The best live chat software for most support teams in 2026 is Intercom, because it pairs a live chat Messenger with Fin AI Agent, which resolves conversations first, and a full helpdesk where human agents pick up with the complete history. LiveChat is a strong choice for chat-first sales and ecommerce teams, Zendesk for enterprises standardizing on a ticketing suite, HubSpot for teams that live in its CRM, Tidio for small online stores, and tawk.to if your budget is zero.
Disclosure: this guide is published by Intercom. We rank Intercom first and show our reasoning against the criteria below. Every competitor price was taken from the vendor's own pricing page in October, 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Best live chat software at a glance
We didn't give credit for "free forever" on its own, the longest feature list, or self-reported review scores.
How we ranked these tools
We scored each tool on seven criteria, all about what happens behind the widget, because that decides whether a customer gets an answer.
| Criterion | What "good" looks like |
|---|---|
| 1. AI that resolves, not just deflects | Understands free-form questions, answers from approved knowledge, can take actions, and knows when to step aside |
| 2. Human handoff with full context | Agents see the transcript, what the AI tried, and customer data, without switching tools |
| 3. One inbox across channels | Chat, email, and messaging channels land in one queue |
| 4. Brand control and coverage | Customizable widget across web and mobile apps |
| 5. Reporting across AI and humans | Resolution, CSAT, and handoff metrics side by side |
| 6. Transparent pricing | Published prices, clear AI usage terms, predictable scaling |
| 7. Fit for business support | Built for customer service and sales, not social chat |
We didn't give credit for "free forever" on its own, the longest feature list, or self-reported review scores.
1. Intercom: best overall live chat software
Best for: support teams that want an AI agent to resolve conversations first and a full helpdesk for the humans who take over.
Intercom is the helpdesk built by Fin, and the only helpdesk with a natively integrated AI Agent. Live chat runs through Messenger, the AI agent is Fin, and human agents work in the Intercom Inbox. AI and humans work in one system: the same customer record, the same knowledge, and the same inbox.
Live chat and Messenger
Messenger is the Intercom chat surface for websites and web and mobile apps (web, iOS, and Android). You control tone, style, and design so "every live chat reply sounds and looks like it came directly from your team." Support happens inside your product, so customers stay on the page they're on. Setup is a snippet or an integration (WordPress, Google Tag Manager, Shopify, Segment); see our guide on how to embed a live chat widget.
Fin: an AI agent that resolves first
Fin answers the moment a conversation starts. On Messenger, Fin replies without quick-reply buttons, follows up if a customer goes quiet, and shows sources in its replies. Fin resolves 76% of queries on average across more than 12,000 customers, including complex, multi-step work (Fin, 2026). Fin also runs on email, phone, WhatsApp, social channels, and Slack, using the same knowledge and workflows. Learn more about Fin and Fin on live chat.
The human handoff
This is where Intercom is hardest to match. Because Fin and Intercom are built together, Fin "hands off with the full history attached, so your agent starts with context, not questions." With Human in the Loop, Fin pauses mid-procedure and asks a teammate for a review, some information, or an approval, then finishes the job without handing off the whole conversation. Agents work in an Inbox where "email, live chat, phone, SMS, WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook all route to the same Inbox," and Copilot assists them in the conversation.
Pricing (from intercom.com/pricing, checked Oct 30, 2026)
Intercom combines seats and outcomes.
- Essential: $29 per seat per month, with a new-customer price of $19 shown at the time of writing; includes Messenger live chat, shared inbox and ticketing, pre-built reports, public help center, and basic automation.
- Advanced: $85 per seat per month; adds the workflow automation builder, multiple team inboxes, round robin assignment, a private and multilingual Help Center, and 20 free Lite seats.
- Expert: $132 per seat per month; adds SSO, HIPAA support, SLAs, multibrand Messenger and Help Center, and 50 free Lite seats.
