Live Chat Software Open Source: Compare Your Options

Chatwoot: for teams that want a shared support inbox with self-hosted chat

Chatwoot suits a support team that wants customer conversations from website, email, social and messaging channels threaded into one queue. A concrete differentiator is its Community Edition option to host it on your own infrastructure. That choice gives a team control over its deployment, but it also means somebody must operate the environment: the stated production starting point is a Linux server with PostgreSQL and Redis, plus S3 or S3-compatible storage for file uploads. Deployment guides cover Docker, Kubernetes and cloud providers.

The operational trade-off is important for a small store. Self-hosting is not just choosing a free license and adding a widget; the team needs to own deployment and ongoing upkeep. Chatwoot lists Captain AI as unavailable in Community Edition. Its self-hosted Premium Support and Enterprise tiers include Captain AI, and the product information describes AI that can answer routine questions and hand off conversations when a person should step in. Before choosing it as a no-cost long-term option, check the Community Edition licensing terms and exact free usage limits.

Tiledesk: for teams combining a chat experience with configurable bots

Tiledesk may suit a store or support team looking for chatbot conversations linked to live agents. Tiledesk offers a chatbot builder, live-agent linking, a unified messaging inbox, ticketing, and conversation flows that can be deployed across channels. It also names integrations with online store builders such as Shopify and Prestashop, and mentions on-premise and cloud deployment.

Those features point to a broader bot-and-messaging workflow, rather than just a small website bubble. The key trade-off is that its license, edition limits, deployment requirements and pricing need checking before you choose. It is not safe to infer that a particular deployment or free plan fits your use case from the feature description alone. Verify those details before committing, especially if you need a specific customer-facing widget setup or a defined self-hosting arrangement.

momo: for teams wanting content-grounded answers and a human inbox

momo is a source-available AI support desk under the PolyForm Internal Use License. It is for store owners and support leads who want an AI front line grounded in their own website content and files, with uncertain questions passed to a team inbox. Its differentiator is the answer workflow: it retrieves passages from the business’s knowledge, drafts an answer and checks it against those sources. When confident, it replies with citations; when it is not confident, it says it is not sure and opens a ticket. A human can take over and save a useful answer as approved knowledge through the Teach step.

Knowledge can come from a website crawl, PDFs, Word files, plain text and Q&A pairs. The hosted service includes a helpdesk inbox on every plan, including Free. That makes it a different choice from selecting a self-hosted chat application: consider whether your priority is operating the software yourself or routing routine questions through an AI-supported inbox.

How to choose by team size, channels and budget

Looking for the best live chat software open source option? Start with the deployment and support workflow you need, then compare the tools below.

Start with the job you need the software to do. If the requirement is a self-hosted customer-support chat platform, check that the tool explicitly supports the visitor-facing chat workflow you need, then check its license and deployment terms. Chatwoot’s information names a website widget and hosting on your own infrastructure for Community Edition. It also lists a production environment with Linux, PostgreSQL and Redis, plus S3-compatible storage for uploads. That can be a fit when someone on your team is ready to own setup and upkeep; it is a real operating responsibility, not simply a line item in a license comparison.

Next, list the channels customers actually use. Website chat, email and social messaging in one queue can be useful for a team that handles several kinds of conversations. Tiledesk describes multichannel bot flows and a unified inbox; Chatwoot describes website, email, social and messaging in one queue. Check that the specific channel and handoff you need are available in the edition you plan to run. Do not assume that a mention of a commerce platform means the tool can look up orders or take store actions.

Then compare the complete cost. A self-hosted option still needs infrastructure and a person responsible for deployment and maintenance. For a managed AI support desk, compare the flat plan fee with the included conversation allowance and team seats. momo’s plans are Free at EUR 0, Starter at EUR 29 per month or EUR 319 per year, Growth at EUR 129 per month or EUR 1,419 per year, and Scale at EUR 399 per month or EUR 4,389 per year. Paid plans include 500, 2,000 and 6,000 AI conversations per month respectively; Free includes 30 one-time conversations. There is no per-resolution fee or credit pack.

Finally, decide what should happen to a question the AI cannot answer. If your team wants to review and own those conversations, make sure a shared inbox and clear handoff are part of the workflow. See the practical trade-offs in this guide to self-hosted live chat, or compare other open-source help desk software options.