The price anchor
| Deskly | Zendesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 — no subscription | $55/agent/mo |
| Annual | $0 after purchase | $660 |
| 5-year total | $49 | $3,300 |
| 10-year total | $49 | $6,600 |
Subscription figures from the vendor's published pricing ($55/agent/mo, ~$660/yr); the Deskly column is the full price, paid once.
Break-even analysis
One month of Zendesk for a three-person team more than covers Deskly — and it never charges you again, however many agents you add.
- After 1 year: Deskly has cost you $49 total — Zendesk has cost $660.
- After 3 years: Deskly is still $49 — the subscription is at $1,980.
- After 5 years: Deskly is still $49 — the subscription is at $3,300.
What you get for $49 once
- Email → ticket. Poll any IMAP inbox or POST to a token-protected webhook — replies thread automatically via subject markers.
- Threaded SMTP replies. Answer over SMTP, threaded back to the requester, with an optional CSAT footer on every reply.
- Full ticket workflow. Open / pending / solved / closed, four priorities, assignees, tags, saved views and search.
- Canned responses. Macros with variable substitution — customer name, ticket id, subject and more.
- Notes vs public replies. Internal notes never email the customer; @mention teammates privately.
- No renewal, ever. The license does not expire and there is no per-seat meter — $49 is the whole price.
Pricing questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — Deskly is MIT-licensed at github.com/bensblueprints/helpdesk-tickets-mvp and always will be. The $49 buys the packaged installer, 1-click setup and updates; building from source is free.
Does it really have no per-agent pricing?
Correct. Add as many agents as you like — the price is $49 once, not per seat. That's the whole point: your team size is your business, not a billing lever.
Where does my ticket data live?
In a SQLite file on your own server. Nothing is uploaded to us or anyone else — no cloud, no telemetry, no account with us.
Is this a subscription in disguise?
No. $49 once, no renewal, no license server phoning home. Deploy it on your own VPS and it keeps working whether or not we're around.
Deskly — $49, one time
Or get Deskly plus every other app in the suite: the OneTimeSuite bundle is currently $97, one time.