Joinchat
by Creame
Adds a WhatsApp chat button with page rules, delays and analytics events.
This link may earn us a commission. It never changes our rating.
What Joinchat does
Adds a WhatsApp chat button with page rules, delays and analytics events.
It sits in the chat part of a WordPress stack and is sold by Creame on a freemium basis. We recommend it in our chat guides because it does that one job well without asking you to rebuild the rest of the site around it.
Every plugin adds work to a page request, so treat this as a decision with a cost. Record a speed test before you install it and run the same test afterwards, on the same page, so you know exactly what it charged you.
Real user ratings
Score
4.7/5
Reviews
189
Active installs
700,000+
Downloads
18.3M
Latest version
6.3.2
Last updated
2026-08-20
These figures come straight from the public WordPress.org plugin directory API for version 6.3.2, not from us. Check them yourself on the WordPress.org listing. Our own editorial score is 4.9/5.
Where Joinchat ranks elsewhere
Joinchat does not appear in the published "best of" lists we track from WPBeginner, TechRadar, Kinsta, Themeisle and similar sites. That is not a mark against it - those roundups are short and skew towards the biggest names.
What changed in the latest version
- Security fix Fixes a XSS vulnerability when using the dynamic variable "{HREF}" on Call to Action
- Refactoring of replace_variables() with correct escape functions for any context.
- PCP plugins fixes.
- Ensure lazy load of styles on WordPress 6.9+ with classic themes
- Updated IntlTelInput library to 29.1.1, refactor enhanced phone input and simplified translations
- Fix "Powered by Joinchat" label styles
- Fix syle colors for inline styles
- Fix rename 'intl-tel-input' library to prevent conflicts with other plugins
- New allow third-party plugins pause/resume Joinchat initialization
- New 'cookieless' setting allows the use of sessionStorage for better GDPR compliance
- Reduced plugin size
Release notes are the developer's own words, published on WordPress.org. Read the full changelog
Pros and cons
- Best free WhatsApp button
- A free tier you can trial before paying
- Actively maintained and used on production sites we test
- One channel only
- The features most sites need sit in the paid tier
How to use it
- 1Install on a staging copy first if the site takes money.
- 2Work through the setup wizard and connect any external accounts it needs.
- 3Configure the one feature you installed it for, and leave the rest off.
- 4Test the result as a logged-out visitor on both mobile and desktop.
- 5Re-run our speed test to confirm the plugin has not cost you load time.
How it compares
Other chat plugins we recommend, with their rating and pricing model.
| Plugin | Our rating | WordPress.org | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joinchat | 4.9 | 4.7 (189) | Freemium | Best free WhatsApp button |
| Chaty | 4.8 | 5 (1,240) | Freemium | Every channel in one button |
| Click to Chat | 4.8 | 4.8 (131) | Freemium | Very light and free |
| WP Social Chat | 4.4 | n/a | Freemium | Multiple agents with schedules |
Guides that cover Joinchat
Alternatives
Other chat plugins
Chaty
Premio
A multi-channel chat widget covering WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, email and more.
1,240 reviews · 7.7M downloads · v3.6.0
Click to Chat
HoliThemes
Free WhatsApp chat widget with prefilled messages and per-page display rules.
131 reviews · 21.0M downloads · v4.44
WP Social Chat
QuadLayers
WhatsApp chat with multiple agents, availability hours and conversion tracking.