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Picture this: you're shopping online, ready to hit "buy," but you have one tiny question. You don't want to email, and you definitely don't want to call. You want help now. That's exactly why live chat has exploded.
Today, over 73% of customers say they're happiest when they get support via live chat, which is more than any other channel. And it's not just about happiness: businesses that use live chat see up to a 20% boost in conversions, according to industry reports.
Brands like Warby Parker and Sephora have perfected this. A quick chat pop-up answers sizing questions or helps you find that perfect lipstick shade, without ever leaving your cart.
Even small businesses are getting in on it. Tools like Tawk.to offer free live chat so you can start supporting customers without spending a dime.
Live chat is no longer a "nice-to-have." It’s a must-have for businesses that want to:
- respond to customers in under 35 seconds (the industry average),
- handle multiple conversations at once,
- and turn browsers into loyal buyers quickly.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to choose the best live chat software based on your needs (and budget!), which features really matter, and which live chat apps stand out from the crowd.
Connect with customers
LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales.
Trusted by 36,000+ companies
Benefits of live chat for customer support
Live chat is no longer just a cool add-on for your website, but a powerful engine for better customer experiences, higher sales, and smarter support operations.
Here’s a deeper look at what makes it so valuable:
1. Happier customers (and better reviews)
Let’s start with the bottom line: customers like live chat a lot. According to Forrester, 44% of online consumers say that having their questions answered by a live person during an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer. That’s a powerful endorsement of how impactful real-time conversations can be in building trust and encouraging action.
Why does it work so well? Because it’s fast and accessible. Customers don’t need to dig through help centers or wait for email replies. They get what they need right when they need it.
Take Zappos, for instance. Known for its customer service, the company uses live chat to resolve order issues, make personalized product recommendations, and even throw in the occasional surprise (like free overnight shipping), all in real time. These small touches create memorable experiences that lead to rave reviews and repeat purchases.
Adding live chat app is one of the fastest ways to boost customer satisfaction scores, especially if you make it easy to access and staff it with well-trained agents.
2. Faster responses mean more conversions
The modern consumer expects answers, and they expect them fast. Live chat has an average response time of 1 minute and 35 seconds, making it the fastest support channel available today.
Why does that matter? Because speed influences buying decisions. According to Forrester, 44% of online consumers say having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.
Retailers like ASOS use live chat apps to keep customers engaged in key moments — for example, helping them pick the right size or confirming same-day shipping. The result? Fewer abandoned carts and more completed purchases.
The quicker you respond, the less time customers have to second-guess or bounce. Live chat closes that gap and captures sales in real time.
3. More efficient support teams
Excellent live chat software allows agents to handle multiple conversations at once, something no phone-based support system can match. Depending on complexity, one agent can chat with 3–7 customers simultaneously, compared to just one on a call.
Platforms like LiveChat are designed with efficiency in mind. They offer features like canned responses, keyboard shortcuts, and AI-powered chat suggestions to help agents reply faster and reduce typing time.
For small teams with limited staff, this means delivering top-tier support without needing to scale headcount too quickly.
Live chat enables you to do more with less. If your customer support team is feeling stretched, adding live chat can improve both response time and capacity overnight.
4. Lower cart abandonment, higher revenue
Abandoned carts are the silent killers of ecommerce, but live chat app is a proven remedy. When a customer hesitates at checkout, a proactive chat message can make all the difference.
Imagine this scenario: a customer is stuck on your shipping options page. A live chat bubble appears:
"Need help figuring out shipping times? I’m here!" — and just like that, uncertainty is removed.
According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%, but live chat has been shown to reduce this by up to 30%. Brands like Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) include live chat in their marketing suite to help guide buyers through these crucial steps.
A well-timed message at checkout can turn hesitation into action, and those saved sales add up quickly.
5. Smarter, more personalized conversations
One of the most underrated benefits of live chat is context. Most live chat apps store full chat histories, meaning your agents can instantly reference past issues or preferences to improve customer communication.
Let’s say a customer comes back with a follow-up question from last week. With access to their previous chat, the agent can respond with: "Hey Alex, I see you chatted with us last Thursday about your order. Did that charger ever arrive?"
That kind of memory builds trust. HubSpot’s live chat feature, for instance, ties directly into its CRM so you can see every interaction, chat, email, and call in one place.
Personalized support is about more than using someone’s name; it's about remembering their journey. Live chat gives your team that power.
