Chatwoot Cloud

Use a managed shared inbox and website widget instead of operating Chatwoot yourself

KINDA · partial replacement
price $19/mo per seatsubscription / year $228estimated build time multi-dayreplaced by 0 people

The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Chatwoot Cloud, use a managed shared inbox and website widget instead of operating Chatwoot yourself. The hard boundary is managed upgrades, backups, delivery infrastructure, support, and integrations, plus channel integrations and support operations.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • managed upgrades, backups, delivery infrastructure, support, and integrations
  • omnichannel integrations
  • large-scale deliverability
  • AI resolution tuning
  • enterprise routing and compliance

Why people still pay

People still pay for Chatwoot Cloud because support software survives because missing or misrouting one customer message is expensive and every channel behaves differently. The recurring cost buys message delivery, webhooks, threading, identity, permissions, attachments, notifications, spam, search, uptime, and retention, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • Runtime and tools: TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with workspace membership enforced on the server.
  • Before starting: A PostgreSQL database, session authentication, two isolated example workspaces and private attachment storage.
01
TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with workspace membership enforced on the server
02
Data design: Store VisitorToken, Conversation, Message, Assignment and PrivateNote; client-generated message IDs deduplicate reconnects, and private notes never enter visitor event streams.
03
Setup: A PostgreSQL database, session authentication, two isolated example workspaces and private attachment storage
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1

Pin the working slice and create its example input: Embed a website support widget, route each visitor conversation into a shared agent inbox and support assignment, private notes and reviewed replies. Confirm setup: A PostgreSQL database, session authentication, two isolated example workspaces and private attachment storage.

2

Phase 2

Implement persistence and write-time invariants before decorating the UI: Store VisitorToken, Conversation, Message, Assignment and PrivateNote; client-generated message IDs deduplicate reconnects, and private notes never enter visitor event streams.

3

Phase 3

Connect the working view to real saved state. Check membership on reads, mutations, attachments and exports. Keep activity history separate from editable current state; do not make private records public through search.

4

Phase 4

Expose the app-specific limits and recovery path in context: Start with website chat only. Use scoped visitor tokens and origin checks; email, social channels, managed delivery and enterprise controls remain separate integrations.

5

Phase 5

Walk through this concrete acceptance case and preserve its exported evidence: Disconnect the widget after sending, reconnect and resend the same ID while two agents reply; show one inbound message and an assignment warning without leaking internal notes. Finish the README and backup/restore instructions; report unfinished capabilities explicitly.

the pro prompt
download AGENTS.md
Build the following focused alternative to Chatwoot Cloud. This is a deliberately limited personal or small-team substitute, not parity with the paid service.

WORKING SLICE
Embed a website support widget, route each visitor conversation into a shared agent inbox and support assignment, private notes and reviewed replies.

SETUP AND ARCHITECTURE
Use TypeScript, React, Node and PostgreSQL with workspace membership enforced on the server. Prerequisites: A PostgreSQL database, session authentication, two isolated example workspaces and private attachment storage. Before integrating anything, record actual versions and permissions, plus model files or provider limits only where used, in the README; make unavailable dependencies visible rather than simulating success.

DOMAIN MODEL AND INVARIANTS
Store VisitorToken, Conversation, Message, Assignment and PrivateNote; client-generated message IDs deduplicate reconnects, and private notes never enter visitor event streams.

IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACT
Check membership on reads, mutations, attachments and exports. Keep activity history separate from editable current state; do not make private records public through search. Provide an input/setup view, the main work view, and a review/export view appropriate to this workflow. Preserve the last saved state if a job or save fails. Include empty, loading, permission-denied, partial and retryable-error states. Log identifiers and error categories without secret values or unnecessary private content.

APP-SPECIFIC BOUNDARY AND RECOVERY
Start with website chat only. Use scoped visitor tokens and origin checks; email, social channels, managed delivery and enterprise controls remain separate integrations.

