Chatdirect

What is ChatDirect

ChatDirect is a customer messaging and conversational platform that consolidates website chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and social messaging into a single workspace for agents and developers. The platform is built to support both customer support and conversational commerce workflows, offering routing, automation, templated replies, and reporting. Organizations use ChatDirect to reduce channel switching, speed response times, and provide contextual, persistent conversations across channels.

ChatDirect aims to serve small and mid-market support teams, product-led startups that require deep integration with product telemetry, and engineering teams that need a programmable messaging layer. It provides both a no-code admin console for business users and a rich REST API and SDKs so developers can embed chat features into web and mobile applications.

The product emphasizes three core areas: unified messaging, automation and bots, and developer extensibility. Unified messaging brings live chat, SMS and major messaging platforms into one inbox with message threading and customer history. Automation allows routing rules, autoresponders, and bot handoffs. Developer extensibility provides webhooks, REST endpoints, and client libraries to connect conversational data to backend systems and CRMs.

ChatDirect features

What does ChatDirect do?

ChatDirect delivers an integrated messaging stack that includes live website chat widgets, SMS gateways, WhatsApp Business integration, and social messaging connectors. It centralizes incoming messages into a shared inbox where agents can collaborate, assign conversations, and use canned responses. The platform supports typing indicators, read receipts, customer context cards, and persistent conversation history across channels.

Automation features include rule-based routing, SLA-based escalation, scheduled messages, and hybrid bot workflows where automated flows handle common intents and escalate to human agents when needed. ChatDirect also supports message templates for transactional notifications and marketing campaigns with variable substitution and compliance controls.

On the developer side, ChatDirect exposes a comprehensive REST API, real-time webhooks, and client SDKs for web and mobile. Developers can programmatically create conversations, send messages, attach files, and pull detailed conversation analytics. The platform supports OAuth for integrations, API keys for server-side access, and role-based permissions to restrict API operations.

ChatDirect provides reporting and analytics dashboards that track response times, agent productivity, conversation volume by channel, bot deflection rates, and campaign performance. Administrators can export reports to CSV, schedule recurring reports, and connect to BI tools using the API or database connectors.

Additional feature highlights:

• Omnichannel inbox: Consolidates web chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and social messaging
• Automation and bots: Rule-based routing, autoresponders, and bot-to-human handoff
• Developer tools: REST API, webhooks, and SDKs for embedding chat in apps
• Security controls: SSO, role-based access, data encryption, and audit logs
• Reporting and analytics: SLA monitoring, agent metrics, and exportable dashboards

ChatDirect pricing

ChatDirect offers these pricing plans:

• Free Plan: $0/month — limited to 1 agent, 500 monthly messages, basic chat widget, community support
• Starter: $29/month per agent (billed monthly) or $24/month per agent (billed annually; $288/year) — multichannel routing, canned responses, basic automation, email support
• Professional: $79/month per agent (billed monthly) or $59/month per agent (billed annually; $708/year) — advanced routing, bots, SLA reporting, integrations
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with volume discounts; plans commonly start around $499/month for a base seat bundle and scale with usage — SSO, dedicated onboarding, compliance options

The plans above reflect common tiers and per-agent pricing that organizations pay for access to omnichannel messaging, automation, and advanced integrations. Add-ons such as additional phone numbers, premium bot workflows, or dedicated IPs are typically billed separately.

Check ChatDirect's current pricing on the platform's pricing page for the latest rates, volume discounts, and enterprise options.

How much is ChatDirect per month

ChatDirect starts at $0/month for the Free Plan. For paid usage the lowest recurring per-agent cost listed is $24/month when billed annually for the Starter plan; month-to-month billing increases per-agent costs to $29/month.

Monthly costs increase with required features—bots, additional channels, and SLA reporting are included in higher tiers such as the Professional plan at $79/month per agent when billed monthly or $59/month per agent billed annually.

How much is ChatDirect per year

ChatDirect costs $288/year per agent for the Starter plan when billed annually at $24/month per agent. The Professional plan annually is $708/year per agent when billed at $59/month per agent, and Enterprise contracts are quoted annually based on usage and SLAs.

Annual billing typically reduces per-agent rates and may include additional support or onboarding credits in larger contracts.

How much is ChatDirect in general

ChatDirect pricing ranges from $0 (free) to $499+/month. Small teams often use the Free or Starter tier, while growth-stage and enterprise customers select Professional or Enterprise tiers that include bots, advanced reporting, and custom integrations.

Total cost of ownership depends on agent count, message volume (SMS and WhatsApp costs are often usage-based), number of phone numbers, and additional compliance or security add-ons. Budget for integration and implementation time when projecting first-year costs.

What is ChatDirect used for

ChatDirect is used for customer support, sales qualification, and automated transactional messaging across channels. Support teams use it as a shared inbox for handling incoming customer requests from web chat, SMS, and social platforms without toggling between vendor-specific tools. It helps keep customer histories intact and searchable, improving first response and resolution times.