6. Budget-friendly customer service
Phone support is costly, and email support is slow. Live chat software offers a middle ground: low overhead and high output. Since agents can multitask, and chat software often starts around $15–$20 per user/month, it’s incredibly cost-effective.
Even better? Many live chat platforms, like Tawk.to or HubSpot, offer completely free plans with core features. That makes live chat accessible for startups and growing businesses, even on tight budgets.
Plus, automation helps reduce costs even further. Chatbots can handle common FAQs (like “Where’s my order?” or “What’s your return policy?”) without any human involvement, freeing your team to focus on more complex issues.
If you want to scale your support without scaling your costs, live chat app is one of the best investments you can make.
Key features and essential features to look for
When you're choosing live chat software, you need to choose a system that supports your team, delights your customers, and integrates with your entire business.
Let’s walk through the most important features, with detailed examples and real-world impact:
Customer interaction history
Imagine this: A customer contacts your support asking, “Did you receive my return request from Tuesday?” If your agent has no visibility into past interactions, they’ll have to dig through emails, ask redundant questions, or transfer the chat. That’s a recipe for frustration.
With interaction history, agents can instantly pull up a timeline of all past chats, tickets, purchases, and even email threads, all in one view. Platforms like LiveChat and HubSpot offer this as part of their core dashboards. Agents can see when the customer last visited the site, what they asked about, and how it was resolved.
This feature is especially valuable in industries with complex or ongoing support needs, such as SaaS, healthcare, or ecommerce. It turns your agents into context-aware problem solvers, not just message relayers. It also speeds up resolution, prevents repetition, and makes the customer feel heard and valued.
File and media uploads
Words can only go so far. Sometimes, a customer needs to show your team exactly what’s wrong. That’s where file upload capabilities come in. It makes troubleshooting visual, reduces ambiguity, and accelerates resolutions, especially for product-based businesses.
Let’s say a customer receives a defective blender. Instead of describing the issue in text, they snap a photo and upload it directly into the chat window. Your agent sees the problem immediately, offers a replacement, and sends a return label; all within 3 minutes.
Most leading live chat tools, including Olark, Tidio, and Freshchat, allow users to upload images, PDFs, receipts, and screenshots. Some even offer inline previews and drag-and-drop functionality.
Chatbots and automation
Not every question needs a human answer, and that’s where automation shines. Automation reduces the load on your team, improves speed for basic questions, and keeps support available 24/7.
Modern live chat apps include AI-powered chatbots or rule-based bots that can handle routine queries like:
- Order tracking
- Account creation
- Business hours
- Return policy details
Tools like Acquire, Tidio, and ChatBot.com allow you to build flows that walk users through menus, suggest help articles, collect contact info, or even escalate to a human agent when needed.
For example, a customer types “Where is my order?” and the bot replies with real-time shipping info pulled from your CRM. No agent interaction is required. You save time, and the customer gets their answer instantly.
Performance tracking and chat monitoring
If you want to improve support quality, you need to know how your team is performing. That’s where reporting and analytics become useful. Analytics help you identify bottlenecks, coach agents, forecast staffing needs, and make data-driven decisions.
Top-tier customer support tools like LiveAgent and Zendesk chat provide:
- Average response and resolution times
- Chat duration
- Customer satisfaction (CSAT) ratings
- Agent performance metrics
- Peak chat hours
You can set goals like “respond to all chats within 60 seconds” and track progress over time. Some chat tools even allow you to filter by department, tag live chat conversations by topic, and compare new vs. returning website visitors.
CRM, help desk, and marketing integrations
A powerful live chat software is more than a stand-alone chat widget; it should integrate with your entire business ecosystem. Integrations centralize data, personalize interactions, and eliminate the need to switch between platforms.
Look for chat tools that integrate natively with:
- CRM systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive
- Help desks like Zendesk, Freshdesk
- Marketing platforms like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign
- Ecommerce tools like Shopify, WooCommerce.
With tools like HubSpot Live Chat, when someone starts a chat, their entire CRM record pops up: name, email, company, deal stage, previous interactions, and even website behavior. That context enables smarter, more effective conversations.
Canned responses and message templates
Efficiency is everything, especially when support agents are handling dozens of conversations an hour.
Canned responses are prewritten answers that customer support agents can insert with a single click or keyboard shortcut. They reduce typing, improve consistency, and free up agents to focus on empathy and complex issues. For example:
- “Thanks for reaching out! Let me look into that for you.”
- “Our return policy is 30 days from the date of delivery.”
