Closest to tawk.to
Chatwoot is an omnichannel inbox for live chat, email, WhatsApp, and Instagram with AI replies and a knowledge base. Chaskiq is a customer messaging platform with live chat, email, social channels, and automation.
Alternatives / tawk.to
5 open-source alternatives
5 Best Open Source tawk.to Alternatives in 2026
Looking for an open source tawk.to alternative? We compared 5 open source live chat and helpdesk tools by license, channels, and maintenance. Chatwoot is the closest, Zammad and FreeScout are helpdesks, and Chaskiq and Cossistant are messaging tools with license caveats.
Written by Maxime DERAME
Last updated:
Best tawk.to alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot | Omnichannel inbox with AI replies | MIT + enterprise directory |
| Zammad | Helpdesk with SLAs | AGPL-3.0 |
| FreeScout | Shared-inbox helpdesk, no per-agent fees | AGPL-3.0 |
| Chaskiq | Messaging with automation | AGPL-3.0 + Commons Clause |
| Cossistant | React components for Next.js (non-commercial license) | AGPL-3.0 (non-commercial) |
How we chose these tawk.to alternatives
We looked for open-source tools that handle website live chat and customer conversations like tawk.to. We verified each project's license, recent activity, stars, and self-hosting in its repository. See our methodology for the full criteria.
Helpdesks
Zammad is a helpdesk with automation, SLA tracking, and a knowledge base. FreeScout is a self-hosted email-focused helpdesk with shared inboxes and no per-agent fees.
Developer option
Cossistant is a support platform with React components for Next.js apps, mixing AI and human agents. It is aimed at developers.
Important: licenses
Chatwoot is MIT outside its enterprise directory. Chaskiq is AGPL-3.0 or later with the Commons Clause, and Cossistant is AGPL-3.0 for non-commercial use only. Some directories list Cossistant as GPL-3.0, but its repository says otherwise.
License details
Chatwoot is MIT with an enterprise directory. Zammad and FreeScout are AGPL-3.0. Chaskiq is AGPL-3.0+ with the Commons Clause.
Maintenance status
Chatwoot, Zammad, and FreeScout had commits within days of this update. Chaskiq's last commit was in June 2026.
Why look for a tawk.to alternative?
tawk.to is a free proprietary live chat service that earns money from paid add-ons, such as removing branding and hiring live agents, and stores conversations on its servers. Open-source tools keep conversations on your infrastructure and avoid per-agent pricing, but you run the platform.
chatwoot.com
Chatwoot is an omnichannel support platform that manages conversations across live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and Line, with AI features such as automated responses and copilot suggestions, real-time translation, a knowledge base, a customizable chat widget, and a developer API. The repository is MIT outside its enterprise directory, which is under a separate license.
38.1K9.3KMIT + enterprise directorySelf-hosted
Pricing: Free self-hosted; paid cloud and enterprise features.
- Omnichannel inbox with a customizable live chat widget
- AI assistance, knowledge base, and API
- Very large and active community
- Enterprise features are under a separate license
- Self-hosting needs maintenance
zammad.org
Zammad is an open-source helpdesk that centralizes customer communications with multichannel ticket management, customizable fields and workflows, SLA tracking and auto-assignment, a knowledge base and self-service portal, Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations, analytics, and 2FA and SSO.
6K1.1KAGPL-3.0Self-hosted
Pricing: Free self-hosted; paid hosting and support available.
- Mature multichannel ticketing with SLAs
- Knowledge base, analytics, and SSO
- Scales well
- Chat is secondary to tickets
- More setup than a simple chat widget
freescout.net
FreeScout is a self-hosted email management system with shared inboxes, automation, collaboration, an API, and extensible modules, supporting email and web forms, with unlimited users and a focus on privacy.
4.6K734AGPL-3.0Self-hosted
Pricing: Free self-hosted; paid modules and hosting available.
- Unlimited users on your own server
- Simple shared inbox and automation
- Extensible modules
- Email-centered rather than live chat
- Some modules are paid
chaskiq.io
Chaskiq is an open-source customer communication platform with live chat, email, and social channels, AI-powered chatbots, real-time analytics, customizable chat widgets, shared inboxes and agent assignments, and API and webhook support. It is AGPL-3.0-or-later with the Commons Clause, which prohibits selling the software, and a commercial license is available.
3.6K511AGPL-3.0 + Commons ClauseSelf-hosted
Pricing: Free self-hosted for non-selling use; a commercial license is available.
- Chat, chatbots, and campaigns in one platform
- Real-time analytics and webhooks
- Self-hosting
- Commons Clause makes it source available, not standard open source
- Slower development and a last commit in June 2026
cossistant.com
Cossistant is an AI-native customer support platform that combines AI with human agents, offering production-ready React components built with Tailwind and shadcn/ui, real-time agent conversations, intelligent routing, inbox management, and support widgets that integrate with Next.js and React apps in a few lines of code. It is AGPL-3.0 for non-commercial use and needs a commercial license for commercial use.
73750AGPL-3.0 (non-commercial)Self-hosted
Pricing: Free for non-commercial self-hosting; a commercial license is required for commercial use.
- React and Next.js components that integrate quickly
- AI-native routing with human agents
- Real-time conversations
- Commercial use requires a commercial license
- Young project with a small community
Compare tawk.to alternatives
| Alternative | Type | License | Self-hosted | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chatwoot | Customer support | MIT + enterprise directory | Yes | Closest replacement |
| Zammad | Helpdesk | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Ticketing |
| FreeScout | Helpdesk | AGPL-3.0 | Yes | Email support |
| Chaskiq | Customer messaging | AGPL-3.0+ with Commons Clause | Yes | Marketing and support |
| Cossistant | Support components | AGPL-3.0 (non-commercial) | Yes | Developers |
Which one should you choose?
Want a live chat widget plus other channels
Chatwoot covers live chat, email, WhatsApp, and Instagram with a knowledge base.
Want a ticketing helpdesk
Zammad has automation, SLA tracking, and SSO.
Want unlimited agents on email support
FreeScout has no per-agent fees and keeps data on your servers.