21 Best Free Live Chat Software for Websites in 2023

Overflooded inbox, long hold times, and slow responses. Are these the crickets taking away your peace? We understand how frustrating it can be for businesses to receive continuous customer complaints.

But what’s the solution?

Free live chat software can help your startup or small business offer delightful support to customers. But does free mean low quality? Not at all!

Free software doesn’t necessarily equate to subpar customer service. Businesses can trust free software from live chat vendors to improve customer service quality and streamline lead generation.

This blog aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the top 21 free live chat software solutions available for websites. We will also examine the distinctions between free and paid live chat software and provide guidelines for selecting the ideal software for your business.

Let’s get started!

What is Free Live Chat Software?

Live chat software is a popular communication tool that allows customers to connect with your business in real-time. This tool efficiently engages your customers and helps you improve their website journey. Customers can instantly connect to your support agents through a chat widget without waiting for someone to pick a call or respond to an email.

Many live chat software options are available on the market, both free and paid. As the name suggests, free live chat software allows you to add a chat widget to your website without any costs. Most free live chat software offers limited features compared to their paid plans. However, some live chat software providers offer a forever-free-plan that includes all of premium features

Why Add Free Live Chat Software to Your Website?

86% of customers prefer interacting with human support agents. Thus, missing out on live chat software can be a blunder for your business. It can offer numerous benefits to your business, some of which are mentioned below.

1. Improved Customer Experience (CX)

Live chat allows your customers to quickly and easily get in touch with your business without making a phone call or sending an email. This can lead to a faster and more efficient resolution of their problems or concerns.

Customers also appreciate the convenience of chatting with a representative while browsing your website without switching to another communication channel.

2. Increased Sales & Conversions

Live chat can help you engage with potential customers who may be hesitant to purchase or have questions about your products or services. By providing real-time support and addressing their doubts, you can increase their likelihood of purchasing.

You can also use live chat to offer personalized recommendations, product demos, and discounts or promotions, all of which can help increase sales and conversions.

3. Reduced Support Costs

By offering free live chat support, you can reduce the need for phone or email support, which can be more time-consuming and expensive.

Live chat also allows your support team to handle multiple chats simultaneously, which can help improve efficiency and reduce staffing costs.

4. Improved Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

When customers have a positive experience with your business, they are more likely to return and recommend your products or services to others. Live chat can help you provide quick answers and delightful customer service, which can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Additionally, live chat allows you to gather customer feedback in real time, which can help you identify areas for improvement and make necessary changes to better meet their needs.

Read More:  12 Benefits of Using a Live Chat on Website (Expert Advice) 

What Differentiates Paid & Free Live Chat Software?

Paid and free live chat software differ in several aspects, including the number of operators, type of integrations, customizations, and the number of templates.

1. No. of Operators

Free live chat software typically offers a single operator, which can limit a business’s ability to handle customer inquiries efficiently. In contrast, paid live chat software allows for multiple operators, enabling more team members to handle customer inquiries simultaneously. This feature can significantly improve response times and customer service, particularly for businesses that receive a high volume of questions.

2. Integration Options

Paid live chat software often comes with a wider range of integrations with other software, including customer relationship management (CRM) tools, help desk software, and e-commerce platforms. This enables businesses to streamline their workflow and provide a seamless customer experience. Integrations can automate processes, reducing manual work, and allow agents to focus on more complex issues.

Integrating with other software enables businesses to collect and analyze customer data effectively, leading to more personalized interactions and better overall customer experiences.

3. Customizations

Paid live chat software usually offers more customization options than free software. Businesses can customize the chat window design, add custom fields to collect specific information, and personalize automated chat responses to fit their brand voice.

Customization options allow businesses to create a unique chat experience that reflects their brand and engages customers better. Customizations can include branding colors, logos, fonts, and messages and help businesses stand out from competitors.

4. Reports & Analytics

One key difference between paid and free live chat software is the level of analytics provided. While free software may offer basic metrics such as chat ratings and CSAT scores, paid alternatives provide more detailed insights into agent performance and customer behavior. These can include metrics like time spent on a page and engagement tracking on announcements.

