OpenSupports vs Chatwoot

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureOpenSupportsChatwoot
CategoryHelpdesk & TicketingChat & Communication
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageJavaScriptRuby
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, kubernetes, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 1,038★ 35,596
First released20162019
ReplacesZendesk, FreshdeskIntercom, Zendesk, Drift

Why pick each one

Choose OpenSupports if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in JavaScript
OpenSupports details

Choose Chatwoot if…

  • Polished customer support workflow
  • Active development
Chatwoot details

Frequently asked questions

Is OpenSupports or Chatwoot better?

Neither is universally better. Chatwoot has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are OpenSupports and Chatwoot free and open-source?

Yes. OpenSupports is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Chatwoot under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run OpenSupports and Chatwoot with Docker?

OpenSupports: yes. Chatwoot: yes.

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