Best live chat software
Do you want to go straight to the answer? The best live chat software for most people is undoubtedly HubSpot Live Chat
Live chat software has become an increasingly popular customer service solution for websites in all sectors. From lead generation to sales support, troubleshooting, and general inquiries, the use cases for live chat seem endless.
People are always looking for an immediate answer. Phone calls with long wait times, email support, and other communication methods do not provide the same instant satisfaction as live chat.
That's why 46% of customers prefer live chat over email (29%) and social media support (16%).
In addition to improving the customer experience, live chat also makes it easier for your customer service agents. They will have easier access to resources, be able to route messages to the right department, and resolve issues more quickly.
By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and automation, you can enable live chat on your website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Users will not be required to call your office between 9am and 5pm, local time, from Monday to Friday.
All websites that offer customer service, at any level, can benefit from adding a live chat to the site. From small businesses to medical facilities, to global e-commerce sites, and everything in between, live chat should be implemented.
The Top 10 best live chat software
Live chat on HubSpot
LiveChat.com
LiveAgent
Chatra
Chat pur
Intercom
Olark
SnapEngage
Zendesk Chat
Dérive
After conducting thorough research, I have selected the ten best live chat solutions available on the market today. I will discuss the features, benefits, use cases, pricing, and potential drawbacks in the analysis of each one below.
#1 - HubSpot Live Chat - The best free live chat software
- Free live chat widget
HubSpot is one of the most popular CRM solutions on the market today. HubSpot CRM is free and comes with tons of other free tools for marketing, sales, and customer service.
The free live chat is part of this system.
HubSpot allows you to easily chat with website visitors, prospects, and customers in real time.
Personalize your live chat widget to match your brand and color palette. Set targeted welcome messages for different landing pages or different audiences. All your conversations will be automatically recorded in the contact records. This way, your entire team has access to every interaction.
You can even use free live chatbots to automate your conversations at scale.
To get the most out of HubSpot, paid plans start at $40 per month. Product suites and bundled offers start at just $50 per month. While the free CRM and live chat may be suitable for starting out, you will definitely want to upgrade to a higher level at some point. Start for free.
#2 - LiveChat - The best for multichannel support
Starting from $16 per month
More than 177,000 customer service representatives in over 150 countries use LiveChat.com. The software facilitates over 27 million chats per month. It is used by industry leaders such as Sony, Ikea, Lexus, Samsung, LG, and many others.
For those of you who manage customer support across multiple channels, LiveChat will consolidate these messages on a single platform.
The software integrates with over 170 different third-party applications and tools. These applications allow you to manage orders, accept payments, and add customer information to your CRM.
Let's take a closer look at LiveChat's plans and pricing
Beginner - $16 per agent per month
Équipe – 33 $ par agent par mois
Entreprises – 50 $ par agent par mois
The Starter plan is perfect for basic use. It includes a 60-day chat history and an integrated ticketing system. To benefit from unlimited chat history, tagging tools, and other advanced features, you will need to upgrade to a higher level.
LiveChat has distinct products for AI chatbots, help desk support, and knowledge base tools. If you are interested in these features, you will need to purchase this software separately.
Try LiveChat for free for 14 days. Installation only takes five minutes.
#3 - LiveAgent - The best for ticketing support
- Starting at $29 per agent
LiveAgent offers a wide range of products. In addition to live chat, the company provides solutions for helpdesk software, call center software, etc.
Companies use LiveAgent's chat software to increase their sales, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce support costs. The platform features predictive chat invitations, website monitoring tools, and real-time typing previews to ensure exceptional support from your agents.
The main goal of LiveAgent is customer support.
The live chat software is fully integrated with support functions such as ticketing. LiveAgent plans are very affordable, especially with a ticketing solution.
Live chat and ticketing start at $29 per agent per month. The all-inclusive plan for live chat, ticketing, and call center support starts at $39 per month per agent.
Unfortunately, LiveAgent does not offer advanced features for AI automations or chatbots. But it remains an excellent customer service tool at an affordable price.
Try LiveAgent for free for 14 days.
#4 - Chatra - The best for multilingual live chat
- Free plan available
Chatra is one of the most popular live chat solutions in the world. More than 31,000 businesses and e-commerce stores trust it.
The software has tools for monitoring websites, multichannel communication, conversions, and many other things.
