Is Chatwoot or Freshchat better?

Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Freshchat at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Freshchat?

Chatwoot starts at Free and Freshchat at Free.

Does Chatwoot or Freshchat run on more platforms?

Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Freshchat runs on Web, Ios, Android.

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 Freshchat is typically brought in for.

What can Chatwoot do that Freshchat cannot?

Chatwoot covers Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base, Reports. Freshchat covers Campaigns, Instagram, Apple Business Chat, Freshdesk. Both handle Live chat, Chatbots, Slack, WhatsApp.

Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Freshchat

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Freshchat

Live Chat

Modern messaging for customer engagement

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Freshchat the free plan covers up to 10 agents and omits social messengers, SMS and reporting
They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Email inbox, Freshchat covers Campaigns.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Freshchat actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Freshchat differ
Attribute	Chatwoot	Freshchat
Pricing model	Unknown	subscription
Platforms	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted	Web, Ios, Android
Category	Customer Support	Live Chat
Founded	2017	2010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Chatwoot

Email inbox
Social channels
Knowledge base
Reports
Telegram
Line
Facebook
Data ownership

Only in Freshchat

Campaigns
Instagram
Apple Business Chat
Freshdesk
Freshsales
Shopify
Zendesk
SOC2

Both cover

Live chat
Chatbots
Slack
WhatsApp
GDPR
Web support
Ios support
Android support

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Freshchat

Live chat on a website or in an appnot Chatwoot
Shared inbox across chat, email and social messengersnot Chatwoot
Chatbot deflection before a conversation reaches an agentnot Chatwoot
Routing conversations by skill or language on the higher tiersnot 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

Freshchat

The free plan covers up to 10 agents and omits social messengers, SMS and reporting
Reporting and social channels need Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually
Intelligent routing, multilingual support and custom dashboards require Pro at $49 per agent per month
Skill-based routing, audit logs and IP whitelisting are Enterprise only at $79 per agent per month
Freddy AI is charged on top of the seat price, at $49 per 100 agent sessions and $29 per agent per month for Copilot

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Free

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

Freshchat

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10 agents
- Chat widget for web and mobile
- Shared inbox
Growth$19/month
- Per agent, billed annually
- Social media messengers, SMS/text messaging
- Reporting and analytics
Pro$49/month
- Per agent, billed annually (marked Most Popular)
- Multilingual conversations
- Custom dashboards, intelligent routing
Enterprise$79/month
- Per agent, billed annually
- Skill-based routing, audit logs
- JWT authentication, IP whitelisting

Which should you pick?

Choose Chatwoot if

You need email inbox.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
You also want social channels.

Chatwoot review

Choose Freshchat if

You need campaigns.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want instagram.

Freshchat review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Freshchat better?: Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Freshchat at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Freshchat?: Chatwoot starts at Free and Freshchat at Free.
Does Chatwoot or Freshchat run on more platforms?: Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Freshchat runs on Web, Ios, Android.
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 Freshchat is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Freshchat cannot?: Chatwoot covers Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base, Reports. Freshchat covers Campaigns, Instagram, Apple Business Chat, Freshdesk. Both handle Live chat, Chatbots, Slack, WhatsApp.

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

Freshchat: What is the cost of Freshchat's Growth plan?

Growth plan costs $19 per agent per month when billed annually. It includes social media messengers, SMS/text messaging, and reporting. AI agent features are available as an add-on at $49 per 100 sessions.

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

Freshchat: Does Freshchat offer a free trial?

Yes. Freshchat provides a 14-day free trial with full Enterprise plan access. After trial expiration, the Free plan supports up to 10 agents at $0/month, with no cancellation fees.

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

Freshchat: How much does Freshchat's Pro plan cost?

The Pro plan (marked Most Popular) costs $49 per agent per month when billed annually. It includes multilingual conversations, custom dashboards, intelligent routing, and multiple SLA policies. AI Copilot is available as an add-on at $29/agent/month.

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

Chatwoot vs Freshchat

Chatwoot

Freshchat

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Chatwoot

Only in Freshchat

Both cover

What people use each for

Chatwoot

Freshchat

Where each one falls short

Chatwoot

Freshchat

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Freshchat

Which should you pick?

Choose Chatwoot if

Choose Freshchat if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Chatwoot

More on Freshchat

Keep looking

Other head to heads