Best live chat software for indie hackers (31 options with pricing)

This question has been asked a lot (here, here, here and here)

So I took all the responses and smashed them into one big list with AI.

Then I made sure each had a working link and updated pricing.

The top 3 I would recommend:

1. Crisp

• Price: Free tier, 25 per month
• Details: CRM option; economical and easy to install; good but expensive alternative to Intercom; free version includes two agent seats and a 30-day chat history.
• Link - https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/

2. Tawk.to

• Price: Free, remove the “Powered by tawk.to” branding $19/month
• Details: Affordable; issues on Firefox; free and straightforward; company makes money by offering live chat agents for hire; completely free with unlimited agent seats, domains, and chat history.
• Link - https://www.tawk.to/why-free/

3. Olark

• Price: Starting at $29/seat per month
• Details: Advanced chat needs; affordable and straightforward; limited free version allows only 20 chats per month and one agent seat.
• Link - https://www.olark.com/pricing

The rest in no particular order:

4. Intercom

• Price: $74 per month; offers a startup discount ($50/month for a limited time).
• Details: The OG. Users seem to prefer Olark; expectation for constant availability found stressful; considered too expensive; free version includes one agent seat, 100 active contacts, and unlimited chat history.
• Link - https://www.intercom.com/pricing?on_pageview_event=nav

5. Help Scout

• Price: Starting at $20/user per month
• Details: Complete customer service; integrates well with its documentation offering; feature-rich and cost-effective.
• Link - https://www.helpscout.com/pricing/

6. Gladly

• Price: $150 a month
• Details: Live chat is just one of their products
• Link - https://www.gladly.com/pricing/

7. Userlike

• Price: Free plan available. Premium Plan starting at 90/per month, including 4 operator seats, 4 widgets, and 2 messaging apps.
• Details: Combining personal support and AI service automation.
• Link - https://www.userlike.com/en/pricing

8. LiveChat

• Price: Starting at $20/agent per month
• Details: Targeted messaging.
• Link - https://www.livechat.com/pricing/

9. Chaport

• Price: Free plan available. Paid plans starting at $19/operator per month.
• Details: Teams wanting a chatbot.
• Link - https://www.chaport.com/pricing

10. Acquire

• Price: $500 per month
• Details: chat is just one of their products
• Link - https://acquire.io/pricing

11. Podium

• Price: Starting at $250/month.
• Details: Chat is one of their many products
• Link - https://www.podium.com/pricing/

12. HubSpot Live Chat

• Price: Free with Hubspot branding
• Details: Teams that need a free solution; includes HubSpot branding.
• Link - https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm/live-chat

12. Chatlio

• Price: Starting at $29/month.
• Details: Slack-based communication.
• Link - https://chatlio.com/pricing/

14. TeamSupport

• Price: 49 a month
• Details: Multi-channel chat.
• Link - https://www.teamsupport.com/customer-support-software-pricing

15. Tidio

• Price: Free for 3 agents; $29 for a basic plan for 3 people.
• Details: Features and pricing praised for Shopify sites; free plan allows up to three agent seats, 100 automations, and unlimited chat history.
• Link - https://www.tidio.com/pricing/

16. Small.chat

• Price: Free tier. $19 dollars a month
• Details: Praised for its Slack integration and generous free plan.
• Link - https://small.chat/pricing

17. JivoChat

• Price: Free tier, $19 a month
• Details: Mentioned as another option to look at.
• Link - https://www.jivochat.com/pricing/

18. PureChat

• Price: $79 a month
• Details: Integration option for a Helpdesk tool; free version offers unlimited chats, one domain, three agent seats, and various widget customizations.
• Link - https://purechat.com/pricing

19. MyLiveChat

• Price: Free tier, $15 a month
• Details: Integration option for a Helpdesk tool; free version offers unlimited agents, departments, websites, and chats along with a 3-year chat history.
• Link - https://mylivechat.com/prices.aspx

20. ClickDesk

• Price: Free tier, $15 a month
• Details: Free version allows 10 agent seats but limits to 30 chats per month and has no simultaneous chats.
• Link - https://www.clickdesk.com/pricing

21. Zoho Website Chat

• Price: 7 a month
• Details: limits to visits and chats
• Link - https://www.zoho.com/salesiq/pricing.html

22. HelpCrunch

• Price: 12 a month
• Details: Features include unlimited domains and chats, chatbot functionality, proactive messages, in-app messages, and more.
• Link - https://helpcrunch.com/pricing.html

23. Dashly

• Price: 31 a month for 1k visitors, goes up from there
• Details: Cost-effective alternative to Intercom, Russian company
• Link - https://www.dashly.io/pricing/

24. ZenDesk Chat

• Price: $55 per agent/month (billed annually)
• Details: Recommended for basic chat functionality at a lower cost.
• Link - https://www.zendesk.com/service/messaging/live-chat/

25. FreshChat

• Price: Free tier, 19 a month
• Details: Recommended for basic chat functionality at a lower cost.
• Link - https://www.freshworks.com/live-chat-software/pricing/

26. Trengo

• Price: 18 a month
• Details: Dutch alternative to Intercom and Crisp.
• Link - https://trengo.com/prices

27. Drift

• Price: $2000 per month
• Details: For Sales teams, not really live chat software
• Link - https://www.drift.com/pricing/

28. Brevo Conversations

• Price: Free tier, 25 per month
• Details: multiple channels
• Link - https://www.brevo.com/pricing/

29. Chatra by Brevo

• Price: Free tier, 17 a month
• Details: Not sure why it is by Brevo
• Link - https://chatra.com/plans/

30. Gorgias

• Price: $50 a month
• Details: Wants to be your customer support center
• Link - https://www.gorgias.com/pricing

31. Smartsupp

• Price: Free tier, 20 a month
• Details:
• Link - https://www.smartsupp.com/pricing/