# FreeScout hosting in the EU

> Run your own FreeScout, an alternative to Help Scout and Zendesk. One-click install, HTTPS, servers in the EU. Free plan, no card.

Web page: https://blitz.cloud/apps/freescout/
Updated: 2026-10-14

FreeScout: run your own shared help desk inbox, with tickets, saved replies and a team view of every conversation. On blitz.cloud you install it from the App Store in one click. It gets its own address with HTTPS, 1 GB of storage and the MariaDB it needs, and it runs on servers in the EU. You can run it on the free plan, without a credit card.

## A self-hosted alternative to Help Scout and Zendesk

FreeScout does the job of Help Scout or Zendesk, but it is your own copy: your data sits in your app, not in somebody else's account, and nobody changes the price or the rules on you. Self-hosting usually means renting a server and keeping it patched. Here the App Store sets it up and keeps it running.

## What it needs

| Need | FreeScout |
|---|---|
| Memory | 128 MB reserved from your plan |
| Storage | 1 GB |
| Database | MariaDB, created and connected for you |
| Plan | Free or Pro |

## Install it

1. [Start the install of FreeScout](https://blitz.cloud/get/freescout/). Without an account you create one with Google, GitHub or your email.
2. Pick your address, like `yourname.blitz.cloud`. The app's page in the App Store opens right after.
3. Click Install. It lists what gets created, the database included, and is online about a minute later, at an address like `freescout.yourname.blitz.cloud`.
4. Sign in at the app's address with the admin email on the Environment tab (ADMIN_EMAIL) and the password below.
5. Add your own mailbox's SMTP and IMAP settings under Manage > Mailboxes so FreeScout can send and fetch mail; it has none of its own.

## Deploy button for your README

Do you maintain FreeScout or write about it? Put this button in a README or a post. A click opens FreeScout in the blitz.cloud App Store, ready to install; someone without an account signs up for free first.

```markdown
[![Deploy on blitz.cloud](https://blitz.cloud/badge/deploy.svg)](https://dashboard.blitz.cloud/store/freescout?src=badge-freescout)
```

## Questions

### Can I host FreeScout for free?

Yes. The free plan runs it without a card and without an end date. The app sleeps after 30 minutes without visitors, and the next visit wakes it.

### Where is my FreeScout data stored?

On blitz.cloud's servers in the EU, run by BlitzWorks, a company in Germany. Once signed in, you can download the [data processing agreement](https://dashboard.blitz.cloud/account/dpa?lang=en) as a PDF.

### Can I use my own domain for FreeScout?

Yes, on Pro, or on the free plan by making this one app a Pro app. HTTPS for the domain is set up for you.

### Is FreeScout backed up?

Its database is backed up every night: 7 nights are kept on the free plan, 30 on Pro. On Pro the app's files are copied every night too.

### How does FreeScout get updates?

With automatic updates on, it gets new versions of its version line overnight. If a new version doesn't start, the one before it keeps running.