An online store needs live chat that connects to its store platform, can answer order questions outside business hours, and does not change price sharply in peak season. This list covers products whose vendors document store-platform integrations or sell AI agents billed by usage.
Check two things before you install: that the vendor lists your platform on its own integrations page, and how its AI is billed when traffic spikes. How live chat vendors bill for AI and does a chat widget slow your site? cover both.
Quick picks
- Zero-cost start: tawk.to — Free core with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and WordPress integrations; branding removal costs extra.
- Many store platforms: Smartsupp — Lists Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, BigCommerce, Wix and Squarespace integrations.
- Flat team price: Crisp — Essentials is US$95 a month for 10 seats; Shopify, WooCommerce and PrestaShop listed.
- Shopify plus AI: Tidio — Lyro AI Agent starts at US$39 a month for 50 AI conversations.
The ranking
tawk.to
Budget teams wanting unlimited free agents8.5- Paid plans from
- Free
- Pricing model
- Free, with paid add-ons
- Free plan
- Yes — Free
- EU data hosting
- No
tawk.to is a US-based live chat, ticketing and knowledge base platform whose core product is free with unlimited agents, conversations and chat history. The vendor earns from optional add-ons bought per property (roughly one website or brand), such as branding removal, AI Assist credits and hired human agents. tawk.to suits small businesses and solo operators who want real support on a free plan and can accept US data hosting.
The catch: Data is stored only in the United States, and removing the Powered by tawk.to badge costs US$39 a month billed monthly per property according to the help centre, while the marketing pages say US$29.
Tidio
Small teams with low, predictable chat volume7.2- Paid plans from
- US$24.17 per workspace per month, billed annually
- Pricing model
- Tiers by conversation volume
- Free plan
- Yes — Free
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Tidio is a Polish live chat and help desk suite that sells three separately metered quotas: human-handled conversations, Lyro AI Agent conversations and Flows chatbot visitors. Every self-serve plan, including Free, includes 10 seats, so the bill grows with conversation volume rather than headcount, from US$29 a month billed monthly on Starter. Tidio suits small shops and support teams with several people but modest, predictable chat volume.
The catch: The Free plan covers only 50 human-handled conversations a month, and at the limit agents can neither see nor answer new messages until the quota resets or the plan is upgraded.
Crisp
Teams wanting flat pricing and EU hosting6.9- Paid plans from
- US$45 per workspace per month, billed monthly
- Pricing model
- Per workspace
- Free plan
- Yes — Free
- EU data hosting
- Yes
Crisp is a French customer support suite (shared inbox, chat widget, CRM, knowledge base) that charges a flat monthly price per workspace with a fixed number of seats and no conversation cap. Paid plans run from Mini at US$45 a month for 4 seats to Plus at US$295 for 20, and the Hugo AI agent is metered through included USD credits. Crisp suits small and growing teams that want a predictable bill, many channels and data held in the EU.
The catch: The Crisp watermark stays on every plan below Plus at US$295 a month, and the Free plan has no full conversation history and caps you at 100 customer profiles.
Smartsupp
Small online stores with up to three people6.1- Paid plans from
- €14 per workspace per month, billed annually
- Pricing model
- Per workspace
- Free plan
- Yes — Free
- EU data hosting
- Not documented
Smartsupp is a live chat, WhatsApp and Messenger inbox from Brno, Czechia, sold per workspace: Solo covers 1 operator, Plus 3 and Expert 5. Its Mira AI Agent is an add-on billed in blocks of 100 conversations a month, and prices are published in EUR, USD, CZK and PLN. The "Powered by Smartsupp" logo stays on the widget on every plan, paid ones included.
The catch: The "Powered by Smartsupp" branding cannot be removed or hidden on any plan, including Expert and Enterprise.
LiveChat
Established teams with budget per agent5.2- Paid plans from
- US$19 per seat per month, billed annually
- Pricing model
- Per seat
- Free plan
- No free plan · 14-day trial
- EU data hosting
- Yes
LiveChat is a paid live chat and messaging platform from Text, a Polish company, billed per agent account from US$19 a month on annual billing or US$25 billed monthly. There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and the autonomous AI Agent is sold in Text and ChatBot.com plans rather than in classic LiveChat plans. LiveChat suits established sales and support teams that want wide channel coverage and can afford a price that rises with every seat.
The catch: LiveChat has no free plan and Starter holds a single user, so any team of two or more pays the Team rate of US$59 per person a month billed monthly, or US$49 billed annually.
Zendesk
Multichannel support teams wanting one helpdesk4.9- Paid plans from
- US$55 per seat per month, billed annually
- Pricing model
- Seats plus AI usage
- Free plan
- No free plan · 14-day trial
- EU data hosting
- On some paid plans
Zendesk sells live chat and messaging only as part of the Zendesk Suite, a per-agent helpdesk that starts with Suite Team at US$55 an agent a month billed annually or US$69 billed monthly; standalone Zendesk Chat is no longer sold to new customers. Zendesk AI agents are billed per automated resolution, with a small free allowance per agent each month. It suits teams that want chat, email, voice and social channels in one ticketing system and have the budget for per-agent Suite seats.
