In short:
- Five IT ticketing tools are compared on 6 public criteria: GLPI (6 out of 6), ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus (4 out of 6), Jira Service Management (3 out of 6), Freshservice (2 out of 6) and ServiceNow (1 out of 6).
- GLPI is the only open source software in the comparison (GPL-3.0 licence) and runs on your own servers or in the cloud, at €19 excl. VAT per agent per month, with unlimited assets and end users.
- How features are split sets the tools apart: in GLPI, incidents, problems and changes are part of the core software, elsewhere change management comes with a higher plan or an add-on.
- To start with no licence budget, there are three options: self-hosted GLPI, ManageEngine for up to 5 technicians, Jira Service Management for up to 3 agents.
IT ticketing software centralises employee requests, from outages and access issues to new laptops, and tracks them until they are resolved. For an IT department, the choice lasts for years: it shapes the hosting model, the cost per agent and the processes the team can structure later on. This comparison ranks five solutions on criteria anyone can check on the publishers’ official pages.
IT ticketing tools comparison table
The five tools selected, in ranking order. The full scoring grid is in the “Ranking methodology” section.
| Rank | Tool | Publisher | Hosting | Published entry price | No licence fee option | Criteria met | Ideal for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GLPI | Teclib’ (France) | Cloud or customer servers | €19 excl. VAT per agent per month (Public Cloud) | Open source, self-hosted | 6 out of 6 | IT departments that want open source software combining ticketing and asset management |
| 2 | ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | Zoho Corp. | Cloud or customer servers | From US$13 per technician per month | Standard for up to 5 technicians | 4 out of 6 | Teams that want to choose between cloud and on-premises |
| 3 | Jira Service Management | Atlassian | Cloud | $21.50 per agent per month (Standard, monthly) | Free for 3 agents | 3 out of 6 | IT and development teams already on Jira |
| 4 | Freshservice | Freshworks | Cloud | $19 per agent per month (Starter, annual) | 14-day trial | 2 out of 6 | Teams that want a fast SaaS rollout |
| 5 | ServiceNow | ServiceNow | Cloud platform | On request | Demo on request | 1 out of 6 | Large groups unifying IT, HR and customer service |
Why the choice of a ticketing tool matters for IT
The help desk ticketing system is the front door of IT support. Each request becomes a timestamped ticket, assigned to a technician, prioritised and closed with a written record. Without it, requests scatter across email, phone calls and hallway conversations, and the team loses sight of its workload.
The ITIL framework, published by PeopleCert in its version 5 in early 2026, describes the processes that ticketing feeds: incident, problem, change and service request management. A tool that covers these processes in a single piece of software avoids stacking integrations.
“99% of Atlassian customers are in cloud.” Atlassian, Data Center end of life page, 2026
This shift to SaaS runs across the whole market. It makes the hosting question all the more visible: some IT departments, in the public sector or in industry, want to keep their data on their own servers.
What matters when choosing a ticketing tool
- Hosting model: cloud managed by the publisher, company servers, or a choice between the two.
- Licence model: open source, a no-fee plan capped by agents, or a per-agent subscription.
- What each plan includes: problem and change management from the entry plan, or kept for higher plans.
- Asset management: an equipment inventory linked to tickets speeds up diagnosis, a point our ranking of city data management software also covers from a data angle.
- AI: ticket summaries, suggested replies, a conversational agent for self-service.
Ranking methodology
This ranking compares ticketing tools built for IT departments and sold in France. Each tool is assessed on six criteria, each measurable on a public source: the publisher’s pricing page, product page or code repository.
Criteria and weighting
| Criterion | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The source code is published under an open source licence | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
| 2 | Installation on your own servers is offered to new customers | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
| 3 | Prices are published on the publisher’s website | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
| 4 | A plan usable with no licence fee is published | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
| 5 | Incident, problem and change management are available from the first paid plan, with no add-on module | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
| 6 | A generative AI assistant is documented by the publisher | 1/6 (about 16.7%) |
Scoring grid
- 1 point: the information is published and meets the criterion (Yes).
- 0 points: the published information does not meet the criterion (No), or it is not published on the pages consulted (NC, not communicated).
- The total score is the sum of the points, out of 6. The rank follows the total score. Two tools with the same score share the same rank (tied) and appear in alphabetical order.
Results
| Tool | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLPI | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 |
| ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | NC | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 4 |
| Jira Service Management | NC | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 3 |
| Freshservice | NC | NC | Yes | NC | No | Yes | 2 |
| ServiceNow | NC | NC | NC | NC | NC | Yes | 1 |
Data collected on 21 October 2026 from the pages published on that date. Plans and prices change: the publisher’s page prevails.
1. GLPI: open source software combining ticketing and asset management
GLPI was born in 2003 within the INDEPNET association. It is now published by Teclib’, a French company founded in 2011, and has millions of users worldwide. It is the only open source ticketing tool in this comparison: its code is published on GitHub under the GNU GPL version 3.
