Request Tracker vs UVdesk
Enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking driven by email queues. PHP help desk with email-to-ticket, a support center, and a knowledge base. Compare the capabilities you need, then check hosting, licensing and maintenance. This pair is shown for browsing but is not indexed (no written verdict yet).
| Attribute | Request Tracker | UVdesk |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking driven by email queues. | PHP help desk with email-to-ticket, a support center, and a knowledge base. |
| Documented capabilities | Email queues and a self-service portal, Scrips for condition and action automation, SLAs with business hours, Articles for canned answers, Dashboards with scheduled email reports, Time tracking and assets | Email-to-ticket from unlimited mailboxes, Customer support center, Knowledge base and FAQ, Automated workflows and saved replies, Unlimited agents and tickets |
| Best-fit workflow | IT and operations teams that run support through email queues and want deep workflow control. | Small teams that want an email help desk with a knowledge base on a PHP and MySQL stack. |
| Check before choosing | The built-in rt-server is not for production, and the default root password must be changed after install. Full-text search is off by default. | The latest release is from September 2025 and the README still lists PHP 8.1. Reporting is a paid add-on, and no official Docker image is published. |
| Deployment options | Source install, FastCGI or mod_perl | Composer, Web installer |
| GitHub stars | 1,163 | 19,637 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | OSL-3.0 |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Docker noted | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Cloud / hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Primary language | Perl | PHP |
| Last commit | 2026-10-26 | 2026-10-07 |
| Difficulty | Advanced | Moderate |
| Content source | Editorial catalog entry | Editorial catalog entry |
| Metadata checked | Check the current repository | Check the current repository |
| Forks | 296 | 562 |
| Star growth | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Alternative to | Zendesk | Zendesk |
This comparison uses recorded capabilities, not hands-on performance tests. A capability missing from one record does not mean that product lacks it. Confirm edition, version and current pricing in the official documentation.
When to consider Request Tracker
IT and operations teams that run support through email queues and want deep workflow control.
The built-in rt-server is not for production, and the default root password must be changed after install. Full-text search is off by default.
Request Tracker documentation and sourceWhen to consider UVdesk
Small teams that want an email help desk with a knowledge base on a PHP and MySQL stack.
The latest release is from September 2025 and the README still lists PHP 8.1. Reporting is a paid add-on, and no official Docker image is published.
UVdesk documentation and sourceRequest Tracker vs UVdesk questions
- What is Request Tracker?
- Enterprise-grade issue and ticket tracking driven by email queues.
- What is UVdesk?
- PHP help desk with email-to-ticket, a support center, and a knowledge base.
- Can you self-host Request Tracker and UVdesk?
- Both can be self-hosted.
- What licenses do Request Tracker and UVdesk use?
- Request Tracker uses the GPL-2.0 license. UVdesk uses the OSL-3.0 license.
- Which has more GitHub stars, Request Tracker or UVdesk?
- UVdesk has 20k stars and Request Tracker has 1.2k. Stars show attention; check recent commits and releases for maintenance.
- What languages are Request Tracker and UVdesk written in?
- Request Tracker is mainly written in Perl. UVdesk is mainly written in PHP.