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A support agent once walked me through their setup, where a customer stepped away briefly during a chat. When they returned, the conversation had restarted. The agent still had the answer, but the context was gone, and the customer had to start over.
This is a common failure point for live chat tools. Many chat systems struggle with pauses, handoffs, and sudden spikes in volume.
That’s why I created this list of the best live chat software, focusing on tools that hold up in real support scenarios. I evaluated them based on how well they preserve conversation context, manage handoffs without resets, stay responsive under load, and scale pricing as chat volume grows.
Table of Contents
- Best Live Chat Software: Our Top Picks (and Why We Chose Them)
- How I Evaluated These Live Chat Tools?
- 2. Intercom: Best for product-led, in-app customer conversations
- 3. LiveChat: Best for fast, high-volume website chat
- 4. Zendesk Chat: Best for teams already using Zendesk
- 5. Tidio: Best for teams that want simple chat automation
- 6. Tawk.to: Best free live chat software
- 7. Crisp: Best for small teams that want chat plus a shared inbox
- 8. HubSpot Live Chat: Best for HubSpot CRM-first teams
- 9. Gorgias: Best for e-commerce support, especially Shopify stores
- 10. FreshChat: Best for teams already using Freshdesk.
- 11. Drift: Best for B2B sales teams
- 12. Lime Connect (formerly Userlike): Best for EU-based teams
- 13. LiveAgent: Best for helpdesk-style live chat
- 14. JivoChat: Best for businesses managing website chat alongside social
- 16. TeamSupport: Best for B2B support teams
- 17. REVE Chat: Best for teams that want live chat with chatbots
- 18. Chatra: Best for small teams that want a lightweight live chat
- 19. Smartsupp: Best for chat with built-in visitor tracking
- 20. Helpcrunch
Best Live Chat Software: Our Top Picks (and Why We Chose Them)
Each tool below is handpicked for a specific use case, based on what the tool consistently does well in support and sales workflows.
If you want the full list of all 20 tools, their detailed comparison table and deeper tool-by-tool breakdown, they are covered in the section right after this.
- Hiver: Best for teams looking for AI-first live chat support
- Intercom: Best for product-led, in-app customer conversations
- LiveChat: Best for fast, high-volume website chat
- Zendesk Chat: Best for teams already using Zendesk ticketing
- Tidio: Best for teams that want simple chat automation
- Tawk.to: Best free live chat software
- Crisp: Best for small teams that want chat plus a shared inbox
- HubSpot Live Chat: Best for HubSpot CRM-first teams
- Gorgias: Best for ecommerce support, especially Shopify stores
- Freshchat: Best for teams already using Freshdesk.
How I Evaluated These Live Chat Tools?
I didn’t evaluate these tools by feature checklists or marketing claims. I set up and explored several of these platforms (using free plans or trials where available) and combined that with recurring feedback from G2 reviews, Capterra ratings, and user discussions on Reddit.
20 Best Live Chat Software for 2026
| Platform | Best fit for | Business size | Key use case | Core Perception (Reddit, Reviews & Social) | Rating | Pricing | Integrations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiver | Teams that want AI-first chat + multi-channel support | SMB → Mid-market | Real-time support + routing + AI capabilities | Users like the simplicity of the tool, AI features and proactive support | 4.6/5 | Free plan available; paid starts at $25/user/mo | Slack, HubSpot, Salesforce, Jira, Asana |
| Intercom | Product-led SaaS companies (in-app messaging + automation) | Mid-market → Enterprise | In-app support + onboarding flows + automation | Loved for strong in-app experience and automation | 4.5/5 | Starts at $29/user/mo (plans vary by packaging/usage) | Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Jira |
| LiveChat | High-volume website chat teams | SMB → Enterprise | Fast website chat + queue handling | Users praise speed and usability, | 4.5/5 | Starts at $20/user/mo | Shopify, WordPress, HubSpot, Salesforce (varies) |
| Zendesk Messaging (Zendesk Suite) | Zendesk-first support orgs | Mid-market → Enterprise | Chat tied to tickets + SLAs | Strong for ticketing + collaboration in one place; often called powerful-but-pricey | 4.3/5 | Live chat on Suite plan and above, starting at $55/user/mo | Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, Teams |
| Tidio | Teams needing simple chat automations | SMBs | FAQs + basic bot flows + quick replies | Quick to deploy and helpful for handling routine queries; users want better visitor recognition and more flexible widget customization. | 4.7/5 | Starts at $29/mo; Lyro is an add-on | Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Zapier |
| tawk.to | Free live chat for lean teams | SMB | Website chat on a budget | Strong free tool + unlimited agents appeal; feedback often flags limited customization and a clunky mobile experience. | 4.5/5 | Free plan available | Basic web stack integrations. |
| Crisp | Small teams needing basic chat + shared inbox | SMB → Mid-market | Cross-channel messaging + chat | Praised for clean UI and multichannel inbox; recurring feedback asks for smarter automation and better alerting/escalation. | 4.4/5 | Free plan available; paid starts at $45/mo | Zapier, Slack, Shopify, WhatsApp |
| HubSpot Live Chat (Service Hub) | HubSpot CRM-first teams | SMB → Enterprise | Chat logged to CRM + tickets | Users like that the tool is integrated with HubSpot CRM. | 4.4/5 | Free plan available ($0/mo) | HubSpot ecosystem + common CRM/ops tools |
| Gorgias | E-commerce support (Shopify-first) | SMB → Mid-market | Chat + order context for support | Reviewers consistently like its Shopify integration and smoother support workflows. | 4.6/5 | Starts at $10/mo | Shopify, Recharge, Klaviyo, Magento (common) |
| Freshchat | Freshworks/Freshdesk users | SMB → Mid-market | Chat + campaigns + bots | Easy setup and omnichannel convenience are frequent wins; some reviewers want more advanced automation | 4.4/5 | Free plan available; paid starts at $15/mo | Freshdesk, Shopify, Metabase |
