A chat that finds buyers, not just answers tickets
Freshchat is Freshworks’ support messaging product: one inbox for web chat, WhatsApp and social, Freddy AI bots in front, priced per agent plus AI sessions. Captiwate starts earlier — it identifies the company and person on your site, then a rep chats, calls or video-calls them live, with AI covering the hours nobody is online and unlimited seats at one price.
Where Captiwate is different
Know who you’re talking to before you say hello
Freshchat is Freshworks’ messaging inbox for support: web chat, WhatsApp, social and SMS in one workspace, with Freddy AI bots in front. Its agent context is “past purchases and open issues” — the visitor has to be a known customer. Captiwate identifies the company and the person on your site while they are still anonymous, so a rep opens the conversation already knowing who is on the pricing page.
Chat, call or video-call — in the same tab
Once a visitor is identified, a Captiwate rep can chat, start a voice call, switch to video or co-browse the page with them, with no download and no calendar link. Freshchat’s pricing page lists chat and messaging channels and a paid Freshcaller voice add-on; live video calls from the website and built-in co-browsing are not listed — co-browsing comes from a third-party marketplace app.
One number, not per agent plus AI sessions
Freshchat bills per agent per month ($19–$79 on annual billing) and meters Freddy AI Agent at $49 per 100 sessions after a one-off 500. Captiwate is priced on monthly visitors — from $15,000/year — with unlimited seats, conversations and AI chat on every plan, so adding reps or letting AI answer at 2 a.m. never changes the bill.
Feature comparison: Captiwate vs Freshchat
Freshchat is a support messaging inbox that also sells itself for lead generation via proactive triggers and bots. Captiwate is a sales floor for your website: it identifies the visitor first, then puts a human on chat, voice or video. The table shows what each vendor lists on its own pages.
| Feature | Captiwate | Freshchat |
|---|---|---|
| Company-level visitor identification | Included | Not listed publicly — shows location and pages, not the company |
| Person-level visitor identification | Where lawful | Not listed publicly |
| Live chat with a human rep | Included | Included |
| Live video calls from the website | Included | Not listed publicly; Freshcaller voice add-on from $39/agent/month |
| Co-browsing | Built in, unlimited | Via third-party marketplace app (UserView by Upscope) |
| AI chat, 24/7 | Included, unlimited | Freddy AI Agent: 500 sessions once, then $49 per 100 |
| Scheduling & click-to-meet | Included | Not listed publicly |
| Real-time Slack / Teams alerts | Slack and Teams | Slack on every plan; Teams not listed |
| HubSpot & Salesforce sync | Two-way, every plan | One-way connector apps on Growth, Pro, Enterprise — $80 per 5,000 tasks |
| WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger & SMS channels | Website-focused | Growth and up |
| Team inbox, ticketing & knowledge base | Not a helpdesk | Team inbox; ticketing and KB via Freshdesk Omni |
| Pricing model | Monthly visitors — unlimited seats | Per agent per month + AI sessions + add-ons |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA | SOC 1/2/3, ISO 27001:2022, ISO 27701, EU-US DPF, CCPA |
| Free trial | No — custom demo on your site | 14-day trial (Enterprise) + free plan up to 10 agents |
| Starting price | $15,000/year (Grow) | Free; paid from $19/agent/month, billed annually |
Swipe sideways to see both columns →
Last verified 2026-09-04 against freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing, the Freshchat product page, Freshchat for sales, trust.freshworks.com and the Freshworks help articles for the HubSpot, Salesforce and Slack apps. “Not listed publicly” means the feature does not appear on those pages — confirm with Freshworks before deciding. Freshchat prices are the annual-billing rates shown on their pricing page. Captiwate details are from our pricing page.
Pricing: per agent plus sessions vs. one number
Freshchat’s bill has three moving parts — agent seats, Freddy AI sessions and add-ons such as Copilot, Freshcaller and CRM connector tasks. It is cheap for a small support team and grows with every agent you add. Captiwate’s bill has one part: your monthly visitor volume. Seats, conversations, AI chat and identified companies are unlimited.
- Grow: $15,000/year, up to 20,000 monthly visitors
- Scale: $30,000/year, 20,000–100,000 monthly visitors
- Unlimited: Custom, 100,000+ monthly visitors
Billed annually. Unlimited seats, conversations, identified companies and co-browsing on every plan.
