Looking for LiveChat alternatives that include AI without extra cost? LiveChat charges $20 to $59 per agent per month. AI requires a separate ChatBot product from $19/user/month (annual). A five-person team stacking LiveChat + ChatBot + HelpDesk + KnowledgeBase quickly stacks into the $300+/month range. These 10 alternatives bundle AI into the core product for much less.
TL;DR: Boei is the best LiveChat alternative for most small businesses. LiveChat is a polished live chat product, but you still need to buy a bot (ChatBot), a help desk (HelpDesk), and a knowledge base (KnowledgeBase) separately. LiveChat from $20/seat + ChatBot from $19/user + HelpDesk from $19/user + KnowledgeBase from $49/mo. Even at minimum tiers, the stack adds up vs Boei's single $19 flat. Boei is an all-in-one conversation stack: AI chatbot, live chat, unified inbox, built-in CRM, and 50+ channels in one widget from $19/month. Alternatives range from free (tawk.to) to $85/seat (Intercom Advanced), with most options bundling AI for under $50/month. If you want AI included without buying a separate product, nearly every alternative on this list beats LiveChat on value.
One widget, five tools' worth. Boei combines AI chatbot, live chat, unified inbox, built-in CRM, and 50+ contact channels (WhatsApp, email, SMS, Messenger, forms, more). From $19/month, EU-hosted in Amsterdam, used by 17,000+ businesses (4.7/5 on G2, 5/5 on Capterra). Most teams pay for each of these tools separately.
| Tool | Starting Price | AI Chatbot | Channels | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boei | $19/mo with AI | Included | Included | 50+ | Best all-in-one stack for SMBs |
| Tidio | Free / $24.17/mo | Per-conv | $59/mo extra | ~10 | E-commerce |
| Crisp | Free / $45/mo | $295/mo plan | $295/mo plan | ~6 | EU-based teams |
| tawk.to | Free | $29/mo add-on | No | 1 | Zero budget |
| HubSpot Service Hub | Free / $45/mo | Included | Higher plans | 8+ | HubSpot ecosystem |
| Freshchat | $15/agent | Add-on | Add-on | 8+ | Freshworks users |
| Help Scout | $20/user | Included | No | 4 | Email-first support |
| Zendesk Chat | $55/agent | Per-outcome AI + $50/agent Copilot | Suite | 8 | Zendesk ecosystem |
| Intercom | $29/seat (Essential) | $0.99/resolution | Higher plans | 6 | Enterprise |
| Kommunicate | $40/mo | Included | Yes | ~5 | Mobile apps |
Skip the comparison, try Boei free. AI chatbot, live chat, unified inbox, and 50+ channels from $19/month. EU-hosted in Amsterdam. Start your 7-day free trial (no credit card required).
Here are the four main reasons teams move away from LiveChat.
LiveChat charges for every agent seat. If your team grows from three to eight people, your bill nearly triples. For small businesses that need good coverage, this gets expensive fast.
Most modern chat tools bundle AI into their plans. LiveChat does not. You have to buy ChatBot separately, starting at $19 per user per month (annual). The combined cost is one of the highest in the market.
ChatBot from $19/user, HelpDesk from $19/user, KnowledgeBase from $49/mo, on top of $20+/seat LiveChat. LiveChat's own product family lists four separate subscriptions, each with their own per-agent or per-conversation pricing. Boei replaces all four in one widget from $19/month.
LiveChat focuses on website chat. Want WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Instagram? You need third-party tools or extra integrations. Many alternatives offer these channels out of the box.
A five-person team on the Business plan with ChatBot quickly stacks into the $300+/month range once you add HelpDesk and KnowledgeBase. For small businesses with moderate chat volume, that is steep. Alternatives offer similar features for much less.
Boei is the LiveChat alternative with AI included instead of sold separately. You don't need to buy LiveChat plus ChatBot plus HelpDesk to get the same setup. WhatsApp, live chat, AI, and a built-in CRM come together from $19/month. Hosted in Amsterdam, GDPR by default. Rated 4.7/5 on G2 by 17,000+ businesses.
