Truly free chat is tawk.to (software free forever), Chatwoot Hacker at $0, and Freshdesk Free Program for 2 users. The cheapest paid dedicated chat or helpdesk rungs are Gorgias helpdesk-only Starter at $10 a month for 50 tickets, and LiveAgent Small Business at $15 per agent per month annual ($10 annual promo for new users until 1 January 2027). Then a cluster at $19: Chatwoot Startups, Freshdesk Growth, Zendesk Support Team, and LiveChat Starter, all per agent or person per month billed annually. Help Scout Standard is about $22 per user per month, Groove Standard is $24, and Tidio paid plans start around $29 a month.
10 tools compared on price, features and fit, with prices checked on vendor pages in September 2026.
Live chat pricing splits into a free-forever widget and a per-agent helpdesk that starts near $19 a month. A $10 Gorgias Starter plan is cheap until ticket 51. A $0 tawk.to widget is cheap until you pay $29 a month to remove the badge. Toolradar data: Toolradar lists 10,429 published tools as of September 1, 2026, including 47 published live-chat tools, 43% of them free or freemium (1 free-only, 19 freemium, 27 paid).
This guide ranks 10 chat and chat-adjacent helpdesk products by the cheapest genuinely usable paid plan, or by a free widget that can run production chat. We checked tawk.to/pricing, chatwoot.com/pricing, freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing, gorgias.com/pricing, liveagent.com/pricing, zendesk.com/pricing, and livechat.com/pricing as of September 2026. Freshdesk Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually replaces our stale $15 catalog row. We dropped Zendesk Messaging as a duplicate of Zendesk, Acquire (about $500), Qualified (custom), ReleaseDock, ChatBeacon, Crisp MCP, and Dixa (no public price).
The cheap production path is tawk.to or Chatwoot Hacker or Freshdesk free, then Gorgias at $10 (ticket-capped) or LiveAgent at $15 list / $10 promo, then the $19-per-agent pile.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
Software is free forever. $29 a month removes 'Powered by tawk.to'. AI Assist starts at $29 a month. Hired agents are $1 an hour. tawk.to/pricing, September 2026.
Starting price
Free
4.6 (548 reviews)
Best for
Sites that want production chat at $0 and can live with the badge, or will pay $29 only to remove it
Hacker is $0 (2 agents, 500 conversations a month, 30-day retention, website chat only). Startups is $19 per agent per month billed annually. Self-host is free OSS. Branding removal is Enterprise.
Starting price
From $19 /mo
4.5 (16 reviews)
Best for
Teams that fit Hacker caps, will self-host, or will pay $19 per agent annually for unlimited cloud conversations
Free Program still referenced for 2 users. First listed paid plan is Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually (our $15 row is stale). Pro $55, Enterprise $89.
Starting price
From $19 /mo
4.4 (3,771 reviews)
Best for
Small support teams that can stay on Free Program for 2 users, or will pay Growth at $19 annual rather than Zendesk Suite at $55
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | Free | 4.6 548 reviews | Sites that want production chat at $0 and can live with the badge, or will pay $29 only to remove it |
| Chatwoot | From $19/mo | 4.5 16 reviews | Teams that fit Hacker caps, will self-host, or will pay $19 per agent annually for unlimited cloud conversations |
| Freshdesk | From $19/mo | 4.4 3,771 reviews | Small support teams that can stay on Free Program for 2 users, or will pay Growth at $19 annual rather than Zendesk Suite at $55 |
| Gorgias | From $40/mo | 4.6 716 reviews | Shopify stores with low ticket volume that want a $10 helpdesk floor and will watch the $0.40 overage |
| LiveAgent | From $15/mo | 4.0 2,616 reviews | Teams that want a dedicated helpdesk-plus-chat seat under the $19 Freshdesk / Zendesk / LiveChat cluster |
| Zendesk | From $19/mo | 4.3 11,165 reviews | Teams that want Zendesk's support product at the $19 Support Team floor, not Suite at $55 |