- Free: $0 — up to 10 agents, web and mobile chat widget, 100 campaign contacts/month
- Growth: $19/agent/month — adds social and text messaging channels; Freddy AI Agent 500 sessions once, then $49 per 100
- Pro: $49/agent/month — multilingual conversations, custom dashboards, IntelliAssign; Freddy AI Copilot add-on $29/agent/month
- Enterprise: $79/agent/month — skill-based routing, audit logs, allowed domains and IP whitelisting
- Freshdesk Omni (ticketing + chat + voice bundle): $29 / $79 / $119 per agent/month
Per agent per month, billed annually, as shown on freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing and freshworks.com/freshdesk/omni/pricing (monthly billing is offered; monthly rates were not displayed on the page). Freddy AI Agent $49 per 100 sessions after the first 500; Freshcaller voice from $39/agent/month; HubSpot and Salesforce connector apps $80 per 5,000 tasks; day passes $2–$12. 14-day free trial on Enterprise. Verified 2026-09-04.
Which one fits your team?
Both are good at their job — they are different jobs. Freshchat is the right pick for a support team, especially one already inside the Freshworks suite. Pick by what you need the website to do.
“One thing that should get any business excited about Captiwate is when there is a call coming from a visitor. A user is calling the website — that is pretty cool, and that is the dopamine hit.”
Frequently asked questions
Can I migrate from Freshchat to Captiwate?
Yes. Captiwate takes care of teams coming from Freshchat financially and during the move. Setup is a single JavaScript snippet; from there you connect HubSpot or Salesforce with two-way sync, point alerts at Slack or Teams and your reps are chatting, calling and video-calling identified visitors the same day. Bring your current Freshchat setup to a 30-minute walkthrough and leave with a plan.
How does Freshchat pricing compare to Captiwate’s?
They are different models. Freshchat is per agent: a free plan for up to 10 agents, then Growth at $19, Pro at $49 and Enterprise at $79 per agent per month on annual billing, with Freddy AI Agent metered at $49 per 100 sessions after a one-off 500, Freddy AI Copilot at $29 per agent/month and CRM connector apps at $80 per 5,000 tasks (as listed on freshworks.com, 2026-09-04). For a five-agent support team that is a few thousand dollars a year — cheaper than Captiwate. Captiwate is annual and priced on monthly visitors: Grow is $15,000/year up to 20,000 visitors, Scale is $30,000/year up to 100,000, Unlimited is custom — with unlimited seats, conversations, AI chat and identified companies included. It pays off when you would otherwise be buying visitor identification, video and AI separately, or adding seats.
Does Captiwate have an AI agent like Freddy?
Yes. AI Chat runs 24/7 on every plan, answers questions, qualifies visitors and hands hot prospects to a live rep — and it is included, not metered per session. Freddy AI Agent is built to resolve support queries across chat, messaging apps and email and to update records or process refunds; Captiwate’s AI is tuned to move a website visitor toward a conversation or a meeting.
Can I keep Freshchat for support and use Captiwate for sales?
Yes, and it is a normal setup. Freshchat (or Freshdesk Omni) keeps handling tickets, WhatsApp and social from customers; Captiwate handles prospects on the website — identification, live chat, video, booking. Captiwate does not claim ticketing, a knowledge base or a shared inbox, so nothing overlaps.
Does Freshchat identify which companies visit my site?
Freshworks’ pages describe visitor context as location, pages viewed and, for known customers, past purchases and open issues. Company-level or person-level identification of anonymous visitors is not listed on the Freshchat pricing, product or sales pages we checked — ask Freshworks directly if you need it there. Captiwate includes company and person-level identification (person-level where lawful) with unlimited identified companies on every plan.
Is there a free trial?
No, a free trial is not available today. We offer a fully customized demo built around your website, so you can see how Captiwate would work on your live site before committing.
Do I need a developer to set up Captiwate?
No. Adding Captiwate is a single JavaScript snippet, similar to Google Analytics. Our team handles the full setup and most customers are live within minutes — no engineering resources required.
Want the numbers first? See pricing →
Switching from Freshchat? Migration included.
We take care of teams coming from Freshchat — financially and during the move. Bring your current setup to a 30-minute walkthrough on your own website and leave with a plan.
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