What free alternatives are there now that Freshdesk is ending its free plan?

You could also look at Znuny, which is the continuation of the OTRS project. It’s a capable open-source ticketing system, though it’s more involved to deploy and administer than a hosted service.

Zammad is a popular self-hosted replacement and seems to be one of the most common choices for teams leaving Freshdesk. It takes some setup, but you avoid recurring licensing costs.

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus may work for a very small team because its free tier supports a limited number of technicians. You should check the current restrictions carefully, since the included features and limits can change.

For other self-hosted options, LibreDesk, GLPI, and OTOBO are worth comparing. They cover help desk and IT service management features, but the best fit depends on how much customization and maintenance you’re willing to handle.

We tried moving to Spiceworks after Freshdesk reduced its free user limit, but eventually returned to Freshdesk and paid for it. The alternatives worked, but the time saved by Freshdesk was worth the cost for us.

Spiceworks is another free hosted option that some small teams use. It can be a practical replacement if you want something ready to use rather than managing your own server.