Chatwoot vs Freshdesk
Chatwoot and Freshdesk are both customer support tools. Chatwoot is aimed at developers and small businesses, while Freshdesk is aimed at small businesses. Chatwoot costs less, from $19/mo versus $23/mo for Freshdesk. Only Chatwoot has a free plan.
| Pricing | Open source · $19 | Paid · $23 |
| Starting price | $19/mo | $23/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | 15 days | 14 days |
| Built for | Developers, Small businesses | Small businesses |
| Platforms | web, ios, android | web, ios, android |
| Country | IN · 2019 | IN · 2010 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Chatwoot if
Companies that want open source, WhatsApp-first support or a low-cost Intercom alternative.
- Open source with permissive license
- Excellent WhatsApp and social channel coverage
- Affordable cloud pricing
Look elsewhere if: Enterprises needing deep analytics, WFM and voice.
Choose Freshdesk if
SMBs and mid-size companies that want Zendesk-like capabilities at lower cost.
- Strong value versus Zendesk
- Lower per-agent price than Zendesk
- Mature automations and SLAs
Look elsewhere if: Teams wanting the simplest inbox (Help Scout) or AI-first in-app support (Intercom).
Chatwoot vs Freshdesk pricing
Chatwoot
- Community (self-hosted)$0Free forever, self-hosted
- Hacker (Cloud)$02 agents, 500 conversations/mo, live chat only
- Startups$19/agent/moAll channels, 300 Captain AI credits/mo
- Business$39/agent/moVoice, automation, 500 Captain AI credits/mo
- Enterprise$99/agent/moSSO/SAML, audit logs, 800 Captain AI credits/mo
Freshdesk
- Growth$23/agent/mo$19 billed annually; 500 AI Agent sessions
- Pro$66/agent/mo$55 billed annually; 6,000 MCP actions/yr
- Enterprise$107/agent/mo$89 billed annually; 12,000 MCP actions/yr
Chatwoot · Key features
- Omnichannel inbox with WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, SMS
- Website live chat widget and help center
- Automation rules, macros, canned responses and labels
- Captain AI agent and copilot
- Campaigns (ongoing and one-off) and CSAT surveys
- Self-hosted (Docker, Heroku, Kubernetes) or cloud
Cons
- Reporting is basic
- Self-hosting needs ops attention
- Fewer integrations than Zendesk
Freshdesk · Key features
- Email, web form and portal ticketing
- Knowledge base and community forums
- Automations, SLAs, canned responses and collision detection
- Freddy AI agent, copilot and insights
- Omnichannel add-on: chat, WhatsApp, voice
- Reporting, CSAT and marketplace apps
Cons
- Omnichannel costs extra
- AI features gated to higher tiers
- Marketplace apps vary in quality
Chatwoot vs Freshdesk: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Chatwoot or Freshdesk?
Chatwoot starts at $19/mo and Freshdesk at $23/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Chatwoot and Freshdesk have a free plan?
Chatwoot has a free plan. Freshdesk has no free plan, a 14-day free trial.