March 22, 2024

7 Free Live Chat Tools for Businesses on a Budget

Live chat software is a great medium to connect with your potential clients, solve their problems, and encourage them to take the next step. When you have a solid customer support team that can respond quickly, you can enhance the user’s experience, which could lead to more sales.

There are hundreds of live chat tools out there, but unfortunately, some of them are expensive. Of course, you’re paying for more features or a more advanced platform, but some businesses just don’t have the resources to get it.

The solution is to consider free live chat tools. Even though some of them come with limited features, they still do a great job for small businesses or those with a lower budget.

Let’s cover the seven best live chat tools you can get for free today!

Seven Free Live Chat Tools You Can Explore Today

Tool 1: Chatway

Chatway is a powerful messaging app that any business can use. It allows you to talk to your website visitors and customers in real time, answer questions quickly, and boost customer satisfaction.

One of the best parts about Chatway is that it offers mobile support, which allows your agents to answer clients from wherever they are.

Key Features

The way Chatway works is simple. When someone clicks on the live chat widget, your team will receive a notification immediately. An agent can take the chat request and provide answers.

You can customize your widgets in any way you consider appropriate. Moreover, you don’t have to limit yourself to text messages. Chatway allows you to share documents and files to provide better context during your conversations.

Furthermore, Chatway is currently available for free, so you can get all of its features with no issue. This is the perfect solution if you’re on a tight budget.

Here’s an overview of what to expect:

• Multilingual support
• Live chat options
• Mobile apps
• Customization
• Segmentation
• Collaboration Tools i.e Private note
• Email and messenger integrations
• Multi-platform support
• Analytics

Pros

• It has the basic features for anyone just starting with live chat tools.
• It’s free.
• It has an intuitive and sleek dashboard.

Cons

• It may be too simple compared to paid options with more advanced features.

User Feedback

Most users praise Chatway for its ease of use and value. The only concern among a few people is about its lack of extra features. However, Chatway plans to roll out some features in the near future, such as automation, AI writer assistant, and knowledge base.

See how Chatway compares to other live chat tools.

Tool 2: Chaty

Chaty allows you to add multiple communication channels to your chat widgets on your website. What makes it special is the fact that it supports plenty of social platforms, making it ideal for those with numerous communication channels.

Key Features

Some of the best features of Chaty include:

• Unlimited channels
• Multiple agents
• Contact forms
• Advanced targeting

Chaty’s free plan includes more than enough to get started. If you ever want a few more features, you can consider any of its three paid plans later.

Pros

• Its free plan has many great features.
• It’s easy to use.
• It supports many platforms.

Cons

• The “contact form” feature may be too basic for some.

User Feedback

Most of Chaty’s feedback is positive, with most people talking about its ease of setup and simplicity. 

There are a few negative reviews mentioning how it doesn’t support some specific messaging apps. However, this shouldn’t be a problem if you’re going for the most popular ones.

Tool 3: Crisp

Crisp allows you to build a multi-channel chat box to talk to people through Facebook, WhatsApp, your website, and more in a single space. Depending on your needs, you can either set up a chatbot or a live chat widget.

Key Features

Here’s a list of features that make Crisp special:

• Widgets
• CRM tools
• Ticketing systems
• Knowledge bases
• “Chatbox” feature
• Shared inboxes
• Status pages

Pros

• There’s a free trial for the paid plans.
• You get Shopify and WordPress integrations with the free plan.
• It’s simple to use.

Cons

• Its free plan may only be suitable for small businesses.

User Feedback

Most reviewers claim how great Crisp is for small businesses or those with personal websites. Unfortunately, some people list that as a disadvantage.

Crisp may only work for you if you have a smaller company.

Tool 4: Tawk.to

Tawk.to is known for being an entirely free product just like Chatway. It allows you to seamlessly manage your customer chats across different websites.

