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A plugin that runs on your server, or a widget that runs on someone else’s
Hosted chat products can be excellent. They also come with accounts, usage pricing and a copy of your shoppers’ conversations in a vendor’s cloud. Here is how Wow Chat differs — no competitor names, just the model.
| Criterion | Wow Chat Free | Wow Chat Pro Pro · coming soon | Typical hosted chat widget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account or API key required | No | Licence key only | Yes — vendor account |
| Pricing model | Free, forever | Flat licence (indicative $12/mo or $99/yr) | Per seat, per message or per conversation |
| Where shopper messages & analytics live | Your WordPress database | Your WordPress database | Vendor cloud |
| Knows your catalog with live price & stock | Yes — native WooCommerce | Yes — native WooCommerce | Depends on integration |
| Add to cart inside the conversation | Yes | Yes | Rarely |
| Instant catalog search (FULLTEXT, SKU, word forms) | Included | Included + AI-assisted (coming soon) | Not included |
| Recommendation widgets | Three Gutenberg blocks | Three blocks + smarter picks (coming soon) | Not included |
| AI chat that understands intent | No — FAQ + keyword search | Yes, AI usage included (coming soon) | Often, billed per usage |
| AI FAQ drafting | Yes, with your own OpenAI key | Yes, with your own OpenAI key | Sometimes |
| Keeps working if the vendor has an outage | Yes — nothing external | Chat falls back to FAQ & search | No |
| Source code | GPLv3, human-readable source shipped | Licensed WordPress plugin | Proprietary |
| Front-end weight | Plain JS, no jQuery, loads only where used | Same | Third-party script on every page |
“Typical hosted chat widget” describes common patterns across SaaS chat products, not any specific vendor. Pro rows marked “coming soon” describe planned functionality.
No account. No meter. Your data.
Install Wow Chat for Woo and see the difference on your own store.