- Fin AI Agent: from $0.99 per outcome on all plans, charged at most once per conversation. An outcome is counted when the customer confirms resolution, doesn't ask for more help, or Fin completes a workflow. Fin does not charge for unsuccessful attempts.
- Free trial: no credit card required. Startups that qualify for the Early Stage program get discounted pricing.
Where Intercom isn't the best fit: there's no free-forever plan. If you only need a basic widget for a handful of chats a week, a free tool will cost less. Intercom pays off when chat volume is meaningful and you want AI to resolve a large share of it.
Explore Intercom live chat software →
2. LiveChat: best for chat-first sales and ecommerce teams
Best for: teams whose main channel is website chat and who care about turning conversations into revenue.
LiveChat is one of the best-known names in the category. Its pricing page now presents the product as Text, "intuitive live chat software from the team behind LiveChat.com, HelpDesk.com, and ChatBot.com." Plans include chat, an inbox and ticketing system, selling through Shopify, live visitor tracking, proactive campaigns, workflow automation, and an AI Agent with a set number of AI resolutions.
Pricing (livechat.com/pricing, checked Nov 1, 2026): Essential $19/user/mo billed annually ($25 monthly) with 1 AI Agent and 10 AI resolutions a month; Growth $79/user/mo billed annually ($99 monthly) with 10 AI Agents and 200 AI resolutions a month; extra packages of 50 AI resolutions cost $49.50; Enterprise is custom. 14-day free trial, no card.
Choose LiveChat over Intercom if: chat is your primary sales channel, you want a polished chat-first tool, and your AI volume fits inside the included resolutions.
Consider Intercom instead if: you want AI to handle a large share of conversations (LiveChat's Essential plan includes 10 AI resolutions a month) or you need a full helpdesk across email, phone, and messaging. See more live chat alternatives.
3. Zendesk: best for enterprises standardizing on a service suite
Best for: larger support organizations that want chat inside a broad ticketing, telephony, and workforce suite.
Zendesk bundles messaging and live chat into its Suite plans along with AI agents, an AI knowledge base, omnichannel routing, and telephony. Its entry plan, Support Team, covers email and ticketing only. Messaging and live chat start at Suite Team.
Pricing (zendesk.com/pricing, checked Nov 1, 2026): Support Team $19/agent/mo annual ($25 monthly), without messaging and live chat; Suite Team $55/agent/mo annual ($69 monthly); Suite Professional $115/agent/mo annual ($149 monthly). Plans include a set number of automated resolutions for AI agents (5 per agent/month on Support Team and Suite Team, 10 on Suite Professional), with additional committed automated resolutions at $1.50 and pay-as-you-go at $2.00.
Choose Zendesk if: you need its breadth of service-suite features or are already standardized on it.
Consider Intercom instead if: you want a messaging-first live chat experience with an AI agent priced per outcome. See our detailed Fin vs Zendesk AI comparison and breakdown of Zendesk pricing.
4. HubSpot: best for teams already on HubSpot CRM
Best for: marketing and sales-led teams whose contacts, deals, and tickets already live in HubSpot.
HubSpot offers free live chat as part of its CRM, with routing to the right person on your team, chat automation for common questions, and a customizable widget with targeted welcome messages. For AI, its Service Hub pricing page promotes Customer Agent, which runs on HubSpot Credits; HubSpot states Customer Agent resolves "65%+ of conversations" automatically.
Pricing: live chat is free. We couldn't load HubSpot's paid Service Hub prices (the pricing page returned "Something went wrong loading pricing data"), so check HubSpot's site for current tiers and credit costs.
Choose HubSpot if: CRM context for sales and marketing matters more than support depth.
Consider Intercom instead if: support is the main job for chat and you want a dedicated helpdesk with an AI agent built in. Fin can also run on HubSpot as your helpdesk; the Intercom pricing page lists using Fin with an existing helpdesk such as Salesforce, HubSpot, or Freshdesk.
