Helpin vs Chatwoot at a glance
If you are choosing open source, look at what you can actually run. Helpin’s free Community edition includes support, projects, CRM, docs and AI agents that can plan, code, review and follow up.
Chatwoot offers a shared inbox across chat, email and messaging channels. Helpin puts chat and email beside the product work and customer history in one fast workspace, so agents can act on more than the conversation alone.
Self-host Helpin with your own AI provider, or choose Cloud with workspace pricing and an included AI allowance. You do not need an extra AI license when you self-host.
- Self-host the agents and the work they do. Helpin includes support, coding, review, docs and sales agents in its free Community edition. Bring your own AI provider.
- Chatwoot connects more messaging channels. Its MIT-licensed inbox can be extended with bots and a CLI. Captain requires a paid self-hosted plan.
Compare what your team can do in each product. Plan requirements and connected tools are shown where they matter.
| Capability |  HelpinOpen source · Cloud or self-hosted | ChatwootOpen-source support |
|---|---|---|
| Open source and pricing | ||
| License | AGPL-3.0 for every product feature | MIT core, with a separate paid enterprise edition |
| AI agents included without a self-hosted license fee | Included; pay your AI provider for usage | Captain needs a paid plan from $19 an agent |
| Cloud price model | Per workspace | Per agent: $19, $39 or $99 a month |
| Cloud AI | AI usage allowance included in every Cloud plan | Captain credits, then $20 per 1,000 |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 15 days |
| Support | ||
| Channels | Web chat and email | Chat, email, WhatsApp, social, Telegram, LINE, SMS, voice |
| Help center | AI answers, own domain, API reference, agent-maintained docs | Built in, with search and locales |
| Widget SDKs | Web: JavaScript, React, Next.js, Vue | Web, React Native, Flutter |
| Support reporting | Knowledge-gap and project reports | Agent, team, inbox and CSAT reports |
| Company single sign-on (SAML) | Enterprise plan | |
| Support response-time policies (SLAs) | Enterprise plan | |
| Beyond support | ||
| Project management | Roadmaps, sprints, objectives, epics | Through the Linear integration |
| CRM with deals | Contacts, companies, deals and AI follow-ups | Contacts, companies and segments |
| Meeting notes | Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex | |
| Code delivery from a task | Built-in planning, coding and review; GitHub PRs and GitLab MRs | External agents can use the CLI; project workflow is separate |
| MCP server | Read context, update work and start agents | Community-built only |
Comparison data verified October 2026.
Why choose Helpin over Chatwoot?
Give agents the context and tools to carry out work, keep your team in control, and bring everyone into the same fast workspace.
Helpin- Workspace price
- Unlimited teammates
- AI allowance
Invite the whole team without seat fees.
Helpin charges per workspace with unlimited teammates and an included AI allowance. Invite support, engineering and sales without buying another seat. Extra AI usage is metered only if you enable it on a paid plan.
Helpin- Report
- Agent work
- Review
- Follow-up
Give agents the work behind the reply.
A bug report can become a task with the customer’s conversation attached. Scribe plans, Forge writes and tests the code, and Lens reviews it. After the release is confirmed, configured automation can follow up with affected customers under your approval rules.
Helpin- Release
- UI capture
- Article update
Keep the guides current as you ship.
Quill can update your help center and internal docs from released changes and unanswered questions. It can capture fresh screenshots and browser recordings too. Your team reviews and publishes the changes, so customers and agents have current instructions.
Helpin- Open source
- Your AI provider
- Built-in and custom agents
Self-host your agents without an AI license.
Helpin’s free Community edition includes agents for support, planning, coding, review, docs and sales. Build custom agents and flows with your own instructions and skills. You control the infrastructure and AI provider, and pay for their usage directly.
Core feature comparison
Feature names can sound alike across tools. What matters is how each product handles the work, and what your team does next.
Inbox and channels
HelpinHelpin gives your team a fast shared inbox for chat and email. Echo, the support agent, can answer from your docs and check connected tools for account details, code and logs. It can follow up after a reply or bring in a teammate. Customer history, internal notes and linked tasks stay with the conversation.
Chatwoot’s inbox covers website chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, LINE and SMS, with voice calls in beta. On Cloud, automation rules, teams and voice need the Business plan.
The difference: Helpin connects chat and email to product work and sales. Chatwoot also covers phone and social messaging.
