In short:
- Four Jira Service Management alternatives are compared in 2026: GLPI, Freshservice, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Zendesk, each with a distinct positioning.
- GLPI is ranked first: open source software developed for more than 20 years, it combines service desk, IT asset management and inventory in a single tool, self-hosted or on GLPI Network Cloud.
- Freshservice offers SaaS ITSM built on ITIL, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers a choice between on-premises and cloud with 14 ITIL-certified practices, and Zendesk brings customer support and internal support together with more than 1,800 integrations.
- GLPI covers the main functions of Jira Service Management, from the self-service portal to SLAs, changes and assets, as detailed in the mapping table in this article.
What are the best Jira Service Management alternatives in 2026? The question comes up in many IT departments reviewing their service desk tool. Looking for a Jira Service Management alternative means choosing between several models: self-hosted open source software, specialised SaaS, a hybrid solution or a customer service platform.
This comparison presents four solutions and shows, function by function, how GLPI can take over the uses of a service desk built on Jira Service Management. It complements the overview of the best ITSM solutions for businesses.
Comparison table of Jira Service Management alternatives
| Criterion | GLPI | Freshservice | ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of solution | Service management and IT asset management, open source | SaaS ITSM | ITSM, asset management and CMDB | Customer service and internal support |
| Hosting | Self-hosted or GLPI Network Cloud | SaaS | On-premises or cloud, with migration between the two | SaaS |
| IT asset management | Native, with automatic inventory by GLPI Agent | Continuous asset discovery | Built-in asset management and CMDB | Through a rich ecosystem of integrations |
| Licence model | Open use, optional GLPI Network subscription | Subscription | On-premises and cloud editions | Subscription |
| Beyond IT | Building maintenance, facilities | HR, finance and other business teams | HR, facilities, finance | Customer service and employee support |
| Ideal for | An IT department that wants to control its hosting and assets | An IT team that wants ready-to-use SaaS | An organisation that wants to choose its deployment model | A company that combines customer and internal support |
| Verdict | A complete scope, service desk and assets in a single open source tool | Ideal for SaaS ITSM built on ITIL | Ideal for keeping the choice between on-premises and cloud | Ideal for omnichannel support |
Each of these solutions meets a specific need. GLPI is ranked first for the breadth of its scope: service desk, IT asset management and inventory combined in a single open source tool.
Why an IT department looks for a Jira Service Management alternative
Jira Service Management, published by Atlassian, extends the Jira ecosystem to the service desk. It is valued by teams that already work with Jira and Confluence.
Choosing another tool usually starts from a specific need of the IT department. The first concerns hosting: some organisations want to keep their service desk on their own servers, for sovereignty or compliance reasons.
This point has gained importance. On 8 September 2025, Atlassian announced the gradual phase-out of its Data Center products, over three years, to focus its offer on the cloud:
“Today, we’re taking a pivotal step in our commitment to a cloud-first future.” Atlassian, “Ascend to the cloud” announcement, 8 September 2025
According to this announcement, Data Center licences will expire and become read-only on 28 March 2029. Organisations that want to stay self-hosted therefore have a timeline to anticipate. The topic is covered in the article on choosing ITSM as SaaS or self-hosted.
The second need concerns IT asset management. An IT department that wants to link each ticket to the workstation, software or contract involved looks for a tool where inventory and service desk share the same database.
The third concerns the licence model and opening the service desk to other departments, such as facilities or building maintenance.
Can GLPI replace Jira Service Management?
GLPI is open source service management and IT asset management software, developed for more than 20 years and published by Teclib’. Its Assistance module follows ITIL best practices and covers tickets, problems and changes.
Jira Service Management functions and their equivalent in GLPI
| Function sought in Jira Service Management | Equivalent in GLPI |
|---|---|
| Service portal for requesters | Simplified self-service interface, with a catalogue of forms |
| Request types and forms | Native forms since GLPI 11 (formerly the Formcreator plugin) |
| Tickets and queues | Assistance module, tickets assigned to technician groups by rules |
| Requests received by email | Receivers, which turn emails from a mailbox into tickets |
| SLAs | Service levels (SLAs and OLAs), with automatic assignment |
| Incidents, problems and changes | Incident and request tickets, Problems and Changes modules |
| Knowledge base | Knowledge base in the Tools module, redesigned in GLPI 12 |
| Asset management | Assets module, native inventory by GLPI Agent, custom asset types |
| Dependencies and impacts | Impact analysis between assets |
| Automation | Business rules and automatic actions |
| Tracking boards | Kanban view of tickets, problems and changes |
| Integrations | GLPI API with access tokens, plugin marketplace |
Requests arrive through the portal, by email thanks to receivers, or are entered by technicians. Assignment rules route them to the right group based on category, entity or requester.
Service levels are configured through SLAs and OLAs, with response and resolution times. The method for defining support SLAs applies directly to this configuration.
Incident, problem and change management follows ITIL terminology. A problem is linked to the tickets that revealed it, a change to the assets it modifies.
Since GLPI 11, forms are native. They make it possible to build a catalogue of requests presented to users in the simplified interface, without the Formcreator plugin used in previous versions.
What GLPI brings: native IT asset management and inventory
IT asset management is part of GLPI’s core. The Assets module records computers, software, network equipment, phones and the related contracts.
Inventory is automated by native inventory and GLPI Agent, which report the hardware and software configuration of workstations. The possible methods are compared in the article on automated IT inventory.
Since GLPI 11, asset definitions make it possible to create custom asset types, for example to track servers separately from workstations.
