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Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Telesign

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Telesign logo

Telesign

Telecommunications

Phone number verification and fraud scoring rather than general purpose messaging

From
On request
Free plan
No
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; Telesign risk scoring is probabilistic, so tuning thresholds trades fraud caught against genuine users blocked, and somebody has to own that trade-off continuously.
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Telesign covers Phone number verification.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Telesign actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Telesign differ
AttributeChatwootTelesign
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownPer message and per verification, priced by destination country
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#
CategoryCustomer SupportTelecommunications
Founded2017Unknown

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 Telesign

  • Phone number verification
  • Phone number intelligence
  • Risk scoring
  • Published SMS rate card
  • Delivery routing

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Telesign

  • Consumer platforms blocking fake account creation at signupnot Chatwoot
  • Fintechs and marketplaces checking SIM swap history before a high value actionnot Chatwoot
  • Businesses suffering promotion and free trial abuse from disposable numbersnot Chatwoot
  • Products needing passcode delivery optimised for completion rather than lowest costnot 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

Telesign

  • Risk scoring is probabilistic, so tuning thresholds trades fraud caught against genuine users blocked, and somebody has to own that trade-off continuously.
  • No voice pricing is published at all: every one of the 233 destinations in its public rate card lists voice as quote only, so voice cost cannot be modelled in advance.
  • It is a verification and risk product, so a business that also needs general purpose messaging will run a second vendor for that traffic.
  • Number intelligence quality varies by country because it depends on operator data availability, and coverage in some markets is thinner than the global claim implies.
  • The underlying carrier assets belong to its sibling companies rather than to Telesign, so network questions route back to a parent whose principal business is not developer APIs.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Telesign

On request
  • Telesign$undefined/month
    • SMS prices published for 233 destination countries
    • Every voice destination listed as quote only
    • Enterprise agreements normally tied to volume commitments

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 Telesign if

  • You need phone number verification.
  • You work on Web, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#.
  • You also want phone number intelligence.
Telesign review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Telesign better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Telesign at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Telesign?
Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Chatwoot and On request for Telesign.
Does Chatwoot or Telesign run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Telesign runs on Web, APIs, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, C#.
Can I use Chatwoot for free?
Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Telesign 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 Telesign is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Telesign cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Telesign covers Phone number verification, Phone number intelligence, Risk scoring, Published SMS rate card.

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
Telesign: Who owns Telesign?

Proximus, the Belgian telecommunications operator. It acquired Telesign in 2017 through its subsidiary BICS and has owned it outright since February 2021. Telesign now sits in Proximus Global alongside BICS and Route Mobile.

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
Telesign: Did Telesign go public?

No. A merger with the North Atlantic Acquisition Corporation special purpose vehicle was announced in December 2021 at around 1.3 billion dollars and terminated on 1 July 2022, so it remained within Proximus.

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
Telesign: Is Telesign a cheaper way to send one-time passcodes?

No, and that is not its purpose. It routes for verification completion and adds a risk judgement about the number. If you only need cheap message delivery, compare rate card vendors instead.

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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