Customer Support · head to head
Hiver vs Chatwoot
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Hiver hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69; Chatwoot free plan limited to 2 agents and 500 conversations per month
- They diverge on capability: Hiver covers Shared inbox, Chatwoot covers Live chat.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Hiver and Chatwoot actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Hiver
- Shared inbox
- Email assignment
- Collision detection
- Email notes
- Templates
- Analytics
- Gmail
- Google Workspace
Only in Chatwoot
- Live chat
- Email inbox
- Social channels
- Knowledge base
- Chatbots
- Reports
- Telegram
Both cover
- Slack
- GDPR
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Hiver
- Shared inbox managementnot Chatwoot
- Customer support via Gmailnot Chatwoot
- Team email collaborationnot Chatwoot
Chatwoot
- Self-hosted supportnot Hiver
- Privacy-first chatnot Hiver
- Multi-channel supportnot Hiver
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Hiver
- Hiver tiers as captured 28 December 2023: Lite at $15/user/month capped at 2 shared inboxes (up to 10 users each), Pro at $39/user/month capped at 5 shared inboxes and 50 shared labels, Elite at $59/user/month, all annual pricing with higher month-to-month rates of $19/$49/$69
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
Hiver
Free- FreeFree
- 2 users
- Email management
- Basic analytics
- Lite$19/month
- Unlimited users
- Email templates
- Notes & @mentions
- Pro$49/month
- CSAT surveys
- SLA management
- Custom reports
- Elite$69/month
- Round-robin
- Skill-based routing
- Okta SSO
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 Hiver if
- You need shared inbox.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Chrome-extension.
- You also want email assignment.
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 Hiver or Chatwoot better?
- Neither clearly leads. Hiver starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Hiver or Chatwoot?
- Hiver starts at Free and Chatwoot at Free.
- Does Hiver or Chatwoot run on more platforms?
- Hiver runs on Web, Chrome-extension. Chatwoot runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted.
- Can I use Hiver for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Hiver best used for?
- Hiver is most often used for shared inbox management, customer support via gmail, team email collaboration. Of those, shared inbox management and customer support via gmail are not what Chatwoot is typically brought in for.
- What can Hiver do that Chatwoot cannot?
- Hiver covers Shared inbox, Email assignment, Collision detection, Email notes. Chatwoot covers Live chat, Email inbox, Social channels, Knowledge base. Both handle Slack, GDPR, 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.
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