Access to more comprehensive data can enable businesses to make more informed decisions and improve their customer support strategies.

While free live chat software can provide basic chat functions, businesses that require more advanced features and functionality may need to opt for a paid version. Ultimately, the choice between paid or free live chat software depends on a business’s unique needs and budget.

What Are the Best Free Live Chat Software?

Following are our top 21 picks for the best live free live chat software to help you grow your sales:

1. ProProfs Chat

ProProfs Chat is an advanced free live chat software that helps you connect with your customers in real time. The tool enables you to offer a wide range of features, from canned responses to automated chatbots, for efficient customer engagement.

Detailed reports help you get insights into your operators’ performance with the help of metrics like average response time, CSAT scores, and chat ratings. With its Chat SDK, ProProfs Chat lets you add it to your Android or iOS app with ease. And the best part? You can add this live chat software to your website in minutes without any coding skills.

Key Features:

Leverage unlimited domains to launch live chat on all your company websites and domains.
Provide multilingual support in 70+ languages.
Optimize live typing to view what your visitors are typing.
Automatically respond to customer queries with chatbots.

Pricing: Chat like a pro with a live chat free trial. ProProfs Chat offers a FOREVER-FREE plan for a single operator and a team plan for $19.99.

2. Tidio

Tidio is a free live chat software that you can optimize to engage your customers and resolve their queries. With this tool, you can offer 24×7 support to your customers ensuring there questions are never left abandoned. One of the unique features of Tidio is its mobile app, which allows operators to chat with customers on the go.

The platform also offers integratrions with popular platforms like Wix, Shopify, and WordPress. With Tidio, you can access detailed reports on operator performance, including metrics like chat duration and customer satisfaction ratings.

Key Features:

• Seamlessly integrate with popular platforms.
• Offer a dedicated mobile app to chat with customers.
• Use canned responses to answer repetitive questions.
• Preview what your customers are typing to respond faster.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month (limited to only 50 conversations per month)

3. Tawk.io

With Tawk, businesses can engage with website visitors, offer support, answer questions, and convert leads into sales. The platform is designed to help companies improve their customer engagement and support by providing an easy-to-use and customizable chat widget that can be embedded on any website.

It is a free platform with options available for advanced features. With Tawk, businesses can improve customer support, increase conversions, and gain valuable insights into their website visitors’ behavior. It’s easy to set up and use, making it a popular choice for small and medium-sized businesses.

Key Features:

• Share knowledge base articles directly in the chat window.
• Categorize and allocate chats to team members.
• Monitor chat history and track team progress.
• Utilize canned messages for consistent replies.

Pricing: Starts at $0 (free forever)

4. Freshchat

Freshchat is a powerful and intuitive live chat software that empowers you to have seamless and engaging conversations with customers in real-time. It provides a variety of features, including customizable chat widgets, automated chatbots, and targeted messaging, all designed to improve customer interactions.

The software offers detailed reports and analytics that help you track metrics like response time, customer satisfaction ratings, and chat volume to clearly understand your team’s performance. Additionally, Freshchat integrates with popular CRMs, providing a complete view of customer interactions and enabling you to deliver personalized customer experiences.

Key Features:

• Provide multilingual assistance in over 30 languages.
• Proactively engage customers through messaging.
• Develop self-service solutions using informative FAQs.
• Proactively engage your customers through targeted messaging.

Pricing: Starts at $0 (without canned responses)

5. JivoChat

JivoChat offers a suite of features, including chatbots, social media integration, and team collaboration, to enhance customer communication and support. The tool is compatible with popular platforms like WordPress, Shopify, and Magento.

The platform also provides detailed analytics and reports to help you measure the effectiveness of your support strategies. JivoChat is a user-friendly and effective solution for businesses looking to improve their online customer engagement.

Key Features:

• Organize chats with color coding for easy reference.
• Trigger personalized messages based on user actions.
• Centralize conversations and track their progress from a single dashboard.
• Provide customers with instant answers using canned responses.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month (limited features with no pre-chat buttons)

6. HubSpot

HubSpot Live Chat is a powerful customer communication tool that enables you to engage with your website visitors. With this free live chat software, you can enjoy a range of features, like canned responses, chatbots, and customized greetings, to streamline your customer support operations.