LiveChat plus ChatBot lands at $39+/month for a single agent. That is LiveChat from $20/seat and ChatBot from $19/user on annual billing, before HelpDesk or KnowledgeBase. Boei from $19/month already includes the AI chatbot trained on your content. It also includes the live chat inbox, the CRM, and the channel widget. The agentic AI takes actions on its own, like API calls, calculations, and data lookups. It automates email, WhatsApp, and SMS conversations, collects leads, and manages deals in a Kanban pipeline. It also follows up automatically.
Channel coverage is the second big gap with LiveChat. Boei supports WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, Telegram, Signal, email, phone, and contact forms. Dozens more channels live in the same widget. The AI trains on your website content and docs. It answers customer questions right away without manual setup.
The widget is lightweight and easy to customize. Match it to your brand colors, pick which channels show up, and set availability schedules. For businesses that want LiveChat-quality chat plus AI plus CRM without paying for the whole LiveChat product family, Boei is the most flexible option.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: SMBs wanting LiveChat-quality chat plus AI plus CRM in one widget instead of paying for the whole LiveChat product family.
Pricing: Starter $19/month. Growth $49/month. Business $129/month. 7-day free trial. See the full pricing breakdown.
Tidio has a strong niche in e-commerce, especially among Shopify and WooCommerce stores. It combines live chat with an AI chatbot called Lyro. Lyro handles common questions about orders, shipping, and returns. The free plan is generous, and the interface is beginner-friendly.
The AI pricing is where costs can climb. Lyro AI is billed per conversation beyond your included quota. That is fine at low volume but adds up when your store gets busy. WhatsApp needs the $59/month plan as an add-on.
Tidio shines with pre-built automation for e-commerce. Order tracking, cart recovery messages, and product recommendations are all ready to use. If you run an online store, Tidio is a strong pick.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: E-commerce stores that want AI-powered support with deep shopping platform integrations.
Pricing: Free plan available. Starter from $24.17/month (with 100 billable conversations included). Lyro AI billed per conversation.
Crisp is a French company that offers a clean, modern chat platform. It focuses on European data privacy. The free plan covers two agents and basic live chat. The Mini plan at $45/month and Essentials at $95/month add more features. AI is bundled into the Plus (AI-First Support Suite) tier at $295/month.
For EU-based teams, Crisp stores data in European data centers. GDPR compliance is built in. The shared inbox pulls in conversations from your website, email, and social channels. MagicReply AI helps agents draft responses faster. It is not a fully standalone chatbot on lower plans, though.
The jump to the $295/month Plus tier to unlock AI is steep. If you can justify that cost, Crisp offers a polished experience. If you mainly want affordable AI, the lower plans may not be enough. For other EU-hosted picks, our Crisp alternatives guide goes deeper.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: EU-based teams that need GDPR-compliant chat with data stored in Europe. (Boei also runs on EU servers in Amsterdam, so GDPR-conscious teams get similar data protection with 50+ channels.)
Pricing: Free for 2 agents. Mini at $45/month. Essentials at $95/month. Plus (with AI) at $295/month.
tawk.to is the go-to option when your budget is zero. The core product is completely free. That includes unlimited agents, unlimited chat history, and a working live chat widget. No hidden trial periods. No conversation limits.
The free plan is genuinely impressive. You get a real-time dashboard, canned responses, file sharing, and basic visitor tracking. The widget works on any website. For a startup or small business just starting with live chat, tawk.to removes the cost barrier.
The trade-offs are what you would expect. AI chatbot costs $29/month as an add-on. There is no WhatsApp support. The interface looks dated next to newer tools. Branding on the free plan costs extra to remove. For more free or low-cost picks, see our tawk.to alternatives guide.
Strengths:
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Best for: Businesses with zero budget that need basic live chat with no cost.
Pricing: Free. AI add-on at $29/month. Remove branding at $19/month.