The catch: Live chat starts at Suite Team, US$69 an agent a month billed monthly, and the Zendesk branding can only be removed on Suite Enterprise, which is quote-only.
Comparison table
| Product | Score | Pricing model | Paid plans from | Free plan | AI chatbot | EU data hosting | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | 8.5 | Free, with paid add-ons | Free | Yes — Free | AI Assist — billed per credit | No | Budget teams wanting unlimited free agents |
| Tidio | 7.2 | Tiers by conversation volume | US$24.17 per workspace per month, billed annually | Yes — Free | Lyro AI Agent — billed per conversation | Yes | Small teams with low, predictable chat volume |
| Crisp | 6.9 | Per workspace | US$45 per workspace per month, billed monthly | Yes — Free | Hugo — billed per credit | Yes | Teams wanting flat pricing and EU hosting |
| Smartsupp | 6.1 | Per workspace | €14 per workspace per month, billed annually | Yes — Free | Mira AI Agent — billed per conversation | Not documented | Small online stores with up to three people |
| LiveChat | 5.2 | Per seat | US$19 per seat per month, billed annually | No free plan · 14-day trial | AI Agent (sold in Text and ChatBot.com plans) — billed per resolution | Yes | Established teams with budget per agent |
| Zendesk | 4.9 | Seats plus AI usage | US$55 per seat per month, billed annually | No free plan · 14-day trial | Zendesk AI agents — billed per resolution | On some paid plans | Multichannel support teams wanting one helpdesk |
Free-plan audit
| Product | Free seats | Conversations | Chat history | Remove branding | AI on the free plan | Beyond website chat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Paid add-on | 100 / month | Yes |
| Tidio | 10 | 50 / month | Not documented | No | 50, one-off | Yes |
| Crisp | 2 | Unlimited | Not documented | No | No | Chat only |
| Smartsupp | 1 | 25 / month | 14 days | No | 10, one-off | Yes |
| LiveChat | No free plan · 14-day trial | |||||
| Zendesk | No free plan · 14-day trial | |||||
Free-plan audit: does your team fit a free live chat plan?
What it costs at 2, 5 and 10 seats
| Product | 2 seats · 100 conversations a month | 5 seats · 500 conversations a month | 10 seats · 2,000 conversations a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | Free (Free) | Free (Free) | Free (Free) |
| Tidio | US$29 a month (Starter) | US$129 a month (Growth) | US$349 a month (Growth) |
| Crisp | Free (Free) | US$95 a month (Essentials) | US$95 a month (Essentials) |
| Smartsupp | €30 a month (Plus) | €99 a month (Expert) | €244 a month (Expert) |
| LiveChat | US$118 a month (Team) | US$295 a month (Team) | US$590 a month (Team) |
| Zendesk | US$138 a month (Suite Team) | US$345 a month (Suite Team) | US$690 a month (Suite Team) |
How to choose
If you run Shopify, tawk.to, Crisp, Smartsupp, Tidio and LiveChat all name a Shopify integration on their own pages, and so does Zendesk, so the choice comes down to pricing model and AI unit.
If you run WooCommerce, shortlist tawk.to, Crisp, Smartsupp, Tidio and LiveChat, which all document a WooCommerce integration; Zendesk's is third-party only. On PrestaShop, look at Crisp and Smartsupp.
If order questions spike in peak season, compare how AI is billed. Tidio and Smartsupp sell AI conversations in monthly blocks chosen in advance, and Tidio documents automatic upgrades at 95% of a limit; Zendesk and LiveChat charge per resolution, so the bill follows volume.
If you run a small shop with one person on chat, Smartsupp's Solo plan (€20 a month) or tawk.to's free core will cover it. Smartsupp's Free plan, at 25 conversations a month, works more like a trial than a plan to stay on.
Verdict
tawk.to is the default for a store that wants chat without a monthly bill: it lists Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce, and agents are free. Ignore it if you sell on PrestaShop or Magento, or need EU hosting; Smartsupp lists both platforms, and Crisp hosts in the EU on every plan.
For buyers in the United Kingdom
Under PECR regulation 6, as replaced on 5 February 2026, a chat widget must not store or read anything on a visitor's device without consent unless a listed exception applies, and none of the exceptions names live chat. The practical reading is to load the widget's non-essential cookies and local storage only after consent, or when the visitor clicks to open the chat. If the vendor is in the US, the UK-US data bridge covers the transfer only when the vendor's Data Privacy Framework certification includes the UK Extension; otherwise you need the IDTA or the UK Addendum. This is general information, not legal advice.
UK GDPR then governs the conversation itself. Tell visitors who receives the transcript and how long you keep it at the pre-chat form, not only in the footer, sign a written processor contract with the chat vendor, and set a retention period for transcripts. The order that commenced the new PECR rules also commenced new ICO enforcement powers on 5 February 2026; a law firm reports the maximum PECR fine is now £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, a figure the ICO's own enforcement page had not yet confirmed on 18 September 2026.