Platforms like Re: amaze, LiveChat, and Freshchat offer smart reply suggestions based on keywords, letting agents maintain a conversational tone while moving quickly.
Advanced systems also let you customize these live chat messages per product, region, or customer segment.
Support ticketing integration
Sometimes a customer’s issue can’t be solved on the spot, and when that happens, you don’t want to lose the conversation thread.
Live chat apps like Zendesk Chat and Freshchat allow agents to escalate a chat into a support ticket without switching tools. Complex issues get tracked, escalated, and resolved properly, with full visibility and follow-up. This ticket includes:
- Full chat transcript
- Agent notes
- Customer data
- Priority level
The ticket can be assigned to another team (like billing or tech support), added to a queue, or tracked through SLAs (service-level agreements).
Asynchronous messaging (offline live chat support)
Live chat doesn't mean your team has to be available 24/7. With asynchronous messaging, customers can leave a message if you're offline. And the conversation continues via email or picks up later when you're back online.
It is a hybrid between chat and a support form, but more conversational. Thanks to it your support stays customer-friendly, even after hours, and you never miss a lead or inquiry.
Apps like Comm100, Drift, and Tawk offer seamless transitions between live and offline modes. When no support agents are online, the customer sees a “Leave a message” option and receives a reply in the same chat interface the next day.
Real-time visitor monitoring and typing previews
Want to know exactly what your website visitors are doing, and what they need help with? Many chat platforms include real-time monitoring that lets your team see:
- Which pages a visitor is on
- How long they’ve been browsing
- What source brought them in (like Google Ads or social media)
- What they’re typing, before they hit “send”
For instance, your agent sees someone stuck on your pricing page for five minutes and sends a proactive chat invitation: "Hi there! Need help choosing the right plan?"
Monitoring empowers agents to assist before a problem is voiced, which can dramatically improve sales and reduce bounce rates. LiveChat and Tawk offer these advanced tools to help you be proactive, not reactive.
Choosing the right live chat software
With so many live chat apps available, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the options. They all promise fast replies, automation, and happy customers, but which one is actually the best fit for your business?
The truth is, choosing live chat software isn’t just a tech decision. It’s a strategic move that impacts your team’s efficiency, your customers’ satisfaction, and even your bottom line.
It’s the difference between offering reactive support and creating a proactive, high-performing customer experience.
You’ll need to consider:
- How much you can afford to spend (and whether a free plan might work for now),
- Whether the software will integrate smoothly with your existing CRM or ecommerce stack,
- If it’s intuitive enough that your team won’t need weeks of training,
- And whether the provider offers the kind of onboarding, training, and live chat support you’ll need to launch quickly.
Some companies make the mistake of choosing the “shiniest” option, the one with AI and automation features, only to realize it doesn’t work well with their website or takes forever to train agents on. Others go for the cheapest plan and hit walls once traffic spikes and more agents are needed.
To help you avoid those pitfalls, we’ve outlined the most important factors to consider when selecting live chat software.
The following table offers a detailed side-by-side comparison of what you should prioritize, why it matters, and how each factor impacts your short and long-term success.
| Factor | What to look for | Importance |
| Pricing | Customer support and onboarding | Helps you stay within budget while scaling, ideal for startups or businesses testing live chat software for the first time |
| Free plan availability | Look for tools like Tawk.to, HubSpot Chat, or Brevo, which offer free or freemium versions | Great for small businesses or trial use without financial commitment |
| Integration capabilities | Ensure compatibility with your CRM, help desk, marketing platforms, and ecommerce tools | Keeps your workflow seamless and eliminates the need to switch between systems |
| Scalability | Choose software that can scale with your website traffic, support agent count, and feature requirements | Avoids switching platforms as you grow; supports long-term expansion |
| Customer support & onboarding | Look for training resources, onboarding help, and responsive vendor support | Smooth adoption and quicker team ramp-up; are crucial if you're new to live chat apps |
| Ease of use and customization | Prioritize intuitive dashboards, drag-and-drop setup, customizable chat widget, and branding options | Ensures your team adopts the tool quickly and customers enjoy a seamless branded experience |
Best live chat software options
Choosing the best live chat software depends heavily on your business size, goals, and the kind of experience you want to deliver to your customers.
Below, we explore some of the most popular and effective tools available today, each offering a unique mix of pricing and advanced features.
