15 Best Live Chat Software Compared (2026)

Choosing live chat software shouldn't require a spreadsheet and three weeks of research. But with dozens of tools on the market — each claiming to be the best — it often does.

We tested and compared 15 of the most popular live chat platforms so you don't have to. This guide covers features, pricing, pros, cons, and who each tool is best for.

How We Evaluated

We assessed each tool on five criteria:

Now let's get into it.

1. Orbinto

Best for: Businesses that want live chat, chatbots, and visitor tracking in one platform

Orbinto bundles everything — live chat, a codeless chatbot builder, real-time visitor tracking, and CRM integrations — into a single platform with no per-chat or per-resolution fees.

Key features:

• Real-time visitor monitoring (see who's on your site right now)
• Codeless chatbot builder with templates
• Smart chat routing with department support
• File sharing, typing indicators, chat transcripts
• CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho, Pipedrive, Freshsales)
• AI writing assistant (Professional plan and above)

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (3 agents, 100 chats/month)
• Basic: $19/month (1,000 chats, chatbot included)
• Professional: $49/month (unlimited chats, 5 chatbots)
• Enterprise: $89/month (10 websites, 200K visitors/month tracking)

Pros:

• All features included at every paid tier — no hidden add-ons
• Visitor tracking built in (most competitors charge extra or don't offer it)
• Most affordable option with AI and chatbots included
• Clean, modern UI

Cons:

• Newer platform (smaller community compared to established players)
• Mobile app coming soon (not yet available)
• PHP and Ruby SDKs still in development

2. Intercom

Best for: Large companies with big budgets who want an all-in-one customer platform

Intercom is the market leader in customer messaging. It offers live chat, bots, a help center, and a ticketing system. It's powerful but expensive.

Key features:

• Fin AI Agent for automated resolution
• Product tours and onboarding flows
• Advanced reporting and analytics
• Extensive third-party integrations

Pricing:

• Starts at $39/agent/month (Essential)
• Pro plan: $99/agent/month
• AI resolutions: $0.99 each (adds up fast)

Pros:

• Industry-leading AI capabilities
• Mature platform with deep feature set
• Excellent documentation and community

Cons:

• Expensive — costs escalate quickly with AI resolution fees
• Complex pricing structure
• Steep learning curve
• Overkill for small to mid-size businesses

3. LiveChat

Best for: E-commerce businesses focused on sales through chat

LiveChat is one of the original live chat platforms and remains popular for its simplicity and strong e-commerce integrations.

Key features:

• Chat widget customization
• E-commerce integrations (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)
• Agent performance reporting
• Canned responses and chat tags

Pricing:

• Starter: $20/agent/month
• Team: $41/agent/month
• Business: $59/agent/month

Pros:

• Easy to set up and use
• Strong Shopify and WordPress integrations
• Reliable and fast

Cons:

• No built-in chatbot (ChatBot is a separate paid product)
• No visitor tracking (separate product)
• Each feature is a separate product with separate billing

4. Tidio

Best for: Small businesses and startups looking for an affordable chat + bot combo

Tidio combines live chat and chatbots at a competitive price point, with a strong focus on e-commerce.

Key features:

• Visual chatbot builder (Flows)
• AI response suggestions
• Shopify and WordPress plugins
• Email marketing integration

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (50 conversations)
• Starter: $29/month
• Growth: $59/month
• Tidio+: from $499/month

Pros:

• Good free tier for testing
• Easy chatbot builder
• Affordable for small teams

Cons:

• Conversation limits on lower plans
• Tidio+ is expensive for what it offers
• Limited visitor tracking
• UI can feel cluttered

5. Zendesk Chat

Best for: Companies already using Zendesk for support tickets

Zendesk Chat integrates tightly with the Zendesk Suite. If you're already in the Zendesk ecosystem, it's a natural choice.

Key features:

• Unified agent workspace (chat + tickets + email)
• AI-powered answer bot
• Pre-chat forms and offline messaging
• Advanced analytics

Pricing:

• Suite Team: $55/agent/month
• Suite Growth: $89/agent/month
• Suite Professional: $115/agent/month

Pros:

• Seamless integration with Zendesk ticketing
• Strong enterprise features
• Good reporting

Cons:

• Expensive for chat-only use
• Requires buying the full Zendesk Suite
• Chat-specific features lag behind dedicated chat tools
• Complex setup

6. Freshchat (Freshworks)

Best for: Mid-size businesses wanting chat as part of a broader suite

Freshchat is part of the Freshworks ecosystem alongside Freshdesk, Freshsales, and Freshservice.

Key features:

• Freddy AI for automated responses
• IntelliAssign (smart routing)
• Multichannel (WhatsApp, Facebook, Apple Business Chat)
• Campaign management

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (up to 10 agents)
• Growth: $19/agent/month
• Pro: $49/agent/month
• Enterprise: $79/agent/month

Pros:

• Generous free tier
• Good multichannel support
• Integrates well with Freshworks suite

Cons:

• AI features cost extra
• Can be buggy at times
• Limited customization on free plan
• Reporting needs improvement

7. HubSpot Live Chat

Best for: Teams already using HubSpot CRM

HubSpot includes free live chat as part of its CRM platform. It's basic but tightly integrated with HubSpot's sales and marketing tools.

Key features:

• Chat directly from HubSpot CRM
• Meeting scheduling via chat
• Basic chatbot builder
• Conversation routing

Pricing:

• Free (basic chat included with HubSpot CRM)
• Service Hub Starter: $20/month
• Professional: $500/month

Pros:

• Free if you use HubSpot CRM
• Deep CRM integration
• Good for sales-focused chat

Cons:

• Very basic chat features
• Chatbot builder is limited
• Professional tier is expensive
• No visitor tracking

8. Crisp

Best for: Startups wanting a modern, multi-channel inbox

Crisp offers a shared inbox that combines chat, email, and social messaging in a clean interface.