5. Tidio: best for small ecommerce stores
Best for: small online stores and SMBs that want live chat, simple automation, and an AI agent at a low entry price.
Tidio combines live chat and ticketing with Lyro AI Agent and visual automation "Flows." Pricing is based on billable conversations, with Lyro AI conversations metered separately. Tidio states that "our customers average a 75% resolution rate with Lyro."
Pricing (tidio.com/pricing, checked October, 2026; prices shown with annual billing): Free $0/mo; Starter $24.17/mo with 100 billable conversations and 50 one-off Lyro conversations; Growth from $49.17/mo from 250 billable conversations; Plus from $300/mo plus usage; Premium on request. 7-day free trial.
Choose Tidio if: you're a small store that wants to get started cheaply.
Consider Intercom instead if: your volume and complexity are growing and you want AI and humans in a full helpdesk with advanced routing and reporting.
6. Freshchat: best for teams growing into Freshworks
Best for: teams that want a free starting point and a path into the Freshworks suite.
Freshchat's free plan includes a chat widget on web and mobile apps, a shared inbox, email connection, and roles and permissions for up to 10 agents. Paid plans add social messengers, text messaging, reporting, and the Freddy AI Agent.
Pricing (freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing, checked October, 2026): Free $0 for up to 10 agents; Growth $19/agent/mo billed annually; Pro $49/agent/mo billed annually; Enterprise $79/agent/mo billed annually. Freddy AI Agent is $49 per 100 sessions; Freddy AI Copilot is a $29/agent/month add-on.
Choose Freshchat if: you need a capable free tier for a small team or you're already on Freshdesk.
Consider Intercom instead if: you want AI priced per outcome rather than per session, and a single Messenger-plus-helpdesk experience. Fin also works on top of Freshdesk if you'd rather keep it.
7. Zoho SalesIQ: best for Zoho users who want chat plus calls
Best for: businesses already on Zoho CRM or Zoho One, and teams that want audio, video, and screen sharing from the chat window.
Zoho SalesIQ's paid plans add chat routing and transfer, messaging channels (WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and more), audio and video calls, screen sharing, visitor tracking, chatbots, and Zia Agents, which Zoho says "pull data from records, webhooks, file uploads, databases, and third-party apps to provide context-aware resolutions."
Pricing (zoho.com/salesiq/pricing.html, checked October, 2026): a Free plan with 3 operator licenses and 100 operator chat sessions a month; paid Basic, Professional, and Enterprise plans are priced per operator. The paid prices didn't render on the page when we checked, so confirm them on Zoho's site. 15-day free trial, no card.
Choose Zoho SalesIQ if: you're in the Zoho ecosystem or need calling and screen sharing in chat.
8. Crisp: best for startups that want flat per-workspace pricing
Best for: early-stage teams that prefer a predictable monthly price with a bundle of seats.
Crisp offers a free shared inbox, then paid plans priced per workspace rather than per agent, each with included seats and AI credits. Higher tiers add an omnichannel inbox (WhatsApp Business, Instagram DMs, SMS, and more), routing rules, and an "AI-first support suite."
Pricing (crisp.chat/en/pricing, checked October, 2026): Free forever; Mini $45/mo per workspace (4 seats, $5 of AI credits); Essentials $95/mo per workspace (10 seats, $25 of AI credits); Plus $295/mo per workspace (20+ seats, $75 of AI credits). 14-day trial of any plan.
Choose Crisp if: a flat workspace price matters more than enterprise depth.
9. tawk.to: best free live chat
Best for: websites with no budget for chat software.
tawk.to gives its live chat software away for free and makes money from add-ons. Its pricing page explains: removing the "Powered by tawk.to" branding costs $29/month, AI Assist (an AI chatbot trained on your knowledge base) starts "from as little as $29/month," and you can hire tawk.to's chat agents to answer on your behalf for $1/hour.
Choose tawk.to if: you need chat on your site today and can't spend anything.
