Top 10 Live Chat Software Solutions for Website

With a staggering 4.57 billion active daily users, the internet has encompassed 59% of the overall world population and paved the way for businesses to establish a sturdy flow of online transactions. However, as time passes and technology advances, consumer demand has also evolved into something more sophisticated and stringent. They yearn for better (or rather, the best) service when they do transactions online.

A recent statistic conducted last March cited that 88.05% of online shopping orders were abandoned. Now, what could have pushed customers to abandon their shopping carts? The answer is poor communication. Efficient customer support is highly instrumental at present because it helps businesses gain more customers, lower the chances of losing sales, and ultimately, stay above water.
An optimal way to help a business survive the cutthroat online rivalry among businesses is by employing different  live chat customer service software. Incorporating live chat support software makes a flawless and harmonious interaction between companies and end-users possible. It is effective because it typically uses a user-friendly messaging widget like this:

On the other hand, as different live chat support software emerges, it gets harder for businesses, especially startups, to decide which one they should use. If you are having a hard time determining where to start or settling on a real-time messaging service that's applicable to the nature of your services, here is a breakdown of the top live chat software for websites,  along with their pros, cons, and price range to help you with your decision-making process.

1. Live Chat

Launched in 2002, LiveChat is one of the pioneers in providing the best live chat customer support software solutions in the industry. LiveChat offers a broad variety of online support features that businesses can maximize to gain continuous connectivity with their existing customers and website visitors.

LiveChat’s key features:

• Customizable survey forms
• Easy-to-integrate WordPress plugin
• Easy integration with CRM software, Google Analytics, Zendesk, and more.

Pricing

LiveChat offers different plans with varying prices. They offer a Starter Plan of $16 per agent per month that can either be billed annually, or monthly. For monthly payments, they have a $19 monthly plan. Also, each plan comes with a 14-day free trial.

Pros

• Extremely fast loading chat window
• Efficient live chat functionality
• Ticketing features

Cons

• Availing the full functionality can be expensive

If you are opting to provide live chat software with an easy-to-use UI, reliable widget, cost-efficient features, and overall simplicity, LiveChat is a great choice for your website.

2. Olark

Olark is yet another popular mono-solution that solely offers live chat services to all types of online platforms. It offers an easy-to-use chat widget. Adding Olark as a WordPress plugin is also rather simple. The most notable feature of this software is its pricing flexibility. This is especially advantageous to small support teams looking for an inexpensive live messaging software with add-on options for short-term specialty services requirements.

Olark’s key features:

• Auto-messages
• Custom Chat Form
• Saved Responses

Pricing

Olark offers a flexible pricing system that starts at $15/user/month with available add-ons such as Visitors insight  (at $59 and $99/month), Chat translation ($29/month), and Visitor co-browsing ($99/month).

Pros

• Flexible pricing
• Real-time tracking
• 2-week trial

Cons

• Lacks dynamic
• Limited customization features
• Manual chat is unavailable

Olark offers efficient live chat support in real-time, making it one of the best live chat solution providers out there. Though lacking in the customization part, Olark’s user-friendly dashboard enables its users to seamlessly manage and control incoming messages.

3. LiveChatFairies

LiveChatFairies is yet another all-in-one live chat software provider that focuses on flexibility. LiveChatFairies software is powered by one of the most impressive software for instant messaging called LOOP (Live Online Operator Platform). Their use of LOOP  chat solutions for customer service helps handle and send bulk messages in quick succession through IM and SMS. The result is businesses effortlessly extend their network reach.

LiveChatFairies’ tailor-made features:

• Customizable widget to suit your live chat configuration and website theme
• Covers a wide selection of industries
• Free Setup and onboarding
• Multilingual chat support
• Third-party software compatibility

Pricing

LiveChatFairies’ straightforward pricing starts at $7.50 per hour and per conversation. The chat widget’s price is $49, including all customizations and configurations that your website requires.

Pros

• Android and iOS optimized
• Covers a wide range of languages
• Easy-to-use dashboard and widget
• Fast, charge-free setup
• WordPress integrated

Cons

• Limited plans and packages
• No Trial

The core strength of LiveChatFairies is the ability to handle bulk messages via LOOP technology. The feature is a huge time-saver for both small and big businesses alike. The capacity to cover different business demands and offer decent rates make them worth checking out.

