head to head · open source
glpi vs libredesk
glpi has 6,357 GitHub stars, 1,817 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. libredesk has 2,940 stars, 277 forks, 87 open issues and last shipped yesterday. glpi leads on adoption by 116% (6,357 vs 2,940 stars). glpi is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; libredesk is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. glpi has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, libredesk 9%. libredesk was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (helpdesk), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| glpi | libredesk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.4K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 277 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick glpi if
- You weight community size — 6.4K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick libredesk if
- You want the libredesk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and libredesk fits your workflow better
About glpi
GLPI stands for Gestionnaire Libre de Parc Informatique. It is a Free Asset and IT Management software package that provides ITIL Service Desk features, licenses tracking and software auditing. The project is written in PHP, distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL 3.0), and it lives in the IT asset management and ITIL service management ecosystem, alongside the CMDB, DCIM and ITAM tooling described in its topic list.
About libredesk
Libredesk is an open source, self hosted customer support desk written in Go under AGPL 3.0. It is a lightweight alternative to Intercom, Zendesk, and Chatwoot, and it puts live chat, email, and support workflows into a single binary. It lives in the open source Go customer support ecosystem.
read the full libredesk overview →
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More Customer Support & Success projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Customer Support & Success field.
Frequently asked questions
Is glpi or libredesk more popular?
glpi has 6,357 GitHub stars and libredesk has 2,940. glpi has the larger community by that measure.
Are glpi and libredesk free?
Both are open source. glpi is licensed under GPL-3.0 and libredesk under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between glpi and libredesk?
glpi is written in PHP and libredesk in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, glpi or libredesk?
Choose glpi if you want the larger community (6,357 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose libredesk if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.