head to head · open source
OpenProject vs django-helpdesk
OpenProject has 16,913 GitHub stars, 3,668 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped yesterday. django-helpdesk has 1,692 stars, 716 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenProject leads on adoption by 900% (16,913 vs 1,692 stars). OpenProject is written in Ruby under GPL-3.0; django-helpdesk is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause. OpenProject has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, django-helpdesk 42%. OpenProject was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (kanban), 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
| OpenProject | django-helpdesk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | Ruby | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 716 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenProject if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick django-helpdesk if
- You want the django-helpdesk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and django-helpdesk fits your workflow better
About OpenProject
OpenProject We empower teams to achieve great things together for the good of society. OpenProject is a web based open source project management software for teams and organizations that require transparency, flexibility, and data sovereignty. Manage projects, portfolios, products, tasks, bugs, agile workflows, roadmaps, and team collaboration in a single platform. OpenProject can be self hosted and is designed for organizations looking for an open source enterprise ready alternative to tools such as Jira, MS Project, Monday, Asana, YouTrack while maintaining full control over their data and infrastructure…
read the full OpenProject overview →
About django-helpdesk
django helpdesk A Django powered ticket tracker for small businesses. ======================================================================= .. image:: :target: :alt: Build Status .. image:: :target: Copyright 2009 2026 Ross Poulton and django helpdesk contributors. All Rights Reserved. See LICENSE for details. django helpdesk was formerly known as Jutda Helpdesk, named after the company which originally created it. As of January 2011 the name has been changed to reflect what it really is: a Django powered ticket tracker with contributors reaching far beyond Jutda. Complete documentation is available in the…
read the full django-helpdesk overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or django-helpdesk more popular?
OpenProject has 16,913 GitHub stars and django-helpdesk has 1,692. OpenProject has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenProject and django-helpdesk free?
Both are open source. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and django-helpdesk under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenProject and django-helpdesk?
OpenProject is written in Ruby and django-helpdesk in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenProject or django-helpdesk?
Choose OpenProject if you want the larger community (16,913 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose django-helpdesk if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.