12 Best Live Chat Software & Platforms Compared in 2025
Empowering your decision with a comprehensive live chat software comparison, ensuring it seamlessly fits into your workflow and integrates effectively.
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Offer an immaculate experience to your customer with Omni24’s live chat platform while enhancing employee productivity.
Provide customers with a personal, timely interaction that can help boost customer satisfaction rate.
Enable customers to get answers swiftly and without hassle, allowing for better relationships and higher retention rates.
Offer your customers a fast and efficient way to book appointments right inside your web messenger and eliminate the hassle of manual systems.
Solve customer issues in real time without waiting on multiple emails or phone calls.
Live chat software tools have become indispensable for customer service and support. They provide customers with immediate access to assistance while helping businesses save money by reducing the need for physical contact centers.
A perfect live chat tool will enhance customer satisfaction, increase efficiency and save cost, all while personalizing customer interactions quickly and easily.
The live chat tools help us track conversations between agents and customers to understand customer preferences and improve overall customer experience.
Let’s take a look at the best live chat platform options that are perfect for small businesses.
Live chat software is a type of tool that allows businesses to communicate with their customers in real time using web-based chat messenger or mobile apps. Live chat solutions typically allow customers to ask questions, provide feedback, and submit complaints without directly contacting a customer service representative.
The software reduces response times dramatically compared to email or phone support. Thus, allowing businesses to handle multiple customer inquiries simultaneously. This immediacy not only improves customer experience but also increases conversion rates. Potential customers get instant answers to their pre-purchase questions.
Key functions:
Here’s a comparison chart for 12 best live chat software for small businesses, including key features, pricing, and trial information:
Software | Key Features | Price | Trial |
---|---|---|---|
Omni24 |
|
$34/month | 14-day free trial |
Veemo |
|
$29/user/month | 14-day free trial |
Intercom |
|
$67/month | 14-day free trial |
Drift |
|
$2,500/month/Annually | No free trial |
Userlike |
|
$39/agent/month | 14-day free trial |
Chatra.io |
|
$19/month | No free trial |
Gorgias |
|
$60/month | 7-day free trial |
Tidio |
|
$19/month | 7-day free trial |
Zendesk Chat |
|
$89/agent/month | No free trial |
Freshchat |
|
$19/agent/month | Free plan |
Tawk.to |
|
$17/month | Free plan available |
HubSpot Service Hub |
|
$45/month | Free plan available |
Live chat software allows businesses to communicate with website visitors or customers in real-time. The chat interface is usually embedded on their website or mobile app.
1. Implementation: Live chat software is integrated into the business’s website/mobile app, usually through a code snippet or plugin. It creates a chat window that visitors can click to initiate a chat session.
2. Chat initiation: When a visitor clicks the chat icon/window, they can start a new chat conversation. Some live chat solutions also provide proactive chat invitations. A chat window automatically appears after certain triggers, such as time spent on a particular page, specific browsing behavior, etc.
3. Operator assignment: Depending on the live chat software’s configuration, incoming chats are either assigned to available customer service agents manually or automatically. You set predefined rules, such as operator workload, skill set, or language preferences.
4. Real-time communication: Once an operator is assigned, they can engage in a real-time text conversation with the visitor. They get to answer customers’ questions, provide support, or guide them through the website.
5. Co-browsing and file sharing: Many live chat solutions offer additional features like co-browsing. It allows the operator to see the visitor’s screen and provide guidance. They can also exchange documents or media files during the chat.
6. Chatbot integration: Some live chat software integrates with chatbots or virtual assistants. It handles simple queries or gathers initial information before transferring the chat to a human operator.
7. Reporting and analytics: Live chat solutions typically provide reporting tools to track chat volume, agent performance, customer satisfaction, and other metrics.
Website live chat software has become an indispensable tool for companies looking to deliver exceptional service and engagement. Let’s learn more about its features!
Live chat allows businesses and organizations to customize their customer interactions with things such as customizable chat widgets, greetings, scripts, auto-responses, and other tailored replies. The representatives can offer personalized support, making the customer feel comfortable and creating a more meaningful conversation.