Key Features

Essentially, Tawk.to offers:

• Live chat
• Knowledge bases
• CRM tools
• Chat pages
• AI assistants

Pros

• It has a “forever free” plan.
• It’s great for those looking for user-friendliness.

Cons

• It doesn’t offer anything special compared to other options.

User Feedback

Most reviews mention how simple yet effective Tawk.to is. However, a few people have mentioned that it has a learning curve, which has led to some confusion while setting up.

Tool 5: Tidio

Unlike other platforms on the list, Tidio focuses on AI customer service. However, it also allows you to balance it out with human interactions.

Key Features

Besides the AI assistant that comes with Tidio, here’s what you can expect from it:

• Multi-channel support
• Analytics
• Email campaigns
• Integrations

Pros

• Its free plan includes AI assistance.
• It’s simple to set up.

Cons

• The free plan doesn’t come with advanced analytics.

User Feedback

Even though not everyone is convinced of AI assistance, most people have mentioned how it helps make customer support simpler. 

Some negative reviews mention that it doesn’t allow you to include your own branding on the widgets and that it may be easier to set everything up from scratch rather than using a template. 

Tool 6: 3CX

This free live chat tool allows you to connect with your customers through different methods besides a regular text box. It also supports video conferences and phone calls.

Key Features

Here are some of the best features of 3CX:

• Seamless switching between chats and calls
• Omnichannel messaging
• Customization
• Personalized chat greetings

Pros

• The free plan comes with a lot of useful features.
• It’s easy to use.

Cons

• You can only set the free plan for a maximum of 10 users.
• It’s not as customizable as other options.

User Feedback

3CX has positive reviews for the most part. Some people mention it could use some improvement in terms of design and features, though.

Tool 7: JivoChat

JivoChat is a reputable platform that allows you to connect with your customers. Thanks to its wide range of features, you can easily bring all your contact channels to a single location, making your customer service much more efficient.

Key Features

Find out what makes JivoChat great for businesses below:

• Mobile compatibility
• AI assistants
• CRM tools
• Integrations
• APIs for developers

Pros

• You can add more useful features for a few extra dollars.
• It’s a trusted platform.
• It comes with plenty of integrations.

Cons

• You have to pay extra for Jivo’s marketing tools.

User Feedback

JivoChat has many positive reviews on most websites, although a few people mention how the design of the platform is a bit outdated.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Free Live Chat Tool

You now have seven different free live chat tools to work with. Which one works best for you?

Ultimately, it’s your choice. While all of these platforms focus on the same goal of enhancing your customer support department, some of them may have unique features that cover specific needs.

Here’s a list of factors you should consider when choosing a free live chat tool:

• Features
• Single/Multi-channel support
• Integrations
• Pricing
• Security
• Customer support
• Mobile optimization

If you’re looking for a program that ticks all these boxes, consider Chatway. It allows you to enjoy all the benefits of a live chat platform. 

Remember to be patient and choose the right software according to your needs.

How to Maximize the Effectiveness of Live Chat Tools

Setting up your live chat tool is only one step of the process. There are many things to consider if you want to make the most out of it, including responses, and more.

Let’s find out everything you can do to make your free live chat tool perfect for your business needs:

• Set up canned responses.
• Consider setting up multi-channel messaging.
• Keep your messages concise.
• Train your agents properly.
• Create a knowledge base.
• Don’t rely on AI or bots to answer all questions.
• Set live chat goals.
• Consider the live chat widget’s placement.
• Show your live chat hours to your clients.
• Set up notifications for your agents.
• Personalize your chats.
• Request feedback from visitors.

Final Thoughts

The ultimate live chat solution is the one that covers as many of your needs as possible. Even though most of these platforms offer limited capabilities in their free plan, they’re perfect for discovering how much they can help your business.

Do you want to go for the most comprehensive free platform? Consider Chatway. It provides the most user-friendly approach to live chatting.

Sign up on Chatway for free, and discover a revolutionary way to handle all your customer support needs.