LiveChat has been a go-to live chat tool for years, built for teams who chat with customers all day. It's mature, reliable and has 200+ integrations. But it's priced per user, and its entry plan includes just 10 AI resolutions a month.
That's the trade-off many small businesses run into: you want the AI to take the routine questions off your hands, but the AI allowance is small, and every extra team member adds to the bill.
A note before we start: we make ConvoAsk, so we're not neutral. To keep this useful, every price below comes from each company's own public pricing page (checked on 14 and 15 October 2026), and we say where each tool is stronger than ours. Prices change, so check their sites before you decide.
LiveChat alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid plans start at | How the AI is charged |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ConvoAsk | Small businesses: AI answers first, live chat for the rest | No; 7-day free trial, no card | $19/month | Message credits included in the plan |
| Tidio | Live chat for online stores, with AI as an add-on | Yes, live chat | $24.17/month, plus Lyro AI | Lyro from $32.50/month for 50 AI conversations |
| Crisp | One shared inbox for chat, email and messaging apps | Yes, without AI | $45/month | AI credits by plan; AI chatbot from $95 |
| Intercom | Larger teams needing a full support platform | 14-day trial | $29 per seat/month | $0.99 per resolved conversation (Fin) |
| Zendesk | Support teams needing a complete helpdesk | 14-day trial | $19 per agent/month, billed yearly; live chat from $55 | $2.00 per automated resolution after a few included |
| Chatbase | AI agents with many integrations and voice | 7-day trial | $40/month | Message credits by plan |
For reference, LiveChat has a 14-day trial; Essential at $19 per user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly) with 10 AI resolutions; Growth at $79 per user with 200; and extra packs of 50 resolutions for $49.50.
Why look for a LiveChat alternative?
- Per-user pricing. Each person who answers chats is another monthly fee.
- A small AI allowance. 10 AI resolutions a month on Essential; more means Growth ($79 per user) or extra packs.
- You want the AI to lead. LiveChat is built around people chatting; AI is a helper.
Why you might stay with LiveChat
If your team genuinely chats with customers all day, LiveChat is a mature, polished tool: reply suggestions, chat summaries and ticketing, 200+ integrations, and sister products from the same company for bigger setups.
The alternatives, one by one
1. ConvoAsk: the AI answers, your team steps in
ConvoAsk flips the model: the AI answers most questions from your website, day and night, in your customers' language, showing the source of each answer. Your team gets notified and takes over in live chat when someone needs a person, or the visitor can reach you on WhatsApp, by phone or by email.
- Price: 7-day free trial, no card; Starter $19/month (2,000 message credits, 3 team members, live chat and bookings); Pro $49/month (5,000 credits, 10 team members, helpdesk, API, no branding). Team members are included, not charged per user.
- Good for: small businesses that want the AI to handle routine questions, with a person for the rest.
- Watch out for: fewer integrations than LiveChat, and no mobile apps (you get phone notifications instead).
Read the full comparison: ConvoAsk vs LiveChat
2. Tidio: live chat with a free plan
Tidio offers a generous free live chat plan with 10 seats, social channels and mobile apps.
- Price: free plan; Starter $24.17/month; Lyro AI from $32.50/month for 50 AI conversations.
- Good for: stores and teams that answer chats by hand, on many channels.
- Watch out for: the AI is a separate bill. ConvoAsk vs Tidio
3. Crisp: one inbox, priced per workspace
Crisp brings chat, email, WhatsApp, Instagram and SMS into one inbox, priced per workspace rather than per user.
- Price: free plan (no AI); Mini $45/month with 4 seats; AI chatbot from Essentials ($95/month, 10 seats).
- Good for: small teams that want every channel together.
- Watch out for: the AI chatbot starts on the $95 plan. ConvoAsk vs Crisp
4. Intercom: a full support platform
Intercom combines inboxes, a help center, workflows and the Fin AI agent.
- Price: from $29 per seat/month, plus $0.99 per conversation Fin resolves.
- Good for: growing and larger teams.
- Watch out for: per-seat plus per-outcome pricing. ConvoAsk vs Intercom
5. Zendesk: the complete helpdesk
Zendesk is a full helpdesk with tickets, workflows, SLAs and AI agents.
- Price: from $19 per agent/month billed yearly; live chat from $55 per agent; AI resolutions $2.00 each after the few included.
- Good for: support teams with processes and reporting needs.
- Watch out for: more setup and cost than most small businesses need. ConvoAsk vs Zendesk
6. Chatbase: an AI agent platform
Chatbase builds an AI agent from your content, with integrations, voice agents and enterprise options.
- Price: 7-day trial; Hobby $40/month; Standard $150/month for the helpdesk.
- Good for: businesses that need specific integrations or voice.
- Watch out for: removing branding is a $99/month add-on. ConvoAsk vs Chatbase
What it costs: a worked example
Three people, and about 300 chats a month that the AI resolves:
- LiveChat: Growth, 3 users at $79 = $237 a month (billed yearly), with 200 AI resolutions included, plus 2 extra packs of 50 at $49.50: about $336 a month.
- ConvoAsk: Starter, $19 a month, for up to 3 team members and 2,000 message credits. If each chat has about three AI replies on the default model, that's around 1,800 credits, so it fits.
How to switch from LiveChat
- List your top 20 questions. Pull them from your current chat history: prices, delivery, opening hours, bookings, returns.
- Create a free ConvoAsk account and paste your website. It reads your pages and builds your chatbot's knowledge in a few minutes. Add files, Notion pages or Google Drive documents if your answers live there.
- Test it with those 20 questions, in your customers' own words, plus one question your website doesn't answer. Each answer shows the page it came from, and the chatbot should say when it isn't sure.
- Set up the handoff: live chat with your team, WhatsApp, phone, email or a message form, so people can always reach a person.
- Swap the code on your website. Remove the old chat script and paste ConvoAsk's one line in its place. We have step-by-step guides for WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace and Webflow, and a 2-minute video for the first three.
Our verdict
If your team chats with customers all day and wants a mature live chat tool with lots of integrations, LiveChat is a solid choice. If you'd rather the AI answer most questions, with your team stepping in when needed, at a flat price with team members included, ConvoAsk is built for that.
You can try ConvoAsk free for 7 days, with every Pro feature and no card needed, and see how it answers your own customers' questions before you change anything on your website. Our step-by-step guide to adding an AI chatbot to your website and its video walkthrough cover the whole setup.
Questions
What is a cheaper alternative to LiveChat?
For small teams, flat-priced tools are usually cheaper. ConvoAsk is $19 a month for up to 3 team members with AI replies included. LiveChat starts at $19 per user a month (billed yearly) with 10 AI resolutions.
Is there a free alternative to LiveChat?
Tidio and Crisp have free live chat plans, with AI limited or not included. ConvoAsk has a 7-day free trial with every Pro feature and no card needed. LiveChat itself offers a 14-day trial.
Can my team still chat live with customers in ConvoAsk?
Yes, from the Starter plan. Your team can take over any chat, and ConvoAsk can also hand chats over on WhatsApp, by phone or by email.
Does ConvoAsk have mobile apps like LiveChat?
No. Team members get notifications on their phone for live chat requests, new leads and bookings instead.