The live chat tool offers multi-channel support for companies to manage various communication channels simultaneously. Live chat, video chat, messaging apps etc. can all be managed in one place and easily accessed through the live chat software.
Live chat software enables businesses to create specific workflow rules and routing systems based on different conditions, needs, and preferences to provide customers with more efficient and appropriate assistance.
Live chat tools are equipped with tracking capabilities that allow companies to access customer data before even contacting them – including things like referral source, geographic location, web pages visited, etc.
Having an integrated knowledge base within your live chat software enables agents to quickly access relevant articles or reference material when talking with customers. The live chat software helps them provide quick & accurate answers while allowing them to spend less time on research or looking through FAQs.
Incorporating a meeting setting into your live chat software allows customers to plan and schedule appointments flexibly inside your platform. You can use this feature for internal team meetings as well!
Utilizing surveys at the end of every interaction enables representatives to collect customer feedback about how satisfied (or unsatisfied) they were with the recent conversation. You can then identify if there are any service gaps easily.
Integrating third-party applications into your live chat software optimizes your workflow further by providing quick access to tools AND data! Whether it’s analytics apps like Google Analytics or CRMs like Salesforce – integrating those platforms into one unified interface streamlines team communications and increases work productivity too.
Live chat platforms offer numerous benefits that empower businesses to deliver unparalleled customer experiences.
Choosing the right live chat tool can be overwhelming when different products keep popping up with countless features. Here’s the list of leading providers to find the right one for you!
Best Live Chat Software for Sales, Support and Marketing
Omni24 is an omnichannel customer experience software that helps businesses to engage with their customers through multiple channels. The platform leverages automation to enhance customer engagement, improve operational efficiency and deliver personalized experiences at scale.
The platform helps businesses quickly connect with customers, answer their questions and resolve any issues they might have in real time. It also offers other features such as automated workflows, collaboration tools and customizations.
Key features:
Pricing: Omni24’s pricing starts from $29/user/month and goes up to $149/user/month based on the features as well as add-ons. All plans come with 14 days free trial.
Top live chat tool with easy integration with marketing tools
Veemo Chat is an omnichannel live chat software that helps businesses communicate with their customers in real-time, providing a seamless customer support experience. The software is a part of Veemo’s customer engagement suite of products designed to streamline and enhance various aspects of business operations. Businesses use Veemo Chat to offer instant support to website visitors, resolve issues and provide personalized recommendations.
Key features:
Pricing: Veemo’s pricing plans start from $29/user/month and go up to 129/user/month based on the features. The software pricing is also customizable as per business requirements.
Ultimate customer live chat platform with efficient self-service support
Intercom is a customer service tool designed to connect customers with brands from around the world in real-time. It offers features like personalized conversations, free live chat, self-service customer support, and more. Intercom also helps you understand your customers better with data analytics and reports.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Plans start from $39 per month for a basic live chat plan with up to 5 user profiles and unlimited chats.
Great live chat software to with effective personalization strategy
Drift is a conversation platform empowering companies to talk to their customers in real time through live chat, AI-powered bots, email and webinars. They help businesses build deeper relationships with their customers with personalized messages, automated workflows and meaningful conversations.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: The Live Chat pricing plan starts from $50/month for unlimited contacts or leads for one website or domain name, plus premium integration options such as Salesforce or Hubspot starting from $60/month.
Best cloud-based live chat tool with interactive chat interface
Userlike is a cloud-based customer service solution that enables companies to engage with customers in real time. Businesses can customize their interactive web chat interface and manage online conversations directly from their web browser or mobile device.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Userilke offers three pricing plans – Starter ($12/month), Professional ($41/month), and Premium ($99/month). All the plans come with unlimited chats, team members, Slack integration and sentiment analysis features.
