Identifying the best live chat software for your business is not an easy job. What is appropriate for one business could be insufficient or highly complicated for the other. Some enterprises require simple live chat software, while others might need full-fledged customer support live chat platform for their complex sales procedure.
So, what exactly is the best Live Chat software?
It is indeed tough to ascertain the best since every business has different prerequisites. Instead, we have come up with the top 10 Live Chat software for you, explaining each software’s benefits. You can opt for the right Live Chat software based on your requirements.
Live Chat solutions are now an integral sales and support tool for any online business since they help businesses capture and convert leads in real-time. However, it is seen that in most cases, organizations fail to understand the real benefits of Live Chat and pick the wrong software to support their needs.
What Does a Live Chat Software Do?
Live Chat software gives your visitors a modern and polished way to connect with you directly through your website. Live Chat provides you with the solution if you want to know more about your prospective customers or want them to talk to your representatives. The software comes with various customizable widgets, chatbots, and a bunch of other benefits that you can tweak as per the organization’s demand.
The customer support tool can be easily included in any website and helps businesses connect with visitors in real-time and capture leads. The software engages in detailed conversations to understand if the visitor can qualify as a prospect for business or is just window shopping. With Live Chat software, it is always the business that is the initiator of a conversation.
This software solution increases website engagement and ensures no customer query goes unanswered.
The Benefits of Live Chat Software in Your Business
There is a gamut of digital tools for business. If you are thinking about why it is so essential, the reason behind it is that Live Chat is a customer engagement and direct communication tool. It is a challenging task to reach customers directly, and Live Chat reaches every visitor that browses your site and improves customer experience, increases engagement, and directly or indirectly adds value to the business.
With Live Chat software, you get:
- Answers to queries 24/7, thanks to automation
- Streamlined customer assistance
- Decreased workload on your business team
- High conversion of prospects into customers
- Delivers better customer experience through personalization and targeted approach
- Enables initiation of direct contact with the prospective customer
- Contact leads without any sign-up forms
- Customer feedback collation for improvement
10 Live Chat Software and What Business They Suit the Most
Let us understand what the top 10 Live Chat apps are and what business they are suitable for:
- LifeAgent: Best customer service platform for large-scale business
- LiveChat: Best live chat for big teams
- ZenDesk: Best live chat solution for scale-up technology and knowledge management needs
- FreshDesk: Best customer support tool for large companies working offline and online
- HubSpot Live Chat: Best live chat service for the sales team
- Tidio: Best live chat software for small business
- Olark: Best for forecasting customer issues
- Intercom: Best live chat solution for SaaS
- Chatra: Best live chat solutions for websites
- PureChat: Best app for effortlessly adding live chat services
Top 10 Live Chat Software Solutions – In Detail
⭕ LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a 360-degree solution that combines a robust helpdesk system and live chat software as a chat and helpdesk solution. Additionally, the software also includes a ticketing system, a knowledge base builder, a built-in call center, and a customer access gateway.
With the live chat function, you can automatically create template responses to frequently asked questions, send surveys to take customer feedback, set up several chat boxes and emails, allocate different support agents to the chat system, and more. The availability of these facilities depends on the plan you choose.
The most significant benefit of LiveAgent software is its capacity to integrate with major messaging platforms like Twitter, Slack, Viber, Forum, Instagram, and Facebook. The merit of the software also comes with a minor fault. There is no chat-to-SMS feature that many other similar service providers provide.
LiveAgent has a proactive chat invitation feature that reaches out to visitors on a particular page, with one of its chat agents answering live. This is done with the support of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI triggers these proactive invitations when the agents are free to engage with a new customer.
The platform offers a comprehensive ticketing network that allows you to assign tickets to different agents and teams, auto-route tickets, transfer tickets, and many more. The backend platform of LiveAgent is straightforward and offers a range of tools to boost the productivity of the customer support team.
Price:
14-day free trial; ticketing and live chat app starts at $29/month.
⭕ LiveChat
As a live chat software, LiveChat solutions is an all-rounder. It is user-friendly and has a great range of features. The software has positioned itself as a multichannel client service support system. It covers SMS, email, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Apple Business Chat above its website widget. The software can also integrate with most e-commerce platforms.
With LiveChat, you are able to create a chatbox to communicate with your customers on the website. You can send links, files, calendars, and template responses to common questions from the chatbox. You can also transfer a live chat from one customer support representative to another – an important business feature when your business includes multiple teams.
As for other live chat functions, you can see what other customers are typing even before they send their messages; you can assign contextual tags to specific chats and even access previous chats using an archive option. With LiveChat, you can receive chat notifications, complete short surveys, ask customers to rate chats, tell customers about new announcements, and ask new visitors to the website if they’d like to chat.
You can also organize all your communications, including emails, SMS, chats, etc. in a very user-friendly dashboard in LiveChat. The chat software supports integration for more than 170 software, including Shopify, DropBox, SalesForce, WordPress, Messenger, Facebook, and many others.
The standout feature of LiveChat is the ability to add clickable buttons, cards and carousels, and quick replies in the chat. This makes the chat very interesting for visitors who are willing to get help through live chats.