| LiveChat | From $20/mo | 4.0 2,049 reviews | Solo operators who want a dedicated LiveChat product and will accept one user and 60-day history on Starter |
| Help Scout | From $22/mo | 4.4 431 reviews | Teams that want Help Scout's shared inbox and docs workflow and will pay a bit more than Freshdesk Growth or Zendesk Support Team |
| Groove | From $24/mo | 4.6 284 reviews | Small teams that want Groove's shared inbox and will pay $24 rather than the $19 Freshdesk or Zendesk seat |
| Tidio | From $29/mo | 4.6 2,552 reviews | Sites that can stay on Tidio free, or that want a chatbot-heavy widget and will pay from about $29 a month |
- Starting price
- Free
- Free plan
- Free to use
- Rating
- 4.6 (548 reviews)
Best for: Sites that want production chat at $0 and can live with the badge, or will pay $29 only to remove it
- Pro: The chat product itself is free forever, with no per-agent floor like LiveChat at $19
- Pro: Hired agents at $1 an hour let you buy coverage without a $19-per-seat helpdesk
- Pro: AI Assist from $29 a month is an add-on, so you can stay on the $0 widget until you want it
- Con: Removing 'Powered by tawk.to' is $29 a month, which can exceed LiveAgent's $15 list seat
- Con: AI Assist also starts at $29 a month, so a badge-free AI setup is not a $0 stack
tawk.to's pricing is incredibly generous, offering a fully-featured live chat solution for free.
Watch out
Hired Agents at $1/hour can add up
- Starting price
- From $19/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.5 (16 reviews)
Best for: Teams that fit Hacker caps, will self-host, or will pay $19 per agent annually for unlimited cloud conversations
- Pro: Hacker at $0 covers 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, a real free cloud rung
- Pro: Startups at $19 per agent per month billed annually includes unlimited conversations (chatwoot.com/pricing, September 2026)
- Pro: Self-host is free open-source if you will operate the stack
- Con: Hacker keeps 30-day retention and website chat only; other channels need a paid or self-host setup
- Con: Branding removal is Enterprise, not a $29 add-on like tawk.to
Chatwoot's pricing is quite generous, especially with the free Hacker tier offering 500 conversations/month.
- Starting price
- From $19/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (3,771 reviews)
Best for: Small support teams that can stay on Free Program for 2 users, or will pay Growth at $19 annual rather than Zendesk Suite at $55
- Pro: Free Program for 2 users is a lasting $0 helpdesk rung, not a 14-day LiveChat trial
- Pro: Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually matches the $19 cluster (freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing, September 2026)
- Pro: Pro at $55 and Enterprise at $89 are published, so the upgrade path is visible
- Con: Our catalog still showed $15 for the first paid plan; that figure is stale. Use Growth at $19
- Con: Free Program is 2 users, so a third agent forces Growth
Freshdesk offers the best free tier in customer support (2 agents, email ticketing) and competitive per-agent pricing for basic ticketing.
Watch out
Copilot translation limited to 40 translations per license per month
- Starting price
- From $40/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (716 reviews)
Best for: Shopify stores with low ticket volume that want a $10 helpdesk floor and will watch the $0.40 overage
- Pro: Helpdesk-only Starter at $10 a month is the cheapest paid dedicated helpdesk rung on this list
- Pro: Not priced per agent, so a two-person store can stay on $10 plus ticket overage
- Pro: Shopify and ecommerce workflows are the product, not a generic website widget
- Con: Starter includes 50 tickets, then $0.40 a ticket, so a busy week blows past $10
- Con: Bundled Starter with AI Agent is $40 a month, four times the helpdesk-only floor
It's best for businesses with predictable, moderate ticket volumes that can optimize their tier selection.
LiveAgent
Small Business lists $15 per agent per month annual ($19 monthly). New-user promo is $10 annual until 1 January 2027. liveagent.com/pricing.