| Drift | B2B sales chat (pipeline + meetings) | Mid-market → Enterprise | Lead qualification + meeting booking | Strong for sales conversion flows; common feedback mentions complexity and higher cost expectations. | 4.4/5 | Custom pricing (quote-based) | Salesforce, HubSpot, Marketo, Slack |
| Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) | EU-heavy teams wanting persistent chat threads | SMB → Mid-market | Persistent chat + shared inbox | Often liked for persistent conversations and tutorials; common knocks include no mobile app and higher pricing. | 4.4/5 | Free plan (limited); paid starts at €90/mo (4 users) | Slack, Zendesk, Shopify (common) |
| LiveAgent | Helpdesk + live chat bundle | SMB → Mid-market | Chat + tickets in one workspace | Reviewers often praise value-for-money and breadth; complaints tend to focus on UI feeling dated and mobile quirks. (G2) | 4.5/5 | Paid starts at $15/agent/mo | Slack, Shopify, WordPress, social channels |
| JivoChat | Chat-first support + social messaging | SMB → Mid-market | Website chat + social DMs | Quick setup and channel coverage get repeated praise; negative feedback frequently mentions bugs and support responsiveness. | 4.6/5 (G2) | Free plan available; paid starts at $28/agent/mo (G2) | WhatsApp (paid add-on), Instagram/FB, CRM tools |
| Olark | Simple website chat + transcripts | SMB → Mid-market | Website chat + searchable history | Reviewers like simplicity and searchability; recurring issues include “away/offline” glitches and lack of file attachments. | 4.3/5 | Starts at $29/user/mo | Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier (common) |
| TeamSupport | B2B support needing account context | Mid-market | Account-based support + chat | Strength is B2B workflow and organizing support; common complaints point to slowness/lag and reporting friction. | 4.4/5 | Starts at $45/user/mo | Salesforce, Jira, Slack (common) |
| REVE Chat | Chat + bot combo with more channels | SMB → Mid-market | Live chat + chatbot bundles | Users like UI and core features; some concerns show up around performance lag and slower product updates. | 4.6/5 | Plans start at $50/mo on G2 pricing | Instagram,WhatsApp, Facebook |
| Chatra (by Brevo) | Lightweight chat for small teams | SMB | Live chat + async “messenger mode” | People like ease of use and typing preview; some reviews mention bugs/notifications and limited advanced automation. | 4.2/5 | Free plan exists; paid starts at $25/user/mo | Email + social basics; light CRM integrations |
| Smartsupp | Teams that need to track visitor insights | SMB → Mid-market | Chat + automation + visitor insights | Frequently praised for ease of use; criticisms tend to center on app/search UX and some missing live-chat niceties. | 4.7/5 | Free plan available; paid starts at $14/mo | Shopify, WooCommerce, web platforms (common) |
| HelpCrunch | Persistent conversations + shared inbox | SMB → Mid-market | Chat that doesn’t “reset” context | Often liked for keeping threads open and being simple for small teams; common critiques are limited automation and basic reporting. | 4.7/5 | Starts at $12/mo | Slack, Zapier, and common CRMs like HubSpot |
1. Hiver: Best for teams looking for AI-first live chat support
Hiver is an AI-powered customer service software that enables businesses to manage chat, email, WhatsApp, voice, and social channels from a unified dashboard.
The first thing you’d notice about its live chat functionality is just how easy it is to get started. When I tried it out, it took me only 15-20 minutes to embed a live chat widget on a website.
What I also like is how Hiver’s AI Agents on chat handle straightforward queries on their own and escalate the more complicated ones – with all the context intact – to human agents.
What makes Hiver stand out
- Chat templates & canned responses: You can create pre-built templates for recurring queries so that customers don’t have to wait for responses.
- Contact management & chat history: You can view customer contact details, assignment status, and previous chat interactions when they initiate a live chat.
- Email capture & transcripts: You can automatically capture customer emails during chat sessions. You also get an email with full chat transcripts for later reference.
- Knowledge base integration: Help articles can be embedded directly in the chat widget. Customers can also search for answers before initiating live chat.
- Data security & compliance: GDPR-compliant with enterprise-grade security controls
What users love about Hiver
- Hiver’s live chat feature is included across all pricing plans (including the free plan). Hiver offers 24×7 customer support.
“We’ve had some issues over the last six months. They were solved very quickly with the support chat.”“It’s great that it can function inside an inbox and that they have live chat support.”
What users don’t like about Hiver
- Users often face customization issues with the live chat feature.
- Users occasionally encounter technical glitches
“Not much to dislike, except the live chat icon for our websites is not customizable and it can not be positioned on the page to match our design.”“One small drawback is that it can feel a little slow when handling a very high volume of emails, but overall, it’s a huge improvement to our workflow.”
All reviews are sourced from G2
Pricing
Hiver offers a free plan that helps you manage customers across multiple channels, including chat, at zero cost. The paid plans start at $25/user/month and can go up to to $105/user/month.
Recommended reading
2. Intercom: Best for product-led, in-app customer conversations
Intercom is a customer messaging platform designed for teams that rely heavily on chat to support their customers.
What stood out to me when exploring Intercom was how tightly the live chat feature is woven into the in-app experience. It feels less like a widget and more like part of the product experience, which works well for onboarding flows and feature-related questions.
What also stands out is how Intercom leans heavily on its AI agent, Fin.
