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Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Playvox

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Playvox logo

Playvox

Customer Support

Contact centre quality management, coaching and workforce management, now sold by NiCE

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Chatwoot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Playvox niCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Playvox covers Quality management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Playvox actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Playvox differ
AttributeChatwootPlayvox
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: 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
  • Slack
  • WhatsApp

Only in Playvox

  • Quality management
  • Agent coaching
  • Workforce management
  • Performance management
  • Agent motivation
  • Helpdesk connectors
  • Interaction analytics

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Playvox

  • A 200-agent support team on Zendesk that wants structured call and ticket scoring without moving to a full contact centre platformnot Chatwoot
  • A CX operations group running chat, email and voice queues that needs one forecasting model across all three rather than a voice-only rota toolnot Chatwoot
  • A BPO that must evidence quality scores per client and needs calibration workflows to prove reviewers score consistentlynot Chatwoot
  • A support organisation with high first-year attrition that wants coaching assignments tied directly to the criteria an agent failednot 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

Playvox

  • NiCE acquired Playvox in 2023 and also sells CXone above it, so at renewal you are negotiating with a vendor that has a commercial incentive to move you to the more expensive tier rather than invest in the one you bought.
  • Playvox WFM carries a minimum agent commitment reported around 35 seats, so a team of 20 either pays for agents it does not have or cannot buy the module at all.
  • The suite is modular and priced modularly, so the quality, performance, coaching, WFM and analytics pieces each carry a line item and the advertised mid-market saving disappears once you licence three or four of them.
  • Forecasting was built around digital and omnichannel volume, and teams with complex voice requirements such as skills-based routing with heavy shrinkage rules routinely find the scheduling engine less precise than dedicated voice WFM tools.
  • Because it sits on top of another vendor helpdesk rather than owning the interaction data, scoring depends on connector fidelity, and when a source platform changes its API or its recording retention the scorecards go stale before anyone notices.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Playvox

On request
  • Playvox by NiCE Workforce Engagement Management$undefined/year
    • Quality management and scorecards
    • Coaching workflows
    • Performance dashboards

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 Playvox if

  • You need quality management.
  • You also want agent coaching.
Playvox review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Playvox better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Playvox at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Playvox?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chatwoot and On request for Playvox.
Does Chatwoot or Playvox run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Playvox runs on Web.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Playvox starts at On request.
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 Playvox is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Playvox cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Playvox covers Quality management, Agent coaching, Workforce management, Performance management.

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
Playvox: Is Playvox still sold as its own product?

Yes, as Playvox by NiCE. It is a distinct SKU beneath NiCE CXone, not a discontinued brand, but it is sold by NiCE sales rather than an independent company.

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
Playvox: Do I need NiCE CXone to use it?

No. Playvox connects to Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, Genesys and others. Running it against a competitor platform is supported, though it is not where the vendor makes the most money.

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
Playvox: What does it actually cost?

Nothing is published. Full-suite list pricing reported by buyers sits around 70 to 120 US dollars per agent per month, with WFM alone around 30 to 60, before volume discounting.

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
Playvox: Can a 15-agent team buy it?

Not realistically for WFM, which carries a minimum seat commitment. Quality management alone is more accessible but still sold on an annual quoted contract.

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