- 4.7 on Capterra (1,685 reviews)
- 4.5 on G2 (772 reviews)
- 2.4 on SourceForge (159 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $15/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.0 (2,616 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want a dedicated helpdesk-plus-chat seat under the $19 Freshdesk / Zendesk / LiveChat cluster
- Pro: List price of $15 per agent per month annual undercuts the $19 cluster by $4 a seat
- Pro: New-user promo at $10 annual until 1 January 2027 is the cheapest per-agent promo on this list
- Pro: Monthly list is $19, so you can still match Freshdesk Growth if you refuse annual billing
- Con: The $10 rate is a new-user promo until 1 January 2027, not the standing $15 annual list
- Con: Monthly at $19 erases the discount versus Freshdesk Growth and Zendesk Support Team
LiveAgent's pricing is fair, especially with the annual discounts.
- Starting price
- From $19/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.3 (11,165 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want Zendesk's support product at the $19 Support Team floor, not Suite at $55
- Pro: Support Team at $19 per agent per month paid yearly matches Freshdesk Growth and LiveChat Starter
- Pro: Suite Team at $55 is a published step when you need the broader Zendesk suite
- Pro: Agent model is familiar to support orgs that already budget per seat
- Con: $19 Support Team is not cheaper than LiveAgent's $15 list or Gorgias $10 ticket Starter
- Con: Suite Team at $55 leaves the cheap-chat story; do not quote Suite as the entry price
Zendesk publishes yearly agent prices on zendesk.com/pricing.
Watch out
AI agents are included on Support and Suite, then priced on successful resolutions (official FAQ). That is a second meter next to the seat.
LiveChat
Starter is $19 per person per month billed annually, $25 monthly. Starter is 1 user and 60-day history. No free plan, 14-day trial. livechat.com/pricing.
- 4.6 on Capterra (1,474 reviews)
- 4.5 on G2 (483 reviews)
- 2.3 on SourceForge (92 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $20/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.0 (2,049 reviews)
Best for: Solo operators who want a dedicated LiveChat product and will accept one user and 60-day history on Starter
- Pro: Starter at $19 per person per month billed annually matches the $19 helpdesk cluster
- Pro: 14-day trial with no free plan is at least a dated test window, published on livechat.com/pricing
- Pro: The product is chat-first, unlike Freshdesk or Zendesk where chat sits inside a ticket suite
- Con: No free plan, unlike tawk.to, Chatwoot Hacker, Freshdesk Free Program, and Tidio
- Con: Starter is 1 user and 60-day history, so a second person or older transcripts force a higher rung
Watch out
Starter tier is limited to 1 user
Help Scout
Standard is about $22 per user per month on our last catalog pull, a shared inbox above the $19 cluster.
- 4.4 on G2 (431 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $22/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.4 (431 reviews)
Best for: Teams that want Help Scout's shared inbox and docs workflow and will pay a bit more than Freshdesk Growth or Zendesk Support Team
- Pro: Standard at about $22 per user per month (catalog last pull) stays near the $19 chat and helpdesk cluster
- Pro: Shared inbox and knowledge-base style workflows fit teams that are not Shopify-only like Gorgias
- Pro: Per-user model is comparable to LiveAgent, Freshdesk, and Zendesk when you count seats
- Con: About $22 is above LiveAgent at $15 list, Freshdesk Growth at $19, and Zendesk Support Team at $19
- Con: Catalog pricing can lag, so confirm Standard on Help Scout's current page before you buy
It's best for small to medium-sized businesses prioritizing ease of use and essential customer support tools.
Groove
Standard is $24 on our catalog last pull, a shared inbox above Help Scout's about-$22 Standard.