4. Live Agent

LiveAgent is one of the most popular live chat and helpdesk software providers in the omnichannel landscape. They have a broad range of features, ranging from ticketing and live chat support, to call center services. LiveAgent works best for businesses that are yet to develop and establish their support desk system as it’s all-in-one platform can make things much easier to integrate and customize to suit every business’ requirements.

LiveAgent key features:

• Automated Ticketing System
• Easy WordPress Integration
• Message Tagging
• Smart Chat Routing
• Spam Filters

Pricing

Much like Hubspot Live Chat, LiveAgent offers free subscription but features are limited. Their paid subscription, however, is charged at $15/agent/month for ticketing solution, $29/agent/month for ticketing plus live chat solution, $39/agent/month for their all-inclusive services.

Pros

• Cross-platform integration
• Flexible Pricing
• Offers free subscription
• Seamless integration to WordPress and other website builders

Cons

• No automatic logging off system
• Ticketing can be confusing at times
• UI design can be confusing

5. Chaport

If your business is looking for live chat solutions for customer service that offer freemium plans and support hassle-free WordPress integration, then Chaport might just be the ideal option for you. Chaport’s forever free plan encompasses almost everything you need to have an efficient live chat widget for your website.

Chaport key features:

• CRM integration
• Live chat support apps for mobile devices
• Multilingual chat widget
• Third-party integration through Zapier

Pricing

Chaport offers a free subscription plan which is limited to all the basic features. The Free Plan allows you to work with one operator only. Chaport’s paid Pro Plan, on the other hand, costs $9.80/operator/month and it includes typing insights, visitor notes, saved replies, auto invitation, and several other features essential for efficient customer support.

Pros

• Free subscription plan
• Affordable pricing
• Easy-to-set up
• User-friendly

Cons

• Limited mobile app features
• Limited options to include knowledgebase
• Inconsistent system

If your business is looking for an excellent live chat service provider that doesn’t break the bank even after availing their paid subscription, Chaport is an ideal choice for you. The extent of the freemium feature is rather limited (unlike other service providers), but Chaport is quite a game-changer on its own.

6. Intercom

One of the best live chat service providers that focuses on feature flexibility and quality is Intercom. Aside from providing tools to help you capture leads, improve engagement and conversion rates, and boost your marketing strategies, Intercom also offers a one-stop-shop for one of the best live chat solutions available on the interweb.

Intercom live chat’s key features:

• Chatbots
• Customizable message widget to match with your website’s configuration and themes
• Integrated Apps
• Up-to-date real-time messaging technologies

Pricing

Although Intercom is one of the best customer support software solutions providers on the internet right now, Intercom is still dubbed as a “prolific but expensive” live chat service provider. Their Essential Plan starts at $80/month plus additional add-ons and usage-based fee thereafter. 

Pros:

• Google Analytics integrated
• Slack integrated
• Sleek UI
• Powerful live chat software

Cons

• Prices of plans can be very expensive in the long run
• No tags
• Buggy (at times)

If your business is looking to improve your online help desk while sticking to a strict budget, Intercom may not be the best software. But if money is not an issue, Intercom can showcase its full potential, which in turn, is highly instrumental for your business’ success.

7. Hubspot Live Chat

Aside from providing an “all-in-one marketing software” that lets businesses leverage their blogging, SEO, social media, marketing automation, and web analytics, Hubspot’s CRM plays a crucial part in a company’s overall branding.

Hubspot’s free CRM comes with live chat, chatbot, and several other features, making it one of the best live chat customer support software providers especially when your team is tight on a budget.

Hubspot’s key features:

• Automated contact capturing
• Customizable chat widget
• Chatflow feature (enables you to create automated messages to engage with different types of visitors)
• 24/7 chatbot assistance

Pricing

While Hubspot can be used for free, their paid subscription plans start at $50/month for the Starter Plan, $800/month for Professional Plan, $3200/month for Enterprise Plan.

Pros

• Integrated with Hubspot CRM
• Free Subscription
• Chatbot Builder
• Easy-to-integrate Dashboard

Cons

• Too basic
• Unbranding is not allowed in free plan

Perhaps, Hubspot’s strength, aside from offering free subscription plans, is it is natively integrated with Hubspot CRM which helps users build and send chat messages proactively to a more diverse population of visitors. 

