MantisBT
osTicket
| Feature | MantisBT | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $4.95/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 3.9 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | developers, small-teams, open-source-projects, budget-conscious-teams | small-businesses, budget-conscious-teams, self-hosted-advocates, it-departments |
| Founded | 2000 | 2003 |
| Bug Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Fields | ✓ | ✓ |
| Email Notifications | ✓ | ✗ |
| Role Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticket Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Piping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent Collision Avoidance | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge Base | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ MantisBT Pros
- Free and open-source
- Easy to set up
- Lightweight
- Extensible with plugins
✗ MantisBT Cons
- Dated interface
- Limited agile features
- Small community vs alternatives
✓ 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
MantisBT is built for developers and small teams, with a focus on bug-tracking and custom-fields. osTicket targets small businesses and budget conscious teams and leads with ticket-management and email-piping.
On pricing, MantisBT is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $4.95/mo compared to $12/mo for osTicket. That $7.05/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for budget conscious teams — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.