Customer Support & Live Chat

Open source / self-host

• ★ Chatwoot — open source Intercom alternative; live chat, shared inbox, multi-channel (email, WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram). Free self-host or hosted free tier. The default OSS pick.
• Plain — modern, dev-focused support platform; SDK + API-first; generous free tier; not OSS but high-trust.
• Erxes — open source CRM + support suite.
• FreeScout — open source Help Scout alternative.
• OneHash Chat — open source competitor.

Hosted (free tiers)

• ★ Crisp — generous free tier, polished widget, simple pricing.
• Tawk.to — totally free; ads-supported on free tier (paid removes).
• Tidio — free tier with limits; AI chatbot included.
• HelpScout — paid (no free tier); excellent shared inbox.
• Front — paid; team-shared inbox; powerful.
• Intercom — incumbent; pricey.
• Zendesk — enterprise incumbent; pricey.

Modern alternatives (founder / SaaS focused)

• ★ Plain — fastest-growing dev-focused support platform; SDKs for embedding; great Slack integration.
• Pylon — B2B-focused; Slack-native customer support.
• Pulse — newer modern help desk.

In-app chat widgets

• ★ Chatwoot Widget — open source.
• Crisp Widget — clean defaults.
• Plain Chat SDK — embed in your own UI.
• @stream-io/chat-react — if you'd rather build your own chat from primitives.

AI / autoresponse layer

• Intercom Fin — AI agent (paid).
• Crisp AI Bot — paid add-on.
• Plain AI — included on certain tiers.
• Custom GPT-4 / Claude agent — increasingly common; layer with your help docs as RAG.

Knowledge base / help docs

• ★ Helpkit — turns Notion into a help center; cheap.
• Document360 — paid help-center platform.
• GitBook, Mintlify — also work for help centers.
• HelpScout Docs — bundled with HelpScout.
• Outline — open-source wiki, can serve as help center.
• Or roll your own with Fumadocs / Starlight / VitePress.

Pick this if…

• OSS, self-host, full-featured: Chatwoot.
• Modern dev-focused B2B support: Plain or Pylon.
• Cheapest "just need a widget": Crisp or Tawk.to.
• Notion-backed help center: Helpkit.
• Pure docs as your help center: Fumadocs / Starlight / Mintlify.