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Automate client feedback with our MCP serverLearn more!
Genuinely free bug tracking tools come in two kinds: hosted free plans with hard limits, and open-source software you run yourself. GitHub Issues, Jira Free, Linear, YouTrack and GitLab are the first kind. Bugzilla, MantisBT, Redmine and Trac are the second.
Neither kind costs nothing. Hosted plans cost you a limit that you will eventually reach, and self-hosted tools cost you a server and the hours that keep it running. Here is what each one asks of you, with limits checked on each vendor's site at the time of writing (November 2026).
Which limit matters depends on the shape of your work. A user cap hurts as soon as testers and clients need logins. An issue cap hurts a bug-heavy project: Linear's billing documentation says that if you have over 250 issues you will no longer be able to create new ones after cancelling, so check where you stand before you drop a paid plan.
For a developer-only team already on GitHub, Issues is the most generous option here. The catch is that everyone who reports a bug needs a GitHub account and access to the repository.
Open-source and self-hosted options
These have no licence fee and no user cap from the vendor. You provide everything else.
Python 3.5 or later and SQLite, PostgreSQL or MySQL. It ships with its own web server
How they differ in practice:
MantisBT is the easiest to host if you already run PHP sites. If you later decide not to host it, MantisHub sells a managed version, from $27.50 per month paid annually for 15 users.
Redmine goes beyond bug tracking into general project management, and it needs a Ruby environment that someone keeps current.
Trac pairs tickets with a wiki and links to Subversion and Git. The built-in server makes a trial install quick.
The practical rule: pick the tool written in a language you already run. Operating a language you do not know is where the hidden cost grows.
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What self-hosting actually costs
No licence fee is not the same as no cost. Before you pick a self-hosted tool, price up this list.
Cost
What it involves
How you pay
Server
Hosting, plus disk space for attachments
Monthly cash
Install and setup
HTTPS, accounts, projects, email
Developer time up front
Updates
Application releases and the language runtime underneath them
Regular developer time
Security patches
Reading advisories and applying them promptly
Unplanned developer time
Backups
Database and attachments, with a restore you have tested
Regular developer time
Email delivery
SMTP that actually reaches inboxes, or notifications go unread
Small cash or time
Support
There is no vendor to call, so the installer becomes the helpdesk
Interruptions
As a planning assumption, allow a day for a first install including HTTPS and email. Experienced teams will be quicker.
Here is a plainly hypothetical sum. Say a five-person agency runs MantisBT on a $10 per month server, and one developer spends two hours a month on updates, backups and password resets. At a made-up internal rate of $50 an hour, that is $110 a month before anyone has reported a bug. Replace those numbers with your own. If you already have the server and updates take minutes, the answer looks very different, and that figure is what to compare against a paid plan.
The cost that price tables do not show: who can report
Free trackers assume the reporter is on the team. Each client or tester you add counts as a user on Jira Free, and needs an account and repository access on GitHub.
They also assume the reporter can write a good ticket. A tracker records what someone types, so browser version, device, page and steps only exist if a person remembers to add them. When reporters cannot do that, developers spend the time chasing details instead, and that time is a cost too. A bug report template helps a lot and costs nothing, so use one whichever tool you choose.
QualityHive's free plan, honestly
QualityHive is our product, so here are its limits without gloss.
The Free plan is one member and one project. It includes video recording, screenshots with annotations and the WYSIWYG editor. It does not include guest feedback, browser details, integrations, the MCP server, Excel export, JavaScript error logging, webhooks or the API.
Collecting feedback from clients through guest links needs Lite or above, and Lite is $18 per month. Every new account gets 14 days on Mega with no card, then moves to the Free plan automatically, and projects stay where they are.
That makes it a fair fit for a freelancer checking their own builds, and the wrong fit for a team that wants a free way to take feedback from clients. Our free website feedback tool page has more detail.
Which free option to choose
Developers only, code on GitHub: GitHub Issues.
Up to 10 people who want a configurable tracker without a server: Jira Free or YouTrack.
A small product team with a modest backlog: Linear Free.
Code on GitLab with five people or fewer: GitLab Free.
Data has to stay on your own server: MantisBT, Bugzilla, Redmine or Trac, whichever matches the stack you already maintain.
A solo freelancer reviewing their own sites: QualityHive Free.
Signs you have outgrown free
Reports arrive in chat because the reporters cannot get into the tracker.
You are removing old users to make room for new ones.
Nobody can remember when the self-hosted server was last patched.
Attachments are being moved to shared drives to stay under a limit.
When two of those are true, compare what you are spending in time against a paid plan. Our round-up of bug tracking tools covers paid options, and an agreed bug life cycle will carry over to whichever tool you move to.
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FAQ
Is there a completely free bug tracking tool?
GitHub Issues has no seat limit, and the self-hosted tools above have no licence fee. Self-hosted tools still cost you a server and maintenance time, so for most teams "free" means "free of licence charges".
What is the best free bug tracker for a small team?
If your code is on GitHub, GitHub Issues. If you need more configuration and have ten or fewer people, Jira Free or YouTrack are the usual options.
Is Bugzilla still maintained?
Yes. Its download page lists 5.2 as the latest stable series, and the project is managed by Zarro Boogs Corporation.
Can I use a free bug tracker for client feedback?
You can, but most free plans treat clients as users or require them to create an account. Some tools let clients report without a login, usually on a paid plan. On QualityHive, guest links start at Lite.
Is self-hosting cheaper than a paid plan?
Sometimes. It depends on team size and on how much of your developers' time maintenance takes. Run the sum above with your own numbers before you decide.