Livechat
LiveChat is a powerful, all-around solution starting at $20 per agent per month. It strikes a strong balance between affordability and advanced functionality, offering rich features like real-time visitor tracking, customizable chat widgets, canned responses, and seamless integrations with CRMs like HubSpot and Salesforce.
It’s particularly well-suited for growing businesses that want to move quickly without sacrificing support quality. With an intuitive interface and a robust marketplace of plugins, LiveChat makes it easy to scale your customer service without overwhelming your agents or your budget.
For startups and smaller teams, Tawk.to offers a completely free live chat solution with optional paid add-ons like video calling and white-label branding. It’s one of the most popular choices for small businesses on a tight budget, offering unlimited chats and agent seats at no cost. While it may not come with the sophisticated AI or analytics of some premium tools, its simplicity and affordability make it a go-to for early-stage businesses that want to deliver quick support without investing heavily upfront.
Re:amaze
Re:amaze caters to businesses seeking a multi-channel approach to customer support. Starting at $29 per user per month, it combines live chat software with email, Facebook Messenger, social media messaging, and SMS, allowing agents to manage all conversations from a single dashboard.
It’s an excellent fit for ecommerce brands that interact with customers across various platforms and need a consistent support experience. With built-in automation, response templates, and dynamic FAQ suggestions, Re:amaze makes multichannel customer engagement scalable and organized.
Zendesk Chat
Zendesk Chat, part of the broader Zendesk suite, starts at $25 per user per month and is ideal for medium to large teams already using Zendesk for ticketing or CRM. Its real strength lies in its native integration with Zendesk Support and its robust workflow tools, including chat triggers, advanced analytics, and AI-powered bots. For businesses already invested in the Zendesk ecosystem, this live chat solution offers a tightly integrated experience that’s hard to beat.
On the more budget-conscious end, LiveAgent offers plans starting at just $15 per agent per month. Despite its affordability, it comes packed with features like ticket management, call center support, and a customer portal. LiveAgent is best for small to mid-sized companies that want to unify their support operations across multiple channels without incurring enterprise-level costs.
HubSpot Live Chat
HubSpot Live Chat offers a generous free plan with optional upgrades through its CRM and marketing packages. This plan is particularly valuable for businesses already using HubSpot for sales and marketing automation, as it allows seamless syncing of customer chats with pipeline activities and contact profiles.
The interface is user-friendly, and it includes email follow-ups, automation triggers, and chatbot capabilities, making it a strong contender for sales-driven organizations.
Tidio
Tidio offers a limited free plan and paid options starting at $29 per month. It’s especially popular among ecommerce sites due to its chatbot builder, real-time visitor tracking, and integration with Shopify and WooCommerce. Tidio’s blend of automation and manual chat makes it ideal for small to mid-sized businesses that want to reduce workload without compromising on customer interaction.
Freshchat
Freshchat, part of the Freshworks suite, offers a free plan for up to 10 agents and paid tiers starting at $19 per agent per month. It’s designed for modern support team members who want multichannel customer communication, including messaging via WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, and Messenger. It also includes AI-powered chatbots, conversation labels, and powerful reporting tools, making it a top choice for teams aiming to deliver proactive, scalable support.
Olark
Olark, with pricing starting at $29 per agent per month, focuses on simplicity and reliability. It provides real-time chat, customer insights, and simple automation without overcomplicating the experience. Its reporting tools are clear, and it integrates with platforms like Salesforce and Google Analytics. Olark is a solid option for teams that want clean, efficient chat capabilities without unnecessary fluff.
Acquire
Acquire is a premium solution aimed at enterprise customers who need advanced customer engagement tools like co-browsing, video chat, and AI-powered automation. With custom pricing based on your needs, Acquire is best suited for companies offering high-touch or technical services, such as SaaS platforms, finance, or healthcare, where guided support and visual collaboration can dramatically improve outcomes.
Comm100
Comm100 provides a highly customizable platform for large-scale organizations with complex support needs. Its pricing is tailored to enterprise requirements, and it includes everything from chatbot automation to omnichannel messaging, voice support, and robust compliance features. Comm100 is ideal for businesses operating in regulated industries or those managing high-volume, multilingual support teams.
Brevo
Finally, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers live chat software as part of its broader marketing suite, making it an excellent choice for small businesses that want to combine customer support with email marketing. Its live chat feature is included in the free plan, with enhanced functionality starting at just $15 per month. For businesses already using Brevo’s email tools, adding live chat is a logical and cost-effective upgrade.