Chatra has a forever free plan for a single agent. Even the free software comes with features such as
Unlimited simultaneous discussions
Support de plusieurs sites web
Messagerie hors ligne
Typage des indicateurs
Lire les reçus
Noms et photos des agents
Cryptage SSL
Intégration de Google Analytics
API du développeur
The list is long. The multilingual chat widget is another feature of the free offer. Customers can see your chat widget in their preferred language based on browser settings. Other solutions charge extra for this feature.
For multiple agents and advanced features such as bots, targeted triggers, and detailed visitor information, the Pro version of Chatra costs $15 per agent per month. Try it out now.
#5 - Pure Chat - The Best Unlimited Plan
- Starting from $39 per month
Pure Chat is a fast and easy way to add live chat to any website. It is currently used by over 14,000 users in more than 150 countries worldwide.
You will have full control over the appearance of your chat widget thanks to customizable functions that will allow you to match the color palette and branding of your website. With Pure Chat, it is easy to manage customer service on the go with iOS and Android mobile apps.
Pure Chat has a long list of features, including:
Chat alerts
Réponses en boîte
Formulaire d’information préalable au chat
SSL intégré
Programmation de la disponibilité des opérateurs
Informations pour les visiteurs et détails sur les lieux
Intégrations de tiers
There are two different Pure Chat plans: Growth and Pro. The plans cost $39 and $79 per month, respectively, billed annually.
The growth plan includes four users. Additional users cost $13 per month. Even the entry-level plan offers unlimited chats. The Pro offer includes ten users and costs $8 per month to add seats. In addition to unlimited chats, the first-level offer also includes unlimited chat history and can be used on an unlimited number of websites.
These plans offer exceptional value. However, Pure Chat lacks advanced features such as AI and automation.
Try it for free for 30 days.
#6 - Intercom - The best live chat software at scalable level
- Starting from $39 per month
More than 30,000 companies trust Intercom for their live chat software. The platform has everything you need to benefit from live chat for lead generation, customer engagement, and customer support.
From basic usage for individual users to large-scale live chat, advanced workflows, bots, and automation, Intercom has a plan for everyone.
Customize targeted messages on your homepage and internal landing pages for different types of people, such as prospects or customers. Use this software to showcase a product to users or guide them through the conversion funnel.
The intercom seamlessly integrates with over 100 powerful applications and tools that you are already using, such as Slack, Facebook, Salesforce, Google Analytics, Stripe, and many more.
Here is a brief overview of the starting prices for the Intercom:
Start - $39 per month
Croissance – 99 $ par mois
Accélérer – 499 $ par mois
Barème – 999 $ par mois
The Start and Grow plans have one and five seats respectively. These plans provide all the basic tools you need to get started with live chat. The Acceleration and Scale plans each have ten seats and advanced features such as custom bots, automated assignment rules, and a multilingual help center.
Intercom has other additional modules for product tours, advanced lead generation, advanced customer engagement, and advanced support automation. These additional modules cost between $199 and $499 per month.
Try Intercom for free for 14 days.
#7 - Olark - Best live chat software for sales teams
- Starting from $12 per agent
Olark is a live chat software specially designed for sales teams.
Use this software to set up personalized pre-purchase forms, triggered messages, and enable offline messaging when your team is not available. You can chat in real-time and organize customer data in Olark or in your own sales CRM.
Among the other features and benefits of Olark, we can mention
Integrated chat tools (file sharing, transfers, notifications)
Suivi des pages des visiteurs
Analyse des chats (volume, historique, Google Analytics, tagging, etc.)
Outils de gestion d’équipe
Personnalisation complète
Cryptage et sécurité des données
Olark also offers automation tools for things like chat routing, canned responses, proactive chat, automatic greetings, and more.
Prices start at $12 per month per agent with a two-year contract. The rates for one year and month-to-month are $15 and $19 respectively. Additional fees for advanced features range from $29 to $99 per month.
Try Olark for free for two weeks.
#8 - SnapEngage - The best live chat bots
- Starting from $16 per user
SnapEngage is a robust live chat solution. The platform features specific tools for sales, customer service, and even healthcare solutions with chats compliant with HIPAA standards.
For those of you who want to fully leverage automation and chat on their website, SnapEngage will be the best option for you.