The software provides detailed chat analytics that offers insights into your agents’ performance with metrics like chat volume, response time, and customer satisfaction scores. Moreover, the tool integrates seamlessly with HubSpot CRM, allowing you to manage all your customer interactions from a single platform.

Key Features:

• Automate your customer support with chatbots.
• Integrate with Slack to receive real-time chat notifications.
• Personalize your live chat widget with unique branding options.
• Direct customized welcome messages to visitors based on their page activities.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month (with limited features)

7. Userlike

Userlike is a professional chat software that allows you to engage with your customers in real-time, enhancing customer support and boosting sales. With Userlike, you can easily add a live chat widget to your website and start chatting with visitors right away. The platform also provides a range of useful features, such as chatbots, file sharing, and visitor tracking.

Moreover, Userlike integrates seamlessly with various popular CRMs, help desk tools, and social media platforms. The user-friendly interface allows you to customize your chat widget’s appearance and easily manage chats from multiple channels.

Key Features:

• Utilize pre-written responses to provide instant answers.
• Gather customer feedback through post-chat surveys.
• Use chatbots to provide automated support around the clock.
• Share chat transcripts with team members to enhance service quality.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month (limited features with no chatbots)

8. SmartsUpp

Smartsupp is a powerful and user-friendly live chat software designed to help businesses interact with website visitors in real-time. This software offers a range of features, including chat customization, chat history, and visitor tracking, enabling businesses to engage their customers efficiently.

With Smartsupp, you can get detailed reports on your team’s performance, including chat volume, response time, and customer satisfaction ratings. The software also seamlessly integrates with popular CRM and e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WordPress, and Magento, making customer data management a breeze.

Key Features:

• Offer 24×7 customer support on your website.
• Utilize chatbots to automate repetitive tasks.
• Enable screen sharing to offer real-time support to visitors.
• Customize your chat widget to reflect your brand style.

Pricing: Starts at $0/month (limited features with no chatbot or advanced routing)

9. 3CX

3CX Live Chat is a web-based communication solution that helps you connect with website visitors, improve customer satisfaction, and generate more leads. The software offers a range of features such as real-time chat, video and voice calls, canned responses, chat transfer between agents/departments, and integration with other communication channels.

The tool is fully customizable, easy to set up and use, and comes with detailed reporting for performance analysis. Overall, 3CX Live Chat is a powerful tool for improving customer service, generating leads, and increasing online conversions.

Key Features:

Allow your prospects to talk with agents with the 3CX Talk link.
Offer real-time product recommendations to your customers.
Connect your Whatsapp & Facebook accounts to respond directly from 3CX.
Optimize chat and call reports to evaluate your agents’ performance.

Pricing: Starts at $0

10. Zendesk

Zendesk is a powerful live chat software that enables businesses to engage with their customers on multiple channels such as chat, email, and social media. With this tool, you can provide personalized support and assistance to your customers and improve their overall experience.

The software offers a range of features, including chatbots, proactive engagement, and customization options for a seamless customer experience. You can track your team’s performance and monitor chat volume with detailed analytics and reporting. You can also integrate Zendesk with your CRM tool for efficient customer data management.

Key Features:

• Automate responses to FAQs with chatbots.
• Use the mobile app to connect with customers anytime, anywhere.
• Optimize the group messaging feature to connect with multiple stakeholders.
• Leverage in-depth reports to track your operators’ performance.

Pricing: Starts at $49/month (free trial available)

11. Pure Chat

Pure Chat is a comprehensive live chat software designed to help businesses connect with their customers. With this tool, you can provide personalized support, answer common queries, and resolve issues promptly.

Pure Chat offers a wide range of features, including customizable chat widgets, canned responses, and chat transcripts, to streamline your customer support process. With this tool, you can track multiple chat metrics, including chat volume, response time, and customer satisfaction ratings.

