the Deskpro Private Controller (a user-friendly web tool) and optional managed services.
Customer support
While Zammad places caps on the number of service requests you can submit and only offers phone support at higher-tier plans, Deskpro builds customer support into every plan, with a dedicated in-house team and 99% average CSAT score.
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Why our customers choose Deskpro

atlantech

"We managed to set up a wide range of escalations, SLAs, and triggers easily, which has turned our customer support team into a high-performance machine."

Eric Van Tol, Director of Engineering and Support, Atlantech

airbus

"As we started growing rapidly, I needed to get full control of our data. That meant looking for an on-premise help desk. Deskpro by far excelled over the others we looked at."

Anthony Carter, Head of IT, Airbus

scribetech

"Out of the on-premise help desk options, Deskpro stood out. When we started looking for a solution, Deskpro ticked all the boxes in terms of features."

Glenn Jackson, IT Support Engineer, Scribetech

FEATURES

The Deskpro difference: Control without the DIY

Omnichannel

Omnichannel

True omnichannel, no open-source glue required

  • Email, live chat, voice, SMS, social media, web forms, and messaging apps live in one structured workspace on every plan. No wiring channels together with community integrations.
  • Intelligent routing matches each request to the right team or specialist, and round-robin distribution keeps the load even across your agents.
  • Reporting includes performance across channels, so you can read agent performance and trends without the manual digging that basic open-source reporting tends to demand.
Learn about omnichannel support
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Automation

Automation

Automation that scales without a bigger admin team

  • Trigger automations from any field or condition you define, then chain them into multi-step workflows with branching logic for the cases that aren't simple.
  • Automate escalations and reminders before deadlines hit, so nothing urgent goes stale in the queue.
  • Run unlimited automations on every plan through a builder your non-technical admins can operate, with no ceiling on volume and nothing reserved for a pricier tier.
Learn more about workflow automation
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AI

AI

AI you govern, with the model and perimeter you choose

  • Plug in whichever model you prefer–public, private, or self-hosted, local ones included– and change it as needed.
  • Keep AI grounded in your knowledge base, documented processes, and resolved tickets, with no customer data leaving your security perimeter for processing.
  • Turn on only the features you want, spanning agent productivity tools, knowledge base article generation, intelligent routing, and a customer-facing chatbot, backed by a mature feature set rather than a first release.
Learn about Deskpro AI
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Flexible deployment

Flexible deployment

Self-hosting without the open-source demands

  • Deploy in a virtual private cloud (VPC), sovereign cloud, private cloud, or on-premise, so your data lives where your security and data sovereignty requirements say it must.
  • Make maintenance and updates simple: deploy regular product updates through the Deskpro Private Controller, with optional managed services for on-premise.
  • Apply role-based permissions at a granular level, so people see the data their job calls for and none that it doesn't.
Learn about private deployment
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Try Deskpro today

See if Deskpro is the right Zammad alternative for you.

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Customer support

Support that isn't metered by ticket

Zammad sells commercial support as a paid add-on capped at a fixed number of requests and reserves phone support for its higher tiers. Deskpro builds support into every plan instead. Our in-house support and implementation specialists work in the product themselves every day, hold a 99% average customer satisfaction (CSAT) score, and remain involved well past your go-live date, with no per-request meter running while you ask for help.

support_agent

Onboarding

We tailor onboarding to your specific setup and goals, because help desks aren’t one-size-fits-all.

stethoscope

Health checks

We regularly walk through your routing and automations with you, keeping the setup aligned to your team, no matter how you change.

acute

Support SLA

Enterprise support has a one-hour Service Level Agreement (SLA), so time-critical questions get fast responses.

Migration

Ready vs. certified: What your compliance team will look at

Self-hosting Zammad keeps your help desk data in your environment, but hosting data yourself and passing a security review are not the same thing. With an open-source, self-managed tool like Zammad, the compliance work, the audit evidence, and the AI governance all stay on your team's plate. Deskpro arrives already operating against the standards a compliance or security team will ask about, so you're verifying certifications rather than assembling them.

security

Certified, not just compliant-capable

Rely on certifications including ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS, with support for HIPAA, GDPR, and other major privacy frameworks, backed by a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) your procurement team can review.

globe

Data residency on your terms

Choose where data lives across VPC, sovereign cloud, private cloud, or on-premise, including options like the AWS EU Sovereign Cloud, to meet data sovereignty requirements without self-managing the stack.

database

AI that stays inside your boundary

Power AI with a self-hosted or private model so customer data is processed inside your security perimeter, the difference between a security team approving AI and ruling it out.

inventory

A vendor on the record

A named commercial vendor accountable for security, uptime, and compliance gives your auditors and reviewers someone to hold to the standard, not just a codebase to inspect.

Customer stories

See how leading support teams are using Deskpro

aurora-mhr

Healthcare

Aurora MHR delivers exceptional internal support

As it scaled, Aurora Mental Health & Recovery needed a better way to manage staff requests and get visibility into ongoing projects.

randstad

Education

Randstad streamlines recruitment processes

Randstad needed an on-premise help desk that was easy to understand, quick to set up, and customizable. 

brown-university-body

Education

Brown University supports expanding minds with Deskpro

Brown evaluated leading help desks and ultimately chose Deskpro as an on-premise solution to replace its legacy tool for IT support.

Frequently asked questions

Is Deskpro open-source like Zammad?

No, and it’s an important difference to understand. Zammad publishes its source code under the AGPLv3 license, so a team that needs to inspect or modify the code itself has that option. Deskpro is commercial software, but it gives you the control most teams are actually after: deploy it in your own environment, keep data inside your security perimeter, and choose the AI models that power its features. If source-code access with no commercial vendor is a hard requirement, Zammad may fit better. If you want that level of data control alongside a vendor accountable for compliance, updates, and support, that's where Deskpro fits.

Is self-hosting Zammad actually free?

The Zammad software is license-free, but running it isn't cost-free. Self-hosting means your team owns the servers, updates, backups, security patching, uptime, and scaling. Vendor support for self-hosted Zammad is a separate add-on capped at a fixed number of requests. Deskpro folds support, product updates, and optional managed services into the plan, so the cost you see maps to the work you don't have to absorb internally.

Can I run Deskpro on-premise and keep data in my own environment?

Yes. You can deploy Deskpro in a virtual private cloud (VPC), sovereign cloud, private cloud, or fully on-premise, so your data lives where your security and data sovereignty requirements say it must, including options like the AWS EU Sovereign Cloud. Unlike a self-managed open-source install, you deploy product updates through the Deskpro Private Controller and can add managed services, so on-premise doesn't mean owning every layer of operations yourself.

Does self-hosting a help desk make my organization compliant?

Self-hosting controls where your data lives, which is a start, but it doesn't equal passing a security review. With a self-managed tool, the compliance work, audit evidence, and AI governance stay on your team. Deskpro already operates against ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS, with support for HIPAA, GDPR, and other major privacy frameworks, plus a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) your procurement team can review.