Chatwoot vs WhatsApp Now

Chatwoot is an open-source customer support platform that combines an omnichannel inbox with a knowledge base. The inbox brings website chat, email, WhatsApp, social and messaging services, voice, SMS, and API conversations together. Teams can use private notes, assignments, labels, canned replies, mentions, and activity logs to coordinate support. Captain, its built-in AI agent, can answer customer questions, suggest replies, summarize conversations, and draw on help-center content. The customizable knowledge base supports multiple portals, multilingual content, and AI-powered search. APIs, webhooks, and bot connections provide options for custom workflows, and Chatwoot can run in the cloud or on a customer’s own infrastructure. Its free Hacker plan allows up to two agents and 500 conversations per month, with 30-day data retention. Cloud plans start at $19 a month per agent, billed annually. Community Edition is free to self-host but does not include Captain AI, voice calls, or SSO/SAML. Chatwoot states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant.

WhatsApp Now is a WhatsApp Business API platform for marketing, customer engagement, authentication, and support. It says it uses Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform on its Cloud API. Teams can create, schedule, and manage personalized campaigns with audience segmentation and targeting, while a shared inbox supports collaborative handling of conversations. Listed AI chatbot uses include answering FAQs, qualifying leads, handling bookings, and guiding customer journeys around the clock. For authentication, the platform supports OTP templates and automatic SMS fallback. Real-time reporting covers campaign performance, engagement, conversions, response rates, and audience behavior. Users can sync a CRM or connect lead sources when importing audiences and creating campaigns. The listed platforms are Android, iOS, web, and API. API setup requires a verified Facebook Business Manager, a Message Central account, a linked Facebook business account, and a verified phone number. The Pay as you go plan costs nothing and includes a shared inbox, broadcasting, scheduling, unlimited contacts, up to 10 tags, and up to five custom attributes. Enterprise costs ₹4,999 a month, billed monthly, with additional conversation charges.