Great live chat app that offers comprehensive analytics
Chatra.io, a live chat software, comes with an AI-powered assistant called “Christian” that can help reduce the need for agents to manually answer customers’ questions. The software also offers color schemes, layout settings and logo placement among others. Its analytics enable businesses to gather information on website visitor interactions and their needs.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Chatra has three pricing tiers depending on your business size – Start (free), Grow($15 per month), and Pro($50 per month). All the plans give access to basic features such as automatic messages, transcripts, animation etc., while premium features like support integrations are only available in higher tiers of the pricing plan.
Ultimate customer live chat solution for SMBs
Gorgias is a robust customer service platform geared towards e-commerce companies who want to automate repetitive helpdesk tasks such as refunds & returns. The live chat tool enables customer service agents to focus on complex problems rather than dealing with routine ticket work every day.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Gorgias comes with three pricing plans – Solo ($25/Month), Increased traffic ($50/Month), and Huge Traffic ($100+/Months). There are no limitations on chats regardless of which plan you choose, but some features, such as automated workflows are unavailable in lower plans.
Excellent omnichannel live chat platform with effective bot technology
Tidio comes with unlimited channel messaging capabilities, allowing you to send messages via different channels – traditional and modern alike! The tool enables companies to craft personalized messages, integrate them into CRMs, keep track of customer data, and much more.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Using Tidio isn’t free, but affording it isn’t bearable either. Single users can avail level-0 package, which costs $9 a month. For large organizations, they are priced according to their user base.
Best online live chat software for remote businesses
Zendesk Chat is a web-based live chat software and customer service platform designed primarily to meet the needs of businesses and online organizations. With Zendesk Chat, users can easily create custom automated messages, engage customers in real-time conversations, and monitor results with analytics.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Different plans range from $19/month for the basic plan to $89/month for the Advanced one.
Excellent live chat tool to enhance the messaging solutions
Freshchat is an AI-powered messaging solution created by Freshworks to help businesses respond quickly and effectively to customer inquiries and requests. It provides a robust set of features that allow users to create custom chatbots, and integrate Mashups into their platforms or plugins.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Plans range from $12/month up to $50/month depending on the packages chosen by the organization or team size.
Top live chat solution for quality video embedding
Tawk.to is a live communication platform created for organizations looking for better ways to engage with their customers through personalized interactions. The advanced features of embedding videos/images into chats and auto-complete options save time, while the agent provides a faster service.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: While the starter pack is free, Pro costs 9$ per month and Business costs 49 $per month.
Excellent live chat solution for small business and corporations alike
Hubspot Service Hub provides an all-in-one solution to help teams manage customer relationships, automate customer service processes and provide actionable insights on customer interactions with the business.
Pros
Cons
Pricing: Free plans are available, while the premium plans start at $49 per month onward, depending on usage needs.
Live chat software is crucial for successful online customer service. From providing quick, personalized conversations with customers to engaging potential buyers and offering remote technical support, surplus use cases are available for the versatile communication tool.
Let’s learn more about the five key uses for live chat software:
Conversational support: Live chat offers a fast, convenient way to engage with customers who need help or have questions about your product or service. You can quickly provide answers to customers and build trust in your brand with conversational support.
Conversational marketing: Use live chat to communicate with potential customers and explain why your product or service is the best solution to their needs. You can help them make an informed purchasing decision while potentially boosting sales.
Conversational sales: Live chat can be used as an effective sales tool to generate leads and close deals faster. Initiate engaging conversations with prospects and answer any questions they ask. It becomes simple for them to fully understand what you’re offering them and decide if it’s right for them or not.
Remote technical support: Businesses can offer their customers a fast and efficient way to get help from technical experts. It reduces the wait time and scheduling appointments in advance. The customers get the assistance they need in real time without any added expense.
Collect customer feedback: Customers want their concerns heard and addressed promptly which is why businesses should take advantage of live chat tools to capture feedback almost immediately after providing service to their customers. The companies can then actively monitor customer sentiment while working proactively against creating negative experiences (and losing business).
Finding the best live chat solution that meets your company’s requirements can be challenging. Here’s the list of things to check before you choose the right one for your business needs.