HubSpot Service Hub makes the most sense if you already use HubSpot. The free CRM includes a basic live chat widget. The Starter plan at $45/month adds more features and removes branding. AI is included through Breeze AI. It can draft replies and summarize conversations.
The real power here is CRM integration. Every chat links to a contact record automatically. Your team sees which pages the visitor viewed and their full history. For sales teams, that context is very valuable.
WhatsApp needs the Professional tier, which starts at $450/month. That puts multi-channel support out of reach for smaller teams. If you just need website chat with AI and already use HubSpot, the lower plans work well.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Teams already on HubSpot CRM that want chat in their existing workflow.
Pricing: Free plan available. Starter at $45/month. Professional at $450/month.
Freshchat is the messaging product in the Freshworks suite. It offers solid live chat with chatbot features through Freddy AI. Pricing starts at $15 per agent per month. That is cheaper than LiveChat but still follows the per-agent model.
The platform supports web chat, mobile app chat, and social messaging. Freddy AI handles routine questions and hands off to humans when needed. The bot builder is visual and easy to use without coding. If you already use Freshdesk or Freshsales, the integration is smooth.
The catch is that the best AI features and channel integrations are add-ons. WhatsApp, advanced AI, and detailed analytics all cost extra. Per-agent pricing also means your bill grows with your team, just like LiveChat.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Teams already using Freshworks products that want messaging in their support stack.
Pricing: From $15/agent/month. AI and channel add-ons priced separately.
Help Scout is mainly an email support tool. It added live chat through its Beacon widget. The approach is email-first with chat as a bonus. This works well for teams that handle most support by email. AI is included in all plans.
Help Scout's AI focuses on helping agents, not replacing them. It drafts reply suggestions, summarizes long threads, and surfaces relevant help articles. The knowledge base integration is strong. Customers can search your docs from the chat widget before starting a conversation. That cuts down on routine questions.
Help Scout does not support WhatsApp or other messaging channels. It is not trying to be an omnichannel tool. If your support centers on email and you want chat as a secondary channel with solid AI, Help Scout does that well.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Teams that handle most support through email and want chat as a secondary channel.
Pricing: From $20/user/month. AI included in all plans.
Zendesk Chat is part of the Zendesk Suite, one of the largest support platforms around. It integrates deeply with Zendesk's ticketing, knowledge base, and reporting tools. AI is available through the Zendesk Copilot add-on at $50/agent/month, with Zendesk AI agents billed per successful outcome.
Look at the AI pricing carefully. The Copilot add-on at $50/agent stacks on top of your $55/agent/month base cost, and AI agents are billed per successful outcome. For high-volume teams, this gets very expensive. For lower-volume teams, it might be cheaper than a flat monthly AI fee.
Zendesk's strength is production-ready reporting and workflow automation. You get detailed analytics on response times, satisfaction, and agent performance. WhatsApp and other channels are part of the Suite plans. The total cost puts Zendesk in the premium category.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Mid-to-large teams in the Zendesk ecosystem that need advanced reporting.
Pricing: From $55/agent/month. Zendesk Copilot add-on $50/agent/month. AI agents billed per successful outcome.
Intercom is a premium messaging platform that has gone all-in on AI with its Fin chatbot. Fin is one of the better AI chatbots available. It holds natural conversations and resolves complex queries from your knowledge base. It costs $0.99 per AI resolution.
The base Advanced plan starts at $85 per seat per month (Essential is $29/seat with limited features). That makes it the priciest option on this list by seat cost. For that price, you get a powerful messenger, product tours, help center, and shared inbox. The platform targets tech companies and SaaS businesses.
WhatsApp is available on higher plans. The feature set is extensive. Intercom is not trying to be affordable. It is trying to be the best, and in many ways it succeeds. If your budget allows and you value AI quality over AI cost, Intercom with Fin is a strong choice. If Intercom's pricing is your concern, our Intercom alternatives guide ranks cheaper picks.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Well-funded SaaS companies that value top AI quality and can afford premium pricing.
Pricing: From $29/seat/month (Essential), $85/seat/month (Advanced). Fin AI at $0.99/resolution. WhatsApp on higher plans.