AI agents that carry out work
HelpinAsk Helpin AI to investigate an issue and get the work moving. Scribe plans the task, Forge writes and tests the code, Lens reviews it, and Quill updates the docs. Build custom agents and flows in plain language, with your choice of tools, skills and approval rules. Start work in chat or through configured automations.
Captain answers customers, assists teammates and supports custom support scenarios. Cloud plans include credits, with extra usage available to buy. Self-hosted Captain requires a paid plan and your own AI provider. Chatwoot also supports custom inbox bots.
The difference: Helpin includes its support, coding, review and docs agents in the free self-hosted edition. Your AI provider bills for usage.
Help center and internal docs
HelpinKeep your help center and internal docs spaces current as your product changes. Quill can turn unanswered questions and released changes into article updates, with fresh screenshots and browser recordings. Your team reviews and publishes them. Customers can search your help center or ask AI for an answer with article citations.
Chatwoot includes a help center with a documentation-style layout, search and per-locale branding, which Captain can use to answer.
The difference: Helpin’s docs workflow extends to internal guides, release-driven updates and browser captures of the actual product.
From conversation to fix
HelpinA customer’s bug report can become a task with the conversation attached. AI agents can investigate, plan, write code and open a GitHub pull request or GitLab merge request for review. After a confirmed release, configured automation can update affected customers under your approval rules. Objectives, roadmaps, epics and sprints keep the work in view.
Chatwoot links conversations to issues through its Linear integration, so planning and engineering happen in another tool.
The difference: Helpin has the planning, coding and review workflow built in, with the original conversation connected to the task.
Customer records, CRM and meetings
HelpinKeep deals, contacts and companies beside their conversations, meetings and open work. Beacon, the sales agent, can identify buying intent, suggest the next step and carry out approved follow-ups. Record meetings on Google Meet, Zoom, Teams or Webex, then turn decisions into assigned tasks. Your team can see what was promised and what still needs doing.
Chatwoot keeps contacts, custom attributes, segments and companies. It doesn’t include a deals pipeline or meeting notes.
The difference: Helpin turns customer context into sales action with deals, meeting notes and Beacon’s follow-ups in the same workspace.
Developers and integrations
HelpinConnect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Hermes and other compatible AI tools through Helpin’s MCP server. They can find context, update tasks and docs, and start Helpin agent runs with the access you allow. Helpin agents can also use external MCP tools. GitHub, GitLab and the web SDKs connect your code and product to the same workflow.
Chatwoot offers APIs, webhooks, mobile SDKs and an official CLI for coding agents. Through the CLI, external agents can inspect conversations and prepare support actions for approval. It works with both Cloud and self-hosted installations.
The difference: Both work with external agents. Helpin also provides built-in agents and an MCP server across support, projects, docs and CRM.
Pricing and value
HelpinHelpin charges per workspace, with unlimited teammates. Starter is $79 and Growth $239 a month billed annually, or $99 and $299 billed monthly. Every Cloud plan includes an AI usage allowance. Extra usage is metered only when you enable it on a paid plan. Self-hosting has no Helpin license fee; you pay for your infrastructure and AI provider.
Chatwoot Cloud charges per agent: $19, $39 or $99 a month, with Captain credits included and extra credits at $20 per 1,000. Self-hosted, the Community edition is free, and the Premium plan that adds Captain costs $19 per agent.
Estimate what your team would pay
Compare the plans for your team size and AI usage. Check the notes for costs outside the estimate, including any extra tools you need. See Helpin pricing.
Estimated at list prices · 8 agents · billed annually
HelpinGrowth$239 a month
$2,868 a year
- Growth plan, one workspace
- $239
- 8 agents
- Included
- AI usage allowance
- $239 included
Every Cloud plan includes an AI allowance. Extra usage is metered only if you enable it.
$312 a month
$3,744 a year
- 8 × Business at $39
- $312
Helpin is an estimated $876 less a year on these inputs.
Chatwoot costs less up to 6 agents. From 7 agents, Helpin costs less.
- Chatwoot’s Captain AI uses credits: 300 to 800 are included each month depending on the plan, then $20 per 1,000. Credit use per conversation isn’t published, so AI isn’t included here.
- Helpin measures AI usage in tokens, not resolutions. Paid plans can turn on metered overage beyond the allowance.
Cloud or open source
Helpin is the same product either way. Let us run it on Helpin Cloud, or self-host the open-source Community edition on your own servers.
HelpinRun Helpin Cloud or self-host the open-source Community edition with Docker Compose. Support, projects, CRM, docs and AI agents are included under AGPL-3.0. When you self-host, you choose the infrastructure, AI providers and external services your workspace uses.