Relations between assets feed impact analysis. This is the role of a CMDB: knowing which services depend on a piece of equipment before intervening.
Use goes beyond IT. The French association ARSEAA, which has 1,800 employees in the medico-social sector, manages IT support and building maintenance in a single GLPI instance, hosted in France on GLPI Network Cloud Private.
The GLPI model: open source software, GLPI Network subscription and partners
Use of GLPI is open and requires no licence when self-hosted. The GLPI Network subscription, sold by an integration partner, provides the publisher’s contractual guarantee.
This subscription is available on the customer’s servers or on GLPI Network Cloud, where the publisher manages hosting, backups and updates. The partner’s support services are not included in the subscription.
GLPI strengths:
- ITIL-compliant service desk and IT asset management in a single tool
- Automatic inventory by GLPI Agent
- Native forms and custom asset types since GLPI 11
- Choice between self-hosting and GLPI Network Cloud
- Network of integration partners for deployment
Ideal for: an IT department that wants to control its hosting, link its tickets to its assets and open the service desk to other departments.
Freshservice, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Zendesk: the strengths of each alternative
Freshservice, SaaS ITSM built on ITIL
Freshservice, published by Freshworks, is a SaaS ITSM platform built on ITIL best practices. It includes AI features to help resolve requests.
Continuous asset discovery keeps asset and dependency records up to date. The platform also extends to HR, finance and other business teams.
Ideal for: an IT team that wants a SaaS service desk that is quick to put into service.
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, the choice between on-premises and cloud
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, published by Zoho, combines IT service management, asset management and a CMDB. The solution is ITIL-certified for 14 practices.
Its distinctive strength is the choice of deployment model: an on-premises edition and a cloud edition, with the possibility of migrating from one to the other. It also covers HR, facilities and finance.
Ideal for: an organisation that wants to keep the choice between on-premises and cloud.
Zendesk, customer service and internal support in one tool
Zendesk is a customer service platform that also handles employee requests. It centralises requests received across several channels and relies on a knowledge base.
Its ecosystem includes more than 1,800 apps, partners and integrations. AI supports agents in resolving requests.
Ideal for: a company that wants to combine customer support and internal support.
Migrating from Jira Service Management to another solution
The steps of a service desk migration
- Inventory the existing setup: service projects, request types, queues, SLAs, automations and integrations in place.
- Clean up: archive old tickets and unused categories before migrating the data.
- Migrate the data: export tickets, users and knowledge articles, then import them through the target tool’s API. In GLPI, the Data Injection plugin also makes it possible to import data in CSV format.
- Rebuild the processes: recreate forms, assignment rules and service levels in the new tool.
- Run both tools in parallel for a defined period, while the migration is validated.
- Train the teams: technicians first, then requesters, with a portal and forms ready.
Points to anticipate
Migrating history requires precise field mapping. Statuses, priorities and categories do not always have the same values from one tool to another.
The timeline also matters. For an organisation on Data Center, the date of 28 March 2029 sets the decision horizon.
An integration partner can handle the configuration and data migration. This support is a service separate from the GLPI Network subscription.
Which Jira Service Management alternative for which organisation?
| Profile | Main need | Best-suited solution |
|---|---|---|
| IT department that wants to host its tool and manage its assets | Sovereignty and inventory linked to tickets | GLPI |
| IT team that wants ready-to-use SaaS | Quick start, built-in AI | Freshservice |
| Organisation that wants to choose its deployment model | On-premises or cloud, migration between the two | ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus |
| Company that combines customer and internal support | Omnichannel service | Zendesk |
An IT department that wants to host its tool and manage its assets
GLPI fits this profile with self-hosting or GLPI Network Cloud, an ITIL-compliant service desk and inventory linked to tickets. Opening it to maintenance or facilities is part of an ESM approach.
An IT team that wants ready-to-use SaaS
Freshservice suits teams that want SaaS ITSM, with AI features and asset discovery included.
An organisation that wants to choose its deployment model
ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus suits organisations that want to start on-premises or in the cloud, and keep the option to switch.
A company that combines customer and internal support
Zendesk suits companies whose service desk handles both customer requests and employee requests.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Jira Service Management alternatives in 2026?
Four solutions stand out. GLPI, ranked first, is open source software that combines an ITIL-compliant service desk, IT asset management and automatic inventory, self-hosted or on GLPI Network Cloud. Freshservice offers SaaS ITSM built on ITIL, with AI features. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, ITIL-certified for 14 practices, offers a choice between on-premises and cloud. Zendesk brings customer support and internal support together, with more than 1,800 integrations.
Can GLPI replace Jira Service Management?
GLPI covers the main functions of a service desk: self-service portal and native forms since GLPI 11, tickets, email receivers, SLAs and OLAs, incident, problem and change management, knowledge base, asset management with inventory by GLPI Agent, automation rules and an API. Data migration and configuration require a migration project.
Is there an open source alternative to Jira Service Management?
Yes. GLPI is open source service management and IT asset management software, developed for more than 20 years. Its use requires no licence when self-hosted. The GLPI Network subscription, sold by an integration partner, provides the publisher’s contractual guarantee.
What is the difference between Jira and Jira Service Management?
Jira is Atlassian’s project management and task tracking tool, used in particular by development teams. Jira Service Management is its service desk product: request portal, queues, SLAs and incident and change management.
How long does a migration from Jira Service Management take?
The duration depends on the volume of tickets to migrate, the number of processes to rebuild and the integrations in place. The project follows several steps: inventory of the existing setup, clean-up, data migration, process rebuilding, a period of parallel running and team training.