Overview

GLPI brings IT support, service processes and infrastructure inventory into a single IT management platform. It is best suited to teams that need more than ticket routing and can either operate a self-hosted system or justify a per-agent cloud plan. Its breadth is compelling, but the deployment and plan limits should shape the decision from the start.

Incident and request tickets can be routed to a group, profile or individual, with problem and change management, approvals, SLAs, planning and recurring tickets supporting more formal service work. Inventory covers hardware and software as well as licenses, network equipment, certificates, domains, clusters and databases. That scope can consolidate related IT operations, though it may be more system than a team seeking only a basic helpdesk needs.

Key features

Support and service workflows

GLPI combines ticket assignment with statistics and custom forms, and adds project workflows with Gantt or Kanban views. The knowledge base, reservations, reports and saved searches extend the product beyond incident handling. Teams with established processes have useful breadth to work with; those wanting a narrowly focused queue may find that breadth less valuable.

Access and integrations

Eight profile types and standard and self-service interfaces support different user roles. The self-service interface is free for end users, which separates their access from paid cloud IT-agent seats. The integrations catalog includes Azure/Entra ID, Google SSO, GLPI Inventory, webhooks, Active Directory, CAS and an API integration. External authentication options also include LDAP, mail servers, X.509 certificates and web-server delegated authentication.

Pricing

GLPI has a free self-hosted deployment with no licensing fees and no limit on users or technicians. Paid hosting and GLPI Network support plans add distinct capacity, availability and support terms; these are not interchangeable measures of the underlying free software.

Public Cloud — 19.00 EUR per month per IT agent: From one billed agent, with 5 GB disk, 20 MB maximum attachments, shared CPU/RAM and 97% annual availability. It is the lower-commitment hosted option for smaller teams willing to accept shared resources and the lower availability target.
Private Cloud — 21.00 EUR per month per IT agent: Minimum 25 billed agents, 50 GB disk, 20 MB maximum attachments, dedicated CPU/RAM and 99% annual availability. The higher minimum makes this a poor fit for small teams, but the dedicated resources and higher availability target suit organizations that can support the seat floor.
Custom: Custom pricing for cloud requirements that do not fit the standard offers.
Custom Cloud: Custom pricing, with custom availability, unlimited disk space and custom RPO/RTO.
GLPI Network Basic — 100.00 EUR per month (excl. VAT): Self-hosted, up to 10 technical staff and 500 assets, one production and one test instance, plus unlimited N3 support. This is the entry support tier for smaller installations.
GLPI Network Standard — 300.00 EUR per month (excl. VAT): Up to 50 technical staff and 5,000 assets, two production and two test instances, plus unlimited N3 support. It raises both staff and inventory ceilings for growing deployments.
GLPI Network Advanced — 1000.00 EUR per month (excl. VAT): More than 50 technical staff and more than 5,000 assets, four production and four test instances, plus unlimited N3 support. It fits larger self-hosted operations needing those higher limits.
GLPI Network Enterprise — 4500.00 EUR per month (excl. VAT): Unlimited assets and instances, priority N3 support and three places on official training courses. The higher price buys the broadest stated capacity and added support priority and training.

The public-cloud offer has a 45-day trial with no obligation and no credit card required. Public-cloud backups are daily and retained for 30 days; private-cloud backups are daily with hourly increments. On-premise avoids licensing fees and user or technician caps, but puts system operation on the organization.

Platforms

GLPI supports Android, Linux, macOS, Windows and web access, alongside an API and self-hosting. Cloud is aimed at quick setup with minimal maintenance; on-premise is better suited to organizations with specific security or customization needs and an IT team. Its cloud security policy says the OVHCloud firewall permits HTTPS and blocks other protocols before they reach instances. Partners can provide configuration and customization support, as well as L1 and L2 support.

Who it's for

GLPI is a strong fit for IT teams that want asset records and service management alongside their helpdesk, especially where assignments, approvals, SLAs and change or problem workflows matter. Self-hosting is attractive when the organization wants to avoid license fees and user caps and has the staff to run it. Cloud is more suitable when minimizing maintenance matters more than controlling the hosting environment.

It is less suited to a small team that needs dedicated private-cloud resources but cannot meet the 25-agent minimum, or to organizations that want a very lightweight ticket tool without broader inventory and workflow responsibilities.

Pros and cons

Pro — Broad operational coverage: Tickets, service workflows, projects, knowledge resources and varied asset types sit in one platform.
Pro — Flexible deployment: Free self-hosting has no user or technician limit, while public and private cloud offer different resource and availability profiles.
Pro — Useful identity and integration options: The catalog includes major directory and SSO options, webhooks and an API integration, with several external authentication sources.
Con — Cloud seat economics differ sharply: Private Cloud requires 25 billed agents, so its small per-agent premium over Public Cloud can still mean a substantial minimum commitment.
Con — Hosted capacity is bounded on standard plans: Public Cloud has 5 GB disk and shared resources; even Private Cloud caps disk at 50 GB and attachments at 20 MB.
Con — Self-hosting carries operational responsibility: The no-license-fee option is most practical for organizations with an IT team prepared to manage deployment.

Alternatives

For adjacent categories, compare CMDB Software, IT Service Catalog Software, IT Asset Management Software, IT Change Management Software, IT Problem Management Software and IT Knowledge Base Software when the priority is comparing tools within one function rather than selecting a broad platform.

Hornbill IT Asset Management is worth considering for teams seeking a paid asset-management option with personalized pricing and scalable packages; it has a free plan and supports Android, iOS, web, Windows and API access.
BlueKing CMDB is a free alternative for teams seeking a self-hosted CMDB across Linux, macOS, Windows and web; its Community Edition is free, with one-click deployment, automated operations, community and documentation.
CMDBuild is a free, self-hosted option for teams prepared to set up a server and work with open-source AGPL software.
teemIP suits teams looking for a free, open-source community edition they can download and install, with GitHub, wiki and forum access.
Happy CMDB is a free, Apache-licensed open-source CMDB option for teams focused on that category.
DemandFlow ITSM is another paid ITSM option.
BeaverFlow CMDB may suit teams wanting a paid CMDB with a free trial; its Growth plan is 24.00 USD per month for up to 50 users and includes CMDB, with shared or dedicated cloud choices.
Freshservice is a paid alternative with a free trial; its Starter plan is 19.00 USD per month billed annually and includes knowledge management, task management, a support portal and omnichannel support.

Verdict

Choose GLPI when your IT team needs helpdesk, service workflows and broad asset inventory together, and can match the operating model to its needs: self-host with internal IT capacity, or pay for cloud hosting and its agent minimums. Look elsewhere if you need only a lightweight ticket queue, or if your team needs private-cloud resources but cannot commit to at least 25 billed agents.

	GLPI	Startly
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	€19/mo	$15/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, api, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Approval workflows	Yes	Yes
Risk assessment	—	Yes
Change audit trail	—	Yes
CMDB linking	—	Yes

GLPI vs Startly

GLPI

Startly