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Check out the latest and best list of live chat software tools for ecommerce businesses, from free chat apps to all-in-one platforms.
Three-fourths of customers report preferring live chat over any other customer support channel, according to data from TechJury. With the growing demand for live chat integrations and the time- and money-saving benefits for your customer support department, a live chat option is one of the best apps you can integrate into your ecommerce site.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the most important features to look for in a live chat solution before diving into the top 11 live chat software apps on the market today.
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There are plenty of live chat solutions available, but not all of them are created equal. To choose the best chat widget for your ecommerce website, be sure to select a solution that includes the following features:
Now that we’ve covered some of the most important features to look for in a live chat solution, let’s take a look at 11 of the best live chat apps and the standout features that set these solutions apart from the competition.
Gorgias is a feature-rich helpdesk platform for ecommerce businesses which includes live chat, chatbots, a self-service portal, ticketing system, and data analytics. Its live chat solution offers an impressive range of automation features, macros, and rules designed to streamline and personalize the customer support process for your customers and support agents.
For example, Gorgias offers the ability to create and automate responses to frequently asked questions like, “Where is my order?” This allows you to automatically resolve up to 30% of customer support tickets. You can also fine-tune your customer service strategy based on the accurate and insightful data analytics.
Pricing for Gorgias includes multiple tiers, starting at $50 per month billed annually for the Basic plan. Gorgias also offers a customizable Enterprise plan for clients handling more than 5,000 tickets per month.
With a wide range of plans to choose from and affordable pricing, Gorgias is an excellent solution for both small to medium-sized businesses and larger corporations. The live chat app works seamlessly with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento.
Since Gorgias’s live chat solution is just one feature in a large customer support ecosystem, it’s also an excellent option for anyone who wants to purchase a fully featured customer service solution.
LiveChat is one of the more popular and well-rounded live chat support options. This application offers key live chat features, like branding and customization; automatic notifications whenever a customer wants to chat, tags, file-sharing; and archive capabilities. LiveChat also offers an integrations store where you can find helpful plugins for your chat window.
LiveChat starts at $16 per month per agent billed annually for the Starter plan and moves up to $50 per month per agent billed annually for the Business plan. LiveChat also offers a customizable Enterprise plan.
The per-agent fee structure may not be cost effective for businesses with medium or large customer support teams. If you’re looking for a well-rounded live chat solution and can justify paying a minimum of $16 per month per agent, then LiveChat is a good option to consider.
Explore our Gorgias vs. LiveChat comparison to see how these two platforms stack up.
Intercom is a customer communications platform that offers support, engagement, and marketing tools, including live chat. Intercom’s Messenger tool allows businesses to set up chatbots that target specific audience segments and easily route tickets that require human help to the appropriate channels.
Intercom splits its platform into three different tools and plans — Conversational Support, Conversational Customer Engagement, and Conversational Marketing — each of which requires you to sign up for a demo or contact Intercom for pricing. The all-in one Starter plan made for “very small businesses” starts at $67 per month billed annually.
Intercom (or these alternatives) targets all business sizes, from early-stage to enterprise, and discusses use cases for ecommerce, finance, education, and healthcare industries.
Like most live chat solutions, Drift offers both automated chatbots as well as live chat functionality. What really sets Drift apart is its focus on B2B and SaaS organizations and its data-driven approach to customer support.
Drift’s Visitor Intelligence software combines data from your business software (CRM, sales and marketing tools, etc) and databases like Clearbit and Crunchbase to identify web visitors and better personalize interactions. Drift also offers chatbots powered by AI and machine learning to replicate the behaviors and performance of your most effective sales and customer service reps.
Drift offers three different plans — Premium, Advanced, and Enterprise — but requires that you contact them for pricing details.
Drift is primarily designed for B2B companies and ecommerce stores, though the company does offer a plan designed specifically for startups as well. It could be a great solution for anyone who wants to utilize the functionalities of AI and machine learning for live chat customer engagement.
Tawk.to is a solution focused only on live chat customer support and claims to be the most widely used live chat software in the world. With Tawk.to, you won’t get more advanced features such as AI chatbots. Instead, what you’ll get is a straightforward live chat window that allows customers who visit your site to seamlessly connect with a chat agent.
Tawk.to certainly isn’t as comprehensive as the other solutions on our list. However, it stands out because it’s completely free to download and use. This makes it a great option for anyone who wants to test the waters of live chat for their customer support team without any upfront investment.
