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Intercom vs Chatwoot

A side-by-side look at Intercom (the paid SaaS) and Chatwoot (the open source alternative). Use this page to decide if the switch fits your team and workflow.

Intercom Chatwoot
Tagline Conversational support and marketing. Open source customer engagement — chat, email, social inboxes.
License Proprietary SaaS MIT
Pricing From $39/seat/month. Free to self-host · optional paid hosted plan
Self-host option No Yes — difficulty 3/5
Hosted cloud available Yes (only option) Yes
Desktop apps Varies by product Windows, macOS, Linux
Mobile apps Official apps typically available iOS, Android
Ad slot — between tables

Best for

The most Intercom-like open source experience today.

Chatwoot strengths

  • Multi-channel inbox — web chat, email, Facebook, WhatsApp.
  • Modern UI and mobile apps.
  • Active development with frequent releases.

Chatwoot weaknesses

  • Self-hosting requires several services (DB, Redis, Sidekiq).
  • Integrations with third-party tools still growing.
  • Some features are gated in hosted "Enterprise" tier.

What's the catch with Intercom?

  • Heavy per-seat pricing.
  • Data locked in Intercom cloud.
  • Some features gated behind premium tiers.

Still unsure?

Check the full list of alternatives to Intercom: see Intercom alternatives, or learn more about Chatwoot on its project page.

Other comparisons

Intercom vs Zammad

When your support is email + telephony rather than live chat.

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