Fin handles common product and account questions on its own and loops in a human only when queries get complex. That helps teams avoid spending time answering the same questions repeatedly.
What makes Intercom stand out:
- Chat widget customization: Highly customizable in-app and website widget, including targeting and triggers.
- Multi-agent collaboration: Features like Internal notes, chat transfer, and canned responses are available.
- CRM & app integrations: Native integrations with CRMs, product analytics, and data tools
- Mobile apps: Dedicated mobile apps for agents and managers.
What users love about Intercom:
- Intercom’s AI agent Fin can generate instant answers and reduce wait times for basic issues.
- You can easily customize the chat widget according to your business’s brand guidelines.
“Fin can handle a lot of first‑level support automatically — repetitive questions, triage, basic troubleshooting.”“I greatly appreciate Intercom’s customizable UI, which allows me to tailor the interface to mirror our brand environment.”
What users don’t like about Intercom:
- Pricing is unpredictable. Costs increase sharply as conversation volume, seats, or automation usage grow. This becomes a concern as teams scale.
- Some users report slower response times from Intercom’s own support team.
“Intercom is feature-rich; its pricing can quickly become expensive for growing teams.”“While Intercom has good documentation, their support team is pretty slow, which can be frustrating if you’re dealing with a time-sensitive issue.”
Pricing:
Paid plans start from $29/user/month and can go up to $132/user/month. You pay another $0.99 for every interaction that is resolved by Fin.
Recommended reading
3. LiveChat: Best for fast, high-volume website chat
LiveChat is a customer service platform that combines chat, ticketing, and a strong analytical dashboard to help you deliver seamless customer experiences.
LiveChat has quite an intuitive interface.
Chats feel fast and stable even when multiple conversations are happening at once. I sent multiple messages at one go, and all of them went through without a lag.
This is impressive, especially when teams handle high volumes of queries.
What also stood out is how much visibility teams get into chat performance. LiveChat’s reporting makes it easy to see response times, chat volume, and agent activity without digging through complex dashboards. That makes it easier to spot bottlenecks and understand where chats are slowing down.
What makes LiveChat stand out:
- Visitor information: Provides insight into a visitor’s location, pages visited, and more.
- Ticketing system: When a customer leaves an offline message, the system automatically converts it into a ticket. This ticket is then queued for agents to address when they are next available.
- Chat ratings and surveys: Collect feedback from customers regarding their chat experience. This helps measure support quality.
- Customization: Customizable chat widgets to match your company’s branding.
What users love about LiveChat:
- Easy to use with a user-friendly interface.
- AI features are pretty robust in handling common customer queries
“I find the AI features in LiveChat really helpful. They assist both our agents and visitors by answering questions with information from our articles and knowledge base.”“The platform is fast, stable, and easy to use.”
What users don’t like about LiveChat:
- Users occasionally complain that basic features of a live chat software are missing.
- Integrations are limited.
“Lacking functionalities such as customer segmentation/prioritization, message translation, setting up checklists, agent notes and reminders, and quick links.”“I find the integration with other systems, especially CRM like Salesforce, to be very limited and buggy.
Pricing:
LiveChat’s plans start at $20/user/month and go up upto $59/user/month. It also offers a custom plan based on your needs.
Recommended reading
LiveChat Review: Key Insights on Features, Pricing, and Performance
4. Zendesk Chat: Best for teams already using Zendesk
Zendesk Chat is a live chat tool that’s part of the broader Zendesk support platform.
The first thing I noticed while taking a demo of Zendesk Chat is how chat conversations naturally convert into tickets. Chats don’t disappear once the session ends.
They can be tracked, prioritized, and followed up on later, which helps teams handle chat with the same rigor as other support requests. Moreover, it can also be converted into email tickets in case the customer steps away.
Collaborating with your teammates is super easy. Agents can loop in teammates, leave internal notes, and view customer context from the same platform.
This setup works well when issues are complex and require coordination behind the scenes.
What makes Zendesk stand out:
- Routing and queue management: Chats can be routed based on agent availability, skills, or query priority.
- Auto-saved conversation history: Customers can return to the same conversation later without starting over. This reduces the chances of repeated questions and frustration.
- Agent workspace integration: Agents handle chat, tickets, and internal notes from a single workspace. This is great because context doesn’t get lost during handoffs.
- Reporting and SLA tracking: Chat conversations are included in Zendesk’s reporting and SLA views. So, managers can track response and resolution performance on a single dashboard.
What users like about Zendesk:
- Easy to use and integrates seamlessly with Zendesk’s ticketing system.
- You can easily collaborate with your teammates on the chat interface.
“Chat logs migrate seamlessly into the Zendesk ticketing system so we have a good history of chats with customers.”“The best part is the ability to have multiple support engineers collaborate with each other on live chat format.”
What users don’t like about Zendesk:
- Set-up can seem a bit complicated.
- It can be on the pricier side. So it’s not a suitable option for SMBs or businesses on a tight budget.
“Some of the downsides is that it can be complex for some people to setup initially.”“Be ready to pay for every single extra thing you would like to do.”
Pricing:
Zendesk plans start at $19 per user per month, but live chat is available only on the Suite plan and above, starting at $55 per user per month.
5. Tidio: Best for teams that want simple chat automation
Tidio is a lightweight live chat tool perfect for teams that want to start chatting with website visitors without investing in a full-fledged customer support suite.
Tidio feels incredibly simple to use.
The interface is straightforward, and you can get a basic chat setup running quickly without much configuration.
So, clearly it’s designed for teams that don’t want to spend time managing complex workflows.
It is also super easy to set up basic automation using Tidio’s chatbots.
