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Live chat software allows you to add chat widgets to your website so you can communicate with customers and prospects in real-time. The best live chat solutions can be live-chat-specific software, help desk platforms that connect customers with live agents, as well as CRMs with chat capabilities. To help you choose the best software for you, we reviewed dozens of options and ranked the best live chat software and their primary use cases.
Here are the top live chat software for customer service and lead generation:
Live chat can be used for lead capture on a lead generation website or for customer service. To determine the best, we looked at both live chat software as well as help desk and CRM solutions offering live chat functionality. We scored each top option on six specific categories, using key subcriteria to assign each option an overall score out of five. Also identified were primary use cases for each of the best choices.
Note: All per-user prices are with a one-year commitment unless noted.
Overall, we found HubSpot CRM to not only be the best overall live chat option, but also the best free sales software option for those on a budget or looking to try before they buy. Check out our analysis for each of our top options below, including the use cases for each.
Hubspot CRM offers a robust free option with live chat the ability to upgrade to premium tiers later.
Price Range: Free to $1,200 per month
HubSpot CRM offers a robust free CRM with basic contact management and pipeline features as well as live chat for free. Upgrade into one of its more premium tiers for advanced live chat and other sales features, such as conversation routing, lead scoring and distribution, and more. You also have access to their free marketing and service hubs, however, to get the most out of those features you may have pay for their premium levels.
Freshsales is a sales and marketing CRM offering live chat along with the ability to integrate with their helpdesk platform.
Price Range: Free to $69 per user, per month (21-day free trial)
Freshsales is a robust sales CRM with a free option and premium tiers with advanced sales features. Its live chat functionality is available with all tiers, allowing you to communicate with website visitors in real-time. Also included in all tiers is a built-in dialer and contact management. You can upgrade for more sales pipeline functionality like AI forecasting and reporting as well as integrate with Freshdesk, their help desk platform.
Live chat software offering powerful, AI-driven custom chat solution for automation.
Price Range: $42 to $424 per month (14-day free trial)
ChatBot is a chat software providing a comprehensive, AI-driven platform to automate basic chats with your customers. It uses a drag-and-drop editor that lets you easily develop conversational pathways, complete with advanced options like appointment scheduling and reservations. While it doesn’t provide a native live chat feature, ChatBot can be integrated with third-party apps — like LiveChat — to handle all of your online chat needs.
Offers flexibile customizations as well as integrations with the largest number of third-party platforms on our list.
Price Range: $16 to $50 per agent, per month (14-day free trial)
LiveChat is a well-known live chat tool offering a robust marketplace with over 200+ app integrations for customizations and added features. In addition to its large marketplace of apps, it also lets you integrate with other conversation platforms so all of your customer communications can be managed from a single interface. This makes it a great option for those looking to customize their live chat or for those who communicate with customers on multiple platforms.
Well-priced live chat option with good overall user experience and well-designed chatbot templates.
Price Range: Free to $12.50 per user, per month (7-day free trial)
Tidio is a low-cost and well-designed live chat option great for smaller businesses. Their visual chat builder allows for customizations, but they also offer AI-powered chatbots with a wealth of pre-designed templates you can use to generate leads, stop cart abandonments, send welcome messages, and more. Its live chat feature even offers automations as well as insights on the customer. However, some may find that their free tier is limited.
Offers live chat functionality as well as robust analytics on website visitors and their interactions.
Price Range: Free to $23 per agent, per month (10-day free trial)
Chatra is a live chat software that makes it easy to analyze online traffic with comprehensive analytics that aren’t available from other solutions. Basic visitor info is available with their free plan, but their paid options give you IP address, real-time activity tracking, shopping cart contents and more. They even offer a free tier as well as premium tiers starting at $17 per agent, all of which include unlimited conversations.
Inexpensive option focused exclusively on desktop web browser solutions.
Price Range: Free to $39.99 per month
Whereas most live chat solutions focus on text-based communications, ClickDesk takes this a step further than most by offering options for voice or face-to-face video chat an all of its tiers. In fact, it’s the only option on our list that lets you switch between all three formats. Whether you need to switch to a more convenient platform for a customer or if you need to provide detailed instructions through voice or video, ClickDesk has you covered.
Modern consumers want instant gratification. If their messages are left unanswered for too long, most will quickly find another company to meet their needs. The best live chat software makes it easy to connect with customers as well as serve as a lead generation software tool, while some of the more advanced options let you use AI-powered chatbots to provide round-the-clock service.
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