How to self-host your Zendesk alternative
Replacing Zendesk with a self-hosted alternative means fixing the support model first: real-time conversation through one shared inbox, or a ticket queue with SLAs and a knowledge base behind it. The catalog's 2 alternatives aren't variants of the same product — each is built around a different model.
Tools that meet this intent
Alternative to Intercom, Zendesk
Omnichannel support inbox, an alternative to Intercom/Zendesk.
Alternative to Zendesk
Support ticketing system, a self-hostable alternative to Zendesk.
Real server requirements
Between 1GB and 2GB of RAM depending on the tool — never a single number.
Chatwoot centers its product on a shared omnichannel inbox — web, email, WhatsApp, Instagram — with chatbots and automated replies, built for real-time conversation with customers. Zammad centers its on traditional support tickets, with a built-in knowledge base and SLA-driven automations — a queue model, not immediate conversation. Zammad also runs Elasticsearch alongside PostgreSQL, an extra service Chatwoot doesn't require.
There's a licensing nuance worth not glossing over: Chatwoot carries an MIT license — one of the most permissive that exists — but in our classification it's Open-Core, not FOSS, because, as the project specifies, "some AI integrations are cloud-plan only." The code's license and the Open-Core business model are two different things: a permissive license doesn't stop a project from reserving features for its paid tier. Zammad, by contrast, is fully FOSS (AGPL-3.0).
What you gain and lose versus the SaaS
Fit depends on which channel carries most of your customer conversations: if it's live chat or social media, Chatwoot's shared-inbox model fits that directly. If your support runs mostly on ticket queues with service-level agreements, Zammad's model — with its knowledge base and automations — is the one built for that flow.