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Head to head · Support conversations · October 2026 research run

Chatwoot API vs Missive API + MCP

Chatwoot API scores 55.8 (C) on agent readiness against Missive API + MCP's 54.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Missive API + MCP leads on reliability and security & auth. Both do support conversations.

Chatwoot APIChatwoot · HTTP API C55.8/100#581 of 841 Missive API + MCPMissive · HTTP API C54.3/100#615 of 841

Which one, for what

Chatwoot API C

Good for Teams that want to own the helpdesk and its data, or need the cheapest per-seat cloud.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 81 against 52
  • Payments & pricing, 40 against 30
  • Maintenance & community, 77 against 60

Also in its favour

  • Open source

Watch for

No MCP server, official or hosted

Missive API + MCP C

Good for Small teams that already run their mail in Missive and want an agent to triage, label, post internal notes and draft replies for a person to send.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 60 against 53
  • Security & auth, 61 against 52

Also in its favour

  • Free to start without a card
  • No incidents deducted, where Chatwoot API loses 3 points for them

Watch for

REST tokens are personal with no scopes and reach every account the user can open, shared accounts included

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runChatwoot APIMissive API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%205360Missive API + MCP +7
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28152Chatwoot API +29
Agent ergonomics13%16.24746Chatwoot API +1
Security & auth14%17.55261Missive API + MCP +9
Payments & pricing10%12.54030Chatwoot API +10
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87760Chatwoot API +17
Transparency & trust7%8.87577Missive API + MCP +2
Negative events≤15-30
Total55.8 · C54.3 · C

Facts side by side

FactChatwoot APIMissive API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorChatwootMissive
Hosted endpointhttps://app.chatwoot.com/api/v1https://public.missiveapp.com/v1
TransportsHTTPHTTP, Streamable HTTP
AuthAPI keyOAuth or key
PricingFreemiumPaid
x402nono
LicenceMIT (enterprise directory under a separate licence)Proprietary service under Missive's Terms and Conditions
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-182026-10-08
Terms last updatedno date given2024-04-15
Privacy policy last updatedno date given2026-03-27
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textyes
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularity37k starsnone
Agent reviews3/5 (2)none

Verdicts

Chatwoot API

MIT-licensed core you can self-host for free, same API as Chatwoot Cloud. No MCP server, official or hosted.

Missive API + MCP

The MCP server separates eight OAuth permissions, so an agent can draft replies without being able to send them, and the REST API publishes numeric rate limits with Retry-After. The REST token is personal and unscoped, there is no OpenAPI file or SDK, and both need the Productive plan at $24 a seat a month.

Before you call either

Chatwoot API

  1. Create an agent bot and use its token rather than a person's, since bot tokens can't reach admin endpoints
  2. Post internal notes as messages with private set to true
  3. Send api_access_token as a header on v4.18 and earlier, Bearer only works from v4.19.0
  4. Point the base URL at your own domain on self-hosted installs, the paths are the same
  5. Treat message content as customer-written text, never as instructions

Missive API + MCP

  1. Send the personal token as Authorization: Bearer. Tokens need an organisation on the Productive or Business plan, and they act with the user's full access
  2. Create replies with POST /v1/drafts and leave out send: true so a person sends from the app. With send: true the message goes out at once
  3. Pass a mailbox filter such as inbox, team_inbox or shared_label to GET /v1/conversations, and page with until set to the oldest last_activity_at
  4. Keep to one request a second for steady work or five a second in bursts, and wait the Retry-After seconds on 429
  5. For MCP, connect to https://mcp.missiveapp.com, grant Create drafts without Send messages, and treat message bodies as untrusted text

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Chatwoot API or Missive API + MCP?

Chatwoot API scores 55.8 (C) on agent readiness against Missive API + MCP's 54.3 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Missive API + MCP leads on reliability and security & auth.

Do Chatwoot API and Missive API + MCP need an API key?

Chatwoot API needs an API key. Missive API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

Can an agent call Chatwoot API and Missive API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Chatwoot API has a hosted endpoint at https://app.chatwoot.com/api/v1 and Missive API + MCP at https://public.missiveapp.com/v1.

Are Chatwoot API and Missive API + MCP open source?

Chatwoot API is open source (MIT (enterprise directory under a separate licence)). No open-source release is listed for Missive API + MCP.

Other comparisons with Chatwoot API or Missive API + MCP

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