What is the difference between Chatwoot and Tawk.to?

Chatwoot is best for Teams wanting open-source customer engagement, while Tawk.to is best for Businesses wanting completely free live chat. Chatwoot starts at Free and Tawk.to starts at Free.

Is Chatwoot or Tawk.to cheaper?

Chatwoot starts at Free and is free. Tawk.to starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Tawk.to?

Both Chatwoot and Tawk.to offer free tiers.

Chatwoot vs Tawk.to

Chatwoot is open-source customer engagement platform with live chat, email, social channels, and chatbots, while Tawk.to is 100% free live chat software with no limits on agents, chats, or contacts. Chatwoot is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Chatwoot is built for teams wanting open-source customer engagement, whereas Tawk.to targets businesses wanting completely free live chat.

At a glance

	Chatwoot	Tawk.to
Best for	Teams wanting open-source customer engagement	Businesses wanting completely free live chat
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Chatbots	✓	—
Free Live Chat	—	✓
Knowledge Base	—	✓
Live Chat	✓	—
Omnichannel	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—
Unlimited Agents	—	✓
Video Chat	—	✓

Chatwoot

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation

Try Chatwoot → Full review

Tawk.to

Strengths

Includes Free Live Chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Includes Unlimited Agents as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials
Established product with 13+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Some advanced features require upgrading to a paid plan
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ticket volume can quickly overwhelm small teams without triage automation

Try Tawk.to → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Chatwoot and Tawk.to are free, so this decision comes down to features and philosophy rather than budget.

Feature gaps: Chatwoot offers Chatbots, Live Chat and Omnichannel that Tawk.to lacks. Tawk.to brings Free Live Chat, Knowledge Base and Unlimited Agents that Chatwoot does not have.

Team fit: Chatwoot is geared toward small teams teams, while Tawk.to is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Chatwoot is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Tawk.to is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Chatwoot's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. Tawk.to's biggest strengths are: includes free live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows. includes unlimited agents as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows.

Watch out for: With Chatwoot, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With Tawk.to, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Chatwoot if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting open-source customer engagement
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Chatbots and Live Chat
You care about includes live chat as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Chatwoot is designed for

Choose Tawk.to if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: businesses wanting completely free live chat
You specifically need Free Live Chat and Knowledge Base
You care about includes unlimited agents as a core feature, purpose-built for customer support workflows
Your team size fits the any size profile Tawk.to is designed for