What does AI customer service cost for an SME?
Compare the cost of a support agent with what Sarrai costs, from €149 a month or about €0.30 a conversation. We do the math transparently.
Read moreSarrai vs Chatwoot: which one fits your team?
Both let an AI answer questions from a knowledge base and hand off to a human when needed. The difference is in who it's for, where your data lives and how you pay.
The same engine, a different audience
Under the hood, Sarrai and Chatwoot look alike. Both give answers based on a knowledge base and hand off to a colleague as soon as that's the better option. Chatwoot serves your customers through a single omnichannel support inbox. Sarrai serves your own team first and makes the knowledge of your best people available to everyone, with external customer chat as an option on top.
In short
Chatwoot
Chatwoot is an omnichannel support inbox for customer communication, open source and priced per user.
- Focus
- Customer support through a single omnichannel inbox
- Price
- Per user per month plus credits for AI
- Data
- AWS in the United States (EU only via self-host)
Sarrai
Sarrai makes your team's knowledge available internally, with external customer chat as an option and AI in every plan.
- Focus
- Internal knowledge for your team, customer chat optional
- Price
- Fixed monthly price on conversation volume, no seat cost
- Data
- In the EU, guaranteed on every plan
Sarrai and Chatwoot side by side
An honest comparison on the points that matter to most SMEs and municipalities.
Criterion
Chatwoot
Sarrai
What it's built for
Customer support through a single omnichannel inbox.
Internal knowledge for your team, with customer chat as an option.
How you pay
Per user per month, plus credits for AI.
Fixed monthly price on conversation volume.
AI included
Captain AI on credits, with extra charges above your bundle.
Yes, in every plan.
Getting started
Free Hacker for 2 users, or $19 per user.
€149 per month for 500 conversations, first 30 days free.
Number of users
Every extra colleague costs more.
Unlimited, no cost per person.
Number of conversations
Unlimited on paid plans (with fair use), 500 per month on free.
Per plan, from 500 to 10,000 and beyond.
Where your data lives
On AWS in the United States.
In the EU, guaranteed on every plan.
GDPR
Europe only if you host it yourself.
By default, everything stays in Europe.
Open source
Yes, the core under the MIT license.
No, fully managed for you.
Self-hosting
Possible. You provide Linux, PostgreSQL and Redis.
Not needed.
A knowledge base that grows with you
Captain spots missing answers, though somewhat more limited.
Sarrai writes draft articles from the gaps it notices.
Language & market
English first, team spread across the US and India.
Dutch from the start, a Belgian company.
Setup cost
None in the cloud; your own infrastructure and maintenance when self-hosting.
None.
The pricing models and rates listed for Chatwoot were checked in June 2026 and may have changed since. For current rates, always check chatwoot.com.
Lots of people, or lots of conversations?
That's where the biggest difference in the bill sits. I don't claim Sarrai is always cheaper, because that depends on your situation. Choose for yourself based on your team.
Chatwoot: per user
The cost rises with the size of your team.
- You pay per user, so every extra colleague who joins in pushes the bill up.
- A team of twenty on the Business plan quickly tops $780 per month, before you count the credits for Captain AI.
Sarrai: per conversation
The cost follows your conversation volume, not your team size.
- You pay for the number of conversations we handle, regardless of how many colleagues join in.
- That same team of twenty stays at €349 as long as the volume fits.
Got a large team with a limited number of questions? Then Sarrai is the better value for you. Got a small team handling a great many conversations? Then Chatwoot may be more attractive. Work out your own scenario with our price comparison tool.
Starter
€149 /mo
Growth
€349 /mo
Most popular
Pro
€699 /mo
Enterprise
Custom
Go over your limit and everything keeps working. You get a notification at 70, 90 and 100 percent and then choose for yourself: a bundle of €30 per 100 extra conversations, or pause until next month.
Your data stays in Europe
For a Flemish SME or a municipality, this is often decisive. Sarrai runs entirely in the EU, on every plan, and is built to comply with GDPR. Chatwoot Cloud runs on AWS in the United States.
EU on every plan
Your data is guaranteed to stay in the EU, whichever plan you choose. No exceptions, no fine print.
GDPR-native
Everything stays in Europe and is built to comply with GDPR. With Chatwoot you only get EU residency if you host it yourself.
No self-host needed
If you want to keep your data in Europe with Chatwoot, you host the software yourself: a Linux server with PostgreSQL and Redis, plus the maintenance. With Sarrai there's no need.
Which one do you choose?
Let's be honest: Chatwoot is a strong product. These are the situations where each is genuinely the right fit.
Choose Chatwoot if…
You want to self-host and invest in open source
- You have a technical team that wants to host everything itself with full control over the data.
- You want open source software where you aren't locked into a single vendor, and you're happy to invest in running it.
- Your budget is zero and your usage fits within the free Hacker plan.
- You're looking first and foremost for an omnichannel inbox for customer support.
Choose Sarrai if…
You want to make your team's knowledge available, without the hassle
- You want to capture the knowledge of your best people and make it available to your whole team, with customer chat as an option.
- You want a predictable monthly price without a seat cost or metered AI credits.
- You want your data guaranteed to stay in the EU, on every plan, without having to host it yourself.
- You're a Dutch-speaking SME or municipality and want a Belgian point of contact.
Sarrai vs Chatwoot: FAQ
Is Sarrai more expensive than Chatwoot?
It depends on your situation. Sarrai charges on conversation volume, with no cost per user or per resolved question, so with a larger team the bill often works out lower. With a small team handling a great many conversations, Chatwoot can be the better value. Our price comparison tool works it out exactly for you.
Isn't Chatwoot free?
The community edition you host yourself is free. It does require technical know-how (a Linux server with PostgreSQL and Redis) and doesn't include Captain AI. Sarrai is fully managed, with the AI included in every plan.
Where does my data live?
With Sarrai your data lives in the EU, on every plan. Chatwoot Cloud runs on AWS in the United States. If you do want to keep your data in Europe with Chatwoot, you host the software yourself.
Can Sarrai answer customer questions too?
Yes. External customer chat is part of every plan. Sarrai started with internal knowledge for your team and today works in both directions, internally and out to your customers.
Try it yourself, 30 days free.
No setup cost and you can cancel any month. You'll see within a week how much time your team saves.
