10 best open source customer service software

Businesses always want to provide the best customer service possible. To do that, they need the best customer service software to decrease response time and resolve customer inquiries effectively.

However, organizations sometimes face challenges while acquiring and setting up customer service systems. They want a tool tailored to their needs that supports various customer service channels, and that allows them to control their own data.

These criteria is met with open source customer service software. Solutions operating on open source technology offer unique benefits to businesses looking for high level of flexibility and security.

Read on to find out what are the best open source solutions for customer service.

What is an open source customer service software?

Open source customer service software is a solution that enables organizations to effectively manage customer inquiries and is created under an open source license. Such license categorizes the use of the software at hand, but being open sourced generally means that the software code is publicly available and free to use (to some extent).

This leads to engagement from community members that gladly participate in open source projects. In turn, the software is made more secure, feature-rich, and easily scalable.

Due to the steep price of leading market solutions, organizations are turning to open source alternatives to Zendesk and similar software.

10 best open source customer service software

Rocket.Chat

This versatile open source software can be used in several ways: as an instant messaging platform for team collaboration, as in-app chat addition to other solutions, or as an omnichannel customer service software.

As a helpdesk or customer service tool, Rocket.Chat can be configured to fit all your specific needs. Customer inquiries coming from channels such as Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Email, SMS, and others are centralized and come to a single Rocket.Chat inbox. This allows customer service teams to be efficient in their work and focus on meeting customers’ demands.

Moreover, organizations can integrate chatbots and machine learning apps to automate conversations and provide quicker service.

Being an open source solution has numerous advantages like increased flexibility, security, and affordability. It’s no different with Rocket.Chat’s omnichannel customer service sotware - it allows organizations to fully customize their customer service tool.

‍

FreeScout

This popular open source helpdesk solution is one of the most popular on our list. This self-proclaimed alternative to Help Scout and Zendesk aims to support organizations in providing superb customer service but without burdening them financially.

An extensive list of FreeScout features includes mobile-friendly solution, push notifications, auto replies, internal notes, conversation merging, and much more.

Integration with channels such as Slack, WhatsApp, Rocket.Chat, Facebook and Telegram ensure that you never miss a single issue raised by customers.

CloudTutorial

Cloud Tutorial promises to reduce customer support tickets by 80%. Use cases of this open source software range from customer service to various types of knowledge bases.

The pricing starts at $19/month per project, which seems reasonable. For a fully customized platform with configurable workflows and reports, it’s not hard to see how CloudTutorial assists their users in providing great customer experience.

X2CRM

Just like a few others on our list, X2CRM is a bundled software supporting sales & marketing automation as well as customer service.

This built-in module allows companies to manage and support customer interactions. It does offer limited features, but it’s sufficient if you want simple case managements, assignment, and reporting.

Companies looking for open source software that can support their entire business operations will not miss with X2CRM.

Odoo

If there’s one word describing Odoo’s open source customer service software, it’s agility.

You can organize tickets in the way you prefer, and streamline communication coming from email, web forms, and live chat.

Canned responses, automated notifications, and easy SLA configuration are only a part of the Odoo’s appeal. Although their customer service module is only a part of the wider system capable of serving the entire company - from marketing to finance - it still works well if you want to easily improve your customers’ experience.

Liberium

Liberium helpdesk is a great solution for smaller or mid-sized organizations that love open source software. Its user-friendly interface will help you easily navigate through customer requests.

Although it offers more or less basic functions, Liberium is fully customizable and offers detailed reporting features. For teams that are just starting out and have minimal funds, it’s perfect!

Hesk

Hesk is a customer support portal made to track, organize, and resolve customer issues.

According to their own website, 86% of Hesk users experienced a decrease in the number of support requests when they integrated the knowledgebase.

User reviews on G2 reveal that the software is “endlessly” customizable with numerous built-in options. Moreover, useful features are complimented with the abbiluty to run the app on any local or web based server.

Helpy.io

Besides being open source, Helpy can also be deployed on-premise, giving businesses full control over their customers’ data. Organizations that know how important it is to shield their customers’ data privacy and ensure maximum data protection will find this feature especially attractive.

Moreover, just as other open source customer service software, Helpy is easy to customize. It also features robust built-in reporting capabilities in addition to strong ticketing, help centre, and knowledge base management.

OSTicket

OSTicket is one of the leading open source ticketing systems. It’s free, and it allows you to scale your customer service efforts as your company grows.

This user-friendly software is also web-based, and it streamlines inquiries like email, web forms, and phone calls to a single inbox. Some of its features include customer support portal, service level agreements, auto-responder, configurable help topics, and much more.

In any case, this open source customer service software is frequently on the list of best alternatives to proprietary customer service solutions.

OpenSupports

This simple open source ticket system is the right choice for companies that want to provide clean and lean customer service. It has a responsive design and enables users to track the most important statistics related to the system usage.

Just like with other open source customer service software on our list, you can build a knowledge base segmented into topics and articles. That way, customers can resolve a lot of issues on their own - especially considering that this solution supports multiple languages.

Rocket.Chat: seamless customer service built on open source technology

Yes, open source is awesome, we know! It allows you to fully customize Rocket.Chat’s omnichannel customer service software. You can adjust it to match your branding and to meet all your specific business needs.

Moreover, you can run Rocket.Chat on premise, never risking your customers’ data privacy. Thanks to Rocket.Chat, our customers have been able to land enterprise clients and securely serve customers in highly regulated industries such as the public sector.

Get in touch with us to find out more about Rocket.Chat omnichannel customer service software!

Frequently asked questions about <anything>

Sara is an SEO Strategist at Rocket.Chat. She is passionate about topics around digital transformation, workplace experience, open source, and data privacy and security.

Sara Ana Cemazar

Team collaboration: 5 reasons to improve it and 6 ways to master it