Chatwoot — Free Self-Hosted for Startups

Deal Highlights

Chatwoot — Open-Source Customer Engagement You Own

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform that centralizes conversations from live chat, email, social media, and messaging apps into one inbox. Self-host it on your infrastructure for complete data control, or use the hosted version — either way, you get a modern support platform without Intercom pricing.

The Intercom Alternative

Intercom starts at $74/seat/month and quickly climbs to $300+. Chatwoot self-hosted is free for unlimited agents. The feature set covers 80% of what most startups need from Intercom — live chat, chatbots, canned responses, and team collaboration.

Omnichannel Inbox

Website live chat, email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE, and SMS — all in one inbox. Agents handle conversations from every channel without switching between platforms.

Self-Hosted Freedom

Deploy Chatwoot on your own server with Docker or Kubernetes. Customer conversations, contact data, and chat history stay on your infrastructure. No third-party data processing, full GDPR compliance, and zero vendor lock-in.

Chatwoot vs Crisp

Crisp is another affordable live chat tool. Chatwoot is open-source and self-hostable with more channel integrations. Crisp has a more polished interface out of the box. Chatwoot offers more control and customization.

Getting Started

1. Self-host with Docker or use Chatwoot Cloud
2. Add the chat widget to your website
3. Connect email and social media channels
4. Invite your support team and start responding

Pricing

Self-hosted is free forever with unlimited agents. Chatwoot Cloud starts at $19/agent/month with managed hosting and support.

Who Is This Deal For?

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this startup deal.