8. PureChat

PureChat is yet another live chat software provider that offers free services. This is highly beneficial for small and startup businesses that are struggling to grow their business and make the most of the resources they have. Its freemium plan includes almost all the basic elements that a live messaging software offers. PureChat allows you to add up to three operators with unlimited chat history, along with a mobile app that enables your customers to send you messages even when you are offline.

PureChat’s key features:

• Advanced widget customization (for premium subscription only)
• Canned responses
• iOS and Android Optimized
• Real-time information tracking
• Trigger-based alerts and actions
• Unlimited chat history

Pricing

Pure Chat’s Basic Plan is available for free while their Growth Plan starts at $39/month. Pro Plan starts at $79/month, which is then billed annually.

It comes with mobile apps so that you can stay connected with customers. Your customers can send you email messages when you are offline and the pre-chat forms help collect user information for your future reference.

Pros

• Free Plan Subscription
• Easy-to-use dashboard
• Easy way to answer chat messages in real-time

Cons

• Too basic and lacks dynamics
• Native integration features are rather limited

Although very basic software, PureChat can be a very useful tool for providing customer support in real-time especially when your business is on a tight budget and that’s that. PureChat’s features are rather limited especially to other marketing functionalities that other live chat software does but it is still one of the best live chat software for small businesses.

9. Help Scout

Help Scout is a live chat software provider that offers all-in-one live chat solutions with decent pricing and amazing plan packages. Aside from offering all the essential features that other software provides, Help Scout’s basic subscription also includes knowledgebase and ticketing functionalities.

Help Scout’s key features:

• Help Bot allows you to collect emails
• Specific audience targeting through a chat widget
• Email-integrated software
• Easy switching to live chat and knowledgebase tabs on widgets
• Ticketing functionalities

Pricing

Help Scout offers three plans for its customers that start at $20/user/month for the Standard Plan, and $35/user/month for the Plus Plan. As for their Company plan, you can contact Help Scout directly to make assessments. Note that these plans come with a 15-day trial.

Pros

• Chat Bots
• Efficient ticketing functionalities
• Up-to-date live chat technology
• Easy-to-integrate

Cons

• Inconsistent analytics and reporting system
• Lacks spam filters

If you are looking for efficient live chat functionalities with decent pricing, try Help Scout. Out of all the options enumerated in this blog, Help Scout surpasses them by offering the most modernized and fresh instant messaging technologies in the market today. 

10. ChatBot

Chatbot features the full potential of Artificial Intelligence incorporated into live chat solutions and chatbots — hence, the company’s name.

ChatBot’s key features:

• AI-powered live chat software for more efficient customer support
• Drag-and-drop feature for easy conversation building
• Industry-specific template library
• Machine learning algorithm
• Open API

Pricing

ChatBot’s Starter Plan starts at $50/month, $149/month for the Team Plan, and $499/month for the Business Plan with 1000, 5000, 25,000 chats respectively. Note that if you run out of chats, you can extend your plan by paying $0.01 per bot interaction. You can also go further and try their Enterprise Plan by contacting ChatBot directly to make the most suitable custom package for you.

Pros

• Advanced AI technology
• Easy-to-use dashboard and chatbot configuration
• Efficient drag and drop feature
• Fast response
• Scale your team easily

Cons

• Packages can be expensive in the long run

If you are looking for an online messaging software that can help you save time and money for hiring human operators, Chatbot is effective in expanding your workforce. They provide opportunities to scale your support team seamlessly without the need to hire additional in-house staff.

What are the best live chat solutions for your business?

This is the question that you have to answer yourself. The ones listed in this article will serve as a basis for you to become more knowledgeable on how live chat really works. The internet is where the best live chat software for websites throngs for clients on the internet. Each possess varying strengths and weaknesses, but there are particular features that you must consider carefully when picking the right software for your website. Focus on features such as automation, bulk messaging, chatbots, knowledgebase, and ticketing functionalities, and see whether their setup and rates fit your business needs accordingly..

Basically, you should pick the one that makes you feel complete and content to avoid pitfalls and customer support chaos in the future.