FreeScout

Free self-hosted open source help desk and shared mailbox

Visibility score

0.7%

+0.4% vs last week

Weekly run · Nov 3

Data collected Nov 3, 2026·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 98.8%·next run Nov 9, 2026

FreeScout ranks #31 of 37 in Help Desk with an AI visibility score of 0.7 (SlateIndex, Nov 3, 2026).
FreeScout's visibility rose 0.4 points since the previous weekly run.
FreeScout is most visible on Google AI Mode (1.3) and least on ChatGPT (0).
AI engines name FreeScout in 2 of the 30 Help Desk buyer prompts SlateIndex tracks.
helpdesk.com is the source AI engines cite most in answers about FreeScout, with 2 citations.

About

Company details for FreeScout

FreeScout is a free, open source help desk and shared inbox built with PHP on the Laravel framework. It is self-hosted, runs on PHP/MySQL and can be deployed even on shared hosting. It brings email, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Slack, live chat and other channels into one place, with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes. Extra features such as knowledge base, live chat, SSO and workflows are sold as optional one-time-purchase modules. It ranks #31 of 37 in Help Desk on SlateIndex and has a visibility score of 0.7 in the latest weekly run.

Its differentiator: free open source core with unlimited agents, tickets and mailboxes, extended through one-time-purchase modules.

Website: freescout.net
Categories: Help Desk
Company type: Open source project
Deployment: Self-hosted
Platforms: Web, Android, iOS, Progressive Web App, macOS menu bar app
Languages: 33 supported
Support: GitHub issues, Wiki/FAQ documentation, Hire developer

Read from openmsp.ai, freescout.net, itsfoss.com, github.com, piwigo.org · refreshed Nov 2, 2026.

AI visibility

Latest weekly run · Nov 3 · next run Nov 9

Visibility score

0.7%

across Help Desk answers, weighted by position

ChatGPT0%

AI Mode1.3%

Perplexity0.9%

Change

+0.4%

vs last week’s run

Category rank

#31 of 37

in Help Desk

Mentions

in this week’s run

Share of voice

0.4%

of AI mentions in Help Desk

Visibility score trend

Weekly runs over the last 60 days, with up to 7 competitors. Click a name to hide or show its line.

Now0.7%

30-day changeup+0.39999999999999997pp

High · low0.7% · 0.3%

Rank#27 → #31

FreeScout gained 0.4 points over 1 weekly run in Help Desk. Freshworks leads the category at 61.5%.

Media

Website and product screenshots for FreeScout

All media

Home page

AI mentions & citations

Recent answers that name FreeScout

All prompts

Is there a free help desk platform for small teams?

Google AI Mode · run of Nov 3

Alternatives to the most popular help desk platform

Best self-hosted options: FreeScout or osTicket.

Perplexity · run of Nov 3

Products & features

What FreeScout sells

FreeScout Help Desk

Open source self-hosted help desk and shared inbox (AGPL-3.0).

FreeScout Modules

Optional paid add-ons such as knowledge base, live chat, SAML SSO, workflows & SLA, and time tracking.

FreeScout Mobile Apps

Mobile apps for support agents and administrators with the same functionality as the web version.

Strengths engines cite

Recommended as a self-hosted help desk option
Recommended for free or self-hosted use

Target market & buyers

Organizations needing professional customer support that cannot afford Zendesk or Help Scout

Notable customers include Piwigo.

Funding & recent developments

Funding

Latest known round	Total raised
—	—

Recent developments

Jul 2025ProductiOS app fix, Slack app update and Merge Customers
News post covered an iOS app fix, a Slack app update and a new Merge Customers feature.
May 2025SecuritySecurity fixes in 1.8.178–1.8.181
Stored XSS and other vulnerabilities fixed in versions 1.8.178 to 1.8.181.
Feb 2025ProductFree AI module and WhatsApp via Meta Cloud API
Announced an official free AI integration module and WhatsApp integration via Meta Cloud API.

Competitive landscape

How FreeScout compares with its top three alternatives

All alternatives

FreeScout most often appears alongside HubSpot, Freshworks, Zoho in AI answers.

vsFreeScout vs HubSpot0.7% vs 73.1% visibility · HubSpot leadsFull comparison vsFreeScout vs Freshworks0.7% vs 61.5% visibility · Freshworks leadsFull comparison vsFreeScout vs Zoho0.7% vs 44.8% visibility · Zoho leadsFull comparison

Brand	Visibility	Share of voice	vs last week	Starting price
FreeScout	0.7%	0.4%	up+0.4%	Pricing not available
HubSpot	73.1%	13.1%	New	Free plan
Freshworks	61.5%	12.9%	up+1.7%	Pricing not available
Zoho	44.8%	12.5%	up+5.4%	Pricing not available
Help Scout	29.8%	8.2%	up+1.5%	Free plan