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Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Telnyx

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Telnyx logo

Telnyx

Telecommunications

Voice, messaging and connectivity APIs on a private global IP network

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; Telnyx the advertised per-message price excludes US 10DLC registration fees and carrier surcharges, so American A2P traffic costs more than the rate card row suggests.
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Telnyx covers Published per-destination rate card.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Telnyx actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Telnyx differ
AttributeChatwootTelnyx
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownPer message and per minute, priced by destination country
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ruby, .NET
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 Telnyx

  • Published per-destination rate card
  • Private IP backbone
  • SIP trunking
  • Programmable messaging
  • Wireless and IoT SIMs

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

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

Telnyx

  • Teams moving off a larger aggregator to reduce per-message cost at steady volumenot Chatwoot
  • Applications with international voice traffic where per-minute rates vary sharply by destinationnot Chatwoot
  • Platforms needing SIP trunking and programmable voice from a single suppliernot Chatwoot
  • Products combining messaging with cellular IoT connectivity on one accountnot 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

Telnyx

  • The advertised per-message price excludes US 10DLC registration fees and carrier surcharges, so American A2P traffic costs more than the rate card row suggests.
  • Support and the partner ecosystem are smaller than the market leader, which matters most during an incident rather than during evaluation.
  • The cost advantage only becomes material at volume, so low-traffic projects save little while giving up ecosystem breadth.
  • Toll fraud controls need configuring properly, because a misconfigured voice account can accumulate serious cost quickly.
  • Product breadth is strong for voice and messaging but thinner for adjacent channels such as video, so multi-channel products may still need a second vendor.

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Telnyx

On request
  • Pay as you go$undefined/month
    • Published rate card by destination country
    • No monthly minimum for standard usage
    • Volume pricing negotiated above published tiers

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 Telnyx if

  • You need published per-destination rate card.
  • You work on Web, APIs, Python, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ruby, .NET.
  • You also want private ip backbone.
Telnyx review

Questions people ask

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

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
Telnyx: How much do per-message rates vary between countries?

By more than an order of magnitude. US A2P SMS is priced in small fractions of a cent per segment, while some international destinations run to several cents or more per message. Always price your actual destination mix rather than a headline US rate.

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
Telnyx: Are 10DLC fees included in the published price?

No. US A2P messaging requires brand and campaign registration, and those one-off and monthly fees plus per-segment carrier surcharges are added on top of the per-message rate.

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
Telnyx: Why does the private network matter?

Voice quality degrades with jitter and packet loss on the public internet. Carrying traffic on a private backbone with direct carrier interconnects is what the quality claim rests on.

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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