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LiveChat alternatives

Top Customer Support & Live Chat like LiveChat

The most popular alternative to LiveChat is Tidio, which has a free version. Other great alternatives to LiveChat are Intercom, Crisp, tawk.to, and Zendesk.

Most alternatives to LiveChat are in the Customer Support & Live Chat category, compared here by price, platform and features.

LiveChat alternatives
AllFreeOpen source
9 apps

All LiveChat alternatives

  1. Tidio is a customer service tool that combines a website live chat widget, a multichannel inbox and ticketing with Lyro, an AI agent that answers common questions from your help content. Visual chatbot flows can greet visitors, recover abandoned carts or collect leads. It integrates with Shopify, WordPress, Wix and other platforms, and mainly targets small businesses and online stores.

    8 Tidio alternatives

    Pros

    • Easy to install on Shopify, WordPress and Wix stores
    • Lyro AI agent answers common questions from your help content
    • Visual chatbot flows for lead capture and abandoned carts

    Cons

    • AI and chatbot usage limits can push costs up quickly
    • Free plan becomes tight for a growing store
    • Reporting is basic for larger support teams
    Cost / License
    FreemiumProprietary
  2. Intercom is a customer service platform that combines a chat messenger for websites and apps with a shared inbox, ticketing and a help center. Its AI agent, Fin, answers customer questions using your support content and can hand conversations over to human agents; it can also be added to other help desks. Product tours and proactive messages help onboard and engage users.

    12 Intercom alternatives

    Pros

    • Fin AI agent answers questions from your support content
    • Polished messenger for websites and mobile apps
    • Product tours and proactive messages help onboard users

    Cons

    • Expensive, with AI resolutions billed on top of seats
    • Pricing structure is complex and hard to predict
    • More than a small team needs for basic live chat
    Cost / License
    Free trialProprietary
  3. Crisp is a French customer messaging platform that gathers website chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and other channels into one shared inbox. It includes a chatbot builder, AI answers based on your own content, a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page. A free plan covers basic live chat, and paid plans add automation, AI features and more channels.

    8 Crisp alternatives

    Pros

    • Shared inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
    • Bundles a knowledge base, email campaigns and a status page
    • French company with a GDPR-minded approach to customer data

    Cons

    • Free plan is limited to basic chat, while AI and automation need paid plans
    • Reporting is lighter than in help desks built for large enterprises
    Cost / License
    FreemiumProprietary
  4. tawk.to is a free live chat platform that lets businesses add a chat widget to their website and answer visitors from the web, desktop or mobile apps, with no limit on agents. It also includes ticketing, a knowledge base and real-time visitor monitoring. The company earns money through optional paid add-ons, such as removing its branding, AI assistance or hiring agents to staff the chat.

    8 tawk.to alternatives

    Pros

    • Free live chat with no limit on the number of agents
    • Includes ticketing, a knowledge base and visitor monitoring
    • Web, desktop and mobile apps to answer from anywhere

    Cons

    • Removing tawk.to branding requires a paid add-on
    • Interface and reporting feel basic next to premium tools
    • AI assistance is sold as a paid extra
    Cost / License
    FreemiumProprietary
  5. Zendesk is a customer service platform that brings email, chat, phone, social and messaging requests into a single ticketing system. It includes a help center for self-service articles, workflow automation, reporting and AI agents that can resolve common questions. A large marketplace of apps connects it to CRMs and e-commerce tools, and it serves support teams from startups to large enterprises.

    12 Zendesk alternatives

    Pros

    • Mature ticketing that handles email, chat, phone and social at scale
    • Large marketplace of apps for CRMs and e-commerce tools
    • Help center and AI agents deflect common questions

    Cons

    • Expensive per agent, especially with AI and add-ons
    • Setup and administration take time for complex workflows
    • No free plan beyond the trial
    Cost / License
    Free trialProprietary
  6. Freshdesk is a help desk tool from Freshworks that turns emails, web forms, chats, calls and social messages into tickets for support teams. It includes a knowledge base, SLA management, automations, collision detection and reporting, plus Freddy AI for suggested replies and self-service bots. A free plan covers small teams, and it connects with Freshworks' CRM and other business apps.

