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Customer Support · head to head

Chatwoot vs Viral Loops

Chatwoot logo

Chatwoot

Customer Support

Open-source customer engagement platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Viral Loops logo

Viral Loops

Affiliate Marketing

Viral and referral marketing made simple

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month; Viral Loops pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • They diverge on capability: Chatwoot covers Live chat, Viral Loops covers Campaign templates.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Chatwoot and Viral Loops actually diverge.

Attributes where Chatwoot and Viral Loops differ
AttributeChatwootViral Loops
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Cloud, Self-hostedWeb
CategoryCustomer SupportAffiliate Marketing
Founded20172016

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 Viral Loops

  • Campaign templates
  • Milestone rewards
  • Leaderboards
  • Referral widgets
  • Viral analytics
  • Shopify
  • Mailchimp
  • Klaviyo

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Chatwoot

  • Self-hosted supportnot Viral Loops
  • Privacy-first chatnot Viral Loops
  • Multi-channel supportnot Viral Loops

Viral Loops

  • 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

Viral Loops

  • Pricing is relatively high for small startups and bootstrapped businesses ($35/mo minimum)
  • Advanced features are only available on higher-tier plans, limiting smaller businesses
  • Limited customization without technical development for highly branded campaigns
  • Customer support response times may vary by region and time zone

Pricing, plan by plan

Chatwoot

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

Viral Loops

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 participants
    • All templates
    • Basic features

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 Viral Loops if

  • You need campaign templates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want milestone rewards.
Viral Loops review

Questions people ask

Is Chatwoot or Viral Loops better?
Neither clearly leads. Chatwoot starts at Free and Viral Loops at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Viral Loops?
Chatwoot starts at Free and Viral Loops at Free.
Does Chatwoot or Viral Loops run on more platforms?
Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted. Viral Loops 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 Viral Loops is typically brought in for.
What can Chatwoot do that Viral Loops cannot?
Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Viral Loops covers Campaign templates, Milestone rewards, Leaderboards, Referral 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
Viral Loops: What does Viral Loops pricing start at?

Viral Loops pricing starts at $35/month and ranges up to $208/month depending on the plan. The platform offers a 14-day free trial, flat-rate pricing (no per-campaign charges), and 30% discount for annual billing.

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
Viral Loops: What types of campaigns can Viral Loops create?

Viral Loops allows creation of referral programs, giveaways, waiting lists, and sweepstakes/competitions. Campaigns can be integrated into websites or mobile apps within minutes using pre-built templates.

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
Viral Loops: Does Viral Loops offer custom pricing?

Yes. Beyond the standard $35-208/month plans, Viral Loops offers custom pricing for larger teams and enterprises with specific feature requirements.

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
Viral Loops: What happens to campaigns after I cancel Viral Loops?

Users can export large files of mailing lists in several data formats, allowing campaign data to be migrated to another platform if needed after cancellation.

Source
Viral Loops: How quickly can I launch a campaign with Viral Loops?

Campaigns can be launched within minutes using Viral Loops' template-based, intuitive interface that requires no technical expertise or coding knowledge.

Source
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Related pages

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