Connect WhatsApp, Instagram & Website Chat to One Inbox for Free

Here's a familiar scenario: A customer messages you on WhatsApp asking about your product. Another one DMs you on Instagram. A third uses the chat widget on your website. By the time you check each platform, two of them have already moved to a competitor.

This is the scattered inbox problem, and it kills small businesses. You lose leads, response times shoot up, and customers feel ignored.

The solution? A single shared inbox that pulls all your customer conversations — WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and your website chat — into one screen. No more switching tabs. No more missed messages.

Tools like Intercom ($39/seat/month) and Zendesk ($55/seat/month) solve this, but they're expensive for small teams. Chatwoot does the same thing — for free.

What Is Chatwoot?

Chatwoot is an open-source customer support platform that brings all your customer conversations into one shared inbox. It's like Intercom or Zendesk, but:

• Free and open source (MIT license) — no per-seat pricing
• Self-hosted — your customer data stays on your server
• Omnichannel — WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email, website chat, Telegram, and more
• Team collaboration — multiple agents, canned responses, conversation labels
• Auto-replies and bots — set up automated responses and AI agent integration

What You'll Need

• A VPS (Virtual Private Server) with at least 4 GB RAM — we recommend a $10-20/month VPS from Hostinger, DigitalOcean, or AWS Lightsail
• A domain name (e.g., chat.yourbusiness.com)
• About 30-45 minutes of setup time
• No coding skills required — just copy-paste commands

Step 1: Set Up Chatwoot on Your Server

Log into your VPS via SSH and run these commands:

Install Docker

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
apt install docker-compose-plugin

Download Chatwoot Configuration Files

mkdir -p /opt/chatwoot
cd /opt/chatwoot
wget -O .env https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatwoot/chatwoot/develop/.env.example
wget -O docker-compose.yaml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/chatwoot/chatwoot/develop/docker-compose.production.yaml

Configure Environment Variables

nano .env

Update these key values:

• SECRET_KEY_BASE — generate one with openssl rand -hex 64
• POSTGRES_PASSWORD — set a strong password
• REDIS_PASSWORD — set a strong password
• FRONTEND_URL — set to https://chat.yourbusiness.com

Also update the same passwords in docker-compose.yaml to match.

Initialize the Database and Start

docker compose run --rm rails bundle exec rails db:chatwoot_prepare
docker compose up -d

Chatwoot is now running on port 3000. Verify with:

curl -I localhost:3000/api

Set Up Nginx and SSL

apt-get install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# Create Nginx config
cat > /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/chat.yourbusiness.com.conf << 'EOF'
server {
  server_name chat.yourbusiness.com;
  set $upstream 127.0.0.1:3000;
  underscores_in_headers on;
  location /.well-known {
    alias /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known;
  }
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://$upstream;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_buffering off;
    client_max_body_size 0;
    proxy_read_timeout 36000s;
  }
  listen 80;
}
EOF

mkdir -p /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/.well-known
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx
certbot --webroot -w /var/www/ssl-proof/chatwoot/ -d chat.yourbusiness.com -i nginx

Visit https://chat.yourbusiness.com and create your admin account. You're now running Chatwoot.

Step 2: Connect WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging channel for businesses. Here's how to connect it:

1. Go to Settings → Inbox → Add Inbox in your Chatwoot dashboard
2. Select WhatsApp as the channel
3. Choose WhatsApp Cloud API (Meta's official API — easier to set up)
4. Go to Meta for Developers and create a new app
5. Add the WhatsApp product to your app
6. Copy your Phone Number ID and Access Token from Meta
7. Paste them into Chatwoot's WhatsApp configuration screen
8. Verify your WhatsApp Business number

Once connected, all WhatsApp messages from customers will appear in your Chatwoot shared inbox. You and your team can reply from a single screen.

Step 3: Connect Instagram

1. Go to Settings → Inbox → Add Inbox
2. Select Instagram as the channel
3. Authorize your Instagram Business account via Facebook Login
4. Select the Instagram account you want to connect
5. Configure auto-reply messages (optional)

Now, all Instagram DMs will appear in your Chatwoot inbox alongside WhatsApp messages. Your team can respond from the same screen.

