Chatwoot pricing in 2026: Cloud vs self-hosted, Captain AI credits, and the real cost of free
Chatwoot is open source, so "how much does it cost?" has two answers: a per-agent price in Chatwoot's cloud, or nothing for the software and your own time and servers if you host it. This guide is for small teams deciding between the two in October 2026. It covers every plan, how Captain AI credits work, and what WhatsApp adds.
Quick answer
Chatwoot Cloud is free for up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, then $19, $39 or $99 per agent a month for Startups, Business and Enterprise. Self-hosting the Community Edition is free; Premium Support and Enterprise editions cost $19 and $99 per agent. Captain AI includes 300 to 800 credits a month, one per AI reply, with extra credits at $20 per 1,000.
How much does Chatwoot Cloud cost?
Chatwoot Cloud has a free Hacker plan for up to 2 agents, then three paid plans priced per agent per month: Startups at $19, Business at $39 and Enterprise at $99. Paid plans have unlimited conversations under a fair use policy.
| Hacker | Startups | Business | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price per agent a month | $0 (up to 2 agents) | $19 | $39 | $99 |
| Conversations | 500 a month | Unlimited (fair use) | Unlimited (fair use) | Unlimited (fair use) |
| Channels | Live chat only | All | All, plus voice | All, plus voice |
| Captain AI credits a month | None | 300 | 500 | 800 |
| Help center | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams and automation rules | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO/SAML and audit logs | No | No | No | Yes |
| Data retention | 30 days | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years |
From Chatwoot's pricing page, checked October 2026. There is a 15-day free trial. Cloud plans are refundable for unused time if you cancel, though Captain credits are not. Chatwoot Cloud runs on AWS in the United States. The Startups plan is free for open source projects on request, and Chatwoot invites nonprofits to ask about discounts. The page does not show a separate annual price.
The most important line for a small business is "Channels". The free Hacker plan is live chat only, so connecting WhatsApp, email or social channels means Startups or higher.
What does self-hosted Chatwoot cost?
The self-hosted Community Edition is free forever. Two paid self-hosted editions add features and support: Premium Support at $19 per agent a month and Enterprise Edition at $99 per agent a month.
| Community Edition | Premium Support | Enterprise Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per agent a month | $0 | $19 | $99 |
| Captain AI | No | Yes | Yes |
| Voice calls, custom branding | No | Yes | Yes |
| Agent capacity, roles and permissions | No | Yes | Yes |
| SSO/SAML, SLA policies | No | No | Yes |
| Support | Discord and GitHub | Priority email | Phone support and engineering office hours |
Chatwoot's self-hosted page says you need a Linux server with PostgreSQL and Redis, S3-compatible storage for files, and at least 4GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores for production. It also says self-hosted Captain connects to OpenAI's models. You can start on Community Edition and upgrade later with data and settings carried over. Premium Support is refundable for unused time; Enterprise Edition is not, because it includes setup and onboarding.
How do Chatwoot Captain AI credits work?
Captain is Chatwoot's AI: an assistant that answers customers, a copilot that helps agents, and features such as summaries and translation. Each assistant reply to a customer uses one credit, and so does each copilot request, editor action, audio transcription or auto-translated message.
- Monthly credits: 300 on Startups, 500 on Business, 800 on Enterprise. They reset on your renewal date and do not roll over.
- Extra credits: $20 per 1,000. Bought credits are used after the monthly allowance, expire after 6 months and are not refundable.
- Free actions: adding documents, approving FAQs, label and priority suggestions, and Captain conditions in automation rules do not use credits.
- When credits run out: new conversations go straight to your team without an AI reply, and in an ongoing chat the assistant says it is transferring to another agent.
The pricing page does not say whether the monthly allowance is per account or per agent. We read it as per account, the cautious assumption. Either way, 300 credits is about ten AI replies a day, so a business that wants Captain answering most chats should budget for extra credits from the start.
What does WhatsApp cost on Chatwoot?
Chatwoot does not charge per WhatsApp message, but WhatsApp still costs money. Chatwoot connects through the official WhatsApp Cloud API, either by a quick setup with Meta or a manual setup, or through Twilio. Meta's fees, and Twilio's if you use it, are paid to them.
- Through the Cloud API directly: you pay Meta per delivered template, and since 1 October 2026 per service reply after 1,000 free per number each month.
- Through Twilio: Meta's fee plus Twilio's $0.005 on every message in either direction. See Twilio WhatsApp pricing.
- 360dialog is no longer offered for new Chatwoot inboxes, according to Chatwoot's documentation.
For the categories and rates, read WhatsApp Business API pricing explained, and for the setup steps, how to get WhatsApp Business API access.