    12 Freshdesk alternatives

    Pros

    • Free plan for small teams with core ticketing
    • Turns email, forms, chat, calls and social messages into tickets
    • SLA rules, collision detection and automations for busy teams

    Cons

    • AI features and advanced automation cost extra or need top tiers
    • Admin settings get complex as workflows grow
    Cost / License
    FreemiumProprietary
  7. Chatwoot is an open-source customer engagement platform positioned as an alternative to Intercom and Zendesk. It unifies website live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and SMS in one shared inbox, with a help center, canned responses, automation rules and an AI assistant called Captain. Teams can self-host it for free or use the paid cloud version.

    11 Chatwoot alternatives

    Pros

    • Open source and free to self-host, keeping conversations on your servers
    • One inbox for chat, email, WhatsApp, social channels and SMS
    • Includes a help center, canned responses and automation rules

    Cons

    • Self-hosting requires maintaining the server, updates and integrations
    • Reporting and workflows are less deep than in Zendesk or Intercom
    Cost / License
    FreemiumOpen source
  8. Zoho Desk is a help desk application from Zoho that manages customer requests from email, phone, chat, social media and web forms as tickets. It offers a self-service knowledge base, SLA rules, workflow automation, analytics and Zia, an AI assistant that suggests answers and detects customer sentiment. It integrates tightly with Zoho CRM and has a free plan for small teams.

    10 Zoho Desk alternatives

    Pros

    • Tight integration with Zoho CRM shows customer context on tickets
    • Zia suggests answers and detects customer sentiment
    • Free plan for small teams, with paid tiers for SLAs and automation

    Cons

    • Interface feels busy, with many settings to learn
    • Works best when you already use other Zoho apps
    Cost / License
    FreemiumProprietary
  9. Gorgias is a customer support platform designed for online stores, with deep integrations for Shopify and other e-commerce platforms. Agents see order details next to each ticket and can edit, refund or cancel orders without leaving the help desk. It centralizes email, chat, social media and SMS, and its AI Agent can handle common requests such as order tracking and returns.

    8 Gorgias alternatives

    Pros

    • Order details appear next to each ticket for Shopify stores
    • Agents can refund, edit or cancel orders without leaving the help desk
    • AI agent handles routine requests like order tracking and returns

    Cons

    • Built for e-commerce, so less suited to other types of businesses
    • Pricing tied to ticket volume can be hard to predict in busy seasons
    Cost / License
    Free trialProprietary
    Platforms

LiveChat vs its alternatives at a glance

Pricing, platforms and the key features of LiveChat, compared with its most popular alternatives.

LiveChat vs its alternatives at a glance
AppPricingPlatformsAI assistantAnalyticsIntegrationsLive chat widgetTemplates
LiveChatFree trialWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android
TidioFreemiumWeb, iPhone, Android
IntercomFree trialWeb, iPhone, Android
CrispFreemiumWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android
tawk.toFreemiumWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android
ZendeskFree trialWeb, iPhone, Android

LiveChat alternatives: frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to LiveChat?

The most popular alternative to LiveChat is Tidio: Live chat and AI agent for online stores and small businesses. Other great alternatives are Intercom, Crisp, tawk.to, and Zendesk.

Is there a free alternative to LiveChat?

Yes, 6 alternatives are free or have a free plan, including Tidio, Crisp, tawk.to, and Freshdesk.

Is there an open source alternative to LiveChat?

Yes, one open source alternative is listed: Chatwoot.

Is LiveChat free?

LiveChat is a paid app that offers a free trial.

Compare LiveChat with its alternatives

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