Chatwoot vs FreeScout
A side-by-side comparison of Chatwoot and FreeScout on what each one charges, what it meters, and which plan every capability actually sits on.
The short answer
15 of the 19 capabilities tracked on both differ, mostly in Channels and Enterprise.
| Measure | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Free, then $19/seat/mo | Free |
| Charged per | Each agent seat | Not published |
| AI billed at | $0.02 per credit | Not published |
| Included, where the other says no | 3 capabilities | 0 capabilities |
Capability by capability
15 of the 19 capabilities tracked on both products differ.
Channels
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| IncludedStartups $19 and above. The free Hacker plan is live chat only. | IncludedFree core. FreeScout is a shared mailbox first, connected over IMAP and SMTP. | |
| Live chat | IncludedAll plans including the free Hacker tier. | Paid add-onLive Chat Module, $13.00 once per instance. |
| Voice | IncludedBusiness $39 and above on cloud. Self-hosted it needs a Premium Support licence at $19 per agent; the Community Edition excludes it. | Not published |
| SMS | IncludedStartups $19 and above, through Twilio. | Paid add-onSMS Tickets Module (Twilio), $12.00 once per instance. SMS Notifications is a separate $8.00 module. |
| IncludedDelivered through the Twilio channel. The per-plan gate for WhatsApp specifically is Unknown: the compare table gates SMS at Startups and voice at Business without naming WhatsApp. | Paid add-onWhatsApp Integration Module (Meta Cloud API), $4.00 once per instance. | |
| Instagram / Facebook | IncludedStartups $19 and above, as part of the social channels. | Paid add-onFacebook Integration Module, $4.00 once per instance. Instagram is not published as a channel. |
| X / Twitter | Not published | Paid add-onTwitter Integration Module, $14.00 once per instance. |
Ticketing
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Shared inbox | IncludedAll plans. | IncludedFree core. |
| SLA policies | IncludedBusiness $39 on cloud, Enterprise Edition $99 self-hosted. The compare table's "Service Level Agreement" row is this ticket SLA feature, not an uptime commitment. | Paid add-onSLA rules are part of the Workflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. |
| Macros / saved replies | IncludedUnknown. Macros and canned responses exist as objects but are not a line item in the published compare table. | Paid add-onSaved Replies Module, $4.99 once per instance. Not in the free core. |
| Custom fields | IncludedPublished as "Custom attributes", with pre-chat forms. Business $39 and above. | Paid add-onCustom Fields Module, $7.99 once per instance. User Fields is a separate $8.00 module. |
Routing & automation
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Triggers | IncludedPublished as "Automation rules". Business $39 and above. | Not published |
| Workflow builder | Not published | Paid add-onWorkflows Module, $14.99 once per instance. |
AI resolution
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomous resolution agent | IncludedCaptain AI. Cloud paid plans, metered at one credit per message. Excluded from the Community Edition; on a paid self-hosted licence it runs Bring Your Own Key against your own OpenAI account. | NoThe free core ships no AI. A ChatGPT Module and a Chrome GPT Assistant are announced as paid modules on the vendor news list, with prices Unknown, and neither is documented as resolving a conversation without an agent. |
AI assist
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Reply drafting | IncludedCaptain editor actions (suggest a reply). Consumes one AI credit per message on cloud. | Not published |
| Summarization | IncludedCaptain editor actions (summarise). Consumes one AI credit per message on cloud. | Not published |
| Auto-tagging | IncludedPublished as "Label Suggestions". Consumes one AI credit per message on cloud. | Not published |
Knowledge base
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Public help center | IncludedStartups $19 and above. Not on the free Hacker plan. | Paid add-onKnowledge Base Module, $12.00 once per instance, attached to a mailbox. |
Reporting
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Prebuilt dashboards | Not published | Paid add-onReports Module, $14.99 once per instance. Wallboards is a separate $14.99 module. |
| Raw data export | Not published | Paid add-onExport Conversations Module, $6.00 once per instance, for CSV. A database dump is free and ungated. |
| CSAT / NPS | Not published | Paid add-onSatisfaction Ratings Module, $8.99 once per instance. |
Collaboration
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| @mentions | Not published | Paid add-onMentions Module, $5.00 once per instance. |
| Assignment | Not published | IncludedFree core, with "User can see only assigned conversations" and "Hide from Assign list" as per-user restrictions. |
Enterprise
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| SAML SSO | IncludedCloud Enterprise $99, or self-hosted Enterprise Edition $99. Excluded from the Community Edition and from the $19 self-hosted Premium Support licence. | Paid add-onSAML SSO Module, $10.00 once per instance. LDAP Integration is a separate $17.99 module. |
| Role-based access control | Not published | IncludedFree core: an admin and user split with per-mailbox permissions. The paid Teams Module ($11.00) groups users. |
| Custom roles | IncludedPublished as "Roles & Permissions". Self-hosted Premium Support $19 and above. The cloud gate is Unknown: it is not a line item in the cloud compare table. | NoNo custom role builder is published. Permissions are the admin and user split plus per-mailbox and per-user restrictions. |
| Audit logs | IncludedCloud Enterprise $99, or self-hosted Enterprise Edition. Not in the Community Edition. | IncludedFree core, under Manage then Logs. The outgoing email log keeps the last 6 months and is cleaned monthly. |
| HIPAA / BAA | Not publishedNot claimed on the security page and no Business Associate Agreement is referenced anywhere. | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor processes the data, so there is no counterparty to sign a Business Associate Agreement. |
| SOC 2 | IncludedType II, on the vendor-operated cloud. Structurally N/A for an install you run yourself. | NoNot applicable by architecture. There is no vendor-operated service to audit; the operator runs the only instance. |
| ISO 27001 | Not publishedNot claimed on the security page. | NoNot applicable by architecture. No vendor-operated service exists to certify. |
| GDPR | IncludedNot plan-gated. "GDPR Compliant... data processing agreements available". | Paid add-onGDPR Module, $5.00 once per instance, for bulk customer and mail-server deletion. Compliance itself is the operator's responsibility. |
| Data residency | IncludedSelf-hosting only. Chatwoot Cloud runs on AWS with servers located in the United States and publishes no region choice or EU option. | IncludedFree core, by construction: the operator picks the server and therefore the jurisdiction. There is no vendor region to select and no residency add-on. |
Developer
| Capability | Chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | IncludedApplication and Client APIs on every plan including the free Hacker tier. Platform APIs are self-hosted or managed-hosting only. | Paid add-onAPI & Webhooks Module, $12.99 once per instance. Documented endpoints for conversations, threads, customers and custom fields. |
| Webhooks | IncludedUnknown. Listed as an integration; the compare table does not gate it by plan. | Paid add-onSame $12.99 API & Webhooks Module. HMAC-SHA1 signed, 12 event types. |
| Published rate limits | NoThe API introduction documents authentication and endpoints and publishes no rate limit, so an API-only export cannot be planned against a known ceiling. | Not publishedSelf-determined and unpublished. The operator hosts the instance, so any rate limit is whatever that server enforces. |
Both entries last checked Sep 9, 2026.
What Chatwoot costs
$19/seat/month
7 published plans, billed annually- Billing unit
Per agent per month - Free tier
Yes - AI pricing
$0.02 per credit - Vendor calls it
AI credit - Human handoff
Not published - Reopened chat
Not published - AI billing window
Not published - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Not published
4 of 9 not published by Chatwoot, checked
What FreeScout costs
- Billing unit
The core application is free with no agent cap and no ticket cap - Free tier
Yes - Data export
Self-serve - Automation export
Partial