Chatwoot
osTicket
| Feature | Chatwoot | osTicket |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $19/mo | Free / from $12/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, small-businesses, privacy-focused-companies, self-hosters | small-businesses, budget-conscious-teams, self-hosted-advocates, it-departments |
| Founded | 2017 | 2003 |
| Live Chat | ✓ | ✗ |
| Omnichannel Inbox | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Assist | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Canned Responses | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reports | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ticket Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Email Piping | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Fields | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sla Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent Collision Avoidance | ✗ | ✓ |
| Knowledge Base | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Chatwoot Pros
- Open-source with full self-hosting option
- Omnichannel (chat, email, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.)
- AI-powered response suggestions and summaries
- Free for self-hosted with unlimited agents
✗ Chatwoot Cons
- Self-hosting requires DevOps knowledge
- Fewer integrations than established help desks
- Mobile apps less polished than competitors
✓ osTicket Pros
- Completely free self-hosted version
- Active open-source community
- Highly customizable
- Supports multiple departments
✗ osTicket Cons
- Dated user interface
- Requires server management
- Limited automation compared to paid tools
The Verdict
Chatwoot is built for startups and small businesses, with a focus on live-chat and omnichannel-inbox. osTicket targets small businesses and budget conscious teams and leads with ticket-management and email-piping.
On pricing, osTicket is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $12/mo compared to $19/mo for Chatwoot. That $7/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Chatwoot edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Chatwoot offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while osTicket takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for small businesses — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
Bottom line: Chatwoot has a slight overall edge — but if completely free self-hosted version matters most to you, osTicket may still be the right call.