ACCEPTANCE SCENARIO
Disconnect the widget after sending, reconnect and resend the same ID while two agents reply; show one inbound message and an assignment warning without leaking internal notes. Also reopen the app after an interrupted operation, confirm the saved record/export remains inspectable, and document the recovery action. These are implementation acceptance requirements, not a claim that this guide has been tested.

DELIVERY
Deliver a runnable repository with migrations or project-format versioning, a non-sensitive example, environment/permission setup, the exact manual acceptance steps, and a backup/export-and-restore walkthrough. Implement the working slice before optional integrations; list any deferred paid-product capabilities honestly. Do not add capabilities outside the working slice just to resemble the original product.

PROJECT RULES FOR AGENTS.md
Keep the domain invariants above executable at the write boundary. Propose scope changes before adding providers or permissions. Never fabricate source evidence, publish results, identity matches or successful delivery. Preserve user originals and require an explicit confirmation for destructive changes or external publication.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md

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Alternatives to building your own

ChatwootA proper support inbox with chat, email and a help center; free software, billable server chores.36kaug 2026open source↗HubSpot Free CRMA two-seat shared inbox and live chat bolted to a CRM; free until the limits become colleagues.$0free↗tawk.toLive chat, tickets and a knowledge base for zero dollars; the little badge is how the arithmetic survives.$0free↗

all 5 free alternatives to Chatwoot Cloud →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real

Chatwoot Cloud pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
hacker$0/user$0/userUp to 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live-chat channel only and 30-day data retention
startups—$19/userUnlimited conversations subject to fair use; 300 Captain AI credits/month; 1-year retention; all channels except voiceOnly annual per-agent pricing was published on the live Cloud page.
business—$39/userUnlimited conversations subject to fair use; 500 AI credits/month; voice, teams and automations; 2-year retentionOnly annual per-agent pricing was published on the live Cloud page.
enterprise—$99/userUnlimited conversations subject to fair use; 800 AI credits/month; SSO/SAML and audit logs; 3-year retentionOnly annual per-agent pricing was published on the live Cloud page; video/voice support is available only at 20+ agents.

free tier2 agents; 500 conversations/month; live chat only; 30-day data retention

billingannual only on the published Cloud pricing page; 15-day trial

hidden costsExtra Captain AI credits cost $20 per 1,000 and are non-refundable. 'Unlimited' conversations are governed by fair use; video/voice support on Enterprise requires 20+ agents.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗

Questions about Chatwoot Cloud

Can you build your own Chatwoot Cloud with AI?

Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Chatwoot Cloud, use a managed shared inbox and website widget instead of operating Chatwoot yourself. The hard boundary is managed upgrades, backups, delivery infrastructure, support, and integrations, plus channel integrations and support operations.

What does the Chatwoot Cloud build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Embed a website support widget, route each visitor conversation into a shared agent inbox and support assignment, private notes and reviewed replies. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: managed upgrades, backups, delivery infrastructure, support, and integrations; omnichannel integrations; large-scale deliverability. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the Chatwoot Cloud prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this Chatwoot Cloud project take?

The catalogue estimate is multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing Chatwoot Cloud?

managed upgrades, backups, delivery infrastructure, support, and integrations; omnichannel integrations; large-scale deliverability; AI resolution tuning; enterprise routing and compliance. People still pay for Chatwoot Cloud because support software survives because missing or misrouting one customer message is expensive and every channel behaves differently. The recurring cost buys message delivery, webhooks, threading, identity, permissions, attachments, notifications, spam, search, uptime, and retention, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Startups plan is $19/mo per seat (monthly per agent), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building Chatwoot Cloud?

Chatwoot: A proper support inbox with chat, email and a help center; free software, billable server chores. HubSpot Free CRM: A two-seat shared inbox and live chat bolted to a CRM; free until the limits become colleagues. tawk.to: Live chat, tickets and a knowledge base for zero dollars; the little badge is how the arithmetic survives. Compare all listed options at https://howtovibecodeit.dev/chatwoot-cloud/alternatives. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.

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