- 4.6 on G2 (195 reviews)
- 4.5 on Capterra (87 reviews)
- 5.0 on SourceForge (2 reviews)
- Starting price
- From $24/mo
- Free plan
- No
- Rating
- 4.6 (284 reviews)
Best for: Small teams that want Groove's shared inbox and will pay $24 rather than the $19 Freshdesk or Zendesk seat
- Pro: Standard at $24 (catalog) is still in the small-team helpdesk band, below Gorgias Basic at $77 to $90
- Pro: Shared inbox is the product, useful when chat is one more channel on email tickets
- Pro: Sits close to Help Scout Standard at about $22, so the two are comparable rungs
- Con: $24 is above the $19 cluster (Chatwoot Startups, Freshdesk Growth, Zendesk Support Team, LiveChat Starter)
- Con: Catalog last pull may not match a live annual discount; confirm on Groove's site
Groove's pricing is competitive, especially for small businesses needing core help desk functionalities.
- Starting price
- From $29/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.6 (2,552 reviews)
Best for: Sites that can stay on Tidio free, or that want a chatbot-heavy widget and will pay from about $29 a month
- Pro: A free plan exists, unlike LiveChat's trial-only path
- Pro: Paid from about $29 a month (catalog last pull) is in the same neighborhood as tawk.to's $29 branding and AI add-ons
- Pro: Chatbot plus live chat in one product, useful if the $0 widget is only a first step
- Con: About $29 a month is above Gorgias $10, LiveAgent $15 list, and the $19 per-agent cluster for a single seat
- Con: Catalog last pull should be confirmed on Tidio's live pricing page before you budget
Tidio's pricing offers a good entry point with its Free and Starter ($29/month) plans, which are quite generous for small businesses needing basic chat functionality.
Watch out
Conversation limits can lead to overage if not monitored.
What 'Cheapest Live Chat Software' Actually Means
Cheap chat is either a $0 widget (tawk.to, Chatwoot Hacker, Tidio free, Freshdesk Free Program) or a first paid seat. Paid seats do not share one unit. LiveAgent, Freshdesk, Zendesk, LiveChat, Help Scout, and Groove bill per agent, person, or user. Gorgias bills a workspace plus tickets ($10 for 50 tickets, then $0.40 a ticket), not per agent. tawk.to charges $29 a month to remove "Powered by tawk.to" and from $29 a month for AI Assist, while hired agents are $1 an hour.
This guide states the unit next to the dollar figure so a $10 ticket bucket is never treated as a $10 unlimited agent seat.
Why $10, $15, and $19 Are Different Bills
Gorgias helpdesk-only Starter at $10 a month includes 50 tickets, then $0.40 per extra ticket. Bundled Starter with AI Agent is $40 a month. That is a Shopify-centric helpdesk price, not a $10 unlimited chat seat. LiveAgent Small Business lists $15 per agent per month annual ($19 monthly), with a new-user promo at $10 annual until 1 January 2027. Freshdesk, Zendesk Support Team, LiveChat Starter, and Chatwoot Startups cluster at $19 per agent or person per month billed annually.
tawk.to can stay $0 if you accept the badge. Paying $29 only to remove branding can cost more than LiveAgent's $15 list seat. Chatwoot Hacker is $0 for 2 agents, 500 conversations a month, 30-day retention, and website chat only. Branding removal on Chatwoot is Enterprise. Self-host Chatwoot is free open-source if you will run the servers.
Key Features to Look For
Per-agent price versus per-ticket price (Essential)
Freshdesk, Zendesk, LiveAgent, LiveChat, Help Scout, and Groove bill per agent or user. Gorgias Starter is $10 for 50 tickets, then $0.40 a ticket, not per agent.
Standing rate versus new-user promo (Essential)
LiveAgent lists $15 per agent per month annual. The $10 annual rate is a new-user promo until 1 January 2027. Freshdesk Growth is $19, not the $15 still in our catalog.
What $0 actually caps (Important)
Chatwoot Hacker: 2 agents, 500 conversations a month, 30-day retention, website chat only. tawk.to: badge stays unless you pay $29. Freshdesk Free Program: 2 users.
Branding removal as a separate SKU (Important)
tawk.to charges $29 a month to remove 'Powered by tawk.to'. Chatwoot branding removal is Enterprise. That $29 can exceed LiveAgent's $15 list seat.