Here is a brief overview of the plans and prices of this software:
The live chatbots available on this software include:
Information input bot
Bot d’approbation
Répondre bot
Guide bot
Bot API personnalisé
Bot de contrôle des symptômes COVID-19
Even the entry-level plan comes with data entry and approval robots.
SnapEngage has all the necessary tools to manage customer support at every stage of the customer journey. The plans are affordable and feature-rich, but they require a minimum of three users to start.
#9 - Zendesk Chat - The best live chat software for customer support services
- Free for basic use
Zendesk Chat is a simple and powerful tool for improving customer support through live chat. The software is easy to use, works with multiple communication channels, and provides detailed analytics.
Here are some of the main features of Zendesk Chat:
Behavior-based triggers
Formulaires de pré-chat et hors ligne
Chat ratings
Listes de visiteurs
Chatbots alimentés par l’IA
Envoi de fichiers
Here is an overview of the plans and prices for this software
As you can see, Zendesk Chat has a plan for everyone. You can even get the software for free if you are a basic user.
For those of you who wish to benefit from the full experience of the support service, in addition to live chat, try the Zendesk Support Suite. The software is available starting at $89 per month and includes everything you need for a virtual help center.
#10 - Drift - The best live chat software for lead generation
- Free for basic use
Drift is another popular live chat solution among sales teams. Over 50,000 organizations worldwide trust it.
With features like live chat for account-based marketing (ABM), meeting scheduling, and call chat, this software is perfect for lead generation at scale.
Companies use Drift to shorten sales cycles by connecting with prospects in real time. You can even qualify your prospects in real time, directly in the live chat box thanks to automation and AI chatbots.
Here is an overview of Drift's pricing
Free - $0
Essentiel – 400 $ par mois
Prime – 1 500 $ par mois
Entreprises – Tarification personnalisée
This free plan allows you to chat with visitors to your website in real time, but does not include any of the other features and benefits associated with Drift.
For customized bots, lead routing and sales integration, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
Drift is certainly more expensive than other market solutions. It is also worth noting that the above prices are only the basic monthly rates billed annually. Chat seats start at $40 per month per agent.
Companies with less than 20 employees benefit from a 93% reduction.
How to find the best live chat software for you
It can be difficult to find the best live chat software for your website if you don't know what to look for. Some factors need to be taken into consideration when making your purchase.
This is the methodology I used to narrow down the most important choices on our list.
Use cases
Why do you need a live chat?
Some solutions are specialized in sales, while others focus on customer support or lead generation. There are even live chat tools for things like omnichannel or multilingual support.
If you have a specific gap to fill, make sure to choose a live chat solution that can meet those needs.
Automation
Automation is a crucial element of live chat. The best automations ensure that visitors to your website receive a quick response, even if a live agent is not available at that time.
Advanced automations go as far as routing customers to the right service or agent. Some AI-powered chatbots are able to answer questions and guide customers through the conversion funnel without ever connecting to a real human.
Not all software comes with this type of tools. In most cases, automations and chatbots are considered a top feature.
Team size
How many living agents do you have?
Some plans have minimum and maximum restrictions regarding agents. For example, if you have to handle online support yourself, there is no reason to pay for a plan that includes five agent seats.
For those of you who are considering expanding your team, look for software that is billed per user and can be upgraded as your team grows.
Features
In addition to the basic features of live chat, there are many other features to keep in mind when making your purchases:
Integrations
Réponses déclenchées
Surveillance des sites web
Discussions simultanées
Données sur les clients et données CRM
Analyse des chats
Outils de gestion d’équipe
Calendrier
Widget de chat personnalisable
All these features should not be a deal breaker. It depends on what you are looking for. Some businesses will have specific needs that need to be addressed. For example, a medical company will need a live chat software that is compliant with HIPAA regulations.
Conclusion
What is the best live chat software on the market today?
For those of you looking for free live chat software, check out the HubSpot Live Chat site. But there are many other interesting options among which you can choose from.
For ticketing and customer support, use LiveAgent or Zendesk Chat. Chatra is the best software for live multilingual chat, and LiveChat is the best for omnichannel support. Intercom is our top recommendation for scalability. For sales teams and lead generation, try Olark or Drift.
If you want to take advantage of chatbots and automation, use SnapEngage.
Whatever type of website you have, you can find the best live chat software for your needs using the recommendations in this guide.