Freedom251 › Customer Support Software
Andrea Helpdesk
What Andrea Helpdesk is
Andrea Helpdesk is a free, self-hosted customer support platform built as a PHP application. Tickets can arrive by email, through the agent interface or through the customer portal, and can use tags, internal notes, CCs, bulk actions, parent-child links and SLA escalation. Its email system polls multiple IMAP accounts and supports message threading, inline images and sender addresses by tag. Agents can collaborate with channel chat, direct messages, mentions, read cursors and typing events. The knowledge base supports rich-text articles and shares a search bar with tickets. Notifications include Slack webhooks, browser notifications and installable PWA push alerts for tickets and chat. The product includes a REST API covering areas such as tickets, replies, attachments and portal routes. The maker says tickets remain on the customer's server and database; installation uses a LAMP stack. Minimum requirements listed are PHP 8.1 or newer, MySQL 8.0 or newer, and Apache with mod_rewrite or equivalent routing. The free plan has unlimited agents, tickets, customers and knowledge-base articles. The maker describes the product as intended for people who prefer to own their helpdesk.
Who it suits
Andrea Helpdesk suits teams that want to host their own support system and keep tickets on their server and database. It requires a server meeting the listed PHP, MySQL and web-server requirements.
What it does well
- Free plan includes unlimited agents and tickets.
- Tickets can arrive through email, agent interface or portal.
- Includes a knowledge base and customer portal.
- Agents can collaborate through chat and direct messages.
- Provides a REST API.
What to know first
- Requires PHP 8.1 or newer.
- Requires MySQL 8.0 or newer.
- No paid support offering is listed; help is directed to GitHub issues.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Andrea Helpdesk | Billed never · Unlimited agents · Unlimited tickets · Unlimited customers · Unlimited knowledge-base articles · Email + IMAP across unlimited inboxes · REST API | Free |
As andreahelpdesk.com lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Andrea Helpdesk offers ticketing, email handling, collaboration and customer-facing tools in a self-hosted package with a free plan. Teams should account for the listed server requirements and the absence of a paid support offering.
Facts from Andrea Helpdesk's own pages
- Agent collaboration
- Agents can use channel chat, direct messages, @mentions, read cursors, and typing events inside the helpdesk. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- API
- The product includes a REST API, with documentation covering authentication, tickets, replies, attachments, portal routes, and update endpoints. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- API access
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- Customer portal
- Customers can sign in by email magic link, submit tickets, and view open tickets and history. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Data hosting
- The maker says tickets stay on the customer's server and database; Andrea is self-hostable on a LAMP stack. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- The product polls multiple IMAP accounts and supports RFC 5322-compliant threading, quote and signature stripping, inline images, and per-tag sender addresses. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- Help center
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes Andrea as a helpdesk for people who would rather own their helpdesk. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Knowledge base
- The knowledge base supports rich-text articles and shares a search bar with tickets. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Notifications
- Andrea supports Slack webhooks, browser notifications, and installable PWA push notifications for tickets and chat. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The documentation says Andrea can be installed as a PWA on desktop, Android, or iOS devices. · docs.andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- Andrea Helpdesk is a self-hosted customer support platform built as a PHP application. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Security
- Listed safeguards include role-based access, Firebase JWT session authentication, HMAC-signed attachment downloads, MIME validation, path-traversal protection, and CSRF-safe session handling. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Shared inbox
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- SLA management
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- Support
- The pricing page says there is no paid support offering yet and directs users to GitHub issues for help. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Technology requirements
- The installation documentation lists PHP 8.1 or newer, MySQL 8.0 or newer, and Apache with mod_rewrite or equivalent routing as minimum server requirements. · docs.andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
- Ticket automation
- Yes · andreahelpdesk.com, 25 Sept 2026
- Ticketing
- Tickets can come in through email, the agent interface, or the customer portal, and support parent-child links, tags, CCs, internal notes, bulk actions, and SLA escalation. · andreahelpdesk.com, 11 Oct 2026
Where Andrea Helpdesk stands on Freedom251
- Customer Support Software#4 of 29
- Help desk software#19 of 101