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Software · head to head

Chatwoot vs Employment Hero

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Software

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Employment Hero logo

Employment Hero

Software

Australian HR, payroll and recruitment platform for employment management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; Employment Hero hR Essentials at AUD 10/employee/month requires a minimum of 10 users, so it cannot be bought for a team smaller than that even if actual headcount is lower

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Employment Hero actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Employment Hero differ
AttributeChatwootEmployment Hero
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb
Founded2017Unknown

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
  • Slack
  • WhatsApp

Only in Employment Hero

Nothing recorded that Chatwoot does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Employment Hero
  • Privacy-first chatnot Employment Hero
  • Multi-channel supportnot Employment Hero

Employment Hero

No use cases recorded yet. See the Employment Hero review.

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

Employment Hero

  • HR Essentials at AUD 10/employee/month requires a minimum of 10 users, so it cannot be bought for a team smaller than that even if actual headcount is lower
  • Core features like payroll, chat and rostering are unbundled add-ons billed separately per employee, for example Managed Payroll costs an extra AUD 20/employee/month with a AUD 400 monthly minimum

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Employment Hero

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Employment Hero review.

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.
Chatwoot review

Choose Employment Hero if

Nothing in the data separates Employment Hero from Chatwoot on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Employment Hero review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Employment Hero better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Employment Hero at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Employment Hero?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chatwoot and On request for Employment Hero.
Does Chatwoot or Employment Hero run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Employment Hero runs on Web.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Employment Hero 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 Employment Hero is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Employment Hero cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base.

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

More on Chatwoot

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