Intercom→Chaskiq−$39/mo · −$468/yr
Customer messaging and live chat, self-hosted.
Medium3 hoursdocker compose ready
Why switch
- ▸Intercom's pricing punishes success — $39/seat and more as contacts grow.
- ▸Chaskiq covers chat widget, campaigns, onboarding tours and a webhooks API on your domain.
- ▸Customer transcripts and contact data stay in your compliance boundary.
The migration
- 01
Deploy Chaskiq
The compose includes the app, PostgreSQL, Redis and Sidekiq workers. Point chat.yourdomain.com at it.
- 02
Install the messenger widget
Chaskiq gives you a JS snippet like Intercom's — drop it in your layout, style the launcher, and map your app's user properties to Chaskiq segments.
- 03
Rebuild saved replies and tours
Canned responses, billing macros and the onboarding tour translate 1:1. Rebuild the top ten replies and the one onboarding flow that actually converts.
- 04
Import contacts
Export Intercom contacts (CSV) and import via Chaskiq's API or CSV. Segment by plan with your app's metadata instead of Intercom tags.
Gotchas — read before you cancel
- ⚠Intercom's Fin/AI bot has no bundled equivalent — wire an LLM webhook if you rely on it.
- ⚠Email campaigns in Intercom may need a proper sending domain (SPF/DKIM) on your Chaskiq SMTP.
- ⚠Historical conversation archives: export for compliance, don't attempt full migration.
Only cancel when this is true
- ✓Widget loads on your production domain with your branding
- ✓An operator replies from Chaskiq and the visitor receives it in real time
- ✓A campaign sends through your SMTP to a test segment
Replacing more than one tool?
The Stack Composer bundles Chaskiq with the rest of your open-source stack into one docker-compose file.
Open in Stack Composer →