Intercom and Zendesk suit larger support teams that want AI agents, workflows and a shared inbox in one place, but both add usage charges on top of seat prices. Tidio, Crisp, Freshchat and Zoho SalesIQ give small teams a lower entry cost, and each of the four has a free plan with real limits on seats, conversations or bot sessions. LiveChat, now sold to new customers as Text plans, includes an AI Agent on its Essential plan, with 1 AI Agent and 10 AI resolutions a month.
We compared 7 options for best live chat platforms with chatbot integration. Each profile below lists the price, free plan, pros and cons as published by the company.
On this page
Best live chat platforms with chatbot integration: comparison table
Swipe the table sideways on a phone to see every column.
| # | Name | Best for | Starting price | Free plan / trial | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intercom | AI-first support teams | $19 per seat/month | No, Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 2 | Zendesk | Omnichannel support teams | $55 per agent/month | No, Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 3 | LiveChat | Small teams that want chat plus AI | $19 per user/month | No, Free trial (14 days) | Visit |
| 4 | Tidio | Online stores and small sites | $24.17 per month | Yes | Visit |
| 5 | Crisp | Small teams that want flat pricing | $45 per workspace/month | Yes | Visit |
| 6 | Freshchat | Freshworks users and small teams | $19 per agent/month | Yes | Visit |
| 7 | Zoho SalesIQ | Zoho users and visitor tracking | $7 per operator/month | Yes | Visit |
The 7 best best live chat platforms with chatbot integrations, in detail
Intercom
Best for: AI-first support teams
Intercom is built around Fin, its AI agent, and the Messenger live chat widget. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 shows Essential at $19 per seat a month, with $29 struck through, Advanced at $85 per seat a month and Expert at $132 per seat a month. Fin costs $0.99 per outcome on every plan, and an outcome is counted when a customer confirms the issue is resolved, does not ask for more help after Fin responds, or Fin completes a workflow.
- The page also lists a 14-day free trial with no card required.
- The Essential plan includes live chat, a shared inbox, ticketing, a public help center and pre-built reports, while Advanced adds multiple team inboxe
- Expert adds single sign-on, HIPAA support, service level agreements, multibrand Messenger and Help Center, and 50 free Lite seats.
- Teams that already use another help desk can use Fin on its own for $0.99 per outcome, with no seats required and a 50 outcome monthly minimum.
Pros
- Fin AI Agent is included on every plan
- live chat, shared inbox and ticketing sit in one workspace
Cons
- Fin costs $0.99 per outcome on top of seat prices, so high AI volume adds a separate bill
Zendesk
Best for: Omnichannel support teams
Zendesk sells customer service by agent seat, and live chat with chatbot integration starts on Suite Team. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 lists Support Team at $19 per agent a month when billed yearly, Suite Team at $55 per agent a month when billed yearly, and Suite Professional at $115 per agent a month when billed yearly. Suite Enterprise with Copilot is sold through sales with no published price.
- Monthly billing costs $25, $69 and $149 per agent a month for the three published plans.
- A 14-day free trial is listed.
- Suite Team adds messaging and live chat, AI agents, a knowledge base, Action Builder, omnichannel routing and telephony to the Support Team features.
- Suite Professional adds skills-based routing, an IVR phone tree, AI writing tools, custom reports and up to 5 help centers.
Pros
- Live chat, messaging, voice and ticketing share one workspace
- AI agents are included on Suite plans
Cons
- Live chat starts on Suite Team at $55 per agent a month, because Support Team at $19 covers email and ticketing only
LiveChat
Best for: Small teams that want chat plus AI
LiveChat is now sold to new customers as Text plans, and the pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 lists Essential at $19 per user a month when billed annually, or $25 when billed monthly, and Growth at $79 per user a month when billed annually, or $99 when billed monthly. Enterprise is custom priced. Existing LiveChat customers keep their plan, price and login.
- The free trial runs for 14 days on Essential and Growth and does not ask for a card.
- Essential includes 1 AI Agent, 10 AI resolutions a month, tracking for 50 live visitors, and 60 days of conversation and file history.
- Growth includes 10 AI Agents, 200 AI resolutions a month, tracking for 400 live visitors, and unlimited history.
- Extra packages of 50 AI resolutions cost $49.50 on Essential and Growth.
