Softwr

Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Referral Rock

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Referral Rock logo

Referral Rock

Affiliate Marketing

Referral marketing software for any business

From
$200/month
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; Referral Rock there is one paid tier at $250 a month and no free plan, only a 14 day trial
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Referral Rock covers Multi-program support.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Referral Rock actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Referral Rock differ
AttributeChatwootReferral Rock
Starting priceFree$200/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryCustomer SupportAffiliate Marketing
Founded20172014

Identical on both: 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 Referral Rock

  • Multi-program support
  • Customizable rewards
  • Automated workflows
  • Engagement widgets
  • Detailed analytics
  • Salesforce
  • HubSpot
  • Zapier

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Referral Rock
  • Privacy-first chatnot Referral Rock
  • Multi-channel supportnot Referral Rock

Referral Rock

  • affiliate marketing managementnot Chatwoot
  • Workflow automationnot Chatwoot
  • Reportingnot 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

Referral Rock

  • There is one paid tier at $250 a month and no free plan, only a 14 day trial
  • The plan includes 10,000 base members and a further 10,000 costs $125 a month
  • Each additional referral program is $100 a month
  • Extra users and extra recruiters are sold in blocks of 10 at $50 a month each
  • Rewards are limited to coupons, pay-as-you-go gift cards or custom rewards

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Referral Rock

$200/month
  • Starter$200/month
    • 500 members
    • Unlimited programs
    • Basic integrations

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 Referral Rock if

  • You need multi-program support.
  • You also want customizable rewards.
Referral Rock review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Referral Rock better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Referral Rock at $200/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Referral Rock?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chatwoot and $200/month for Referral Rock.
Does Chatwoot or Referral Rock run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Referral Rock runs on Web.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Referral Rock starts at $200/month.
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 Referral Rock is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Referral Rock cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Referral Rock covers Multi-program support, Customizable rewards, Automated workflows, Engagement widgets. Both handle 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.

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
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
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
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Related pages

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