head to head · open source
Ntfy vs Freescout
Ntfy has 34,282 GitHub stars, 1,605 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Freescout has 4,541 stars, 717 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Ntfy leads on adoption by 655% (34,282 vs 4,541 stars). Ntfy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Freescout is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. Ntfy has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Freescout 16%. Freescout was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Ntfy | Freescout | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 717 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Ntfy if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Freescout if
- You want the Freescout feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and Freescout fits your workflow better
About Ntfy
ntfy is an HTTP based publish subscribe notification service that delivers push notifications to phones and desktops via simple REST API calls. It operates in the open source notification ecosystem, providing a lightweight alternative to proprietary push notification infrastructure. Users publish messages to topics via standard HTTP methods, and subscribers receive them instantly on registered devices.
About Freescout
FreeScout is an open source helpdesk and shared inbox for customer support teams. It lives in the PHP and Laravel ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL 3.0. The project presents itself as a free self hosted alternative to Zendesk and Help Scout, and its topics place it among helpdesk ticketing systems and OSTicket alternatives.
read the full Freescout overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Ntfy or Freescout more popular?
Ntfy has 34,282 GitHub stars and Freescout has 4,541. Ntfy has the larger community by that measure.
Are Ntfy and Freescout free?
Both are open source. Ntfy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Freescout under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Ntfy and Freescout?
Ntfy is written in Go and Freescout in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Ntfy or Freescout?
Choose Ntfy if you want the larger community (34,282 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Freescout if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.