Key Features:

• Access unlimited chat history and transcript storage.
• Provide round-the-clock customer support.
• Offer multilingual support to cater to a global audience.
• Personalize interactions by tracking customer behavior.

Pricing: Starts at $49/month (free trial available for 30 days)

12. Olark

With Olark, you can engage with customers, provide support, and gather feedback. This highly customizable platform allows you to create personalized chat experiences that reflect your brand. The tool is also user-friendly and easy to use, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.

Olark offers robust analytics and reporting features, providing valuable insights into customer interactions. This software is reliable and effective for businesses looking to enhance customer communication and support.

Key Features:

Tailor chat widgets to match your brand and website design.
Initiate personalized conversations with website visitors in real-time.
Convert website visitors into leads through targeted chat interactions.
Gain insights into customer preferences with detailed chat transcripts.

Pricing: Starts at $20/user/month (free trial available)

13. LiveChat

Live Chat is an online messaging software that lets you connect with your customers for efficient engagement. The software enables you to qualify leads with its custom forms. With its multichannel support, you can connect with your customers on their favorite channels.

The platform offers chatbots that help you automate repetitive tasks like booking appointments, scheduling meetings, and answering FAQs. And when it comes to monitoring and analyzing your operators’ performance, its detailed reports and analytics let you do it easily.

Key Features:

• Gather customer feedback for your products.
• Leverage multiple integration options for customer data management.
• Track your performance with a sales tracker.
• Transfer chats to the right person with automated chat routing.

Pricing: Starts at $24/agent/month (free trial available for 14 days)

14. Chatra

Chatra is a user-friendly live chat software that enables businesses to communicate with their customers in real-time. With Chatra, businesses can provide instant support, engage with their website visitors, improve customer satisfaction, and increase sales.

The tool offers a range of features, including offline messages, customizable chat widgets, typing insights, and chat history. It also integrates with various platforms such as Slack, Zapier, and Facebook Messenger. The tool is available on web, mobile, and desktop platforms, making it easy for businesses to stay connected with their customers on the go.

Key Features:

• Optimize a multichannel dashboard to access all your conversations.
• Monitor your website visitors’ activities in real time.
• Automate routine inquiries with chatbots.
• Make the most ofa mobile app for easy accessibility.

Pricing: Starts at $0.

15. Live Agent

LiveAgent is a cloud-based help desk and customer support software designed to streamline communication between businesses and their customers. It offers a wide range of features, including email, chat, social media integration, ticket management, and knowledge base tools.

LiveAgent’s intuitive interface allows businesses to easily manage and prioritize customer requests, collaborate with team members, and provide personalized support. With real-time visitor monitoring and customizable chat invitations, LiveAgent enables businesses to engage with customers promptly and efficiently, resulting in higher customer satisfaction and retention.

Key Features:

• Entice and engage customers with personalized chat invitations.
• Track visitor activity and gain insight into customer interests.
• Use animated chat buttons to create an interactive experience for prospects.
• Enhance your live chat interaction through personalized customization options.

Pricing: Starts at $9/agent/month (free trial available for 14 days)

16. Chaport

Chaport is a free live chat software that enables companies to provide exceptional customer support and increase sales by offering instant assistance to visitors. With Chaport, you can customize the chat widget to match your brand and use features such as pre-chat forms, chat transfers, and typing insights to improve the customer experience.

Additionally, this software provides a mobile app for customer support agents, making it easy to stay connected with customers on the go. Overall, Chaport is an effective and efficient tool for businesses looking to enhance their online communication and customer service capabilities.

Key Features:

• Manage multiple chats simultaneously.
• Share images, GIFs, and files during the chat.
• Send pre-written messages for quicker responses.
• Track visitor behavior and see what they are typing before they hit send.

Pricing: Start at $0 (2 operators included)

17. Respond.io

Respond.io is a powerful and user-friendly live chat platform that helps businesses connect with customers in real-time. With its intuitive interface and comprehensive features, Respond.io streamlines communication across various channels, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, and more.

The tool offers intelligent chatbots to assist you in providing immediate customer support and automating repetitive tasks. The platform is highly customizable, allowing you to tailor the chat experience to your specific needs.

