Before comparing features, it is worth confirming these three solve the same problem for you: Helpy and Zammad are general-purpose, open-source customer…
Freemium / Open Source · From Free (Community Edition), paid cloud from around $15/seat/month
Best for: Teams that want a genuinely free, MIT-licensed, self-hosted helpdesk with GDPR-compliant data tools and an included AI agent (Carin) aimed at resolving most tier-one tickets automatically.
Freemium · From Free
Best for: IT and DevOps teams already using Jira and Confluence that need ITIL-aligned incident, change, and problem management along with on-call alerting built in via Opsgenie.
freemium · From Free (self-hosted, open source); hosted plans from EUR 7 per agent per month
Best for: Cost-conscious support teams, or those migrating from OTRS, that need multichannel ticketing across email, chat, Telegram, Facebook, and WhatsApp with either free self-hosting or GDPR-friendly German-hosted cloud plans.
| Helpy | Jira Service Management | Zammad | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Customer Support | Customer Support | Customer Support |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Freemium / Open Source | Freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free (Community Edition), paid cloud from around $15/seat/month | Free | Free (self-hosted, open source); hosted plans from EUR 7 per agent per month |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, iOS, Android | Not documented |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Not documented | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
These solve different core problems
Jira Service Management is purpose-built for internal IT service management (incidents, changes, on-call alerting), while Helpy and Zammad are general-purpose, customer-facing support helpdesks; buyers should confirm which problem they are solving before comparing the three further.
Helpy, Jira Service Management, Zammad
Self-hosting is a Helpy and Zammad feature, not a Jira Service Management one
Helpy and Zammad both offer a fully free, self-hosted open-source core that any team can run on its own infrastructure. The provided data documents no self-hosted option for Jira Service Management, which runs as cloud-native SaaS.
Helpy, Zammad
All three have a free entry point, but the shape differs
Helpy offers a free cloud tier for up to 3 agents, Jira Service Management offers a free tier capped at 3 agents, and Zammad's free option is its fully self-hosted Community edition rather than a limited-agent hosted plan.
Helpy, Jira Service Management, Zammad
Built-in AI shows up differently on each platform
Helpy's Carin agent is designed to autonomously resolve up to 90% of tier-one questions, Zammad offers optional AI features like language detection and reply suggestions billed per call, and Jira Service Management includes AI features starting at its Premium tier without further detail in the provided data.
Helpy, Jira Service Management, Zammad
Zammad documents the widest customer channel list
Zammad's channel list spans email, SMS, chat, Telegram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, versus Helpy's email, widget, and community-forum channels and Jira Service Management's incident-alerting channels (SMS, email, push, chat, voice) aimed at on-call notifications rather than customer messaging.
Zammad, Helpy, Jira Service Management
| Feature | Helpy | Jira Service Management | Zammad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free, fully self-hosted open-source edition | Available | Unavailable | Available |
| Free tier for very small teams | Available | Available | Unavailable |
| Feature | Helpy | Jira Service Management | Zammad |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITIL-aligned change/incident management | Not documented | Available | Not documented |
| On-call scheduling and alerting | Not documented | Available | Not documented |
| Multichannel customer messaging (chat, social, SMS) | Limited | Limited | Available |
| Feature | Helpy | Jira Service Management | Zammad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in AI support agent/assistant | Available | Available | Available |
| Searchable knowledge base | Available | Available | Available |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
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Not exactly. Jira Service Management is primarily an IT service management platform for incident, change, and problem management, while Helpy and Zammad are general-purpose customer support helpdesks. They overlap on ticketing and knowledge base basics, but they are built for different core use cases.
Yes, both Helpy and Zammad offer a fully free, open-source, self-hosted edition. Jira Service Management, based on the provided data, runs as cloud-native SaaS with no documented self-hosted option.
All three offer some form of built-in AI. Helpy's Carin agent aims to autonomously resolve up to 90% of tier-one questions, Zammad offers optional pay-per-call AI features like language detection and reply suggestions, and Jira Service Management includes AI features starting at its Premium tier.
Zammad documents the widest channel list of the three, covering email, SMS, chat, Telegram, Facebook, and WhatsApp on its higher hosted tiers. Helpy's documented channels center on email and an embeddable widget plus community forums.
Only Jira Service Management, which bundles Opsgenie-derived on-call scheduling and alerting into its cloud editions. This is not documented as a feature of Helpy or Zammad.
Helpy or Zammad are the stronger fits for a small, budget-conscious support team, since both offer a genuinely free self-hosted open-source edition. Jira Service Management's free tier is capped at 3 agents and its paid tiers rise quickly for IT-service-management features like a CMDB and major incident management.
Read the full Helpy review · Read the full Jira Service Management review · Read the full Zammad review