GLPI

GLPI brings IT support, service management and inventory into one platform for organizations with dedicated IT teams. Its broad workflows and deployment choices suit teams managing more than a ticket queue; small support groups may find the agent-based cloud plans or self-hosting commitment a poor fit.

Overview

Incident and request tickets can be assigned to groups, profiles or an individual owner. GLPI extends that work with problem and change management, planning, recurring tickets, statistics, custom forms, approval workflows and SLA management. The result is a system for formal service operations, not just intake and routing.

Inventory covers hardware, software and licenses as well as network equipment, certificates, domains, clusters and databases. Project workflows include Gantt and Kanban views, with a knowledge base, reservations, reports and saved searches alongside them. This breadth can consolidate related IT work, but is more machinery than a team that only needs a lightweight ticket queue requires.

Key features

• Ticketing and access: Eight profile types, standard and self-service interfaces, and assignment by group, profile or owner support different responsibilities. The self-service interface is free for end users.
• Service workflows: Problem and change management, recurring tickets, planning, custom forms, approvals and SLA management support structured processes.
• Inventory and projects: Broad asset coverage is paired with Gantt and Kanban project views, a knowledge base, reservations and reporting tools.
• Identity and integrations: Integrations include Azure/Entra ID, Google SSO, GLPI Inventory, webhooks, Active Directory, CAS and an API integration. External authentication can use LDAP, mail servers, CAS, X.509 certificates or delegated web-server authentication.

Pricing

GLPI offers a free on-premise deployment with no licensing fee or limit on users or technicians. That removes per-user licensing as a constraint, but the deployment is aimed at organizations with an IT team and specific security or customization needs. Partners can provide configuration, customization, and L1 and L2 support.

Cloud hosting is the lower-maintenance route. Public Cloud costs €19 a month per IT agent, from one billed agent, and includes 5 GB disk, a 20 MB attachment limit, shared CPU/RAM and 97% annual availability. It has a 45-day trial with no obligation or credit card required. At that availability level, organizations with demanding uptime needs should weigh the service commitment carefully.

Private Cloud costs €21 a month per IT agent, with a minimum of 25 billed agents. It provides 50 GB disk, the same 20 MB attachment limit, dedicated CPU/RAM and 99% annual availability. The minimum makes it a costly starting point for small teams, while dedicated resources and higher availability may matter to larger deployments. Public-cloud backups are daily and retained for 30 days; private-cloud backups are daily with hourly increments.

Custom Cloud has custom pricing, custom availability, unlimited disk space and custom RPO/RTO. The Custom plan also uses a custom quote. These options suit organizations whose hosting or recovery requirements do not fit the standard cloud offers, but they do not provide a fixed entry price.

Self-hosted GLPI Network plans add support and impose tiered capacity limits. Basic costs €100 a month (excl. VAT) for up to 10 technical staff and 500 assets, with one production and one test instance and unlimited N3 support. Standard costs €300 a month (excl. VAT), raising limits to 50 staff, 5,000 assets and two production plus two test instances. Advanced costs €1,000 a month (excl. VAT) for more than 50 staff and more than 5,000 assets, with four production and four test instances. All three include unlimited N3 support. Enterprise costs €4,500 a month (excl. VAT) and provides unlimited assets and instances, priority N3 support and three places on official training courses. The higher tiers buy capacity and, at Enterprise, priority support and training; smaller deployments can avoid those costs with Basic or Standard.

Platforms

GLPI supports Android, Linux, macOS, Windows, web, API and self-hosted deployments. Cloud favors quick setup with minimal maintenance; on-premise favors organizations with an IT team that need more control over security or customization. Its cloud security policy says the OVHCloud firewall allows HTTPS and blocks other protocols before they reach instances.

Who it's for

GLPI is strongest for organizations that want support tickets, asset records and formal IT service workflows in one system, and can match the deployment to their staffing and operational needs. It is less compelling for a small team seeking a simple helpdesk without broad inventory or process requirements, especially if Private Cloud's 25-agent minimum is a barrier.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Ticketing, service workflows, approvals, SLAs and a wide-ranging asset inventory sit together, reducing the need to divide those functions across separate systems.
• Pros: Free on-premise use has no user or technician cap, while a 45-day cloud trial gives teams a way to evaluate hosted GLPI without payment details.
• Cons: Cloud costs scale by billed IT agent, and Private Cloud requires at least 25; the entry price is not equally practical for small teams.
• Cons: Public Cloud has shared CPU/RAM and 97% annual availability, while its attachment limit is 20 MB. Teams needing higher availability or dedicated resources must consider the more expensive private offer.
• Cons: Self-hosting avoids license fees but still calls for an IT team; the paid Network tiers cap staff, assets and instances until Enterprise.

Alternatives

IT Help Desk Software is a useful comparison for teams focused on helpdesk options. For a broader incident-focused shortlist, see IT Incident Management Software; teams centered on change workflows can compare IT Change Management Software. A knowledge-first search may start with IT Knowledge Base Software, while service request design points toward IT Service Catalog Software. For teams prioritizing service targets, IT SLA Management Software is another category shortlist.

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is worth comparing for its freemium model and lower listed monthly entry price: Standard is $13 a month, and Professional is $27 a month with asset management. Desk365 may suit teams that value a free tier capped at 50 tickets per month; its Standard plan is $12 a month billed annually and includes 200 GB attachment storage. iTop offers a free, not limited Community plan for teams looking at a free alternative. Genuity Helpdesk has a free Community Plan with unlimited users and use, subject to a $12,000/year gross-sales requirement. iTop is another free option to compare for change management. HESK may fit teams seeking a free self-hosted help desk using PHP/MySQL hosting. KIX is another freemium option, while OTOBO offers a free option.

Verdict

Choose GLPI if your IT organization needs ticketing, structured service workflows and extensive asset inventory together, and can support self-hosting or budget for cloud agents. Its main advantage is that operational breadth; look elsewhere if you want a narrow, low-commitment helpdesk or cannot accommodate the cloud agent minimums and capacity terms.