Consider Intercom instead if: you need deeper AI resolution, a full helpdesk, and reporting across AI and humans.
10. Salesloft chat agents (formerly Drift): best for B2B pipeline
Best for: B2B sales and revenue teams that want web chat to feed sellers.
Drift was the original conversational marketing tool. Today, salesloft.com/platform/drift redirects to Salesloft's AI chat agents page, which says Salesloft has "transitioned from Drift to partner with 1Mind." The pitch is revenue-focused: "AI chat agents engage visitors the moment they arrive and answer their questions," with signals feeding Salesloft's system "to keep deals moving."
Pricing: not published; Salesloft's pricing page routes to "Talk to Sales."
Choose it if: your chat is primarily a pipeline tool for an outbound sales team.
Consider Intercom instead if: you need one tool for support and sales; Fin for Sales handles inbound buyer conversations in the same Intercom helpdesk.
How to choose live chat software
Define the job chat needs to do, decide who answers first, model cost at your real volume, and test the handoff in every trial. The details:
Start with the job chat needs to do
- Mostly support? Prioritize AI resolution, handoff quality, and a real helpdesk.
- Mostly sales? Prioritize proactive messaging, routing to reps, and CRM sync.
- Both? Pick a helpdesk where AI and humans share one inbox and customer record.
Decide who answers first
If you get a lot of repetitive questions, an AI agent will change your economics more than any widget feature. For the trade-offs in detail, read chatbot vs live chat.
Model the cost at your volume, not the entry price
Per-seat prices are easy to compare. AI is where bills diverge: some plans include a small number of AI resolutions and sell more in packs, others charge per outcome or per session. Our live chat pricing guide compares the published models side by side.
Test the handoff before you buy
In every trial, ask the AI something it can't answer, ask for a human, and look at what the agent receives. That five-minute test tells you more than a feature checklist.
When a free tool is enough (and when it isn't)
Free tools are fine for low-volume sites. Upgrade when you're missing chats, answering the same questions all day, or juggling chat and email in separate tools.
New to the category? Start with what live chat is and how it works.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best live chat software?
For most support teams, Intercom, because it combines live chat (Messenger), an AI agent that resolves conversations (Fin), and a full helpdesk for human handoff in one place. LiveChat is a strong chat-first option, Zendesk suits enterprise suites, HubSpot suits CRM-led teams, and tawk.to is the best free option.
What is the best free live chat software?
tawk.to is free for life, with paid add-ons for branding removal and AI. HubSpot, Freshchat (up to 10 agents), Tidio, Crisp, and Zoho SalesIQ (3 operators) also have free plans with limits. Intercom offers a free trial rather than a free plan.
What is the best live chat for a website?
It depends on who will answer. If you want instant answers around the clock with humans for complex questions, choose a tool with an AI agent and helpdesk built in, like Intercom. If you only need a basic widget, a free tool like tawk.to will do.
How to make live chat on a website?
Sign up for a live chat tool, customize the widget, and paste its JavaScript snippet on your pages or install its plugin. Our guide on how to embed a live chat widget walks through each method.
Which software is used for online chat conversations with customers?
Businesses use live chat software such as Intercom, LiveChat, Zendesk, HubSpot, Tidio, Freshchat, Zoho SalesIQ, Crisp, and tawk.to. Most now include some form of AI to answer common questions automatically.
Is live chat software the same as a chatbot?
No. Live chat software is the channel and the inbox; a chatbot is automation inside it. AI agents like Fin go further and resolve issues, then hand off to humans. See chatbot vs live chat.
How much does live chat software cost?
Several tools have free plans. As of October 2026, the lowest published per-agent prices (with annual billing) were $19 per agent per month for LiveChat Essential, Zendesk Support Team (which doesn't include live chat), and Freshchat Growth. Intercom Essential lists at $29 per seat per month, with a $19 new-customer price shown at the time of writing, plus Fin AI Agent from $0.99 per outcome. See live chat pricing.