Is Aircall or Chatwoot better?

Neither clearly leads. Aircall starts at $30/month and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Aircall or Chatwoot?

Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $30/month for Aircall and Free for Chatwoot.

Does Aircall or Chatwoot run on more platforms?

Aircall runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop. 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. Aircall starts at $30/month.

What is Aircall best used for?

Aircall is most often used for cloud phone system for sales and support teams, call routing, ivr and shared numbers, logging calls against crm records through integrations, power dialling outbound lists on the professional tier. Of those, cloud phone system for sales and support teams and call routing, ivr and shared numbers are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.

What can Aircall do that Chatwoot cannot?

Aircall covers Cloud phone, IVR, Call routing, Power dialer. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle GDPR, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Telecommunications · head to head

Aircall vs Chatwoot

Aircall

Telecommunications

Cloud phone system for modern business

From: $30/month
Free plan: No

Full review Website

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Only Chatwoot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Aircall a minimum of 3 users on the published plans, rising to 25 on the Custom tier; Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
They diverge on capability: Aircall covers Cloud phone, Chatwoot covers Live chat.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aircall and Chatwoot actually diverge.

Attributes where Aircall and Chatwoot differ
Attribute	Aircall	Chatwoot
Starting price	$30/month	Free
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android, Desktop	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted
Category	Telecommunications	Customer Support
Founded	2014	2017

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Aircall

Cloud phone
IVR
Call routing
Power dialer
Analytics
Call recording
Integrations
Salesforce

Only in Chatwoot

Live chat
Email inbox
Social channels
Knowledge base
Chatbots
Reports
Slack
WhatsApp

Both cover

GDPR
Web support
Ios support
Android support

What people use each for

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

Aircall

Cloud phone system for sales and support teamsnot Chatwoot
Call routing, IVR and shared numbersnot Chatwoot
Logging calls against CRM records through integrationsnot Chatwoot
Power dialling outbound lists on the Professional tiernot Chatwoot
SMS and MMS alongside voicenot Chatwoot

Chatwoot

Self-hosted supportnot Aircall
Privacy-first chatnot Aircall
Multi-channel supportnot Aircall

Where each one falls short

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

Aircall

A minimum of 3 users on the published plans, rising to 25 on the Custom tier
Essentials is limited to 3 teams; unlimited teams need Professional
Salesforce CTI, the power dialer and advanced analytics all require Professional
SSO, API support and an SLA are Custom tier only
AI voice and messaging agents are separate add-ons billed per minute or per conversation on top of the seat price

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

Aircall

$30/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Aircall review.

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 Aircall if

You need cloud phone.
You work on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
You also want ivr.

Aircall 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 Aircall or Chatwoot better?: Neither clearly leads. Aircall starts at $30/month and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aircall or Chatwoot?: Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $30/month for Aircall and Free for Chatwoot.
Does Aircall or Chatwoot run on more platforms?: Aircall runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop. 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. Aircall starts at $30/month.
What is Aircall best used for?: Aircall is most often used for cloud phone system for sales and support teams, call routing, ivr and shared numbers, logging calls against crm records through integrations, power dialling outbound lists on the professional tier. Of those, cloud phone system for sales and support teams and call routing, ivr and shared numbers are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.
What can Aircall do that Chatwoot cannot?: Aircall covers Cloud phone, IVR, Call routing, Power dialer. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle GDPR, Web support, Ios support, Android support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aircall: What is the minimum cost to start with Aircall?

Aircall requires a 3-license minimum on annual billing, making the real entry price $90 per month ($30 per user times 3 users) for the Essentials plan, not the advertised $30 per user.

Source

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

Aircall: Does Aircall include AI call features in base plans?

No, AI Voice Agents and AI Assist Pro are separate add-ons billed on top of base plans. The Essentials and Professional plans include call recording and analytics but not AI features.

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

Aircall: How many countries can I create phone numbers in?

Aircall supports creating local phone numbers in 100 or more countries, enabling businesses to appear local to customers regardless of location.

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

Aircall: What is Aircall's uptime guarantee?

Aircall guarantees 99.95 percent uptime with seven global data centers and system redundancy on every level.

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

Aircall vs Chatwoot

Aircall

Chatwoot

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Aircall

Only in Chatwoot

Both cover

What people use each for

Aircall

Chatwoot

Where each one falls short

Aircall

Chatwoot

Pricing, plan by plan

Aircall

Chatwoot

Which should you pick?

Choose Aircall if

Choose Chatwoot if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Aircall

More on Chatwoot

Keep looking

Other head to heads