FreeITSM vs Hornbill IT Asset Management

FreeITSM is an open-source IT service management platform with 23 integrated modules for running a service desk. Its Tickets module connects Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace mailboxes for email ticketing, assignment, prioritisation, replies, attachments and audit trails. Assets tracks physical and virtual equipment and can discover VMware virtual machines through vCenter. Listed service-management tools include risk assessment, approval workflows, change calendars and change audit trails. Optional AI features provide knowledge answers, ticket-reply cleanup, form assistance, workflow authoring and problem detection. They use a customer-provided Anthropic, OpenAI or OpenRouter key, and provider usage may cost extra. FreeITSM runs with Docker on Linux or Windows, or through IIS with PHP or WAMP and MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.5+. Security options include OpenID Connect SSO, AES-256-GCM key management, TOTP multi-factor authentication, account lockout, brute-force protection and trusted devices. The project has no formal support.

Hornbill IT Asset Management tracks hardware, software, cloud, and on-premise assets through their lifecycle. Automated discovery can identify cloud and on-premise hardware and software. License views show licenses owned and in use, helping teams manage spend and respond to vendor audits; the product also tracks capital and operating costs, including support costs. Drag-and-drop or codeless workflows can automate IT asset processes such as application provisioning and patch deployment. Hornbill says a shared data model supports information sharing between IT asset management, operations, service management, and security teams. It describes hundreds of codeless integrations, including Microsoft Intune as an endpoint management example. Deployment is cloud-based, and personalized pricing is available on request. The included Essential Success Plan provides 24×7 online help for critical service availability issues, as well as community forums, knowledge resources, APIs, and up to three named contacts. Paid Premier and Custom Concierge support plans are also available. Hornbill states that its data centers hold SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Type II certifications.