Is Chatwoot or OneSignal better?

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

Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or OneSignal?

Chatwoot starts at Free and OneSignal at Free.

Does Chatwoot or OneSignal run on more platforms?

Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. OneSignal runs on Web.

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 OneSignal is typically brought in for.

What can Chatwoot do that OneSignal cannot?

Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base.

Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs OneSignal

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

OneSignal

Telecommunications

Customer engagement and messaging, without the complexity

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; OneSignal free plan email sends cap at 10,000 per month and web push is capped at 10,000 subscribers per send, per onesignal.com/pricing (Aug 2026)
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and OneSignal actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and OneSignal differ
Attribute	Chatwoot	OneSignal
Pricing model	Unknown	freemium
Platforms	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted	Web
Category	Customer Support	Telecommunications
Founded	2017	Unknown

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 OneSignal

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 OneSignal
Privacy-first chatnot OneSignal
Multi-channel supportnot OneSignal

OneSignal

Sending push notifications to mobile app users when orders shipnot Chatwoot
Triggering email confirmations based on form submission eventsnot Chatwoot
Creating multi-step SMS and email journeys for onboarding usersnot Chatwoot
Sending in-app messages to users abandoning checkout flowsnot 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

OneSignal

Free plan email sends cap at 10,000 per month and web push is capped at 10,000 subscribers per send, per onesignal.com/pricing (Aug 2026)
Professional and Enterprise plans require custom annual contracts with no published rate, per onesignal.com; SMS/RCS messaging and dedicated IPs are gated behind the Professional tier

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

Free

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

OneSignal

Free

FreeFree
- 10,000 free email sends/month
- Unlimited mobile push
- Basic analytics and automation
Growth$19/month
- Base platform fee plus usage costs
- Mobile push: $0.012 per monthly active user
- Web push: $0.004 per subscriber
Professional$undefined/mo
- Custom annual pricing
- All Growth features plus SMS/RCS messaging
- 24/7 prioritized support
Enterprise$undefined/mo
- Custom annual pricing
- Unlimited personalization
- Dedicated success manager

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 OneSignal if

You want to start without paying.

OneSignal review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or OneSignal better?: Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and OneSignal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or OneSignal?: Chatwoot starts at Free and OneSignal at Free.
Does Chatwoot or OneSignal run on more platforms?: Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. OneSignal runs on Web.
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 OneSignal is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that OneSignal 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

OneSignal: How much does OneSignal cost?

OneSignal offers a free tier with 10,000 free email sends/month and unlimited mobile push. Growth plan starts at $19/month plus usage-based charges for mobile push ($0.012 per monthly active user) and web push ($0.004 per subscriber).

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

OneSignal: Does OneSignal offer a free version?

Yes, OneSignal's free plan includes 10,000 free email sends per month, unlimited mobile push, basic analytics and automation, with up to 1 active journey and 2 message steps.

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

OneSignal: What are OneSignal's email costs beyond the free tier?

After the 20,000 free email sends/month included in the Growth plan, OneSignal charges $1.50 per 1,000 additional emails.

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

OneSignal: What is included in the Professional plan?

OneSignal's Professional plan includes custom annual pricing, all Growth features plus SMS/RCS messaging, 24/7 prioritized support, and optional dedicated IP for email.

Source

Chatwoot vs OneSignal

Chatwoot

OneSignal

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Chatwoot

Only in OneSignal

What people use each for

Chatwoot

OneSignal

Where each one falls short

Chatwoot

OneSignal

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

OneSignal

Which should you pick?

Choose Chatwoot if

Choose OneSignal if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Chatwoot

More on OneSignal

Keep looking

Other head to heads