# chatwoot vs FreeScout

> Two self-hosted [Zendesk alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/zendesk), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | chatwoot | FreeScout |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 ✓ | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Customer Support | #3 of 9 in Helpdesk |
| GitHub stars | 38 505 ✓ | 4 620 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 383 ✓ | +65 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 18 | 33 ✓ |
| Latest release | v4.19.1 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | 1.8.248 · 17 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Ruby | PHP |

## Which one should you pick?

chatwoot scores 84/100 against 65/100 for FreeScout, so it is the safer default.

FreeScout ships more often: 33 stable releases in the past year, against 18 for chatwoot.

If you want the quickest setup, FreeScout is easier to run; chatwoot needs more configuration.

chatwoot is growing faster right now (+1 383 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [chatwoot](https://selfhost.directory/project/chatwoot) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/chatwoot.md)
- [FreeScout](https://selfhost.directory/project/freescout) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/freescout.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/chatwoot-vs-freescout