Key Features:

• Consolidate all your conversations in one place using a single unified inbox.
• Monitor high-value customers to personalize their experience.
• Integrate live chat with your ticketing system.
• Offer 24×7 customer support.

Pricing: Starts at $79/month (free trial available for 14 days)

18. Zoho

With features like chatbots, team collaboration, and analytics, Respond.io helps businesses streamline their communication and improve their customer experience. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and customizable, enabling businesses to create a chat experience that aligns with their brand and meets the unique needs of their customers.

The tool also offers integrations for popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat, this tool provides businesses with a centralized platform to manage customer conversations.

Key Features:

• Monitor and track your support efforts with detailed reports and analytics.
• Provide round-the-clock customer service for uninterrupted assistance.
• Implement omnichannel support for a seamless and consistent customer service experience.
• Seamlessly combine Zoho products and third-party tools like Google Apps, Slack, and Salesforce.

Pricing: Starts at $0

19. Thrive Desk

Thrive Desk is a live chat software that helps businesses to provide exceptional customer support. It allows customers to connect with support agents in real-time, quickly resolving issues and improving customer satisfaction. Thrive Desk features include automatic chat routing, canned responses, file sharing, and chat transcripts.

It also supports integrating third-party apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Slack. With Thrive Desk, businesses can streamline their customer support process, reduce response time, and enhance customer experience.

Key Features:

• Track visitor activity to offer personalized customer support.
• Access tickets and conversations from a unified dashboard.
• Use the Collision detection feature to avoid engaging multiple agents on the same inquiry.
• Optimize tags and labels to organize your chats.

Pricing: Starts at $6/user/month (free trial available for 7 days)

20. Crisp

Crisp is a powerful live chat software that helps you create meaningful customer interactions. It offers a range of features, including chatbots, email integration, team inbox, and mobile apps to help businesses manage their customer interactions seamlessly. Crisp’s chat widget can be easily embedded into websites, allowing visitors to initiate chats and receive instant support.

With advanced features like visitor tracking, typing insights, and file sharing, Crisp helps businesses deliver personalized customer experiences. Additionally, Crisp provides detailed analytics and reporting to help businesses measure the effectiveness of their live chat support.

Key Features:

• Offer self-help articles by integrating live chat with the knowledge base.
• Share files and documents directly from the chat widget.
• Automate customer onboarding with automated chatbots.
• Engage customers with fun games when your operators are offline.

Pricing: Starts at $0 (with limited features)

21. Appy Pie

AppyPie Live Chat is a comprehensive live chat software that allows businesses to connect with their customers in real-time. The platform offers a variety of features, including chatbots, canned responses, and file sharing, to facilitate efficient customer engagement.

With this tool, businesses can gain insights into their operators’ performance through detailed reports that include average response time, CSAT scores, and chat ratings. The software also offers seamless integration with CRM tools for effective customer data management.

Key Features:

• Segment visitors into categories to offer personalized experiences.
• Offer multichannel support to your customers.
• Track your customers’ browsing history.
• Automate product recommendations and offers based on purchase history.

Pricing: Starts at Euro 7/agent/month (free trial available)

How to Choose the Right Free Live Chat Software

Choosing the right free live chat software can be challenging, as various options are available in the market. Here are some factors that you should consider while selecting the right free live chat software:

1. Features

The first factor you should consider is the features the live chat software offers. Look for software that offers all the necessary features to engage with customers effectively. Some essential features include chatbots, file sharing, canned messages, and more. Make a list of the required features and ensure that the software you choose meets your needs.

2. Ease of Use

Another critical factor to consider is how easy the software is to use. The software should be easy to navigate for your team and customers. The interface should be intuitive, and the chat window should be easy to understand. The software should require minimal training for your team and customers to use effectively.

3. Integration

The live chat software should integrate well with your website and other software you use. This will help you streamline your work and save time. Look for software that offers integrations with popular platforms such as Salesforce, Shopify, and WordPress. Ensure that the integration process is easy.