Tawk.to is free to download and use. However, if you’d like to remove the “Powered by Tawk.to” branding from the product, you’ll need to pay $19 per month. Tawk.to also offers you the ability to outsource your live chat support to third-party agents at a rate of $1 per hour.
As a free-to-use solution, Tawk.to is ideal for smaller companies that want to offer basic live chat support without having to purchase a costly subscription. For larger companies, though, a more comprehensive and advanced solution is likely a better choice.
Freshdesk, formerly known as Freshchat, is a solution that offers chatbots in addition to the ability to connect customers with a live support agent. It’s a simple, no-/low-code solution that provides just about everything you could want out of a live chat application, including automated chat routing, chat transcripts, the ability to share files, the ability to create tickets from chats, and beyond.
Freshdesk offers plans that range from completely free to use to $69 per agent per month billed annually depending on the number of agents you employ and the specific features that you are looking to purchase.
The free-to-use version of Freshdesk is ideal for smaller businesses that want to affordably test out live chat customer support, while Freshdesk’s paid plans can be great for larger companies that handle more tickets on a regular basis.
Zendesk is a live chat solution that’s free to use if you only have one agent speaking with customers. It comes with all the other live chat features you expect from a comprehensive platform, including multichannel support, custom triggers, and the ability to track and monitor visitors on your site.
Zendesk offers several different plans that range from free to $59 per agent per month.
If you only have one agent handling live chat customer support tickets then Zendesk is a great solution to consider since you will be able to access all of its features free of charge. Zendesk is also a great live chat option for Shopify store owners since its Shopify extension is well-polished according to user reviews.
Olark is another “just the basics” live chat tool that is ideal for smaller companies with a limited number of support agents. With that said, Olark does offer some nice features, including triggered messaging, custom pre-chat forms, and offline messaging.
Olark is free to use provided you only have a single agent and don’t handle more than 20 live chat tickets per month. For the full-featured product, you will need to pay $29 per month per agent. Olark also offers an enterprise-level option called Olark Pro that features variable pricing.
The free-to-use version of Olark is a good choice for especially small stores that only employ a single live chat support agent. While the paid version of Olark does offer some useful features for larger companies, there are better choices available for the cost.
Tidio is a live chat and chatbot software that includes an impressive range of features in its free-to-use version. While you will have to pay extra for key features such as chatbot templates and live visitor monitoring, the broad toolset that Tido offers free of charge makes it a solid option for businesses that need to stretch their budget as far as possible.
Tidio is free to download and use. However, you will have to pay extra for any premium features such as the ability to create chatbot templates and the ability to monitor the visitors on your site.
As one of the more capable free-to-use live chat solutions, Tidio is one of the better options for anyone who wants to offer live chat support without having to pay a subscription fee.
Zoho SalesIQ is a customer engagement tool aimed at marketing, sales, and support teams which also has live chat. The platform includes custom chatbots, advanced monitoring and reports, and the ability to easily switch between live chat and other key support channels. The centralized dashboard lets you track the performance of your live agents with ease.
The base version of Zoho SalesIQ is free to download and use. There are also paid versions of Zoho SalesIQ that offer additional features, and these paid versions range from $7 per month per agent billed annually to $20 per month per agent billed annually.
Zoho SalesIQ markets its solution to “every type of business,” including finance, ecommerce, travel, real estate, education, and restaurants. The free version holds onto core features and the paid versions are relatively affordable compared to other all-in-one platforms. It’s a great choice for startups and small businesses that are looking to get a lot of customer support tools for minimal cost.
LivePerson is an AI-powered communication platform designed to help businesses and government organizations optimize their audience experience. The Conversational Cloud provides a command center to answer questions and engage customers via live chat, as well as help customers on their preferred channels.
LivePerson requires that you contact their company for a pricing quote.
LivePerson currently markets its solution to companies in industries such as retail, banking, travel, real estate, insurance, DeFi, government, education, and automotive.
At Gorgias, we’re proud to offer one of the most comprehensive and feature-rich customer support platforms available today. With Gorgias, you can look forward to AI-powered chatbots and live chat support in addition to an ecommerce help desk and ticketing system. Send out automated updates and messages, automate common customer support tasks, and much more.
Learn more about Gorgias for Shopify stores, Gorgias for Magento stores, or Gorgias for BigCommerce stores to see how you can benefit.