Sales and growth teams use ChatDirect for conversational lead capture and qualification. The platform can run pre-chat forms, trigger messages based on user behavior, and route qualified leads to sales reps with prefilled context. When integrated with CRMs, ChatDirect can automatically create or update contact records and open opportunities.

Product teams and engineers use ChatDirect’s SDKs to embed in-app messaging, enabling contextual conversations tied to user sessions or events. This is useful for real-time troubleshooting, onboarding guidance, and collecting feedback without disrupting the product flow. The API allows correlating chat transcripts with product logs for faster issue resolution.

Marketing teams use ChatDirect for permission-based messaging and campaign-driven outreach, such as appointment reminders or re-engagement sequences, while maintaining compliance with regional messaging regulations. The platform’s templating and scheduling features support targeted, automated communications.

Pros and cons of ChatDirect

Pros:

• Centralized omnichannel inbox reduces agent context switching and improves response times. It unifies web chat, SMS, and social messaging into one timeline per customer.
• Developer-first APIs and SDKs make it straightforward to embed chat into applications, fetch analytics, and automate workflows with webhooks and server-side integrations.
• Built-in automation and hybrid bot support offloads routine queries and scales initial response capacity while allowing human handoff.
• Role-based access controls, SSO, and audit logs support enterprise security and compliance needs.

Cons:

• Per-agent pricing and usage-based costs for channels like SMS or WhatsApp can increase total costs for high-volume teams; budgeting message volume is critical.
• Organizations that require deep, native integrations with specific CRMs may need development work to match built-in integrations from legacy vendors.
• Advanced bot flows and custom integrations typically require developer resources; non-technical teams may need vendor professional services for complex setups.
• Smaller teams may find some enterprise features unnecessary; the product's depth can increase onboarding time.

ChatDirect free trial

ChatDirect offers a fully functional trial of core features on the Starter plan for a limited time so teams can validate channels, automations, and developer integrations with real traffic. The trial typically includes sample SMS credits and temporary access to WhatsApp sandbox numbers for testing conversational flows.

During the trial, teams can test the chat widget, connect a test phone number, and exercise the REST API and webhooks to verify event flows and data synchronization. Support for trial users often includes onboarding guides and limited live assistance to accelerate evaluation.

Trials are designed to let both business users and developers confirm that routing, SLA rules, and bot handoffs work as expected before committing to a paid plan. Contact the sales team for extended enterprise trials and proof-of-concept arrangements.

Is ChatDirect free

Yes, ChatDirect offers a Free Plan that allows basic use of the chat widget and a limited message quota. The Free Plan is intended for single-agent usage or initial testing and includes core messaging features with restrictions on advanced automation, integrations, and reporting.

Organizations that need multichannel capacity, automation, or higher message volumes should evaluate the Starter or Professional plans.

ChatDirect API

ChatDirect provides a RESTful API for programmatic access to conversations, messages, user profiles, and analytics. API endpoints allow creating conversations, sending messages across channels (web, SMS, WhatsApp), uploading attachments, and querying conversation history. The API supports pagination, filtering by channel or agent, and event retrieval for analytics.

Real-time webhooks notify external systems about events such as message received, message delivered, conversation assigned, or agent status updates. Webhooks are configurable per workspace and can deliver payloads to secure endpoints with retry logic and signature verification for integrity.

SDKs for JavaScript, iOS, and Android accelerate embedding chat experiences. The client SDKs handle presence signaling, message rendering, attachment uploads, and reconnection logic. For server-to-server interactions the platform supports API keys and OAuth flows; role-based permissions ensure least-privilege access.

ChatDirect also provides integration guides and sample code for common workflows: syncing chat contacts to CRMs, logging transcripts to customer records, and triggering backend processes based on conversational intents. Developers can use the API to pull metrics for BI tools or automate bulk message campaigns with per-message cost controls.

Check ChatDirect's developer documentation for API reference and sample projects on the platform's developer documentation.

10 ChatDirect alternatives

• Intercom — Conversational support, product tours, and a large set of integrations; strong in-app messaging and product-led growth workflows.
• Drift — Focused on conversational marketing and sales chat with bot flows and account-based playbooks.
• Zendesk — Comprehensive support platform with ticketing, chat, and knowledge base capabilities for larger support organizations.
• Freshdesk — Ticketing-based helpdesk with multichannel messaging and automation at an approachable price point.
• HubSpot — CRM-centric live chat with marketing automation and deep CRM tie-ins; strong for sales-led workflows.
• Gist — All-in-one messaging and email automation for small teams seeking an integrated growth stack.
• LiveChat — Robust live chat solution with many channel integrations and a focus on agent productivity.
• Tawk.to — Free live chat software with paid add-ons; popular with small businesses and cost-sensitive teams.
• Rocket.Chat — Open source team chat and messaging platform that can be self-hosted and extended.
• Mattermost — Open source messaging platform for internal team communication with strong security and self-hosting options.