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Scalability | Customer support & onboarding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiveChat | SMBs and growing teams needing robust features | From $20/agent/month | Scales with mid-size to large teams | 24/7 live support, onboarding assistance, training docs |
| Tawk.to | Startups and small businesses on a budget | Free (add-ons optional) | Ideal for small teams | Live chat support software, help center |
| Freshchat | Teams needing automation and ticketing | Free (up to 10 agents); from $19+ | Suitable for scaling | Onboarding guides, webinars, email/chat support |
| Tidio | Ecommerce sites needing automation and AI | From $29/month | Scalable with paid plans | Live training, tutorials, email/chat support |
| HubSpot Chat | Businesses already using HubSpot CRM | Free; premium with CRM bundles | Great for marketing + sales teams | Strong support docs, HubSpot Academy |
| Re:amaze | Omnichannel support across chat, email, socials | From $29/user/month | Scales well for multichannel teams | Email/chat support, detailed knowledge base |
| Zendesk Chat | Enterprises and teams using Zendesk Suite | From $25/user/month | Very scalable (omnichannel ready) | Zendesk onboarding, support portal, SLAs available |
| Acquire | Enterprises needing AI, co-browsing, video | Custom pricing | Built for enterprise environments | Enterprise onboarding, training, dedicated success manager |
| Brevo (Sendinblue) | SMBs needing chat + email marketing combo | Free chat; paid plans from $15 | Good for growing ecommerce/marketing | Email support, onboarding guides |
| Comm100 | Large organizations needing automated chat routing | Custom pricing | Scales across departments/sites | Dedicated success team, implementation support |
| LivePerson | Large enterprises focused on AI and automation | Custom pricing | Designed for high-scale operations | High-touch onboarding, enterprise support |
What more to look for in the best live chat app?
As you narrow down your options for the best live chat software, it’s important to consider more than just core features.
There are broader industry trends, usage patterns, and performance benchmarks that can dramatically shape how effective your chosen tool will be, both operationally and strategically.
- CRM integration - Many live chat apps offer native integration with popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho. This allows agents to view full customer histories, including past chats, purchases, and behavior, directly within the chat window, leading to more personalized, efficient support.
- Efficiency gains - Live chat enables agents to handle multiple conversations simultaneously, unlike phone or email support, which are limited to one-on-one interactions. This dramatically increases team productivity and allows businesses to scale support without proportionally expanding their team.
- Customer preferences - Studies consistently show that live chat is preferred over email or phone support, especially among younger consumers. It offers instant responses and minimal effort and fits naturally into the online browsing and shopping experience. Businesses that adopt live chat align themselves with modern customer expectations.
- Sales Impact - Live chat has a direct influence on conversion rates by helping customers at key decision points, such as checkout, pricing pages, or product comparisons. Proactive chat triggers can reduce cart abandonment and recover potentially lost sales, especially in ecommerce and SaaS.
- Visitor tracking capabilities - Many tools include real-time visitor monitoring that shows which pages users are browsing, how long they’ve been there, and even what they’re typing before they hit “send.” This enables agents to offer proactive, context-aware support, such as jumping in when a user hesitates on the pricing page or revisits the refund policy.
Together, these factors paint a bigger picture: live chat isn’t just a tool for talking to customers but a strategic asset that can streamline operations, boost sales, and enhance customer satisfaction.
As you move forward, keep these insights close. They’ll help you avoid costly missteps and ensure you’re building a support system designed to grow with you.
Connect with customers
LiveChat is a complete customer service platform that delights your customers and fuels your sales.
Trusted by 36,000+ companies
Finding the right fit for your business
At that point, investing in a scalable solution becomes essential. Look for tools that integrate smoothly with your existing tech stack, provide actionable analytics, and allow for workflow customization as your needs evolve. Just as important is choosing a vendor that doesn’t leave you stranded: excellent onboarding, live support, and regular training opportunities can make or break your experience with the software.
For small businesses, affordability and simplicity are often priorities. Free or low-cost plans from platforms offer a solid starting point without requiring a major financial commitment. But as your customer base grows and expectations rise, you’ll likely need more advanced features, like chatbot automation, CRM syncing, or multichannel support, to keep up.
If you’re looking for a reliable, full-featured solution trusted by thousands of growing businesses around the world, LiveChat is a standout choice.
It combines ease of use with powerful integrations, proactive live chat tools, and world-class support, everything you need to elevate your customer service and drive conversions.
Explore LiveChat today and see how it can help you turn conversations into growth.
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