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Software · head to head

Chatwoot vs Fathom

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Software

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fathom logo

Fathom

Software

Free AI meeting assistant

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Fathom team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Fathom covers Auto-recording.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Fathom actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Fathom differ
AttributeChatwootFathom
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams
Founded20172020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), free tier (Yes), 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 Fathom

  • Auto-recording
  • AI summaries
  • Transcription
  • Highlight clips
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • HubSpot
  • Salesforce

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Fathom

  • AI-powered meeting transcription and automatic note-taking for sales teams and professionalsnot Chatwoot
  • Meeting analysis with AI scorecards and action item generation that syncs to CRMsnot 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

Fathom

  • Team plan requires minimum 2 users; cannot purchase single seat at team pricing
  • CRM field sync and deal view summaries available only on Business plan ($34/user/month) and above

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Fathom

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fathom 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 Fathom if

  • You need auto-recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
  • You also want ai summaries.
Fathom review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Fathom better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Fathom at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Fathom?
Chatwoot starts at Free and Fathom at Free.
Does Chatwoot or Fathom run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Fathom runs on Web, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Fathom is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Fathom cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Fathom covers Auto-recording, AI summaries, Transcription, Highlight clips. Both handle Web 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

More on Chatwoot

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