Customer Support · head to head
Front vs Chatwoot
Front
Customer Support
Where teams collaborate on customer communication
- From
- $25/month per seat
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Chatwoot has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Front starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier; Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
- They diverge on capability: Front covers Shared inbox, Chatwoot covers Live chat.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Front and Chatwoot actually diverge.
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 Front
- Shared inbox
- Email collaboration
- Omnichannel messaging
- Analytics
- Workflows
- Integrations
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
Only in Chatwoot
- Live chat
- Email inbox
- Social channels
- Knowledge base
- Chatbots
- Reports
- Telegram
Both cover
- Slack
- GDPR
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Front
- Multi-team customer support across email, chat, SMS channelsnot Chatwoot
- Enterprises using AI to resolve complex multi-step customer requestsnot Chatwoot
Chatwoot
- Self-hosted supportnot Front
- Privacy-first chatnot Front
- Multi-channel supportnot Front
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Front
- Starter tier limited to single-channel support; omnichannel support requires Professional tier
- AI Copilot, Smart QA, and Smart CSAT are included only in Enterprise tier ($105/seat/month); available as add-ons at higher cost in lower tiers
- Starter tier limited to 10 automation rules; Professional tier allows 20; unlimited rules only in Enterprise
- Advanced analytics excluded from Starter tier
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Front
$25/month per seatNo published plan breakdown. See the Front review.
Chatwoot
Free- HackerFree
- 2 agents
- 500 conversations per month
- 1 live chat channel
- Startups$19/month
- Unlimited agents
- Unlimited conversations
Which should you pick?
Choose Front if
- You need shared inbox.
- You work on Cloud-based SaaS.
- You also want email collaboration.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Front or Chatwoot better?
- Neither clearly leads. Front starts at $25/month per seat and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Front or Chatwoot?
- Chatwoot has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month per seat for Front and Free for Chatwoot.
- Does Front or Chatwoot run on more platforms?
- Front runs on Cloud-based SaaS. Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Chatwoot for free?
- Yes. Chatwoot has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Front starts at $25/month per seat.
- What is Front best used for?
- Front is most often used for multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels, enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests. Of those, multi-team customer support across email, chat, sms channels and enterprises using ai to resolve complex multi-step customer requests are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.
- What can Front do that Chatwoot cannot?
- Front covers Shared inbox, Email collaboration, Omnichannel messaging, Analytics. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle Slack, GDPR, Web support, Ios 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.
SourceChatwoot: 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.
SourceChatwoot: 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.
SourceChatwoot: What AI features does Chatwoot include?
Chatwoot includes Captain AI agent for automated responses, Copilot for smart reply suggestions, and live translation features.
Source