Is Chatwoot or Hunter better?

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

Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Hunter?

Chatwoot starts at Free and Hunter at Free.

Does Chatwoot or Hunter run on more platforms?

Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Hunter runs on web, api.

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 Hunter is typically brought in for.

What can Chatwoot do that Hunter cannot?

Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Hunter covers Domain search, Email verifier, Campaign sender, AI writing assistant.

Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Hunter

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Hunter

CRM

Email finding, verification and cold outreach platform for B2B prospecting

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; Hunter free plan is limited to 50 credits per month and a single connected inbox, restricting real usage.
They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Hunter covers Domain search.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Hunter actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Hunter differ
Attribute	Chatwoot	Hunter
Pricing model	Unknown	freemium
Platforms	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted	web, api
Category	Customer Support	CRM
Founded	2017	2015

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

Live chat
Email inbox
Social channels
Knowledge base
Chatbots
Reports
Slack
WhatsApp

Only in Hunter

Domain search
Email verifier
Campaign sender
AI writing assistant
Browser extension
CRM integrations

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Hunter

Finding verified email addresses for a target companynot Chatwoot
Verifying email lists before a campaignnot Chatwoot
Running cold outreach sequences from connected inboxesnot Chatwoot
Enriching CRM records with contact emailsnot 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

Hunter

Free plan is limited to 50 credits per month and a single connected inbox, restricting real usage.
Mobile phone or firmographic data is thinner than dedicated sales intelligence platforms.
Multichannel outreach (LinkedIn, calls, SMS) is not supported, unlike some competitors.
Higher-volume plans require annual billing to get the advertised discounted price.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Free

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

Hunter

Free

FreeFree
- 50 credits per month
- 1 connected email account
- Up to 500 recipients per sequence
Starter$34/month
- 2,000 monthly credits (billed yearly)
- 3 connected email accounts
- Advanced filters
Growth$104/month
- 10,000 monthly credits (billed yearly)
- 10 connected email accounts
- Priority support
Scale$209/month
- 25,000 monthly credits (billed yearly)
- 20 connected email accounts
- Account manager included

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 Hunter if

You need domain search.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, api.
You also want email verifier.

Hunter review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Hunter better?: Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Hunter at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Hunter?: Chatwoot starts at Free and Hunter at Free.
Does Chatwoot or Hunter run on more platforms?: Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Hunter runs on web, api.
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 Hunter is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Hunter cannot?: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Hunter covers Domain search, Email verifier, Campaign sender, AI writing assistant.

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

Hunter: What does Hunter cost?

Hunter's Free plan gives 50 credits/month. Paid plans (billed yearly) start at $34/month for Starter (2,000 credits), rising to $104/month for Growth and $209/month for Scale, with custom Enterprise pricing above that.

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

Hunter: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, Hunter's Free plan includes 50 monthly credits, basic database filters, one connected email account, and sequences capped at 500 recipients.

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

Hunter: How is usage metered?

Hunter meters usage in credits, consumed once per billing cycle for searches and verifications; credits reset monthly or accumulate annually depending on the billing plan.

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

Hunter: What does Hunter integrate with?

Hunter offers a browser extension, a Google Sheets add-on, CRM connections, and an API, alongside MCP support for AI tool integrations.

Source

Chatwoot vs Hunter

Chatwoot

Hunter

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Chatwoot

Only in Hunter

What people use each for

Chatwoot

Hunter

Where each one falls short

Chatwoot

Hunter

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Hunter

Which should you pick?

Choose Chatwoot if

Choose Hunter if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Chatwoot

More on Hunter

Keep looking

Other head to heads