Price:
14-day free trial; plan starts from $19/month/agent.
⭕ ZenDesk
With ZenDesk, you are able to speak to your customers in real time. You can start specific customer behavior–driven chats, ask customers to rate your chat services, and send files through chats. You can also analyze all chats that happen across your business.
With the help of automation and AI, ticketing, and reporting system, the ZenDesk chat solution is best for companies looking to scale up. It is best suited for bigger teams and offers routing, knowledge management, and collaboration tools to increase agent efficiency.
ZenDesk has tools to reduce customer service loads originating from the business chat software. The software helps you to create a knowledge base, a help center, or a community forum to enable customers to help themselves. ZenDesk also provides you with JavaScript API so that you can make your live chats smarter.
Many integrations are provided, including Shopify, Squarespace, Joomla, WordPress, PrestaShop, and Wix. What is best about ZenDesk is its capacity to create chatbots that will automatically respond to frequently asked customer queries when there is excess workload or beyond working hours. Overall, the software offers a comprehensive live chat solution.
Price:
Free trial available; plans start from $19/agent/month, billed annually.
⭕ FreshDesk
FreshDesk is a complete customer service solution and not just a chat software for your website. It is best suited for large teams and organizations that work both online and offline. It includes different products in the Omnichannel Suite, including Support Desk, Messaging, Customer Success, and Contact Center. This can be availed individually or as a combined package.
As a live chat app, FreshDesk allows automation through AI-powered chatbots. It automatically understands the intent of a query and responds with ready answers, thus engaging the customers for as long as possible before transferring them to live agents.
The app comprises a help widget that you can set on pages of your choice to offer help proactively or deliver resources. You can also support the visitor on any page of your website through contextual support and standard customization.
The features of FreshDesk include a comprehensive big-team ticketing system, call center system, field workforce management tools, a support platform for integrating phone, email, social media, chat, WhatsApp, and website, and a detailed reporting system.
Price:
A 21-day free trial is available; the messaging plan starts at $18/agent/month.
⭕ HubSpot Live Chat
If you do not have the budget for a comprehensive live chat solution, HubSpot Live Chat is a completely free tool for you.
With HubSpot Live Chat, you can start live chat with visitors and customers on your website. While chatting, if you feel that some other team can best resolve the visitor or customer query, you have the option of transferring the chat to the appropriate person.
When you set up HubSpot Live Chat, you can personalize it with your business branding and write template messages suitable for various visitors. Every chat history is stored in a centralized inbox for future reference.
Moreover, you can create chatbots for common queries, set up customer meetings, and do a lot more. It is actually effortless to set up preferences in HubSpot Live Chat. The software also allows a functional Slack integration. In other words, you can receive chat notifications and message customers directly from this platform. You can also chat with visitors and customers from the HubSpot mobile app.
Although you get multiple services through the HubSpot Live Chat free version, there are certain limitations to it. If you are willing to invest in the paid version for your business, a range of services and functionality is integrated into the comprehensive CRM software.
Price:
Free trial available; starter plan from $45/month.
⭕ Tidio
If there is one Live Chat solution that is suitable for small businesses, it is Tidio. The software combines live Chat for chat bots and customer service with its focussed insights on customer assistance and sale. Tidio can be integrated with the most popular platforms like Wix, Shopify, and WordPress.
With Tidio, you can connect email, Instagram, website chat conversations, and Messenger. It also allows you to collect email conversations for further communication. The quick reply feature in Tidio allows you to reuse answer templates for common questions asked by visitors and customers and save time. The app also includes templates for automation and a drag-and-drop editor for building chatbot workflows.
The most popular use cases of Tidio as a Life Chat solution include re-welcoming visitors who have returned to the website, product suggestions on the chat, welcoming new visitors, and giving discounts.
It also includes reaching out proactively to hesitant customers, stopping cart abandonment, getting in touch with visitors about to leave the website, and keeping them on the page.
Price:
Free plan inclusive of up to 3 chat operators; chatbot plans begin at $39 per month.
⭕ Olark
Olark has a very straightforward interface and is very easy to operate. It is an excellent option for small businesses that have never used these communication channels before. Olark is one of the simplest chat applications available. It allows you the option of customizing your chat box by changing position, shape, and color. To make your chats more humane, you can add photos of the customer support agents and a welcome text.
The chat software also provides you with additional automation features. You can create canned responses, automatically engage with visitors, redirect chats to other departments, and more. Olark helps you with live reports and analytics on metrics such as customer satisfaction graphs, count of the chat conversations, customer support agent activities, etc. There are also transcripts where you can search through chat for specific conversations.
One of the notable features of Olark is the accessibility of live chat widgets. It is usable only with a keyboard, and you can read it with a screen reader. It also supports large text formats. This is particularly beneficial for such visitors to your website who are with disabilities.
Olark supports integration with CRM software like SalesForce and HubSpot, automation tools like Zapier and ActiveCampaign, e-commerce platforms like Magneto and Shopify, content management solutions like WordPress and Drupal, reporting platforms like Google Analytics, as well as email services like MailChimp.
