osTicket is a proven open-source ticketing system: self-hosted, every feature is free. If you handle tickets from email and web forms, it serves you well. The-Y CRM is for teams whose customers come in via WhatsApp, phone and email at the same time – and who want all of that in one tool, with a built-in phone system and CRM.
In osTicket, “phone” is a ticket source, not a phone system – tickets come in via email, web forms and API. The-Y CRM is the phone system – together with an inbox for WhatsApp, email and other channels, contacts, deals and invoices.
I'm Thomas Nuri Yilmaz, Head of IT at Dove Touristik and founder of The-Y. In 2024 I faced exactly this question: I was looking for a ticketing system, tested osTicket, then Zammad, and found Chatwoot while searching for a respond.io alternative. I ran Zammad, Chatwoot and n8n myself. What I was missing was everything in one place: WhatsApp, phone and email in one inbox, with a phone system of its own. Today we at The-Y no longer work with any of these tools – we work with The-Y CRM.
osTicket and SupportSystem according to their official websites, documentation and GitHub, accessed 10 Oct 2026 (sources below). SupportSystem lists prices in dollars per agent per month; the vendor doesn't state the currency code, the billing interval or whether prices are net or gross. Details on The-Y CRM as of version 1.1.24 (11 Oct 2026) – new features include finance up to the export for your tax advisor (no tax advice), Facebook and Instagram posts with a content calendar, answering comments, WhatsApp templates with a preview and installing it as an app on your phone (no push notifications yet).
With every tool, you pay Meta's WhatsApp fees and your call minutes to the respective provider; The-Y adds no markup. Since 1 Oct 2026 Meta also charges for replies within the 24-hour window; the first 1,000 per number per month are free. Those 1,000 are Meta's free allowance – not to be confused with the limit of The-Y Free (1,000 outgoing messages per month across all channels). All the details, with a calculator for every country: What The-Y CRM really costs. For up to 3 people, The-Y Free (€0) is enough – in our cloud or self-hosted with a free key.
Write to us. We get the server, install The-Y CRM and keep it up to date. You pay the licence and the server costs 1:1, exactly as they are billed – no markup, no service fee.
Server guide price: about €8–15 net per month (e.g. netcup VPS 500 or 1000, see the costs page). We do this case by case until there's a ready-made hosting package.
Like it? Then move to your own server – free with a free key (same limits as Free) or without limits with the self-hosting licence (guide, server requirements) – or let us do it for you.
No. The-Y CRM is not open source. Your data belongs to you and can be exported at any time; WhatsApp, phone, SMS and AI run through your own accounts – no vendor lock-in.
Yes, with Docker on your own server – in two ways: free with a free key (created in the app after sign-up; the same limits as Free: 3 users, 1,000 outgoing messages across all channels and 200 outgoing call minutes per month, 2 GB; no support, feedback during the Alpha is welcome) or without usage limits with the self-hosting licence for €10 a month or €240 one-time (during Alpha and Beta; from the Live release €20 or €480). The €10 and the €240 get you the same licence – one as a subscription, the other perpetual.
You don't have to, as long as there are no more than three of you: The-Y Free costs €0 – in our cloud or self-hosted with a free key (up to 3 users, 1,000 outgoing messages across all channels and 200 outgoing call minutes per month, 2 GB storage). For larger teams, the self-hosting licence costs €10 a month or €240 one-time. In return you get WhatsApp, a built-in phone system, deals and invoices – things osTicket doesn't name in its channel and feature lists. If email tickets are all you need, stay with osTicket.
Yes. If you already use the WhatsApp Business app, you can keep it: The-Y CRM connects the number via Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform as well, replies you send from your phone also appear in the CRM, and up to 180 days of history are imported. If the number runs in the personal WhatsApp app, you first switch it to the WhatsApp Business app or release it from WhatsApp – that's Meta's rule for the Business Platform and applies just the same with Zammad, Chatwoot or Twilio. The number stays yours.
Then all self-hosted installations – with a free key, a monthly licence or a lifetime licence – first get a final update that removes the licence check and all usage limits. After that they keep running for free, without limits and indefinitely; your data is on your server anyway. This is also in our Terms of Use. If you use Free in our cloud, you can export your data at any time.
Only for the licence check: the installation regularly checks its licence key online with our licence server. If the server can't be reached, it keeps running normally for 14 days, then read-only until the check works again. Your data stays on your server. This is also in our Terms of Use.
Zammad · Chatwoot · FreeScout · respond.io · Trengo · superchat · Bitrix24 · Freshdesk · All comparisons
osTicket and SupportSystem are trademarks of their respective owners. This comparison is independent and made to the best of our knowledge; please report errors to office@the-y.at and we'll correct them right away.