You can create simple rules for FAQs or data collection without much effort. I’d say this is quite helpful to handle repetitive questions without having an agent to step in every time.
What makes Tidio stand out:
- Canned responses: You can set up ready-to-send flows for FAQs, lead capture, and order-related questions. This is great to improve response time. All you need to do is personalize the response and hit send.
- Live typing preview: You can see what the customer is typing before they send a message. This way, you can prepare your responses faster.
- AI Agent, Lyro: Offers an AI agent called Lyro that can integrate with any help desk (say Zendesk). So you need not invest specifically in Tidio’s help desk suite.
- Mobile app for agents: Agents can reply to chats on the go, which is useful for small teams that don’t have dedicated shifts.
What users love about Tidio:
- With Tidio’s AI chatbots, teams can set up simple, rule-based workflows without much setup.
- I found it easy to set up and integrate with your website – and a lot of customers on G2 think the same.
“The AI chatbots make routine queries easier to handle.”“It is straightforward to integrate into an existing website and is compatible with most website platforms.”
What users don’t like about Tidio:
- Users often complain about missing features. For instance, Tidio cannot distinguish between new and returning visitors.
- The customization options for the live chat widget are limited.
“It would be nice if it recognized whether it’s a new visitor or someone already on the website.”“The customization options for the chat widget could be more flexible to match specific branding needs.”
Pricing:
Tidio’s paid plans start at $29 per month. Its AI chatbot, Lyro, is available as a paid add-on and is not included in the base plans. It starts from $32.50/month.
6. Tawk.to: Best free live chat software
tawk.to is a free live chat tool you can add to a website with a small JavaScript snippet.
When I set it up, there were no usage limits or upgrade prompts to work around.
I’d say this makes it practical for teams that just want a working chat widget without thinking about pricing from day one.
What stood out next is how much it allows by default.
You can run live chat with unlimited agents and retain conversation history without paying extra. It covers the basics well, as long as you’re okay skipping advanced workflows or helpdesk-style controls.
What makes tawk.to stand out:
- Visitor information: You can view basic details about visitors, such as location and pages viewed, in the chat window’s side panel.
- Basic reporting: View simple metrics like chat volume and response activity to understand usage trends.
- Offline message capture: When agents are unavailable, visitors can leave a message that is saved for later follow-ups.
What users love about tawk.to:
- Completely free to use with no usage caps
- You can integrate the tool with other channels like email and social media.
“It is super easy to use and set up, along with having many features, most of them being free.”“It supports integration with multiple communication channels, including email and social media, helping to streamline customer interactions.”
What users don’t like about tawk.to:
- Customizations can be limited. So you might not be able to make it look according to your business’s brand guidelines.
- The mobile app can feel clunky. There are occasional lags noticed by customers.
“One downside of Tawk.to is the limited customization in terms of chat widget design, which may not align with all brand aesthetics.”“Mobile app experience can feel clunky at times, with occasional delays in notifications.”
7. Crisp: Best for small teams that want chat plus a shared inbox
Crisp is an all-in-one messaging platform that centralizes customer interactions across various channels, including live chat, email, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
The best part about Crisp is how easy it is to pick up a conversation where it left off. If a customer comes back later, the same thread remains, making follow-ups smoother and reducing repeat questions.
Crisp helps reduce agent load early.
Its AI features can surface help articles so that you don’t spend hours searching for the right answer.
You can also use simple bots up front, which is useful for small teams trying to stay responsive without being online all day.
What makes Crisp stand out:
- Cross-channel continuity: Customers can start chatting on your website and continue the conversation via email seamlessly. This ensures that even after they leave your site, they can reach out to you for follow-up questions.
- Real-time notifications: Keep teams informed about new customer messages and customer activities instantly.
- Knowledge base integration: Provides a self-service option for customers to find answers to frequently asked questions right from the chat window.
What users love about Crisp:
- Users have pointed out that Crisp’s own customer support is pretty responsive and friendly.
- Offers integration with 100+ tools.
“They also have excellent customer support and are very responsive and friendly.”“Crisp has the best integration marketplace. I was looking for a chatbot solution for a React Native app. I only needed a simple, quick-to-install solution, and Crisp’s React Native SDK was very easy to install. Among competitors, not many React Native SDKs are available.”
What users don’t like about Crisp
- Crisp’s chatbots are not advanced enough to handle complex workflows.
- Support agents don’t get notified properly. For example, there’s no alert when a user asks to speak to a human.
“We would like the bot to be a bit smarter to handle more complex cases.”“The tool sends alerts when a chat starts, but there’s no option to continually ring when a user asks to speak to a human.”
Pricing:
Offers a free plan for 2 users. Paid plans start from $45/user/month.
8. HubSpot Live Chat: Best for HubSpot CRM-first teams
HubSpot Live Chat is a website chat widget that is part of HubSpot’s CRM.
Chats are automatically logged to the visitor’s record, so your team can see past conversations in the same place as contact details.
The first thing that stood out to me was how much context agents get by default. Every chat is automatically tied to a contact record, so you can see past conversations, activity history, and basic customer details without doing anything extra.
That’s useful when the same person comes back later.
I also noticed that the live chat naturally fits into HubSpot’s broader workflows.
Chats can be turned into tickets, followed up via email, or routed inside the CRM. This works well if you are already using HubSpot and don’t want to invest in a separate live chat tool.
What makes HubSpot Live Chat stand out:
- CRM chat history: Chat transcripts are saved in the system so your agents have context when the person comes back.
- Widget customization: You can change the widget’s look, including adding your logo as the avatar and adjusting the chat module settings.
- No-dev setup: HubSpot provides auto-generated code to embed the chat widget on your site.