1. What Type of Customer Service are you Looking for?
Live chat can be used for different types of customer service such as providing pre-sales or technical support or to handle incoming requests from prospective customers. Know the goals and objectives of your customer service requirements and determine the best live chat software/tool.
2. How Specific is the Integration with your Current Software/Tools?
Certain live chat solutions may require more integration with existing systems than others. Assess if you need a compatible solution with your existing programs and whether it should integrate seamlessly with any APIs you may have built to provide a flawless customer experience.
3. Is There an Option for Self-Service Automation?
Automation tools are available in some live chat solutions. The live chat tool can provide customers with an efficient and effective solution to find answers to their questions without having to wait on hold or wait for a response from an agent via email or text message.
4. Are There Customized Reporting Capabilities?
It would be beneficial to look for software/tools that offer customized reports so that you can measure metrics such as performance, sentiment, customer retention rates etc. The metrics will help in decision-making within your organization while measuring progress towards meeting objectives. But, look into features such as agent scoring and analytics to track their performance over time and improve productivity accordingly.
5. Does it Offer Conversation Continuation?
Look out for features like conversation continuation so agents can pick up where they left off in conversations if they have to step away temporarily or if interrupted by another conversation while they’re talking with a customer. Customers will not have to waste time repeating themselves when discussing multiple issues simultaneously, resulting in higher satisfaction levels.
6. What are your Scalability Requirements?
Live chat tools come in all shapes and sizes, so it’s important to find one that can meet your specific scalability requirements. If you’re looking for a tool that can handle multiple chats at once, look for one that has dedicated agents and bots built-in so you can accommodate larger volumes of traffic. On the other hand, if your customer base is smaller, then a simpler solution may be sufficient.
7. How Secure is the Chat Solution?
When dealing with sensitive customer information, security should always be a top priority data breaches could lead to serious legal action against companies unaware they allowed their customers’ information through insufficiently protected applications or sites! Look out for full visibility throughout network logs including encryption standards compliant with ISO 27001 standards as assurance measures.
Adding a live chat app to your website is easier than ever. Follow the simple steps mentioned below to begin a great customer service experience.
Live chat software provides a great way to connect with customers and offer real-time support. Businesses can increase their customer satisfaction while improving sales conversions with suitable tools in the customer service arsenal.
The right live chat tool provides a competitive edge to businesses in the dynamic industry.
Significant features like automation capabilities, integration options, analytics, security protocols, and cost-effectiveness play major roles in determining the success of your business customer service.
However, look out for customization features (like chat integrations, easy chat sessions, customisable chat widgets, etc) tailored accurately to your business requirements. A perfect live chat software for your business ensures optimal performance and customer engagement.
Omni24’s DCX platform harnesses automation and AI to deliver unified customer experiences across digital channels, while keeping human touch.
Absolutely! Live chat software is beneficial for businesses of all sizes. It can be valuable for small businesses to provide personalized support, compete with larger companies, and build customer trust and loyalty. Many live chat software providers offer affordable plans tailored to every business need.
Live chat software has been proven to increase conversions by providing real-time assistance during the buying process. Customers who get timely responses to their queries are more likely to convert. Live chat also allows businesses to engage with potential customers proactively, offer personalized recommendations, and resolve concerns instantly, ultimately boosting conversion rates.
When choosing a live chat software tool, it’s essential to consider the security measures in place. Look for software that offers data encryption, secure connections (HTTPS), and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR. Read reviews and consider the reputation and trustworthiness of the software provider.
The cost of live chat software varies depending on the features and functionality offered. Some live chat software providers offer pricing plans based on the number of agents, while others have tiered pricing structures based on the number of concurrent chats or additional features. It’s advisable to compare different options and choose the one that fits your budget and requirements.
Yes, most live chat software tools offer integrations with other business tools such as CRM systems, help desk software, email marketing platforms, and e-commerce platforms. The integrations allow for a seamless flow of information and streamline the customer support process.
Yes, most live chat software tools offer integrations with other business tools such as CRM systems, help desk software, email marketing platforms, and e-commerce platforms. The integrations allow for a seamless flow of information and streamline the customer support process.