Chatwoot vs Spacebar

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted chat & communication options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureChatwootSpacebar
CategoryChat & CommunicationChat & Communication
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageRubyTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metaldocker, source
GitHub stars★ 35,596★ 2,189
First released20192021
ReplacesIntercom, Zendesk, DriftDiscord

Why pick each one

Choose Chatwoot if…

  • Polished customer support workflow
  • Active development
Chatwoot details

Choose Spacebar if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in TypeScript
Spacebar details

Frequently asked questions

Is Chatwoot or Spacebar better?

Chatwoot is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Spacebar if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Chatwoot and Spacebar free and open-source?

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

Can I run Chatwoot and Spacebar with Docker?

Chatwoot: yes. Spacebar: yes.

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