What users love about HubSpot Live Chat:
- Chats stay tied to the same customer record
- Chats can be converted to tickets
“I love that chats are automatically attached to the contact record. So agents can see previous chats when the same customer comes back.”“Great to see how it is integrated with the ticketing system so that those chats can be converted into tickets.”
What users don’t like about HubSpot Live Chat:
- You need to get HubSpot’s CRM to try out the live chat software.
- It can feel heavy if you only need live chat
“HubSpot’s live chat feature is part of a broader CRM setup. For teams that only want a lightweight live chat tool, the surrounding CRM features can feel unnecessary.”“As teams grow or need more control, they run into plan limitations quickly.”
Pricing:
HubSpot Live Chat is available on the free CRM plan. You can add a live chat widget to your website and respond to chats at no cost.
As teams grow, features related to routing, automation, reporting, and support workflows require upgrading to HubSpot’s paid Service Hub plans. These plans start at $15 per user per month and increase based on feature depth and usage needs.
9. Gorgias: Best for e-commerce support, especially Shopify stores
Gorgias is a customer support platform built specifically for ecommerce brands. Its live chat is designed to connect conversations directly with order, customer, and store data.
When I tried the tool, what stood out first was how much order and customer context show up directly inside chat.
You can see order status, past purchases, and customer details without leaving the conversation. This is quite helpful for handling questions about shipping, returns, or refunds much faster.
Also, agents can use macros that actually trigger actions like initiating refunds or replacements. This cuts down on back-and-forth and helps resolve common e-commerce issues in fewer steps.
What makes Gorgias stand out:
- Live chat stores customer details: Agents can view order details, shipping status, and customer history while chatting.
- Shopify-first integration: Deep integration with Shopify and other e-commerce tools keeps support and order data in sync.
- Offline mode: Customers can leave a message when no agents are available. Instead of the chat widget disappearing or going silent, it switches to a form where users can share their questions, email, or order details.
What users love about Gorgias:
- Strong fit for e-commerce customer support.
- Macros reduce back-and-forth by showing order context during chats.
What users don’t like about Gorgias:
- Less suitable for non-ecommerce or B2B support teams.
- Pricing increases quickly as ticket volume grows.
Pricing:
Starts at $10/user/month
10. FreshChat: Best for teams already using Freshdesk.
FreshChat is a live chat tool within the Freshworks ecosystem.
I like how you can trigger messages based on customer behavior or timing. For example, if a customer is on the pricing page, you can trigger a chat that asks them if they’d like to take a demo.
This is great for initiating proactive chats instead of waiting for visitors to ask for help.
In FreshChat, your customer chats can be routed and tracked alongside other support channels. This works well if you want the chat workflow to follow the same structure as other channels, like email or WhatsApp.
What makes FreshChat stand out:
- Email and chat campaigns: Unlike generic chat greetings, FreshChat’s chat campaigns are designed around specific objectives or audiences. For instance, a chat campaign could be set up to engage visitors who spend more than a certain amount of time on a particular page or to interact with returning customers by offering special discounts or assistance.
- Customizable chat widgets: You can customize the chat interface to resonate with your brand’s theme.
- Advanced reporting metrics: Provides insightful metrics like reach, CTR, and open rates to evaluate the effectiveness and productivity of chat campaigns.
What users like about FreshChat:
- The tool is pretty easy to set up.
- FreshChat’s own customer support is very responsive
“The initial setup was very easy and did not require much integration or bandwidth.”“I really appreciate the Freshchat customer support. They’re always available when needed and provide instant assistance.”
What users don’t like about FreshChat:
- Users have often experienced lag in the tool.
- AI can be a bit difficult to train.
“Freshchat can seem a little sluggish when handling several chats at once.”“Training AI is little difficult and understanding the reports is a little confusing.”
Pricing:
Freshchat has a free plan although it’s got limited capabilities. It’s paid plans start from $15/user/month and can go upto $69/user/month
11. Drift: Best for B2B sales teams
Drift is a live chat and conversational tool built mainly for B2B sales teams, and not really for support teams.
What stood out to me was that sales meetings can be integrated into the chat interface. So, let’s say once a visitor is qualified, booking time with a sales rep happens directly inside the chat conversation. This removes a lot of friction from the handoff.
Also, Drift’s chat is optimized to filter and prioritize leads, not handle long support-style chats.
For instance, chats don’t start with open-ended conversations. Instead, visitors are quickly guided through a short set of questions around company size, use case, or intent, before they ever reach a human.
What makes Drift stand out:
- Conversational playbooks: You can set up predefined chat flows to guide visitors based on intent, pages viewed, or actions taken.
- Lead routing rules: Conversations can be routed to the right sales rep based on account, region, or availability.
- CRM sync: Visitor and conversation data syncs with connected CRMs so sales teams have context after the chat ends.
What users love about Drift:
- Strong fit for lead generation and sales conversations.
- Drift’s AI-powered lead qualification process is quite robust.
“What I appreciate most about Drift is its ability to transform website chats into immediate sales opportunities.”“Chatbot performs the great job of qualifying visitors and routing them to the right person so the sales team is able to focus on serious prospects.”
What users don’t like about Drift:
- Users have flagged security and privacy concerns with the tool.
- Some features can be complex to use and need a bit of learning.
“Some users have raised concerns around security expectations and data handling practices.”
“Although the interface is intuitive, the learning curve for mastering all the features can be steep.”
Pricing:
Pricing is not explicitly mentioned on the website. You’ll need to get a custom quote by talking to their sales team.
12. Lime Connect (formerly Userlike): Best for EU-based teams
Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) is a live chat tool built for conversations that don’t get resolved in one go.