Pros
- An AI Agent is included on Essential, with 10 AI resolutions a month
- Growth raises this to 10 AI Agents and 200 resolutions
Cons
- Essential keeps only 60 days of conversation history and tracks 50 live visitors at a time
Tidio
Best for: Online stores and small sites
Tidio combines live chat, a shared help desk, a no-code automation builder called Flows and an AI agent called Lyro. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 shows Starter at $24.17 a month, with 100 billable conversations, Growth from $49.17 a month, with from 250 billable conversations, and Plus from $300 a month plus monthly usage, with custom billable conversations. Premium is priced by sales.
- A billable conversation is one that a human agent replies to or starts.
- The free plan includes 50 billable conversations a month and 50 Lyro conversations for the life of the account.
- Starter includes 50 Lyro AI Agent conversations as a one-off allowance, 100 Flows visitors reached, live chat and ticketing, a live visitors list, ope
- Growth adds advanced analytics, user permissions, automatic chat assignment, automatic reply, live typing preview, viewed pages history and macros.
Pros
- Pricing is by conversation volume, not by seat, and self-serve plans include up to 10 seats
Cons
- Lyro AI conversations and Flows visitors are billed on separate meters, so the total can rise above the headline plan price
Crisp
Best for: Small teams that want flat pricing
Crisp charges a flat monthly price per workspace, so the bill does not move with conversation volume. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 lists Free at $0, Mini at $45 a month per workspace, Essentials at $95 a month per workspace, and Plus at $295 a month per workspace, with Enterprise priced by sales. Free includes 2 seats and 100 customer profiles.
- Mini includes 4 seats, around 90 automated conversations and $5 in AI credits.
- Essentials includes 10 seats, around 450 automated conversations and $25 in AI credits.
- Plus includes 20 or more seats, around 1,350 automated conversations and $75 in AI credits.
- Essentials is the first plan with an omnichannel inbox covering WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, Line and Viber, a workflow automation builder, an omnichanne
Pros
- Flat pricing per workspace, not per agent, with unlimited conversations on every plan
Cons
- The AI chatbot and knowledge base start on Essentials at $95 a month, and AI credits run out once the included allowance is used
Freshchat
Best for: Freshworks users and small teams
Freshchat is the live chat and messaging product from Freshworks, and it shares data with Freshdesk ticketing and other Freshworks products. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 lists Free at $0 for up to 10 agents, Growth at $19 per agent a month when billed annually, Pro at $49 per agent a month when billed annually, and Enterprise at $79 per agent a month when billed annually. Monthly billing costs $23, $59 and $95 per agent a month for the three plans.
- Signing up gives access to the Enterprise plan for 14 days.
- Growth adds Freddy AI Agent, social media messengers, text messaging, and reporting and dashboards to the free plan features.
- Pro adds multilingual conversations, custom dashboards and reporting, intelligent routing, multiple SLA policies and an agent availability dashboard.
- Enterprise adds skill-based routing, audit logs, JWT authentication, and allowed domains and IP whitelisting.
Pros
- Free plan covers up to 10 agents with a chat widget, shared inbox and email
Cons
- Freddy AI Agent sessions cost $49 per 100 sessions after 500 free sessions, so bot volume adds a separate charge
Zoho SalesIQ
Best for: Zoho users and visitor tracking
Zoho SalesIQ combines live chat, visitor tracking and chatbots, and it fits teams that already use Zoho CRM or Zoho One. The pricing page opened on 12 November 2026 lists a free plan with 3 operator licenses, 10,000 tracked visitors a month and 100 operator chat sessions a month. Basic costs $7 per operator a month when billed annually, or $10 when billed monthly.
- Professional costs $12.75 per operator a month when billed annually, or $17 when billed monthly.
- Enterprise costs $20 per operator a month when billed annually, or $25 when billed monthly.
- A 15-day trial is listed for the higher plans.
