Compare · Chatwoot
OpenAgent vs Chatwoot: open-core per-agent + AI credits vs flat per-site
Chatwoot is the open-source darling of this category, and deservedly so. The comparison that matters is not ideology; it is what you pay per agent, how the AI is metered, and who runs the infrastructure.
Javad PK· CEO & Product Strategy6 min read
TL;DR
Let's start with the part most comparison pages bury: Chatwoot is open source (MIT core) and self-hostable. OpenAgent is neither. If running support software on your own metal is a hard requirement, Chatwoot wins this comparison and you can stop reading. OpenAgent is a hosted platform; teams with residency or compliance constraints get dedicated single-tenant infrastructure on the Business tier instead.
For everyone else the question is money and metering. Chatwoot cloud bills per agent ($19-$99/month, annual billing) and meters its Captain AI in credits: roughly one credit per AI message, small monthly allowances per plan, then $20 per 1,000 credits. OpenAgent is a flat per-site fee, unlimited seats, and the AI runs on your own LLM keys at provider cost.
Pricing (verified July 2026, annual billing)
| What you pay for | Chatwoot Cloud | OpenAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | Free (2 agents, 500 conv/mo), $19, $39 or $99 per agent/month | $1/site/month founder rate ($9.99 list) |
| AI (Captain) | 300-800 credits/month included by tier; ~1 credit per AI message; $20 per 1,000 extra | Your LLM at provider list price; no credits, no caps |
| Copilot lookups, rephrase, summarize | Each consumes credits | Included; token cost only |
| Unlimited seats | No (every agent bills) | Yes |
| Self-hosting | Yes: MIT community edition free; Captain, SSO, SLA behind paid tiers ($19/$99 per agent) | No; hosted only, dedicated infra on Business tier |
The credit math compounds quietly. An AI conversation is rarely one message: four Captain replies plus a summary is five credits. At 5,000 AI-handled conversations a month you are around 20,000-25,000 credits, roughly $400-$480/month in top-ups on top of seat fees. The same volume through Gemini Flash on OpenAgent is a low three-figure bill per year, paid to Google.
Feature parity
| Feature | Chatwoot | OpenAgent |
|---|---|---|
| Live chat | Yes | Yes |
| Omnichannel inbox (WhatsApp, FB, X, email) | Yes, broad | Chat + email; more on request |
| AI agent with knowledge base | Captain, credit-metered | Yes, uncapped, with citations on every answer |
| BYO LLM keys | No (fixed model, credit billing) | Yes: Gemini, OpenAI, Claude, OpenRouter, self-hosted models |
| MCP tool calling | No | Yes, with per-tool approval and audit log |
| Open source | Yes, MIT core | No |
| SSO/SAML, audit logs | $99/agent Enterprise tier | Business tier, flat |
When Chatwoot is the right call
- Self-hosting is non-negotiable. Your own servers, your own database, MIT licence. Nothing we offer substitutes for that if it is a hard constraint.
- You want to read and patch the code. An active open-source community and a public repo are real advantages for engineering-led teams.
- Deep omnichannel today. WhatsApp, Facebook, X and voice in one inbox is ahead of our channel coverage right now.
When OpenAgent is the right call
- You do not want to run infrastructure. Self-hosting is free like a puppy is free: upgrades, scaling, backups and uptime are all yours. Chatwoot's own managed cloud exists for the same reason our platform does.
- AI is the main workload. Credit metering prices every AI message. On your own keys, heavy AI use costs whatever your provider charges, with no middleman multiplier.
- Seat count grows. Ten agents on Chatwoot Business is $390/month before AI credits. OpenAgent's fee does not know how many agents you have.
Rates from chatwoot.com's pricing pages and the Captain credits documentation, checked July 2026 (annual-billing figures). See the full pricing comparison for how credit metering sits next to per-resolution billing.
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