A vendor's "EU data residency" is not UK residency. Of the products in our catalogue, only Zendesk documents a UK hosting region, available on Suite Professional and above; the rest document EU, EEA, German or US hosting, which we compare in EU-hosted live chat. The UK has no statute that makes you label a chatbot, but transparency duties still apply, and the EU AI Act's disclosure rule reaches bots that serve visitors in the EU.
Live chat, privacy and the law in the United Kingdom
Frequently asked questions
Which live chat works with Shopify?
tawk.to, Crisp, Smartsupp, Tidio, LiveChat and Zendesk all document a Shopify integration on their own pages.
Which live chat works with WooCommerce?
tawk.to, Crisp, Smartsupp, Tidio and LiveChat document WooCommerce integrations on their own pages. For Zendesk, only third-party WooCommerce apps are available.
How much does an AI chatbot for an online store cost?
It depends on the billing unit. Smartsupp's Mira AI Agent costs €20 per 100 conversations on monthly billing, Tidio's Lyro starts at US$39 for 50 conversations, and Zendesk charges US$2 per automated resolution on pay as you go.
Does a chat widget slow down my store?
We have not measured it. Does a chat widget slow your site? explains what to check with your own speed tools before and after installing.
Keep reading
- Best live chat software in 2026best list
- Best free live chat software in 2026best list
- Best live chat software for small businessbest list
- Best live chat software with an AI chatbotbest list
- Best live chat software with EU data hostingbest list
- Is a free live chat plan enough for your team?guide
- Per-seat vs per-workspace pricing: what your team size does to the billguide
Sources
- tawk.to pricing — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to add-ons — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Add-on pricing and key features — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Why is tawk.to free? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to live chat — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to manage billing for AI Assist — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to add message credits (overages) to your AI Assist plan — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to purchase tawk.to's Hired Agent service — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Why do you need my personal data? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Data Processing Addendum — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Sub-processors — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Data protection — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- GDPR — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- What languages does tawk.to support? — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- An introduction to integrations in tawk.to — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- How to add the tawk.to widget to your mobile application — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Viewing, deleting and exporting your chat history — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- Q1 2026: omnichannel grows, automation expands and AI gets smarter — tawk.to · 18 September 2026
- tawk.to company profile — Dealroom · 18 September 2026
- Tidio pricing — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Lyro AI Agent — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- About Tidio — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The free version and downgrading your account — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The monthly conversations limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The Lyro AI agent limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- The monthly flow limit — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Automatic upgrades — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Chat history — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Change and add languages in your chat widget — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Lyro multilanguage support — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- How are security matters handled at Tidio — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio trust centre — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio integrations — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Tidio mobile SDK — Tidio · 18 September 2026
- Crisp pricing — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Getting started with the Free plan — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Hugo pricing and billing explained — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- How to increase my limits and quotas — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp EU GDPR compliance status — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp compliance status with SOC 2 — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp compliance with ISO 27001 — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp sub-processors — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- What languages are supported by Crisp — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Chatbox SDKs — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- About Crisp — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp live chat — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Crisp AI Core Update (Hugo launch, AI replies become paid) — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Summer 2026 Crisp product update — Crisp · 18 September 2026
- Smartsupp pricing — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- Can I remove the chat box logo? — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- Data privacy and GDPR — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- AI shopping assistant FAQ — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- Smartsupp integrations — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- About Smartsupp — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- Smartsupp product updates — Smartsupp · 18 September 2026
- Introducing Abugo — ABUGO Group · 18 September 2026
- WooCommerce integration — Text · 18 September 2026
- LiveChat pricing — Text · 18 September 2026
- Text pricing (plans with the AI Agent) — Text · 18 September 2026
- ChatBot.com pricing — Text · 18 September 2026
- Pay-per-agent pricing model — Text · 18 September 2026
- LiveChat subscription policy — Text · 18 September 2026
- Data storage policy — Text · 18 September 2026
- Data Processing Addendum — Text · 18 September 2026
- List of sub-processors — Text · 18 September 2026
- How to change the chat widget language — Text · 18 September 2026
- LiveChat Marketplace — Text · 18 September 2026
- LiveChat features — Text · 18 September 2026
- Shopify integration — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- WordPress plugin — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk pricing — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk free trial — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolutions for AI agents — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About automated resolution tiers — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Announcing expanded access to AI agent capabilities for all Zendesk customers — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About the Data Center Location add-on — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Regional Data Hosting Policy — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Messaging vs live chat: which is right for you? — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- About Zendesk Chat plan types (legacy) — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk Trust Center — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk live chat — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk AI agents — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk Copilot — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk for Startups — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Hello Sugar customer story — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk completes acquisition of Forethought — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Consortium led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira completes acquisition of Zendesk — Permira · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk press — Zendesk · 18 September 2026
- Zendesk on the Vendr marketplace — Vendr · 18 September 2026
This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance from the sources listed on it. We have not installed or tested these products ourselves. Method: How we review