Trengo, SleekFlow and Chatwoot for Telegram compared with TGDesk
Short answer: Trengo, SleekFlow and Chatwoot are omnichannel team inboxes. All three connect Telegram by plugging in a bot you create with @BotFather, and they price by plan and seats. They are a good fit for a support team that wants Telegram next to WhatsApp, email and live chat. If instead you run several regular Telegram accounts and want them in one desktop inbox with built-in translation and image text recognition, TGDesk (coming soon) is built for that.
Comparison table
From official pages, October 2026.
| Trengo | SleekFlow | Chatwoot | TGDesk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram connection | BotFather bot token | BotFather bots, several per account | Bot token; Business-mode bots since v4.3.0 | Regular accounts; connected business bot also supported |
| Other channels | Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, live chat, SMS, voice | WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS and more | Live chat, email, WhatsApp, social and more | Telegram only |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud or self-hosted (open source) | Desktop, data on your PC |
| Starting price | €299/month annual (€349 monthly), 10 users | US$49/month + seats | Free self-hosted; cloud $19/agent/month | Paid, coming soon |
| Telegram message fees | Not listed for Telegram | None for Telegram bots | None from Chatwoot for Telegram | None |
| Message translation | Not on the Telegram pages reviewed | AI agents answer in multiple languages | Not on the Telegram pages reviewed | Included, on-device engine by default |
| Text in images (OCR) | Not listed on pages reviewed | Not listed on pages reviewed | Not listed on pages reviewed | Included, local by default |
Sources: Trengo Telegram guide, Trengo pricing, SleekFlow Telegram overview, SleekFlow pricing, Chatwoot Telegram guide, Chatwoot pricing.
Trengo
A European omnichannel inbox. Telegram is added under Settings → Channels → Telegram with a bot token; Trengo's guide notes customers then find you by searching the bot's username, not your phone number. Plans include a fixed number of users and conversations (Boost: 10 users, 500 conversations a month on annual billing), with extra users and conversations sold on top. Best for support teams with many channels.
SleekFlow
Popular with sales teams in Asia. You can connect several Telegram bots to one SleekFlow account, send and receive through them, and SleekFlow states that Telegram bot messaging has no fees. Plans are listed at US$49, US$109 and US$279 per month in its US pricing, with additional seats from US$15. Strong if you sell through WhatsApp and Telegram together.
Chatwoot
Open source and self-hostable, with cloud plans per agent. Telegram connects as an inbox using a bot token, and since v4.3.0 Chatwoot detects bots in Telegram Business mode, so a bot can answer on behalf of a Telegram Business account; Chatwoot notes a 24-hour reply window and fewer features in that mode. The free Hacker cloud plan covers live chat only. Best if you want to host the inbox yourself.
Where TGDesk differs
The three tools above make Telegram one channel among many for a team. TGDesk makes several Telegram accounts one workspace on your desktop:
- Regular accounts, not just bots. Migrate Telegram Desktop logins you already use (read-only, into an encrypted vault) or sign in by phone with your own api_id.
- Unified inbox across accounts with unread, needs-reply and human-takeover filters, and local search across all of them.
- Translation under every incoming message and for reply drafts, on-device by default.
- OCR on photos and image documents, searchable and usable as rule conditions.
- AI drafts with your own model; auto-reply off per account until you enable it.
What it is not: a multi-agent cloud inbox, or a WhatsApp/email tool. TGDesk is a paid app, coming soon, not yet downloadable, and not affiliated with Telegram, Trengo, SleekFlow or Chatwoot.
How to choose
- Many channels, many agents, customers can message a bot → Trengo, SleekFlow or Chatwoot.
- Want to self-host → Chatwoot.
- Several Telegram accounts customers already know, foreign-language chats and screenshots → TGDesk.
See also: respond.io vs TGDesk · Rambox and Ferdium alternatives.
FAQ
Do Trengo, SleekFlow and Chatwoot support Telegram?
Yes, all three connect Telegram through a bot created with @BotFather, according to their help centers. Chatwoot also supports Telegram Business-mode bots since v4.3.0 (June 2025).
Which is cheapest?
Chatwoot can be self-hosted for free and its cloud plans start at $19 per agent per month. SleekFlow starts at US$49/month plus seat fees. Trengo starts at €299/month on annual billing with 10 users. Prices as listed in October 2026.
Can these tools read my regular Telegram account?
Not as a regular account login. They use the Bot API. Chatwoot's Business-mode support lets a bot reply on behalf of a Telegram Business account, with a 24-hour reply window.
Is TGDesk a team inbox?
TGDesk is a desktop app for one workspace running several Telegram accounts. It is not a multi-agent cloud inbox. It is coming soon.
Coming soon — paid launch, no public download yet