Key features:

• Shared inbox (chat + email + social)
• Chatbot builder (no code)
• Knowledge base included
• Video calls and screen sharing

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (2 seats)
• Pro: $25/month/workspace
• Unlimited: $95/month/workspace

Pros:

• Per-workspace pricing (not per agent)
• Clean, modern UI
• Video calls included
• Good value at Unlimited tier

Cons:

• Limited reporting
• Smaller integration ecosystem
• AI features still maturing
• Free tier is very limited

9. Drift

Best for: B2B sales teams focused on pipeline generation

Drift (now part of Salesloft) positions itself as a "revenue acceleration" platform rather than a support tool.

Key features:

• Conversational landing pages
• Account-based targeting
• AI chatbots for lead qualification
• Meeting booking via chat

Pricing:

• Premium: custom pricing (starts around $2,500/month)
• Advanced and Enterprise tiers available

Pros:

• Strong B2B sales focus
• Good ABM integration
• Advanced lead routing

Cons:

• Very expensive
• Not suited for support use cases
• Complex setup and administration
• Pricing lacks transparency

10. tawk.to

Best for: Budget-conscious businesses that want free live chat forever

tawk.to is completely free with no limits on agents or chat volume. They make money through optional paid add-ons.

Key features:

• Unlimited agents and chats (free)
• Chat widget customization
• Canned responses
• Basic reporting

Pricing:

• Free (core product)
• Remove branding: $19/month
• Hired agents: $1/hour

Pros:

• Truly free with no catch
• Unlimited agents
• Good basic chat features

Cons:

• tawk.to branding on free plan
• No chatbot builder
• No AI features
• Limited integrations
• Interface feels dated

11. Olark

Best for: Small teams wanting simple, no-frills live chat

Olark has been around since 2009 and focuses on doing one thing well — live chat.

Key features:

• Chat widget customization
• Automated messages
• Searchable transcripts
• PowerUps (add-on features)

Pricing:

• $29/agent/month

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use
• Transparent pricing
• Good transcripts and search

Cons:

• No chatbot builder
• Limited integrations
• Features feel dated compared to newer tools
• No free tier

12. Zoho SalesIQ

Best for: Businesses in the Zoho ecosystem

Zoho SalesIQ combines live chat with visitor tracking and is deeply integrated with Zoho CRM.

Key features:

• Visitor tracking and scoring
• Chatbot builder (Zobot)
• Integration with Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk
• Screen sharing

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (limited)
• Basic: $10/operator/month
• Professional: $17/operator/month
• Enterprise: $25/operator/month

Pros:

• Affordable
• Good visitor tracking
• Tight Zoho integration

Cons:

• UI is not as polished
• Best features require Zoho ecosystem
• Limited third-party integrations
• Chatbot builder has a learning curve

13. Chatwoot

Best for: Technical teams who want an open-source, self-hosted solution

Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform you can host on your own servers.

Key features:

• Self-hosted or cloud option
• Multichannel (chat, email, social, WhatsApp)
• API-first architecture
• Custom integrations via webhooks

Pricing:

• Self-hosted: Free (open-source)
• Cloud: starts at $19/agent/month

Pros:

• Free self-hosted option
• Full data ownership
• Active open-source community
• Highly customizable

Cons:

• Requires technical knowledge to self-host
• Fewer out-of-box integrations
• UI less polished than commercial tools
• AI features are limited

14. Kommunicate

Best for: Teams focused on AI-first customer support

Kommunicate combines live chat with AI-powered chatbots, focusing heavily on automation.

Key features:

• AI chatbot with GPT integration
• No-code bot builder
• Multichannel support
• Human handoff from bot to agent

Pricing:

• Lite: $40/month (2 teammates)
• Advanced: $100/month (5 teammates)
• Enterprise: custom

Pros:

• Strong AI/chatbot focus
• Easy bot-to-human handoff
• Good documentation

Cons:

• Expensive for what you get
• Chat features are secondary to bot features
• Small team, slower updates
• Limited analytics

15. JivoChat

Best for: International businesses needing multi-language support

JivoChat supports 20+ languages and offers chat, phone, email, and social in one platform.

Key features:

• 20+ language support
• Phone calls via chat widget
• Visitor monitoring
• CRM integrations

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month (basic, 5 agents)
• Professional: $19/agent/month

Pros:

• Excellent multi-language support
• Affordable professional plan
• Phone integration included

Cons:

• Interface can be overwhelming
• Reporting is basic
• Chatbot features are limited
• Support can be slow

Quick Comparison Table

Our Verdict

There's no single "best" live chat software — it depends on your needs and budget.

• Best all-in-one value: Orbinto — live chat, chatbots, visitor tracking, and AI all included with no hidden fees
• Best for large enterprises: Intercom — powerful but expensive
• Best for e-commerce: LiveChat — strong Shopify and WooCommerce integrations
• Best free option: tawk.to — unlimited and genuinely free
• Best open-source: Chatwoot — self-host for full control
• Best for Zoho users: Zoho SalesIQ — tight ecosystem integration
• Best for B2B sales: Drift — built for pipeline, not support

The most important thing is to actually use live chat. A good tool used well beats a perfect tool sitting idle.

*New to live chat? Start with our Complete Guide to Live Chat. Not sure if you need chat or a bot? Read Live Chat vs Chatbot.*