ChatWhale vs Loyalty Interchange Protocol
ChatWhale
chatwhale.comLoyalty Interchange Protocol
github.comSide by side
| Figure | ChatWhale | Loyalty Interchange Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $29/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Loyalty Program Software | 9.0 (#2) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Product | ChatWhale gamifies customer engagement with chatbots and loyalty rewards through Facebook Pages and Messenger. | LIP is an open-source loyalty platform and vendor-neutral transaction protocol for restaurant technology teams. |
| Self-hosting | The maker's terms refer to ChatWhale hosting platform and hosted service space, and do not describe a self-hosting option. | The maker offers an Apache-2.0 reference stack that can be started with Docker or Node.js 22 and newer. |
| Support | The terms say technical support is available only by email at [email protected]. | The repository directs users to its support guidance and asks security vulnerability reports to be sent privately to maintainers. |
Plans
Loyalty Interchange Protocol
- Loyalty Interchange ProtocolFree
In their own words
ChatWhale
ChatWhale is a web platform for customer engagement through Facebook Pages and Messenger, combining chatbots with loyalty rewards. Its scratchcard offers are intended to encourage repeat visits and spending. Chatbots can create, send, and track campaigns automatically. Messaging tools include broadcasts, customer groups, one-to-one conversations with history and profiles, and automated welcome and engagement messages. Businesses can attract subscribers through website widgets, Facebook Page comments, and Facebook Ads. The dashboard shows promotion performance, customer types and trends, and subscriber analytics over selected date periods. The site lists notifications for desktop browsers, mobile apps, watches, and Facebook red dots. ChatWhale has a free plan. Everything You Need costs $29 a month and includes up to 500 subscribers and three Facebook Pages; Rapid Growth costs $99 a month and includes up to 10,000 subscribers and unlimited Facebook Pages. Both list no ChatWhale branding. The product depends on Facebook Pages and the Messenger app. Its terms say support is by email only and that service content may be transferred unencrypted.
Loyalty Interchange Protocol
Loyalty Interchange Protocol (LIP) is an open-source loyalty platform and vendor-neutral transaction protocol for restaurant technology teams that own integration work. Its checkout lifecycle includes member lookup and enrollment, balances and ledger history, order evaluation, accrual, redemption, reversal, and refund-safe adjustments. Its restaurant order model represents items, modifiers, discounts, fees, taxes, tips, tenders, and totals across channels such as drive-thru, kiosk, web, mobile, pickup, delivery, and catering. Supported program types include points, visits or stamps, wallet credit, paid membership, and hybrid multi-account programs.
The `/platform/v1` API covers profiles, consent, behavioral events, segments, campaigns, connectors, imports, analytics, and attribution. The maker provides an Apache-2.0 reference stack for self-hosting with Docker Compose or Node.js 22 and newer. Storage described includes SQLite-backed local storage and tenant-scoped PostgreSQL for multi-instance use. Customer sign-in remains external. LIP 0.2.0 is described as pre-1.0 infrastructure, not a turnkey no-code marketing service; CSV member imports are limited to 1 MiB and 1,000 rows.