Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Airbase vs Chatwoot

Airbase logo

Airbase

Accounting & Finance

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Chatwoot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, Chatwoot covers Live chat.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and Chatwoot actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and Chatwoot differ
AttributeAirbaseChatwoot
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Cloud, Self-hosted
CategoryAccounting & FinanceCustomer Support

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2017).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • QuickBooks

Only in Chatwoot

  • Live chat
  • Email inbox
  • Social channels
  • Knowledge base
  • Chatbots
  • Reports
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram

Both cover

  • Slack
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot Chatwoot
  • Expense reportingnot Chatwoot
  • Vendor paymentsnot Chatwoot

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Airbase
  • Privacy-first chatnot Airbase
  • Multi-channel supportnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

Chatwoot

  • Free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
  • Self-hosted option requires managing infrastructure, updates, and external messaging costs
  • Smaller ecosystem and community compared to Zendesk or Intercom
  • AI features require credit consumption and additional configuration

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

Chatwoot

Free
  • HackerFree
    • 2 agents
    • 500 conversations per month
    • 1 live chat channel
  • Startups$19/month
    • Unlimited agents
    • Unlimited conversations

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose Chatwoot if

  • You need live chat.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
  • You also want email inbox.
Chatwoot review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or Chatwoot better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or Chatwoot?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Airbase and Free for Chatwoot.
Does Airbase or Chatwoot run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Airbase starts at $29/month.
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that Chatwoot cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle Slack, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Chatwoot: Does Chatwoot offer a self-hosted option?

Yes. Chatwoot provides both cloud-hosted and self-hosted versions. Self-hosting is free with the open-source version, though you handle infrastructure, maintenance, and external messaging costs.

Source
Chatwoot: What communication channels does Chatwoot support?

Chatwoot supports email, live chat, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media channels consolidated into a single inbox.

Source
Chatwoot: Is there a free plan for Chatwoot?

Yes. Chatwoot offers a free Hacker plan supporting up to 2 agents, 500 conversations per month, and one live chat channel.

Source
Chatwoot: What AI features does Chatwoot include?

Chatwoot includes Captain AI agent for automated responses, Copilot for smart reply suggestions, and live translation features.

Source
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Related pages

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