Request Tracker review

Request Tracker (RT) is open-source software for managing tickets, customer requests and internal work. It can run in the cloud, on-premise or on infrastructure your team hosts itself, with access to the source code and full feature set. That range makes it relevant to teams weighing a hosted service against control over their own deployment.

RT connects email to ticket workflows, so users can submit and discuss requests without necessarily working in a portal. One Reddit user said their team’s users preferred email-only interaction; that is a user report, not a guarantee about every setup. The feature set includes configurable lifecycles, workflow rules, detailed permissions and roles, and an open API for connecting or customizing systems. The product brief also lists AI features for suggested replies, summaries, sentiment detection and routing.

The pricing page lists paid plans starting at $15 per user per month, billed annually, with a five-user minimum.

RT’s strongest case is control over how requests move through a team. Custom lifecycles and configurable rules let organizations shape ticket handling around their own processes, while role-based permissions help define who can see or act on work. Email integration also suits teams whose users would rather stay in their inboxes; a commenter on r/sysadmin reported that RT worked well for email-only interaction.

Deployment choice is another practical advantage. Teams can use a cloud option or run RT on-premise or self-hosted, and the source code and open API provide routes for customization and integrations. That flexibility can matter more than a polished default workflow for organizations with specific operational requirements.

The pricing page lists four tiers:

• Starter: $15 per user/month billed annually, five-user minimum, 250 tickets/month and 10 GB storage.
• Business: $29 per user/month billed annually, ten-user minimum, 1,000 tickets/month and a two-business-day SLA.
• Growth: $39 per user/month, 5,000 tickets/month, unlimited extensions and a one-business-day SLA.
• Enterprise: $99 per user/month, unlimited tickets, 1 TB+ storage and a four-business-hour SLA.

Growth adds SSO and data residency options; Enterprise includes four designated support contacts.

The Starter plan’s 250-ticket monthly cap is a real constraint, not a generous allowance for a busy support queue. It also requires five paid users, limits storage to 10 GB and includes just three extensions. The next tier raises the minimum to ten users and costs $29 per user/month billed annually. Growth allows 5,000 tickets/month; only Enterprise lists unlimited tickets, at $99 per user/month. The pricing details mention a monthly billing option, but do not publish monthly prices or specify the billing cadence for Growth and Enterprise.

Setup and maintenance may take technical effort. In Reddit discussions, users describe a learning curve, numerous dependencies and Perl knowledge as useful for scripting or building integrations. One commenter says setup can be painful; another says documentation on the Best Practical wiki and mailing list helped. These are individual reports, but they point to a steeper path than a turnkey hosted help desk.

RT may also feel limited if a team wants more than ticketing. A nonprofit discussing alternatives wanted a broader view of customer activity across services, and another commenter said RT felt dated for that use. One Reddit user also reported no MySQL 8 support; verify current compatibility with the project before choosing a deployment.

The listed annual prices are $15 per user per month for Starter, $29 for Business, $39 for Growth, and $99 for Enterprise. The jump is meaningful: Business costs nearly twice Starter, while Enterprise is more than six times Starter. Starter requires at least five users, so its listed minimum works out to $75 per month when billed annually; Business requires at least 10 users, or $290 per month at its listed rate. The published pricing details do not state minimum seats for Growth or Enterprise.

Starter includes 250 tickets a month, 10 GB of storage, three extensions, and community support. Business raises the cap to 1,000 tickets and adds a two-business-day SLA. Growth includes 5,000 tickets and a one-business-day SLA; Enterprise removes the ticket cap and lists a four-business-hour SLA. No add-ons are listed. Starter and Business are billed annually; Growth and Enterprise billing cadence is not stated, although a monthly billing option is offered. Confirm the checkout terms before budgeting. There is no free plan, but a 14-day trial is listed.

Switching effort depends on how much of your current process lives in shared inboxes, ticket history, and custom workflows. Request Tracker offers cloud, on-premise, and self-hosted deployment, plus configurable lifecycles, rules, and access controls. That gives admins room to adapt it, but the product verdict flags setup effort as a drawback. The published material does not specify migration tooling, supported import formats, or data-export options, so check those before moving a large ticket archive or planning an exit.

The full source code and open API offer options for customization and integration; they do not, by themselves, guarantee an easy migration in either direction. Our verdict says Request Tracker may not suit teams wanting quick setup, broader customer views, or generous ticket limits for small teams. We don’t have Reddit posts or comments in the published material, so we can’t attribute reasons for leaving to Reddit users. For a switch decision, verify how your current data, email workflows, and permissions map before committing.