Customer Support · head to head
Chatwoot vs Hiver
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Hiver hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69
- They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Hiver covers Shared inbox.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Hiver actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Customer Support).
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
- Telegram
Only in Hiver
- Shared inbox
- Email assignment
- Collision detection
- Email notes
- Templates
- Analytics
- Gmail
- Google Workspace
Both cover
- Slack
- GDPR
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Chatwoot
- Self-hosted supportnot Hiver
- Privacy-first chatnot Hiver
- Multi-channel supportnot Hiver
Hiver
- Shared inbox managementnot Chatwoot
- Customer support via Gmailnot Chatwoot
- Team email collaborationnot 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
Hiver
- Hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69
Pricing, plan by plan
Chatwoot
Free- HackerFree
- 2 agents
- 500 conversations per month
- 1 live chat channel
- Startups$19/month
- Unlimited agents
- Unlimited conversations
Hiver
Free- FreeFree
- 2 users
- Email management
- Basic analytics
- Lite$19/month
- Unlimited users
- Email templates
- Notes & @mentions
- Pro$49/month
- CSAT surveys
- SLA management
- Custom reports
- Elite$69/month
- Round-robin
- Skill-based routing
- Okta SSO
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 Hiver if
- You need shared inbox.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Chrome-extension.
- You also want email assignment.
Questions people ask
- Is Chatwoot or Hiver better?
- Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Hiver at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Hiver?
- Chatwoot starts at Free and Hiver at Free.
- Does Chatwoot or Hiver run on more platforms?
- Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Hiver runs on Web, Chrome-extension.
- 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 Hiver is typically brought in for.
- What can Chatwoot do that Hiver cannot?
- Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Hiver covers Shared inbox, Email assignment, Collision detection, Email notes. Both handle Slack, GDPR, 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.
SourceChatwoot: 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.
SourceChatwoot: 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.
SourceChatwoot: What AI features does Chatwoot include?
Chatwoot includes Captain AI agent for automated responses, Copilot for smart reply suggestions, and live translation features.
Source