Price:
14-day free trial; plan starts at $29 per month per agent.
⭕ Intercom
Intercom is one of the most famous Live Chat solution software among SaaS businesses when it comes to popularity. Apart from Live Chat, the software offers app integration (like scheduling a Google meeting on Meet), product tours, bots, and other help center tools. What’s more, you can access customer history whenever needed for future chats.
Intercom Live Chat has both automated and live customer engagement. You can also set promotional banners, reach out on a particular web page proactively, and even broadcast outbound messages. It becomes easy to draw someone’s attention or announce a new product feature with the help of an in-app messaging service.
You can send automated canned responses to specific generic questions and articles with the self-support functionality. Another essential feature is the resolution bot, which gives your web page visitors a few options to choose from through an automated service. The intercom is an active channel of communication that is under your control.
Price:
14-day free trial; starts at $67 per month, billed annually.
⭕ Chatra
Chatra is one of the most effective Live Chat software for e-commerce stores and websites. It manages conversations from the most used platforms, including Messenger, email, and on-site, for better customer service.
With Chatra, you can talk to your online visitors in real-time or automate canned messages and answer at your own pace. This facility helps customer support executives to control the live chats and enhance the customer experience.
This Live Chat solution can target visitors on particular pages, such as product pages, where you can help them choose a particular product and improve your conversion rates.
The best part about Chatra is that it integrates with most e-commerce platforms and allows you to see what the visitor has added to the cart. This way, you can intervene and help the customer pick the right product. It also creates opportunities for upsell.
The notable features of Chatra include integration with Instagram and Facebook Messenger in one place and getting all the visitor details from their location to the e-commerce page they are surfing and their shopping cart content.
The other advanced features include sending targeted messages and typing insights to know what the customer is typing and getting back to them with resolution.
Price:
Free plan available; starts from $21 per month.
⭕ PureChat
Unlike other software, PureChat focuses on only one thing–Live Chat. Some organizations look for authentic Live Chat solutions without any bells and whistles. For them, PureChat is like a breath of fresh air. It is top-notch for its simplicity.
When we talk about business, it already involves a lot of activities to build a successful setup. PureChat believes in reducing complexities and sticking to the task of chatting and understanding the customer needs through live Chat. Thus implementing what is needed for the business to deliver.
With PureChat, the advanced features include unlimited chats, customizable chat widget, native iOS and Android apps, unlimited chat history and transcripts, trigger-based alerts and actions, real-time analytics, and visitor tracking. You can customize the tools to accommodate your requirements. PureChat integrates with more than 1000+ apps, like MailChimp, Slack, SalesForce, Zoho, HubSpot, and more. Jump into the world of Live Chat for small businesses with this feature-driven yet simple live chat solution.
Price:
The price comes in two packages. The growth plan is $39/month for a year if paid up front or $49/month if paid on a month-on-month basis. Pro plan is $79/month for a year if paid up front or $99/month if paid monthly.
The Game Is Not Over
We cannot call it a day unless we discuss the all-in-one Live Chat and no-code chatbot software presented by PitchGround.
⭕ Leadfriday (Erstwhile Jikoo)
The power-packed chat tool is a combination of Live Chat, customizable CRM, and chatbot.
This chat software allows you to capture the missing leads and manage customer requests even during offline hours.
PitchGround Leadfriday helps businesses talk to customers in real-time. The chat builder can create no-code chatbots, and more than 80% of the conversations can be automated in real-time. The built-in CRM works as a data platform, and you can see all the customer data and chats in one place.
The benefits of Leadfriday are manifold:
- Automate data entry
- Manage all interactions and communications with prospects in one place
- Increase sales and conversions
- Reduce lead generation cost
- 24×7 customer engagement by smartly answering customer queries through a wide range of canned references
- Gather information on customer satisfaction
- Understand customers’ queries better
- Organize and segment your customer information in a better way
- Gain a competitive advantage by being online 24×7 using chatbots
- Gather information on team performance
- Reduce lead generation cost
- Collect customer insights to understand and analyze their requirements
Pricing:
Plan A (Starter): $468/year
Plan B (Plus): $948/year
Plan C (Ultimate Plus): 2364/year
Plan D (Unlimited): $5964/year
Grab up to 95% discounts with PitchGround Leadfriday code now! Click here to know more.
How to Select the Best Live Chat Solutions Software?
It would be best to remember specific factors while you are evaluating a Live Chat software for your company.
- Understand what you want. Are you inquiring about a Live Chat solution software or Chat Bot?
- Ensure the transcripts are searchable. Searchable transcripts ensure all customer interactions are appropriately stored, and you can retrieve those details any time for customer service enhancements.
- The software should have a robust conversation management system. This helps in generating the right leads for your business.
- Custom branding in Live Chat is prevalent and creates an impression on the customer or the visitor visiting your website.
- With Live Chats, you want to increase sales, so ensure the integrations are right, else it might limit the growth of your business.
Which Live Chat solution software is right for you depends on your needs. There are numerous alternatives to consider. Remember the ways to evaluate the right software for your business before embracing it.
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