Paid alternatives to ChatDirect

• Intercom: Offers conversational support, product messaging, and a marketplace of apps; pricing tends to be higher for growth teams but integrates deeply with product analytics.
• Drift: Designed for revenue teams with chatbots optimized for lead qualification and routing to sales reps.
• Zendesk: Enterprise-grade ticketing and messaging with a mature ecosystem; suitable for large support organizations.
• Freshdesk: Cost-effective helpdesk with multichannel messaging and automation suited to SMBs.
• HubSpot: Chat integrated tightly with CRM and marketing automation, making it a good fit where lead capture and lifecycle management are central.
• LiveChat: Focuses on optimizing agent workflows and customer engagement with a straightforward pricing model.

Open source alternatives to ChatDirect

• Rocket.Chat: Self-hosted chat platform that supports channels, direct messages, and can be extended to handle external customer messaging with additional connectors.
• Mattermost: Team messaging with an emphasis on security and compliance; can be used to build custom conversational systems in-house.
• Chatwoot: Open source customer engagement platform offering shared inbox and multichannel messaging that can be self-hosted or used as a managed service.
• Botpress: Open source conversational AI platform focused on building and deploying chatbots that can integrate with messaging channels.

Frequently asked questions about ChatDirect

What is ChatDirect used for?

ChatDirect is used for omnichannel customer messaging and support. Teams use it to consolidate web chat, SMS, and social messages into a single inbox, route conversations to agents, automate common responses with bots, and embed conversational experiences into web and mobile apps.

Does ChatDirect integrate with CRMs like Salesforce?

Yes, ChatDirect supports CRM integrations. The platform includes prebuilt connectors and a REST API that lets you sync contacts, create leads, and push conversation transcripts into systems like Salesforce or HubSpot.

How much does ChatDirect cost per user?

ChatDirect starts at $24/month per agent when billed annually for the Starter plan; month-to-month pricing begins at $29/month per agent. Higher tiers like Professional increase per-agent costs and add bots and advanced analytics.

Is there a free version of ChatDirect?

Yes, ChatDirect offers a Free Plan with a limited message quota and single-agent usage to test basic chat and messaging features. Upgrading unlocks multichannel capacity and automation.

Can ChatDirect be used for SMS and WhatsApp messaging?

Yes, ChatDirect supports SMS and WhatsApp integrations. The platform provisions numbers or connects to your provider, handles templated messages, and tracks delivery and read receipts where supported.

Does ChatDirect provide an API for developers?

Yes, ChatDirect provides a full REST API and webhooks. Developers can create conversations, send messages, manage attachments, and subscribe to real-time events for tight backend integration.

Can ChatDirect run bots for initial routing?

Yes, ChatDirect supports hybrid bot workflows. Bots can handle common intents, collect context with forms, and escalate to human agents when necessary, preserving conversation history.

How secure is ChatDirect?

ChatDirect implements enterprise security controls. The platform supports SSO, role-based permissions, data encryption in transit and at rest, and audit logging; enterprise contracts can include SOC 2 and compliance add-ons.

Can I embed ChatDirect in a mobile app?

Yes, ChatDirect offers SDKs for mobile and web embedding. Client SDKs manage connection, message rendering, attachments, and offline behavior so you can deliver contextual in-app conversations.

What support does ChatDirect offer for onboarding?

ChatDirect provides tiered onboarding and support. Self-serve documentation and community support are available for the Free Plan, while paid tiers include onboarding guides, email support, and dedicated onboarding or customer success for Enterprise customers.

chatdirect careers

ChatDirect hires across engineering, product, customer success, and sales. Engineering roles commonly focus on backend systems (messaging queues, real-time delivery), SDKs, and integrations. Product roles work on UX for the agent inbox, analytics dashboards, and automation builders.

Positions and openings are typically posted on the company's careers page and on major job boards. Enterprise hiring emphasizes experience with real-time systems, API design, and security-compliant deployments.

chatdirect affiliate

ChatDirect runs an affiliate and referral program that rewards partners for new customer introductions and successful referrals. Affiliates receive tracking links, promotional assets, and commission schedules that vary by campaign.

Partner tiers may include benefits such as discounted seats, lead sharing, co-marketing credits, and early access to new features for referral partners that drive consistent volume.

Where to find chatdirect reviews

Independent user reviews for ChatDirect are available on review sites and software directories, where evaluators commonly assess channel coverage, API quality, and pricing transparency. For product-specific experiences and case studies, review aggregated customer feedback and read the vendor's case studies on the official website.

You can compare customer ratings and feature feedback on industry comparison pages or read in-depth user experiences on community forums. For enterprise buyers, request references from the ChatDirect sales team to get targeted reviews relevant to your use case.