What I mean is, chats stay open even if customers step away and come back later (sometimes after days) without having to start over. This works well for issues that need back-and-forth, and for teams whose current chat tools struggle with pauses or frequent restarts.
That said, businesses in the EU region are particularly going to benefit from this tool since Userlike adheres to the latest EU privacy laws, including GDPR.
What makes Lime Connect stand out:
- Team inbox: Multiple agents can see and respond to chats from a shared inbox.
- Internal notes: Agents can leave internal comments on conversations for context during handoffs.
- Basic automation: Simple rules can be used to route or respond to chats.
What users love about Lime Connect:
- Userlike offers video tutorials for all its features. Users find these very useful.
- The chat widget is easy to customize.
“The best part is there are tutorials that explain all the features.”“The easy way of customizing things and the looks of the plugin!”
What users don’t like about Lime Connect:
- There’s no mobile app. So agents cannot use it on the go.
- It can be expensive, compared to other live chat software.
“One thing I dislike about Userlike is the lack of a mobile app for operators to use.”“Userlike is an excellent product, however the price is very expensive compared to its alternatives.”
Pricing:
There’s a free plan, but only a single agent can use it. Paid plans start from 90€ for 4 users/month and can go up to 290€ for 10 users/month
13. LiveAgent: Best for helpdesk-style live chat
LiveAgent is a help desk platform that offers a live chat feature along with email, and other support channels.
What also stood out to me was the way you can customize the chat experience. You can tailor chat buttons, triggers, and proactive invites based on visitor behavior. This way, teams can get more control over when and how conversations start.
Also, chats can be tracked, reassigned, and followed up on just like in other support requests. This works well for issue-based support, like a configuration issue or a feature glitch.
What makes LiveAgent stand out :
- Proactive chat invitations: Instead of waiting for your visitors to ping you, you can initiate conversations based on specific triggers or their behavior.
- Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with over 1000+ applications, including Slack, HubSpot, and Salesforce.
- Multilingual chat widget: With LiveAgent, you can chat with your customers in 40+ languages.
What users love about LiveAgent:
- Competitive pricing scales well for small businesses.
- Offers multiple chat-friendly features like chat animations, chat templates, and more.
“Very easy to use, lots of flexibility, and reasonable pricing.”“Lots of pre-built chat design templates and full ability to customize it absolutely from zero. Live chat animations are bomb too!”
What users don’t like about LiveAgent:
- Mobile app feels buggy
- UI feels outdated for many users.
I’m not pleased with the mobile platform integration.The main challenge I encounter with Live Agent is its user interface, which feels somewhat outdated. It took more than 45 days to become familiar with all the features.
14. JivoChat: Best for businesses managing website chat alongside social
JivoChat is a live chat software great for teams that want to handle website chat along with messages from other social media channels.
When you try the tool, you’ll notice how much real-time visibility agents get during a conversation. You can see what a visitor is typing before they send it. This is great and helps agents prepare responses faster.
What makes Jivochat stand out:
- Visitor monitoring: Real-time visitor monitoring and pageview histories to understand customer behavior on your website.
- Customizable widgets: Offers customizable web and mobile chat widgets to align with your brand aesthetics.
- Canned responses: You can save chat responses for commonly asked questions for later use.
- Performance reporting: Offers reports on service quality and agent activity.
- File sharing and transfers: Allows file transfers between agents and customers within the chat interface.
What users love about Jivochat:
- Has good integration options. But please bear in mind that you’d have to pay separately for some integrations like WhatsApp.
- You can see what your customers are typing in real time before they hit “send”.
“It integrates all my social media channels and helps us handle all the chats with customers much more easily.”“One of the best advantages of JIVOchat is that you get the message view in advance.”
What users don’t like about Jivochat:
- Although the tool offers various features, users have found that many features are buggy.
- JivoChat’s customer support team is not that responsive.
“There are a lot of functions, but they are not working. For example, the telephony channel is not working at all.”“The customer support does not even reply to our account. Very bad quality of technical support.”
Pricing:
Has a free plan that offers a live chat widget only for websites. Paid plan starts at $28/agent/month and can go up to $56/user/month.
- Olark: Best for teams that want a simple website live chat
Olark is a live chat tool that is great for teams that mainly use chat to answer quick questions and capture leads.
I like the fact that Olark helps you focus on conversations with your website visitors. A static chat window stays consistently across pages, so visitors can reach out wherever they are on the site.
In the backend, chat conversations are saved and searchable. You can also review chats to spot patterns in customer questions, or follow up later without needing a full help desk setup.
What makes Olark stand out:
- Customization: Olark has customizable chat box options, like color, shape, position, and appearance.
- Targeted chat and chat monitoring: You can target specific customers and monitor their chat interactions. For instance, if a visitor is on a software pricing page for a while, a targeted message could pop up saying, “Hi there! Can I help clarify our pricing options for you?”
What users love about Olark :
- Users describe Olark as easy to use and customizable. It is a preferred choice for many companies worldwide.
- You can set up email auto-responders when no one is available to answer a chat.
“I like the fact that Olark is nice and simple to set up!”“I love that Olark can send automatic email notifications of chats when no one is available to take them.”
What users don’t like about Olark:
- Technical glitches are quite common. Few reviewers mention Olark showing them as away/offline when they weren’t.
- Files and attachments cannot be shared via live chat
“Olark displays me as offline or away even when I am on my desk”.“Olark would be better if we were able to attach files. Right now, we cannot.”
Pricing:
Starts at $29/user/month. If you need AI capabilities, you would be priced separately.
16. TeamSupport: Best for B2B support teams
TeamSupport is a great option for B2B teams that often get complex queries that cannot be solved in one sitting and need follow-ups.