GLPI goes beyond IT support. The same software covers service management, the help desk and asset management, and can open up to other company departments that handle requests. Tickets, problems and changes are part of its core features, just like equipment inventory.
The business model relies on a publisher and a partner network. Using GLPI requires no licence, since it is free software. The GLPI Network subscription, sold by an integration partner, adds the contractual guarantee of the publisher; the partner’s support services are not included in this subscription.
Key features
- Two hosting models: GLPI Network Cloud, hosted and managed by Teclib’ on OVHcloud infrastructure, or a GLPI Network subscription on the customer’s servers, from €100 to €4,500 excl. VAT per month depending on the number of technicians.
- A published cloud price: €19 excl. VAT per agent per month on Public Cloud from one agent, €21 on Private Cloud from 25 agents, with unlimited assets and end users.
- Native inventory since version 10, with the GLPI agent for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android.
- Authentication and provisioning features in the cloud: OAuth2 SSO, CAS and user synchronisation through SCIM.
- GLPI AI, listed as included in the Basic, Standard and Advanced subscriptions.
- A 45-day trial on Public Cloud, with no credit card, and support in French and English.
Ideal for: IT departments that want open source software, a choice of hosting and a cost per agent known in advance.
Other ticketing tools and their strengths
2. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus
ManageEngine is the enterprise IT management division of Zoho Corp., active in this field since 2002. ServiceDesk Plus comes in three editions: Standard for the service desk, Professional which adds IT asset management, and Enterprise which brings the complete package together.
Its main strength is deployment flexibility: each edition is available in the cloud and on-premises, with a 30-day trial for both. The Standard edition is available with no licence fee for up to five technicians, on one instance. Predictive, generative and conversational AI features are included in every edition, with Zia, the in-house model hosted in ManageEngine’s data centres. The interface is available in French and many other languages.
Ideal for: teams that want to choose freely between cloud and in-house servers, with AI included.
3. Jira Service Management
Jira Service Management is the service management tool from Atlassian, the publisher of Jira, trusted by more than 300,000 organisations according to the publisher. Its strength is the native link with Jira: IT teams and developers work in the same environment, from the request to the fix.
The Free plan welcomes up to 3 agents. The Standard plan, at $21.50 per agent per month billed monthly, includes Rovo agents for AI, asset and configuration management, data residency in several regions and up to 100,000 agents for an unlimited number of customers. The Premium plan, at $55.28, adds change management and the virtual service agent.
Ideal for: organisations where IT and software development already share Jira.
4. Freshservice
Freshservice is the IT service management tool from Freshworks, which reports more than 74,000 business customers. It focuses on a fast SaaS rollout, with a 14-day trial and four plans with published prices: Starter at $19, Growth at $49 and Pro at $99 per agent per month billed annually, Enterprise on request.
The Pro plan brings together problem, change and major incident management. The Freddy AI Copilot assistant is available as an add-on, and Freddy AI is included in the Enterprise plan. Customers choose the location of the data centre that hosts their information.
Ideal for: teams that want a SaaS tool that is easy to deploy, with a gradual move up the plans.
5. ServiceNow
ServiceNow delivers its IT service management on the ServiceNow AI Platform, which brings AI agents, data and workflows together on a single data model. The same platform covers IT, human resources, customer service, finance and procurement.
The publisher highlights quantified customer results, including up to 10 minutes saved per request with Now Assist, its generative AI. An ecosystem of partners, training and certifications supports deployments. Prices are shared on request, after a demo.
Ideal for: large groups that want to unify several company departments on a single platform.
Which ticketing tool for which profile?
For an IT department committed to open source
GLPI is the only open source software in the comparison. Its GPL-3.0 code can be reviewed, self-hosting remains possible, and reversibility is built into the cloud offer: Teclib’ returns the database and attachments on written request, within 30 days.
To start with no licence budget
There are three paths: GLPI installed on your own servers, the Standard edition of ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus for up to five technicians, or the Free plan of Jira Service Management for up to three agents.
For a team that wants everything in SaaS
GLPI Network Cloud, Jira Service Management and Freshservice are managed by the publisher, updates included. Teams also comparing online management tools will find other SaaS software in our Elevo alternatives for SMEs.
For a large multi-department group
ServiceNow brings IT, HR and customer service together on a single platform. GLPI, for its part, can open up to departments other than IT within one tool, and its Private Cloud plan starts at 25 agents with a dedicated server.
Practical tips before choosing
- Count your agents, not your users: most publishers bill the technicians who handle tickets, not the employees who open them.
- Read what each plan includes: change, problem or asset management may depend on a higher plan or an add-on.
- Decide on hosting early: publisher cloud, in-house servers or both, depending on your security and data location requirements.
- Use the trials: 45 days with GLPI Network Cloud, 30 days with ManageEngine, 14 days with Freshservice.
- Think about the link with monitoring: a ticketing tool connected to infrastructure alerts opens tickets from detected incidents, an approach close to the urban supervision solutions we have ranked.
- Check prices with the publisher when you sign: those in this comparison date from 21 October 2026.