Step 4: Connect Facebook Messenger

1. Go to Settings → Inbox → Add Inbox
2. Select Facebook as the channel
3. Authorize with your Facebook account
4. Select the Facebook Page you want to connect
5. Configure welcome message (optional)

Step 5: Add a Website Chat Widget

1. Go to Settings → Inbox → Add Inbox
2. Select Website as the channel
3. Fill in your website name and domain
4. Choose widget color and position
5. Copy the generated JavaScript snippet
6. Paste it into your website's HTML (before the closing </body> tag)

<script>
  window.chatwootSettings = { position: "right", type: "standard" };
  (function(d,t) {
    var BASE_URL = "https://chat.yourbusiness.com";
    var g = d.createElement(t), s = d.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];
    g.src = BASE_URL + "/packs/js/sdk.js";
    s.parentNode.insertBefore(g, s);
    g.onload = function() {
      window.chatwootSDK.run({ websiteToken: "YOUR_TOKEN", baseUrl: BASE_URL });
    };
  })(document, "script");
</script>

A floating chat bubble now appears on your website. Messages go straight to your Chatwoot inbox.

Step 6: Set Up Auto-Replies (Optional but Recommended)

Chatwoot lets you set up canned responses and automation rules so customers get instant replies even when you're sleeping:

1. Go to Settings → Canned Responses and create templates for common questions
2. Go to Settings → Automation Rules to set up auto-replies based on keywords
3. For advanced automation, connect an AI agent using Chatwoot's Agent Bot API

What This Gives You

• All customer messages — WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, website chat — in one inbox
• Multiple team members can respond from the same screen
• Auto-replies for when you're offline
• Conversation labels and assignment to specific agents
• Analytics dashboard showing response times and resolution rates
• Zero per-seat costs — add as many agents as you want
• Your customer data stays on your server — no third-party access

Cost Comparison

A 5-agent team saves $150-250 every month by self-hosting Chatwoot instead of paying for Intercom or Zendesk.

Too Complex? We Can Set This Up for You

If the technical setup feels overwhelming, we can do it for you. We'll:

• Install and configure Chatwoot on your server
• Connect WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and your website chat
• Set up SSL, auto-replies, and team workflows
• Train your team on how to use it

One-time setup: $299 | Monthly managed: $99/month (we handle updates, backups, and troubleshooting)

Get started — book a free consultation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chatwoot really free?

Yes. Chatwoot is open-source under the MIT license. The software itself is free. You only pay for the VPS hosting ($10-20/month) and any WhatsApp API usage fees from Meta.

Do I need coding skills to set this up?

No. The setup involves copy-pasting commands into your server terminal. If you can follow a recipe, you can set up Chatwoot. The commands above are all you need.

Can I use Chatwoot for multiple businesses?

Yes. Chatwoot supports multiple accounts. You can create separate inboxes for different businesses or brands, each with their own channels and agents.

Is WhatsApp Business API free?

Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API includes 1,000 free service conversations per month. After that, pricing ranges from $0.005 to $0.07 per conversation depending on the country. You pay Meta directly — Chatwoot doesn't add any fees.

Can I connect an AI chatbot to Chatwoot?

Yes. Chatwoot has an Agent Bot API that lets you connect AI agents (like OpenAI GPT, Claude, or custom models) to automatically handle conversations. The bot can answer FAQs, collect information, and hand off to human agents when needed.

What happens if my server goes down?

If your VPS goes down, Chatwoot stops working temporarily. Messages sent during downtime may be queued by Meta and delivered when your server comes back online. We recommend using a reliable VPS provider with 99.9%+ uptime.

Can I migrate from Intercom or Zendesk to Chatwoot?

Yes, but there's no one-click migration tool. You'll typically export your contacts from Intercom/Zendesk and import them into Chatwoot. Conversation history migration requires custom scripting via Chatwoot's import API.

How many agents can I add?

Unlimited. Unlike Intercom and Zendesk which charge per seat, Chatwoot is self-hosted and has no per-seat limits. Add as many agents as your server can handle.