What stood out to me was how much context agents can see while chatting. Account details, past issues, and related records sit right next to the conversation – which helps when chats are part of a larger customer problem, not a quick question.
What makes TeamSupport stand out :
- Chat-to-ticket continuity: Live chat conversations stay connected to support tickets, so teams can follow up later instead of treating chats as one-time interactions.
- Internal notes and collaboration: Agents can leave internal comments and collaborate with teammates directly on conversations without exposing notes to customers.
- Case and issue tracking: TeamSupport lets teams link chats to specific customer issues, making it easier to track progress over time.
What users love about TeamSupport :
- Ticketing and live chat support can be handled through a single interface
- Easy to organize customer support work with this tool.
“Helps me manage customer inquiries from different channels.”“The platform is very user-friendly and makes communication and management of tickets between clients very easy.”
What users don’t like about TeamSupport :
- Slow performance and laggy experience
- Reports and dashboards are slow to refresh
Sometimes, it’s hard to load the history of a ticket… takes so much time.“Reports are so slow and the interface can feel overwhelming when navigating data.
Pricing:
Basic plan starts from $45/user/month and can go as high as $85/user/month.
17. REVE Chat: Best for teams that want live chat with chatbots
REVE Chat helps agents carry out proactive conversations. You can trigger chat messages based on visitor behavior, which helps teams reach out before users leave the page or drop off.
Features like co-browsing and voice or video chat make it easier to walk customers through issues step by step, instead of explaining everything over text.
What makes REVE Chat stand out:
- Rule-based chatbots: Bots can answer predefined questions or collect details before handing chats to agents.
- Chat reports: Provides basic insights into chat volume and agent activity.
- Co-browsing: Agents can guide customers by sharing their screen and showing the answer/solution as a walkthrough.
What users love about REVE Chat :
- Dashboard feels straightforward for handling chats.
- Proactive chat is useful for reaching visitors
“REVEchat’s dashboard is very easy to work and understand.”“Proactive chat feature is really amazing.”
What users don’t like about REVE Chat :
- Occasional lag during chats
- Feature updates feel slow to some users
“Sometimes there are delays in receiving responses.”“The features haven’t been updated thoroughly in a while.”
Pricing:
Paid plans start at $13.5/user/month. Please bear in mind that these are the prices for the live chat feature alone. If you need chatbots too, you’d have to choose a combo plan, which starts at 45/user/month,
18. Chatra: Best for small teams that want a lightweight live chat
Chatra is a live chat software that works more like a messaging app than a traditional support widget.
I like the way Chatra helps you handle conversations when agents aren’t instantly available. Instead of pushing messages in the contact forms, the chat switches mode and asks the customer to leave a message.
Once the team is back, they can reply without the interaction feeling broken.
Also, multiple agents can join the same conversation and work together in real time. This is useful when a question needs input from more than one person, and you don’t want to switch tools or hand the chat off.
Chatra integrates seamlessly with websites, social media platforms and mobile apps
What makes Chatra stand out :
- Track visitor behavior: The tool shows visitor details like location and browsing history to help businesses tailor their responses. On higher plans, you can also see what items they have in their shopping cart to personalize your messaging. Such proactive chats can reduce the frequency of cart abandonment.
- Live typing preview: You can view what your customers are typing before they send you. This builds context faster.
- Operation hours: Set specific hours when you want to be available for chat. This sets clear expectations with customers on when they can expect a response,
What users love about Chatra :
- With live typing view and tracking of visitor behaviour, Chatra can help reduce response times in chats.
- Integrations are pretty robust.
“Chatra is super quick and easy to manage client chats… the application is simply superb to navigate.”“easily integrate email and social networks for when more personalized communication is needed.”
What users don’t like about Chatra :
- Limited automation and advanced features
- Occasional performance issues
“Automation isn’t that robust. Machine learning needs to be developed to understand some customised or surprise questions.”“Chatra sometimes gets frozen while having a live session.”
Pricing:
Has a free plan that can accommodate only one user. Paid plans start from $25/user/month and can go up to $33/user/month.
19. Smartsupp: Best for chat with built-in visitor tracking
Smartsupp combines live chat and AI-driven chatbots to answer queries from customers 24/7. It lets businesses interact with website visitors in real-time, automate answers to common questions, and deliver personalized assistance through its AI assistant, Mira.
The tool can track visitor behavior and record conversations with the aim of driving conversions. Teams can also customize the chat widget to align with their website’s brand guidelines.
You get a lot of insight on what visitors are doing on the site. For instance, you can see pages they’ve visited or even watch session recordings. This is useful for agents to understand the intent before replying.
What makes Smartsupp stand out:
- AI capabilities: Smartsupp monitors visitors’ behaviour on your website and sends proactive messages based on their actions. This is a great way to engage with potential customers and reduce drop-offs. and guide them towards what they’re looking for.
- Mira, the shopping assistant: Mira is another AI feature of the tool that auto-suggests product recommendations and also answers common queries instantly.
- E-commerce integration: Seamlessly integrates with popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.
What users love about Smartsupp:
- Visitor recording offers valuable data to optimize user experience.
- Users find the tool’s UI to be quite intuitive and straightforward.
“The real-time insights into how people are navigating the site have been priceless”.“The interface is clear, fast, and easy to manage, even with multiple conversations running at once.”
What users don’t like about Smartsupp :
- Search functionality is not that robust on the mobile app.
- Live typing is not available.
“Sometimes a conversation gets lost (to us) when using the app.”“Just the system where I can’t see what customers are typing, like other software like Jivio Chat and LiveChat.”