Chatwoot is open source and can be deployed with Docker, Kubernetes, a Linux installer or cloud marketplace images. Features in its enterprise edition need a paid subscription for production use.
Helpin Cloud
Hosted by Helpin- One price per workspace, unlimited teammates
- AI usage allowance included in every plan
- Your own AI keys on Enterprise
- Managed by Helpin, with support
Community edition
Open source · AGPL-3.0- Free, with no plan limits or seat counts
- Every product, coding agents included
- Runs on your own AI provider and keys
- Docker Compose on your own servers
Switching and onboarding
HelpinTry Helpin Growth for 14 days with no card and $140 of AI usage. Start with one support address or a real project, invite your team, and give the agents a job. We can help you plan the move around the data and tools you already use.
Chatwoot offers a 15-day Cloud trial and a free Hacker plan for up to two agents, and can import from Intercom and Freshdesk. There’s no Chatwoot importer in Helpin yet; both products have APIs if you need to move records yourself.
Moving from Chatwoot.
Start with part of your support, then move the rest when you’re ready.
Take from Chatwoot
- Contacts and conversations, through the Chatwoot API
- Help center articles
- Saved replies you want to keep
Set up in Helpin
- Chat widget on your site or app
- Support address, forwarded to Helpin
- Help center on your own domain
- Team inboxes, tags and saved replies
- AI agent guidance and approval rules
- 01
Run Helpin alongside Chatwoot
Available nowInstall the widget on a few pages and connect a support address. Move queues over when your team is ready, ideally before your next renewal.
- 02
Rebuild your help center
Available nowRecreate your articles in Helpin Knowledge and publish them on your own domain.
- 03
Import conversations
Not yetThere is no Chatwoot importer yet. Both products have APIs if you need to move records yourself.
Check the features your team depends on.
These specific requirements are worth checking as you plan your move from Chatwoot.
Additional inbox channels.
Chatwoot supports WhatsApp, social messaging, Telegram, LINE, SMS and voice. Helpin supports chat and email.
Deployment packages.
Chatwoot provides Docker, Kubernetes Helm charts and other deployment packages. Helpin documents self-hosting with Docker Compose.
Native mobile clients.
Chatwoot offers iOS and Android apps and mobile widget SDKs. Helpin currently provides web access and web SDKs.
License requirements.
Chatwoot’s core uses MIT with separate paid enterprise features. Helpin uses AGPL-3.0 for its product features, including agents.
Choose what you want to run, not just where it runs.
Helpin includes the agents and the wider workflow when you self-host. Compare the channels, license and deployment setup your team needs.
Choose Helpin if…
- You want AI agents without a separate self-hosted AI license.
- You want planning, coding, review and docs updates connected to support.
- You want CRM, meetings and sales follow-ups in the same workspace.
- You want Cloud pricing per workspace, with unlimited teammates.
Check Chatwoot if…
- You require WhatsApp, social messaging or native mobile support.
- Your deployment or licensing requirements call for Chatwoot’s packages or MIT-licensed core.
FAQs about Helpin vs Chatwoot
Are Helpin and Chatwoot both open source?
Yes. Chatwoot’s core is MIT-licensed with a separate paid enterprise edition. Helpin’s product features are open source under AGPL-3.0.
Which is better for self-hosting?
Choose Helpin if you want support, projects, CRM, docs and AI agents included without a license fee. You run it with Docker Compose and your own AI provider. Chatwoot offers additional deployment packages, but Captain requires a paid self-hosted plan.
Can I use my own AI provider?
Yes, with both. Self-hosted Helpin connects to OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter or an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Chatwoot’s Captain supports your own OpenAI-compatible key on a paid plan.
Does Helpin support WhatsApp?
Not today. Helpin supports web chat and email. If WhatsApp or social channels are essential, Chatwoot covers them.
Can we run Helpin alongside Chatwoot?
Yes. Add the Helpin widget to a few pages or forward one support address, and keep Chatwoot for everything else while your team tries the workflow. Move the rest when you’re ready.
How is AI billed in Helpin?
Every Cloud plan includes a monthly AI usage allowance, measured in tokens at published rates. On an active paid plan you can turn on metered overage if you need more. Self-hosted installs use your own AI provider and pay it directly.
Is there a free trial?
Yes. The 14-day trial runs on the Growth plan, needs no card, and includes $140 of AI usage.
Will you help us switch?
Yes. Book a call and we’ll plan the move with you: what to set up first, how to run both tools side by side, and when to cut over.