4. Customization

You may want to customize the chat window to match your branding. Look for software that offers customization options, such as changing the chat window’s color, font, and logo. This will help you create a consistent brand experience for your customers.

5. Mobile-Friendliness

With the increasing use of mobile devices, it is essential that chat software works well on mobile devices. Look for software that offers mobile apps or mobile-responsive chat windows. This will ensure your customers can engage with you regardless of their device

6. Analytics

The software should provide analytics and reporting features, allowing you to track your chat performance and measure customer satisfaction. Look for software that provides real-time data and insights to help you make informed decisions about your customer engagement strategy.

7. Support

Look for software that offers good customer support, such as chat, email, or a knowledge base. Ensure that the support team is responsive and knowledgeable and can help you quickly resolve any issues you encounter.

8. Security

Your customers’ data is sensitive, so choosing software that prioritizes security and privacy is crucial. Look for software that uses SSL encryption, provides two-factor authentication, and adheres to industry-standard security protocols.

Choosing the right free live chat software can significantly impact your business’s success. Considering these factors, you can select the software that meets your business needs, enhances customer experience, and drives sales.

Why ProProfs Chat is Among the Best Live Chat Software?

ProProfs Chat is ranked the best live chat software for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the features that make ProProfs Chat stand out:

1. Customization

ProProfs Chat offers a powerful customization features that allow you to tailor your chat widgets to match your branding and website design. With this feature, you can enable emoticons in your chat window settings to make your conversations more engaging. Your operators can also share files during the chat.

Moreover, you can customize chat widgets by adding the company logo, changing the color scheme, and adding custom greetings to engage visitors. It lets you offer support in 70+ languages which you can customize based on the visitors’ locations.

2. Intelligent Chat Routing

ProProfs Chat’s intelligent routing feature allows agents to route visitors to the most appropriate agent. Chat requests are assigned automatically to the suitable agent based on various criteria, such as availability, skillset, and workload.

This ensures visitors are connected with agents with the relevant knowledge and expertise to provide them with the best possible support. Additionally, the intelligent routing feature helps balance the workload across agents, ensuring that no agent is overwhelmed with too many chat requests.

3. Real-time visitor monitoring

ProProfs Chat offers real-time visitor monitoring that enables agents to monitor visitors’ browsing activities, including the pages they are on and the time spent on each page. This feature helps agents to provide personalized and timely assistance to visitors, enhancing the overall customer experience.

4. Chatbots

ProProfs Chat’s AI-powered chatbots are designed to help businesses automate repetitive tasks and provide quick responses to common customer queries. These chatbots are equipped with natural language processing technology, making them capable of understanding and responding to customer queries in real-time. From scheduling appointments to streamlining sales, ProProfs offers multiple templates to choose from.

5. Integrations

When it comes to integrations, ProProfs Chat offers a range of options to help you offer advanced live chat support. You can integrate with your CRM for customer data management. The tool also allows you to integrate with Google Meet to enable screen sharing and conduct audio/video calls for interactive customer support. Moreover, by integrating with the knowledge base, you can offer 24×7 self-help to your customers and reduce the number of tickets.

6. Advanced Reporting & Analytics

ProProfs Chat offers advanced reporting capabilities that enable businesses to monitor chat volume, operator performance, and customer satisfaction rates. These insights can help businesses make data-driven decisions and optimize their chat support operations.

Get Up & Running With the Best Free Live Chat Software!

Having reliable live chat software is crucial for any website to engage visitors, and boost conversions. However, with escalating operational expenses, investing in costly software can become a potential challenge for startups and small businesses. Thus, free live chat software can mitigate such concerns and enable you to deliver prompt and efficient customer support without breaking the bank.

This blog covered the 21 best free live chat software for websites in 2023 to help you make an informed choice. Whether you’re looking for a basic chat widget or a comprehensive customer communication platform, you can find a solution that fits your needs and budget.

If you’re looking for a reliable, easy-to-use live chat solution, check out ProProfs Chat. With its powerful features, user-friendly interface, and the new forever-free plan, ProProfs Chat can help you take your customer support to the next level. Sign up for a free trial today and experience the power of live chat!

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