Self-host Chatwoot versus cloud Startups (Nice to have)
Self-host Chatwoot is free open-source. Cloud Startups is $19 per agent per month billed annually with unlimited conversations. Do not mix the two price cards.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Treating Gorgias $10 as an unlimited chat seat. Helpdesk-only Starter is $10 a month for 50 tickets, then $0.40 a ticket. Bundled Starter with AI Agent is $40 a month.
- ×
Budgeting Freshdesk at $15. The first listed paid plan on freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing as of September 2026 is Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually. Our $15 catalog row is stale.
- ×
- ×
Comparing LiveAgent's $10 new-user promo to everyone else's standing rate. The promo runs until 1 January 2027. Standing Small Business is $15 per agent per month annual, $19 monthly.
- ×
Putting Acquire, Qualified, or Dixa in a cheap-chat bake-off. Acquire is about $500, Qualified is custom, and Dixa has no public price. Zendesk Messaging was also dropped as a duplicate of Zendesk.
Expert Tips
- →
- →
- →
- →
If you will run servers, self-host Chatwoot (free open-source) instead of paying Startups at $19 per agent. Branding removal on cloud Chatwoot is Enterprise, not a $29 add-on.
- →
Quote LiveChat Starter as 1 user and 60-day history. A second person or older transcripts is a different plan. LiveChat has no free plan, only a 14-day trial.
The Bottom Line
Truly free live chat in 2026 is tawk.to, Chatwoot Hacker at $0, and Freshdesk Free Program for 2 users. The cheapest paid dedicated rungs are Gorgias helpdesk-only Starter at $10 a month for 50 tickets, and LiveAgent Small Business at $15 per agent per month annual ($10 new-user promo until 1 January 2027). Then Chatwoot Startups, Freshdesk Growth, Zendesk Support Team, and LiveChat Starter cluster at $19 per agent or person per month billed annually. Help Scout Standard is about $22 per user per month, Groove Standard is $24, and Tidio paid plans start around $29 a month. Freshdesk Growth at $19 replaces our stale $15 catalog row.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest live chat software in 2026?
tawk.to is free forever for the software itself. Chatwoot Hacker is $0 for 2 agents, 500 conversations a month, 30-day retention, and website chat only. Freshdesk still references a Free Program for 2 users. The cheapest paid dedicated rungs are Gorgias helpdesk-only Starter at $10 a month for 50 tickets, and LiveAgent Small Business at $15 per agent per month annual, or $10 annual for new users until 1 January 2027.
Is Freshdesk still $15 per agent?
No. The first listed paid plan on freshworks.com/freshdesk/pricing as of September 2026 is Growth at $19 per agent per month billed annually. Pro is $55 and Enterprise is $89. A $15 figure in our catalog is stale.
Is Gorgias $10 a good deal compared with a $19 Zendesk seat?
It depends on tickets, not agents. Gorgias helpdesk-only Starter is $10 a month for 50 tickets, then $0.40 a ticket, and it is not priced per agent. Zendesk Support Team is $19 per agent per month paid yearly. A quiet Shopify inbox can stay cheaper on Gorgias. A busy inbox will pass a $19 seat after overage. Bundled Starter with AI Agent is $40 a month.
How much does it cost to remove tawk.to branding?
tawk.to charges $29 a month to remove 'Powered by tawk.to'. AI Assist also starts at $29 a month. Hired agents are $1 an hour. The chat software itself stays free. Paying $29 only for the badge can cost more than LiveAgent's $15 list seat.
Does LiveChat have a free plan?
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Cheapest Live Chat Software in 2026", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/cheapest-live-chat-software
Sources
Prices and plan details on this page come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker:
- tawk.to pricing, checked
- Chatwoot pricing, checked
- Freshdesk pricing, checked
- Gorgias pricing, checked
- LiveAgent pricing, checked
- Zendesk pricing, checked
- LiveChat pricing, checked
- Help Scout pricing, checked
- Groove pricing, checked
- Tidio pricing, checked
Related Guides
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