Kommunicate focuses on chatbot automation with human handoff. It puts extra emphasis on mobile app integration. The platform starts at $40/month and includes AI chatbot powered by your choice of AI models. You can train it on your own docs.
The mobile SDK is where Kommunicate stands apart. If you have an iOS or Android app and want to embed chat with AI inside it, Kommunicate makes that simple. The bot builder supports no-code flows. Handoff to human agents is smooth. WhatsApp integration is available too.
The platform is less well-known than the bigger names on this list. The smaller team means updates roll out more slowly. The widget design is functional but not as refined as Intercom or Crisp. For mobile-first businesses that need chat in their app with solid AI, Kommunicate fills that niche well.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Best for: Mobile-first businesses that need chat with AI in their iOS or Android app.
Pricing: From $40/month. AI included. WhatsApp available.
| Setup | LiveChat Cost | Best Alternative | Alternative Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo + AI | $39/mo ($20 LiveChat + $19 ChatBot, annual) | Boei | $19/mo (Starter) |
| 3 agents + AI | $117/mo | Tidio | $25/mo |
| 5 agents + AI | $195-490/mo | Boei | $49/mo (Growth) |
| Free option | N/A | tawk.to | Free |
| Enterprise | $295/mo (5 seats) | Zendesk | $275/mo (5 seats) |
Still weighing your options? Boei replaces the LiveChat stack with one widget: AI, live chat, CRM, WhatsApp, and 50+ channels from $19/month. Try it free for 7 days.
tawk.to offers free live chat, but AI costs $29/month extra. For AI included from the start, Boei from $19/month is the most affordable option. It includes AI and 50+ channels.
Most alternatives do not offer direct migration from LiveChat. You can export your LiveChat history as CSV files and keep them as a reference. Importing them into a new tool usually requires manual work or API integration. AI chatbots learn from your docs, not past conversations. Starting fresh is usually painless.
That depends on the tool. Boei, HubSpot, Help Scout, and Kommunicate include AI in their core product. Tidio, Zendesk, and Intercom charge per AI conversation or resolution. tawk.to and Freshchat sell AI as a separate add-on. Always check whether AI pricing is included or usage-based.
For teams under 10 people, per-agent tools like LiveChat, Zendesk, and Intercom get expensive fast. Boei starts from $19/month with AI included. Free tools like tawk.to also work well. Tidio's free plan suits very small teams with low AI volume.
It depends on your audience. In Europe, Latin America, and parts of Asia, WhatsApp is the top messaging app. Customers expect to reach businesses through it. In North America, web chat and email are more common. If your customers use WhatsApp, pick a tool that includes it natively.
Most tools on this list support multiple languages. AI chatbots generally respond in whatever language the customer writes in. Your knowledge base needs to cover that language, though. Boei, Crisp, and Tidio have strong multi-language support with translated widgets and multilingual AI.
LiveChat is still an excellent product if per-agent pricing fits your budget. But for most small businesses, paying for LiveChat plus ChatBot is hard to justify. Alternatives bundle everything together for less.
If you want the broadest channel support with AI included, Boei is the strongest option. From $19/month with AI included, it costs a fraction of most competitors. And it comes with over 50 communication channels.
For e-commerce stores, Tidio is a solid pick. For teams already in HubSpot or Zendesk, staying in your ecosystem has its own perks. And if budget is your only concern, tawk.to gives you live chat for free.
The best approach is to try two or three options from this list. Use a free plan or trial. Pay attention to how the AI handles your specific questions. Check how the widget looks on your site. Make sure the pricing stays predictable as your team grows.
Ready to try a LiveChat alternative with AI built in? Start with Boei for free and see how 50+ channels with AI chatbot work on your website.
Article by
Ruben is the founder of Boei, with 12+ years of experience in conversion optimization. Former IT consultant at Ernst & Young and Accenture, where he helped product teams at Shell, ING, Rabobank, Aegon, NN, and AirFrance/KLM optimize their digital experiences. Now building tools to help businesses convert more website visitors into customers.
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