A clinic group and a tutor, priced out
Both are hypothetical. Meta rates are list rates republished by Twilio.
A 4-agent clinic group in Manila on Cloud Business
| Line | Working | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Business plan | 4 agents x $39 | $156.00 |
| Captain AI replies | 1,500 used minus 500 included = 1,000 x $20 per 1,000 | $20.00 |
| Meta service replies (Cloud API) | 2,500 minus 1,000 free = 1,500 x $0.0113 | $16.95 |
| Total | $192.95 |
A 2-person online tutor business in Bengaluru on Cloud Startups
2 agents x $19 = $38. Captain answers about 250 questions a month, inside the 300 credits. WhatsApp through the Cloud API: 1,500 service replies, 500 above the free tier x $0.0014 = $0.70. Total about $38.70 a month. The Hacker plan would be free, but it only covers live chat, not WhatsApp.
What is the real cost of free Chatwoot?
Self-hosting removes the licence fee, not the cost. You pay for the server and storage, backups, security updates and upgrades, plus whoever does that work. Chatwoot's own guidance of 4GB RAM and 2 CPU cores is a modest machine, but someone has to own it.
A simple test: if you already run servers for other things and have a developer who enjoys this, Community Edition is a bargain. If not, three agents on Cloud Startups at $57 a month is usually cheaper than an hour or two of a contractor's time each month. Our comparison of an open-source WhatsApp bot versus a hosted one walks through the same trade-off.
Who should use Chatwoot, and who should not?
Chatwoot is a strong choice for teams that want an affordable, open source shared inbox across live chat, email, WhatsApp and social channels, with the option to own their data. It is especially good value at $19 per agent compared with most commercial helpdesks. See respond.io vs Chatwoot and LiveChat pricing for comparisons.
It is a weaker fit if you want an AI agent doing most of the answering without watching credits, or you have no one technical to set up the WhatsApp Cloud API.
We make ReplyKit, which overlaps with Chatwoot only for small businesses that mainly want AI answers on WhatsApp, so weigh this paragraph accordingly. ReplyKit is $29, $49 or $99 a month with 1,000, 5,000 or 20,000 AI replies included, booking and a simple leads list, and no Meta fees, with setup in about 15 minutes. It connects by a QR code that links your number as a device, which is unofficial, not the WhatsApp Business API and not sanctioned by Meta, so a number can be restricted; read will WhatsApp ban my number for automation? first. It has no email or social channels and cannot be self-hosted. Compare our plans or start a 7-day free trial.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chatwoot free?
Yes, in two ways. The self-hosted Community Edition is free forever, and Chatwoot Cloud's Hacker plan is free for up to 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, with live chat only and no Captain AI.
How much does Chatwoot Cloud cost per agent?
$19 per agent a month on Startups, $39 on Business and $99 on Enterprise. All paid plans include unlimited conversations under fair use and some Captain AI credits.
How much do Chatwoot Captain AI credits cost?
Paid Cloud plans include 300, 500 or 800 credits a month, and extra credits are $20 per 1,000. Each AI assistant reply, copilot request or auto-translated message uses one credit.
Can I use WhatsApp on the free Chatwoot plan?
Not on Cloud Hacker, which covers live chat only. WhatsApp needs Startups or higher in the cloud, or a self-hosted install, and Meta's message fees apply either way.
Does self-hosted Chatwoot include AI?
Captain AI is not in the free Community Edition. It comes with the Premium Support edition at $19 per agent a month and the Enterprise Edition at $99.
Does Chatwoot have a free trial?
Yes, Chatwoot Cloud offers a 15-day free trial of the full product, and cloud plans are refundable for unused time if you cancel.
Want AI answering WhatsApp without counting credits?
ReplyKit includes 1,000 AI replies a month from $29, with booking and a leads list. Try it free for 7 days with 300 AI replies and no credit card.
Sources and further reading
- Chatwoot, Cloud pricing · plans per agent, conversations, channels, Captain credits, retention, trial and refunds, checked October 2026
- Chatwoot, Self-hosted plans · Community, Premium Support and Enterprise editions, server requirements
- Chatwoot help center, How AI credits work in Captain · what uses a credit, rollover, expiry and what happens when credits run out
- Chatwoot docs, WhatsApp channel · Cloud API quick and manual setup, Twilio, 360dialog no longer offered for new inboxes
- Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing · service message charges after 1,000 free per number from 1 October 2026
- Twilio, WhatsApp messaging pricing · Meta's list rates for the Philippines and India
ReplyKit is an independent product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta or WhatsApp. Prices for other vendors are taken from their public pricing pages as checked in October 2026 and may change. This article is general guidance, not financial advice.