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Software · head to head

Chatwoot vs Culture Amp

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Software

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Culture Amp logo

Culture Amp

Software

Build a better workplace with employee experience data

From
On request
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Chatwoot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Culture Amp no price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Culture Amp actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Culture Amp differ
AttributeChatwootCulture Amp
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20172009

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

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 Chatwoot

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

Only in Culture Amp

  • Employee engagement surveys
  • Pulse surveys
  • Performance management
  • Goal tracking
  • 360-degree feedback
  • Analytics & insights
  • Action planning
  • Manager effectiveness

Both cover

  • Slack
  • GDPR

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Culture Amp
  • Privacy-first chatnot Culture Amp
  • Multi-channel supportnot Culture Amp

Culture Amp

  • Employee engagement surveys and analysisnot Chatwoot
  • Performance reviews and development planning across an organisationnot Chatwoot

Where each one falls short

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

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

Culture Amp

  • No price is published, and cost depends on employee count, product chosen and service tier
  • All products are billed annually
  • Support level is banded by organisation size, with additional support starting at 200 employees and enterprise treatment at 1,000, so smaller customers get less for the same product

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Culture Amp

On request
  • Engage$undefined/month
    • Engagement surveys
    • Pulse surveys
    • Action planning
  • Perform$undefined/month
    • Goal tracking
    • Performance reviews
    • 1-on-1 meetings
  • Develop$undefined/month
    • Skills development
    • Career paths
    • Learning integrations

Which should you pick?

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.

Choose Culture Amp if

  • You need employee engagement surveys.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want pulse surveys.

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Culture Amp better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Culture Amp at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Culture Amp?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chatwoot and On request for Culture Amp.
Does Chatwoot or Culture Amp run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Culture Amp runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Culture Amp starts at On request.
What is Chatwoot best used for?
Chatwoot is most often used for self-hosted support, privacy-first chat, multi-channel support. Of those, self-hosted support and privacy-first chat are not what Culture Amp is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Culture Amp cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Culture Amp covers Employee engagement surveys, Pulse surveys, Performance management, Goal tracking. Both handle Slack, GDPR.

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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