Groove
osTicket
| Feature | Groove | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | From $16/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | small-businesses, startups, small-support-teams, saas-companies | small-businesses, budget-conscious-teams, self-hosted-advocates, it-departments |
| Founded | 2012 | 2003 |
| Shared Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Knowledge Base | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Assignments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collision Detection | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticket Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Piping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent Collision Avoidance | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Groove Pros
- Very simple to use
- Feels like email not a ticket system
- Good for small teams
- Knowledge base included
✗ Groove Cons
- Limited automation
- Basic reporting
- Not suitable for large teams
✓ osTicket Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version
- Active open-source community
- Highly customizable
- Supports multiple departments
✗ osTicket Cons
- Dated user interface
- Requires server management
- Limited automation compared to paid tools
The Verdict
Groove is built for small businesses and startups, with a focus on shared-inbox and knowledge-base. osTicket targets small businesses and budget conscious teams and leads with ticket-management and email-piping.
Pricing is close: osTicket starts at $12/mo versus $16/mo for Groove — not a deciding factor on its own.
osTicket has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Groove requires a paid subscription from day one.
Both tools are a solid fit for small businesses — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Groove has a slight overall edge — but if completely free self-hosted version matters most to you, osTicket may still be the right call.