- Basic includes 1 operator license per purchase, 50,000 tracked visitors a month, 1,000 operator chat sessions, 1 chatbot and 25,000 bot chat sessions
Pros
- Low entry price per operator, with visitor tracking, live chat and a chatbot on the same page
Cons
- Basic allows only 1 chatbot, 1,000 operator chat sessions a month and 25,000 bot sessions a month
How we chose
We compared the vendor pricing pages opened on 12 November 2026 for each tool in this list, using the published plan prices, AI allowances and free plan limits from those pages. We looked for live chat and a chatbot or AI agent in the same product, a clear handoff from the bot to a human agent, and published limits on AI conversations, sessions, outcomes or resolutions. We also checked which channels each tool covers and whether the chatbot is included in the seat price or billed as a separate meter. We did not run hands-on trials, and we did not use third-party review scores, awards or customer counts to rank the tools.
Which tool fits your team size and budget
| Team size and budget | First choice | Monthly cost at that size | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo owner, under $25 a month | Zoho SalesIQ Basic | $7 for 1 operator | Lowest entry price, with 1 chatbot and 50,000 tracked visitors |
| 2 to 4 agents, under $50 a month | Crisp Mini | $45 per workspace | Flat price covers 4 seats and around 90 automated conversations |
| 2 to 4 agents, under $100 a month | Tidio Starter | $24.17 a month | Conversation pricing covers up to 10 seats and 100 billable conversations |
| 5 agents, under $100 a month | Freshchat Growth | $95 a month (5 x $19) | Free plan covers 10 agents, and Growth adds Freddy AI Agent |
| 5 agents, $100 to $300 a month | LiveChat Essential | $95 a month (5 x $19) | AI Agent included, with 10 AI resolutions a month |
| 10 agents, $200 to $600 a month | Intercom Essential | $190 a month (10 x $19) | Fin AI Agent included, before $0.99 per outcome |
| 10 agents, over $500 a month | Zendesk Suite Team | $550 a month (10 x $55) | Full omnichannel workspace with AI agents and telephony |
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest live chat platform with chatbot integration?
Zoho SalesIQ Basic is the cheapest entry point in this list at $7 per operator a month when billed annually, with 1 chatbot, 1,000 operator chat sessions and 25,000 bot sessions a month. The cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest total, because AI usage is often billed on top of the seat or workspace price.
Do any of these tools have a free plan?
Yes. Tidio, Crisp, Freshchat and Zoho SalesIQ all have a free plan. Tidio Free includes 50 billable conversations a month, Crisp Free includes 2 seats, Freshchat Free covers up to 10 agents, and Zoho SalesIQ Free includes 3 operator licenses. Intercom, Zendesk and LiveChat offer a 14-day free trial instead.
How does chatbot pricing usually work?
Most tools in this list charge for seats and for AI use in two separate parts. Intercom charges $0.99 per Fin outcome, Zendesk charges per automated resolution after a small allowance, Freshchat charges $49 per 100 Freddy sessions, and LiveChat includes 10 AI resolutions a month on Essential and 200 on Growth. Tidio and Crisp use conversation and credit meters. Read the included allowance before you estimate the monthly total.
Which tool is best for an online store?
Tidio is a strong fit for an online store, because it was built for Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress sites, prices by conversation volume rather than by seat, and includes Lyro, its AI agent, plus Flows for automated messages. Crisp is also worth a look for a store that wants flat workspace pricing and ecommerce integrations.
Can a chatbot hand a chat to a human agent?
Yes, every tool in this list is built to hand a conversation from the bot to a human agent, but the handoff rules differ by plan. Look for routing rules, agent availability and a shared inbox that keeps the full conversation history in one place. A clean handoff should pass the visitor details and the bot transcript, so the customer does not repeat the same details.
Do I need a separate chatbot product?
Intercom, Zendesk, Tidio, Crisp, Freshchat, Zoho SalesIQ and LiveChat all include a chatbot or AI agent in the product itself, so no separate chatbot is required. The cost is the issue, because several tools bill AI use separately from seats. New LiveChat customers now get an AI Agent inside the Text plans.
Sources
- https://www.intercom.com/
- https://www.intercom.com/pricing
- https://www.zendesk.com/
- https://www.zendesk.com/pricing/
- https://www.livechat.com/
- https://www.livechat.com/pricing
- https://www.tidio.com/
- https://www.tidio.com/pricing
- https://crisp.chat/
- https://crisp.chat/en/pricing/
- https://www.freshchat.com/
- https://www.zoho.com/salesiq/
- https://www.zoho.com/salesiq/pricing.html
Prices and features were read on each company’s own website in November 2026. They change often, so confirm the current offer on the official site before you sign up or buy.