head to head · open source
libredesk vs iTop
libredesk has 2,982 GitHub stars, 289 forks, 87 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. iTop has 1,193 stars, 301 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. libredesk leads on adoption by 150% (2,982 vs 1,193 stars). libredesk is written in Go under AGPL-3.0; iTop is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. libredesk has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, iTop 25%. iTop 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.
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Side by side
| libredesk | iTop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.0K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-28 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 289 | ⑂ 301 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick libredesk if
- You weight community size — 3.0K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick iTop if
- You want the iTop 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 iTop fits your workflow better
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 →
About iTop
iTop, short for IT Operations Portal, is an open source, web based IT service management platform that is sponsored, led, and supported by Combodo. It bundles a fully customizable configuration management database, a helpdesk and ticketing system, and a document management tool into one application. The project is written in PHP and released under the AGPL 3.0 license, and it has been developed in public for roughly eight years with community contributions tracked on GitHub.
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Frequently asked questions
Is libredesk or iTop more popular?
libredesk has 2,982 GitHub stars and iTop has 1,193. libredesk has the larger community by that measure.
Are libredesk and iTop free?
Both are open source. libredesk is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and iTop under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between libredesk and iTop?
libredesk is written in Go and iTop 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, libredesk or iTop?
Choose libredesk if you want the larger community (2,982 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose iTop if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.