# Chatwoot vs Zendesk

| Attribute | Chatwoot | Zendesk |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 66.4 (74% (medium)) | 68.2 (69% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A self-hosted, open-source platform for managing customer conversations across multiple channels with AI-powered automation, giving businesses full control over their data while centralizing support operations in a single inbox. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com","question":"What is Chatwoot?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Chatwoot offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $49 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com/blog/how-to-decide-pricing-plans-for-your-opensource-product","question":"Is Chatwoot free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Chatwoot. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com","question":"What platforms does Chatwoot support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Chatwoot can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com","question":"Can Chatwoot be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 18 integrations for Chatwoot, including Slack, Webhooks, Dialogflow, Rasa, Twilio, WhatsApp Business, Facebook Messenger and Instagram, plus 10 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com","question":"What does Chatwoot integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Chatwoot. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Chatwoot not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com/de/security","question":"What security certifications does Chatwoot have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Chatwoot is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.chatwoot.com/blog/how-to-decide-pricing-plans-for-your-opensource-product","question":"Where is Chatwoot available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A cloud platform that deploys AI agents to handle customer and employee service requests. Agents improve with each interaction, manage high volumes autonomously, and operate across voice and digital channels without requiring technical configuration. It is indexed under Customer Support.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"What is Zendesk?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zendesk offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"Is Zendesk free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Zendesk. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"What platforms does Zendesk support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Zendesk, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com","question":"Can Zendesk be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA for Zendesk. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Zendesk not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.zendesk.com/security","question":"What security certifications does Zendesk have?","confidence":0.7}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Consolidates customer conversations from email, chat, social media, and phone into one dashboard, with AI-powered reply suggestions, automated workflows, and a self-service knowledge base to help teams respond faster. | A cloud platform that deploys AI agents to handle customer and employee service requests. Agents improve with each interaction, manage high volumes autonomously, and operate across voice and digital channels without requiring technical configuration. |
| features.capabilities | `{"hosting":"both","ai_agent":true,"sso_scim":true,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"api_access":true,"omnichannel":true,"sla_routing":true,"shared_inbox":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":true,"automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` | `{"hosting":"cloud","ai_agent":true,"free_tier":true,"live_chat":true,"ticketing":true,"omnichannel":true,"knowledge_base":true,"voice_telephony":true,"deployment_model":"cloud_managed_saas","automation_macros":true,"reporting_dashboards":true}` |
| integrations.count | 18 | 1,800 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Webhooks"},{"name":"Dialogflow"},{"name":"Rasa"},{"name":"Twilio"},{"name":"WhatsApp Business"},{"name":"Facebook Messenger"},{"name":"Instagram"},{"name":"TikTok"},{"name":"Telegram"},{"name":"LINE"},{"name":"X/Twitter"},{"name":"Email (IMAP/SMTP)"},{"name":"WhatsApp","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"SMS","native":true,"category":"messaging","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Email","native":true,"category":"email","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Twitter","native":true,"category":"social","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Shopify","native":true,"category":"ecommerce"},{"name":"Linear","native":true,"category":"crm","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Google Translate","native":true},{"name":"Cloudflare RealtimeKit","native":true,"category":"communication"},{"name":"REST API","native":true,"direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Facebook","category":"social","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"X (Twitter)","native":true,"category":"chat","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Voice","native":true,"category":"communication","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Google NLP","native":false,"category":"ai"}]` | - |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Hacker","summary":"Free, up to 2 agents, 500 conversations/month","features":["Live chat","Voice","Email","WhatsApp","Facebook Messenger","Instagram","TikTok","Telegram","LINE","SMS"],"minSeats":2,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"conversations":"500/month","data_retention":"30 days"}},{"free":false,"name":"Startups","summary":"$19/agent/month","features":["All channels","Captain AI","Automation rules","Teams","SSO/SAML","Audit logs","SLA Management","Knowledge base","Webhooks","API access"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"agent","amount":19,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"captain_ai_credits":"300/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Business","summary":"$39/agent/month, 2-year data retention","features":["All channels","Captain AI","Automation rules","Teams","SSO/SAML","Audit logs","SLA Management","Knowledge base","Custom branding","Webhooks","API access"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"agent","amount":39,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Most popular","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"data_retention":"2 years","captain_ai_credits":"500/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"$99/agent/month, 3-year data retention","features":["All channels","Captain AI","Automation rules","Teams","SSO/SAML","Audit logs","SLA Management","Knowledge base","Custom branding","Webhooks","API access","Dedicated support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"agent","amount":99,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"data_retention":"3 years","captain_ai_credits":"800/month"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Captain AI Credits","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"credit"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From free to $99/agent/month. 15-day free trial. Paid plans include Captain AI credits.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.chatwoot.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T12:40:38.939Z","freeTrialDays":15,"startingPrice":{"unit":"agent","amount":19,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.zendesk.com","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T16:47:54.531Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":19,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active","evidenceUrl":"https://www.chatwoot.com/blog/soc-2-type-ii-compliance"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://www.chatwoot.com/security | - |

## Capabilities (Customer Support)

| Capability | Chatwoot | Zendesk |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Ticket / case management | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Channels** |  |  |
| Live chat | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shared inbox | ✓ | - |
| Omnichannel (email+chat+social+voice) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Voice / telephony | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Self-service** |  |  |
| Self-service knowledge base | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Automation** |  |  |
| SLAs, triggers & routing | ✓ | - |
| Automation / macros | ✓ | ✓ |
| **AI** |  |  |
| AI agent / copilot | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Insight** |  |  |
| Reporting & dashboards | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud only |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SSO / SCIM | ✓ | - |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Public API | ✓ | - |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free tier | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:06:04.861Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*