Pricing:
Has a free plan. Paid plan starts from $14/user/month and can go up to $239/user/month
20. Helpcrunch
HelpCrunch is a live chat tool which is great for teams that want clearer ownership and follow-ups in website conversations.
Every chat has a clear owner. You always know who’s supposed to reply to what message, which helps avoid missed messages or two agents replying at the same time.
What makes Helpcrunch stand out :
- Unified inbox: Multiple agents can view and respond to conversations from one place.
- Offline message capture: Visitors can leave messages when agents are unavailable, which teams can reply to later.
- Chat assignment: Conversations can be assigned to specific agents to avoid overlap.
What users love about Helpcrunch :
- Keeps conversation context intact across sessions
- Simple to use for small teams handling ongoing chats
What users don’t like about Helpcrunch :
- Automation and chatbot options are limited
- Reporting is basic for teams that need deeper insights.
Pricing:
Starts at $12/user/month and can go as high as $495/user/month.
How To Choose The Right Live Chat Software?
Choosing live chat software gets a lot easier when you stop comparing feature lists and start with one question: what kind of team is this for?
A startup answering a few questions a day needs something very different from an e-commerce team handling returns.
Below are three common business types, what to prioritize for each, and tool options that fit.
1. Startups and small businesses
You’re usually trying to do two things: reply fast and not miss messages, without spending weeks on setup.
Prioritize this:
- Easy setup: add a widget, set hours, start replying
- Offline mode: capture messages when no one’s online
- Saved replies: speed without sounding robotic
- Basic automation: only for FAQs and info capture
- Pricing that won’t punish growth, especially per-agent pricing
Good options to try:
- tawk.to
- Chatra
- Hiver
- HelpCrunch
- Tidio
Quick check before you buy:
If your chat volume is unpredictable, avoid tools where costs jump fast as usage increases.
2. Sales and ecommerce teams
For sales and ecommerce, live chat is less about “support tickets” and more about converting intent and resolving order questions quickly.
Prioritize this:
- Visitor context: pages viewed, returning visitors, cart or order context
- Proactive triggers: engage people on pricing, checkout, or high-intent pages
- Fast handoff: bot to human should not reset the conversation
- Integrations: Shopify, ecommerce stack, CRM, email tools
- Macros and actions: send order info, start returns, issue updates without back-and-forth
Good options to try:
- Gorgias
- Tidio
- Drift
- Intercom
Recommended reading
3. Support operations (support teams with SLAs, workflows, and multiple agents)
This is where live chat becomes a real support channel. You need ownership, routing, tracking, and follow-ups. A simple widget won’t hold up.
Prioritize this:
- Routing and queues: availability, skills, priority
- Conversation continuity: no resets when customers step away
- Collaboration: internal notes, transfers, shared visibility
- Reporting: response time, volume, agent performance
- Security and controls: auditability, data handling, access roles
- Multi-channel readiness: chat should not become another silo
Good options
- Zendesk Messaging
- Freshchat
- Hiver
- LiveAgent / TeamSupport
A simple decision shortcut
If you’re still stuck, use this:
- Need chat + multi-channel support in one place? Start with Hiver
- Need free + basic chat? Start with tawk.to
- Need e-commerce order context? Start with Gorgias
- Need sales qualification + meeting booking? Start with Drift
- Need SLAs and ticket-linked chat? Start with Zendesk Messaging
How Live Chat Transforms Customer Support
Live chat works when it solves real support problems – slow replies, missed conversations, and lost context. The tools that make the biggest impact are the ones that keep conversations moving, even when ticket volume increases or customers step away.
If you want live chat that fits naturally into your support workflow and can grow with your team, Hiver is a practical place to start. It lets teams offer real-time support without creating another silo. Also, it’s free to use!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is live chat software?
Live chat software lets businesses talk to customers in real time through a chat widget on their website or app. It allows support or sales teams to answer questions instantly, instead of relying on email or phone calls.
What are the top benefits of live chat software?
The biggest benefits are faster response times, fewer missed inquiries, higher customer satisfaction, and better conversion rates. Live chat also helps teams resolve issues while customers are actively browsing, which reduces drop-offs.
How does live chat work?
A chat widget is added to your website. When a visitor starts a conversation, the message is routed to an available agent or bot. If agents are offline, the chat usually switches to message capture so the team can follow up later.
Live chat vs. chatbots: what’s the difference?
Live chat connects customers directly with human agents in real time. Chatbots use predefined rules or AI to answer common questions automatically. Most modern setups use both—bots for first responses, humans for complex issues.
What features should live chat software have?
At a minimum, look for routing and availability controls, chat history, offline message capture, saved replies, and basic reporting. Growing teams should also consider conversation continuity, integrations, and automation support.
Can live chat integrate with my CRM and other apps?
Yes. Most live chat tools integrate with CRMs, helpdesks, ecommerce platforms, and collaboration tools. Integrations help teams see customer context, track conversations, and avoid switching between systems.
What metrics should I track to measure live chat success?
Key metrics include first response time, resolution time, chat volume, CSAT, conversion rate (for sales), and missed chats. These metrics show whether chat is improving customer experience or creating new bottlenecks.
Is live chat software worth the investment?
For most businesses, yes. Live chat reduces response delays, captures more leads, and lowers support costs compared to phone-based support. Many tools also offer free plans, making it easy to test before investing.
What are the types of live chat software?
Live chat tools generally fall into a few categories:
-Basic live chat widgets for real-time conversations
-Chat + automation tools with bots and routing
-Ecommerce-focused chat with order and cart context
-Sales-focused chat for lead qualification and meetings
-Support platforms where chat connects to tickets and SLAs
