SolarWinds Service Desk vs Zammad

SolarWinds Service Desk9.1Visit Zammad8.6Visit

Higher score SolarWinds Service Desk #3 in IT Help Desk Software 9.1/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 7 of 7 features Visit SolarWinds

vs

Zammad #8 in IT Help Desk Software 8.6/10 Open source · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 7 features Visit Zammad

• SolarWinds Service Desk fits best

  Enterprise ITSM with CMDB depth

• Zammad fits best

  Low-cost open-source ticketing

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Side by side

Feature	SolarWinds Service Desk 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Zammad 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.6
Ranking	#3 in IT Help Desk Software	#8 in IT Help Desk Software
Best for	Enterprise ITSM with CMDB depth	Low-cost open-source ticketing
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$39/seat/mo	€7/seat/mo
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	30 days	30 days
Free trial length	30 days	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Mobile	Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, Linux
Support	Email, Live chat, Phone, Community · 24/7	Email, Phone, Docs
Compliance	SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, 2FA	ISO 27001, GDPR, 2FA
Integrations	200+ integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features SolarWinds Service Desk 7/7 · Zammad 4/7
SLA management	✓	✓
Knowledge base	✓	✓
Employee portal	✓	✓
Asset management	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Single sign-on	✓	✓
Approval workflows	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Mobile apps	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Visual CMDB and dependency mapping connect assets with incidents. Incident, SLA, change, asset, and service-catalog workflows cover core ITSM. Web, mobile, API, and integrations support distributed service operations.	Open-source ticketing with macros, triggers, templates, and escalation tools Knowledge base, customer interface, SLAs, SSO, and REST API included Self-hosted deployment plus broad channel and integration support
Cons	Listed pricing starts at $39 per technician per month with annual billing. There is no free plan for ongoing use. AI incident features are limited to the Premier plan.	No free plan; hosted pricing starts at €7 per agent monthly on annual billing Native mobile apps are not included; the product offers a responsive mobile view Approval workflows and some broader service-management capabilities are limited
Our verdict	SolarWinds Service Desk is a cloud-based IT service management platform for IT teams and organizations supporting employees. It combines incident, problem, change, and release management with a service catalog, employee self-service… Read the review →	Zammad is an open-source help desk and ticketing platform for customer service, IT support, and internal operations teams. It centralizes requests from email, web forms, SMS, chat, Telegram, WhatsApp, and other channels, with ticket… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• SolarWinds Service Desk — where it wins

  • Visual CMDB and dependency mapping connect assets with incidents.
  • Incident, SLA, change, asset, and service-catalog workflows cover core ITSM.
  • Web, mobile, API, and integrations support distributed service operations.

  Where it doesn't

  • Listed pricing starts at $39 per technician per month with annual billing.
  • There is no free plan for ongoing use.
  • AI incident features are limited to the Premier plan.

• Zammad — where it wins

  • Open-source ticketing with macros, triggers, templates, and escalation tools
  • Knowledge base, customer interface, SLAs, SSO, and REST API included
  • Self-hosted deployment plus broad channel and integration support

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan; hosted pricing starts at €7 per agent monthly on annual billing
  • Native mobile apps are not included; the product offers a responsive mobile view
  • Approval workflows and some broader service-management capabilities are limited

• SolarWinds Service Desk9.1/10 · 30-day trial

  A mature ITSM suite for teams that need CMDB, asset, SLA, and change-management depth.

  Visit SolarWindsFull verdict →
• Zammad8.6/10 · Open source · 30-day trial

  A low-cost open-source help desk with strong ticketing, workflows, SLAs, and self-service tools.

  Visit ZammadFull verdict →