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A Spiceworks alternative with room to grow
Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk’s free plan now stops at five techs (and still runs on ads). If that has you looking around, here’s how RequestCrew compares, and when Spiceworks is still the better pick.
What changed with Spiceworks
In 2025, Spiceworks added a paid Premium plan to its Cloud Help Desk. The free plan, still paid for by ads, now covers up to five techs and admins. Add a sixth tech, and every seat moves to Premium, which is priced per seat.
That’s still a good deal for a lot of small teams. But it’s no longer free no matter how big you get, and for many IT teams that was the whole point. Current prices are on Spiceworks’ pricing page.
Side by side
| RequestCrew | Spiceworks Cloud Help Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | A free 30-day trial with every feature | A free plan for up to 5 techs and admins |
| Ads | None | On the free plan |
| How the price grows | Flat by plan: up to 5, 15, or 40 techs. Team and Organization can add techs 10 at a time. | Per seat on Premium, once you pass five |
| People asking for help | Unlimited, free | Unlimited, free |
| Discount for schools, government, and nonprofits | 20% off yearly plans | Check with Spiceworks |
| Paying by purchase order | Yes, on yearly plans | Check with Spiceworks |
What you get with RequestCrew
- Flat pricing by plan: $79 a month for up to 5 techs, $179 for up to 15, $349 for up to 40. Everyone who asks for help is free.
- 20% off yearly plans for government, schools, and nonprofits, with invoices you can pay against a purchase order.
- Every helpdesk feature on every plan: request forms, routing, approvals, SLAs, a knowledge base (public articles too), reports, and surveys.
- Equipment inventory and contract renewals when you want them, as add-ons priced by your plan, not per item.
- Sign-in with Microsoft 365, Google, Okta, AD FS, or your Windows network through a small on-site agent.
- Built-in email from day one, plus Slack and Teams. No ads, ever.
- Remote support from the ticket with your own Zoho Assist or TeamViewer account, at no extra cost.
- Your own database and files, never shared with another customer, backed up every 15 minutes with encrypted copies off the server.
- Download everything (tickets, people, articles, files) whenever you want. Your data is yours.
- Help from the person who built it.
When Spiceworks is the better pick
If you have five techs or fewer, don’t mind ads, and mostly need basic tickets, the Spiceworks free plan is hard to beat on price. We’d rather tell you that than have you switch and regret it.
Moving over
If you can get your tickets out as a spreadsheet, RequestCrew’s import brings in people, sites, tickets, and replies, with a preview and an undo. Or have us do it as part of setup help.
Questions people ask
Is RequestCrew free?
No. It’s a paid, hosted helpdesk, starting at $79 a month for up to five techs, or $632 a year for schools, government, and nonprofits. You can try it free for 30 days with no card.
We were on the old on-premises Spiceworks. Does RequestCrew run on our own server?
Not yet. RequestCrew is hosted for now: we run the server, backups, and updates. Your Active Directory sign-in still works through a small agent on one of your servers, which only connects out.
Can facilities or HR use it too?
Yes. Any team that fixes things can have its own request forms and queue. Their people count as techs like anyone else, on the same plan.
How long does switching take?
Most teams can be taking tickets the same day. Sign-in and email take the longest, and the built-in guides walk you through both.
Try it with your own team
Start a free 30-day trial with your own helpdesk and your own people. No card needed. Or click around the demo first: it’s the real thing with made-up data.
What we say about other products here was checked in October 2026 from their pricing pages and published reviews. Plans and prices change, so check with them before you decide. Spiceworks is a trademark of its owner. RequestCrew isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by them.