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vsInvent vs Chatwoot: what free actually costs
Chatwoot is a genuinely good open-source inbox, and running it means servers, upgrades and metered AI credits. Invent is the managed version of that idea, with the agent included, from $29/mo.Cloud, per agent$19/month
Startups is $19 per agent billed annually, Business $39 and Enterprise $99. Ten teammates on Business is $390 a month.
AI credits$20per 1,000
Captain AI ships 300 credits a month on the entry plan and meters everything beyond that. In Invent the agent usage is part of the plan.
Self-hostingYou run it
The community edition is free to download. Postgres, Redis, storage, upgrades, backups and the on-call person are yours.
01Pricing
Chatwoot pricing vs Invent
Chatwoot cloud figures are its published per-agent rates, billed annually. The self-hosted edition has no licence cost.Invent Business$29/monthIncludes $29 of usage. Overage at the same per-message rates, from $0.001.~3,000 Auto messages≈ $32 total
White-label + custom domainIncluded
SSO + audit logsIncluded
Team inbox, CRM, broadcastsIncluded
Free trial7 days
Chatwoot Startups$19/agent/moPer agent, billed annually, with 300 Captain AI credits a month included.Billing unitPer agent seat
AI credits300/mo, then $20/1,000
Billing termAnnual for listed price
Self-host optionYes, free licence
Inbox qualityGood
From chatwoot.com/pricing, cloud plans billed annually, verified Aug 5, 2026.
02Features
Feature comparison
The highlights. The full comparison table lives on the compare page.| Feature | Invent | Chatwoot |
|---|---|---|
| Running it | ||
| Who runs the servers | We do | You, if self-hosted |
| AI agent setup | Built in | Credits and config |
| Ten teammates | $29/mo, unchanged | Ten seats billed |
| What each covers | ||
| Shared team inbox | Included | Included |
| Broadcast campaigns | Included | Not available |
| Full white-label, your branding | Included | Included |
Verified against chatwoot.com pricing and docs, Aug 5, 2026. See the full matrix on the compare page.
03Fine print
The fine print
All from Chatwoot's own pricing page, Aug 5, 2026.The free tier is 2 agentsChatwoot cloud has a free Hacker plan capped at two agents and without Captain AI. It is a fine way to try the inbox and not a plan a support team runs on.
Listed prices are annualThe $19 and $39 per-agent rates are billed annually. Paying monthly costs more, so the comparison price assumes a year committed up front.
AI is metered in creditsPlans include 300 to 800 Captain AI credits a month and additional usage is $20 per 1,000. An agent that handles real volume will consume more than the bundle.
Self-hosting is a real jobThe licence is free; the database, the Redis instance, object storage, version upgrades, backups and the person who gets paged at 2am are not. Teams usually discover this in month three.
Leaving Chatwoot? We move you over, free
Book a free 30-minute call and we migrate your agent for you: knowledge, instructions, channels, branding. You just approve the result.
1Book a 30-minute callShow us your Chatwoot setup. Sources, instructions, integrations.
2We rebuild it hereKnowledge, instructions, channels, and your white-label branding. No charge.
3You flip the switchTest it side by side, go live when you are happy.
Common questions
Is Chatwoot really free?
The self-hosted community edition is free to download and run, and its cloud free plan is capped at 2 agents without AI. Free means no licence fee, not no cost: servers, upgrades and support time are yours.
How much does Chatwoot cloud cost?
Startups is $19 per agent a month billed annually, Business $39 and Enterprise $99, plus $20 per 1,000 extra AI credits. Invent is $29/mo for the workspace with unlimited teammates.
Does Chatwoot include an AI agent?
Yes, Captain AI, metered in credits with a monthly allowance per plan. Beyond the allowance you buy more credits, and on self-hosted setups you supply your own model keys.
Which is better, Invent or Chatwoot?
Chatwoot is the right answer if you want to own the code, keep data on your own servers and have the team to run it. Invent is the right answer if you want the same inbox with an AI agent, broadcasts and WhatsApp working today, without operating anything.
How do I migrate from Chatwoot?
Book a short migration call. We import your contacts and conversations, connect your channels and rebuild your automations as agent instructions, then you switch when it looks right.
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