How you try it
Communicate$1 once: 100 credits that never expire, nothing renews
ChatwootFree Hacker plan for 2 agents; 15-day trial
Chatwoot alternative
The Chatwoot alternative where the AI answers first.
Chatwoot Cloud is priced per agent, and its Captain AI includes 300 to 800 credits a month, then $20 per 1,000. Communicate Starter is $39 a month for 3 teammates and 3,000 AI replies, with no per-agent price. Try it for a one-time $1.
One-time $1 activation · 100 credits included · No automatic subscription
Starter3,000
3,000 AI replies on the $39 Plan.
Captain on Startups: 300 credits.
Your help center. Your inbox. Your team.
Compare Communicate and Chatwoot row by rowCommunicate vs Chatwoot
Every row, at monthly list price.
Chatwoot wins on open source and self-hosting, a free plan, every channel including WhatsApp, a help center, Copilot, voice on Business, and mobile apps. Communicate wins on AI volume per dollar, no per-agent price, and Actions. All of it is below.
Self-hosting
CommunicateCloud only
ChatwootOpen source; self-hosted plans
Price for 3 people
CommunicateStarter: $39/mo total
ChatwootStartups: $57/mo; Business: $117/mo
Price for 10 people
CommunicateGrowth: $99/mo total
ChatwootStartups: $190/mo; Business: $390/mo
AI included each month
Communicate3,000 AI replies on Starter, 8,000 on Growth
Chatwoot300 to 800 Captain credits; $20 per 1,000 more
Human takeover and shared inbox
CommunicateEvery Plan
ChatwootCore of the product
Agent takes actions
CommunicateLookups, forms, and your API, with approval rules
ChatwootCaptain scenarios and triage
AI help for agents while they reply
CommunicateNot offered
ChatwootCopilot and reply suggestions
WhatsApp, social, email channels
CommunicateWhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram coming soon
ChatwootAll channels from Startups
Help center you host
CommunicateNot offered; connect your pages by URL
ChatwootFrom Startups
Messages inside your product
CommunicateIn-App Messages on every Plan
ChatwootCampaigns in the widget
API, MCP, and CLI access
CommunicateAll three on every Plan
ChatwootREST API
Chatwoot figures come from chatwoot.com/pricing (Cloud plans), checked on 3 October 2026. Captain credits also cover Copilot features, so a credit may not equal one customer reply. Self-hosted Chatwoot is priced separately.
Yearly totals, checked
What AI-first chat costs over a year.
Chatwoot Cloud list prices times 12, from chatwoot.com/pricing and our Plans, checked on 3 October 2026. We count one Captain credit as one AI reply. If you self-host Chatwoot and use little AI, it can cost you less.
01 · $936 a year
Less for three people at 3,000 AI replies
Chatwoot Startups: 3 agents at $19 is $57, plus 2,700 extra credits at $20 per 1,000 is $60, so $117/mo. Communicate Starter: $39/mo. That is $1,404 vs $468.
02 · $3,012 a year
Less for ten people at 8,000 AI replies
Chatwoot Startups: 10 agents at $19 is $190, plus 7,700 extra credits is $160, so $350/mo. Communicate Growth: $99/mo. That is $4,200 vs $1,188.
03 · 10x the AI
At the entry price
Chatwoot Startups includes 300 Captain credits a month. Communicate Starter includes 3,000 AI replies.
What changes
Chatwoot is built around people. Communicate is built around the AI answering first.
Chatwoot is a strong open-source inbox with every channel. If you want AI to answer most chats, compare what that AI volume costs.
- 01
AI volume in the Plan
Chatwoot Startups includes 300 Captain credits a month, then $20 per 1,000. Communicate Starter includes 3,000 AI replies for $39.
- 02
No per-agent price
Chatwoot Cloud is $19 to $99 per agent a month. Communicate Starter is $39 for 3 seats; Growth is $99 for 10.
- 03
Actions with approval
The Agent can look up an order or call your API, with rules for anything risky, on every Plan.
Used in production
Already answering customer questions.
- Teams building software
- Teams making content
- Teams running everyday tools
- Autoposting
- Vrid
- Niyam
- FAAD Network
- Nimblocity
Pure Digital- QCall
- Serri
- The Medical Insurance Exchange
How it works
Let the AI take the first reply. Keep people for the rest.
Setup takes about 5 minutes. Your Chatwoot widget stays live until you swap the snippet.
Knowledge
ConnectedHelp center
Ready for answers
Pricing page
Ready for answers
Setup guide PDF
Ready for answers
Handoff rules
SavedBilling question
Member required
Bug report
Hand off
How-to question
Agent answers
First week
CountedAI replies
690
Handed off
44 chats
Monthly pace
about 3,000
Designed for the edge cases
What you get on every Plan.
No add-ons. Plans differ only in credits, seats, and Agents.
01
AI Agents with sources
3 Agents on Starter and 10 on Growth, each answering with a citation.
Removesa small monthly AI allowance.
02
One credit per reply
Every AI reply is one credit. Teammate replies are free.
Removesbuying credits in $20 packs.
03
Shared Inbox and assignment
Handed-off chats arrive with the full history, assigned to the right teammate.
Removespaying again for every agent seat.
04
API, MCP, and CLI
Work with Conversations and Agents from your code, an AI assistant, or the terminal.
Removesscripting the dashboard by hand.
AI Agents with sources
One credit per reply
Shared Inbox and assignment
API, MCP, and CLI
Ask how Communicate compares to Chatwoot.
This page runs on Communicate. Type a question below and the assistant on this page answers it.
FAQ
What Chatwoot users ask before they switch.
Starting with when you should not switch.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Let the AI answer first. Your team handles the rest.
Open the Workspace for $1, add your help center, and count what the AI answers alone.
One-time $1 activation · Grounded answers · Human takeover · Cancel anytime