# Is the free live chat plan real?

> Live chat software reviewed from vendor pricing pages and docs: what each free plan includes, and what you pay as you add agents and AI.

Published: 18 September 2026 · Updated: 18 September 2026 · Prices and limits verified: 18 September 2026 · By the live-chat.reviews team

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](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/how-we-review)

We read each vendor's pricing page, help centre and legal pages, store every limit with its source, and work out what you pay when you add agents and AI. We have not installed these widgets: the free-plan audit shows what vendors document, and marks what they leave out.

## Free-plan audit

| Product | Free seats | Conversations | Chat history | Remove branding | AI on the free plan | Beyond website chat |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Tidio](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tidio) | 10 | 50 / month | Not documented | No | 50, one-off | Yes |
| [Crisp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/crisp) | 2 | Unlimited | Not documented | No | No | Chat only |
| [tawk.to](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tawk-to) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Paid add-on | 100 / month | Yes |
| [HubSpot Live Chat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/hubspot-live-chat) | 2 | Unlimited | Not documented | No | No | Yes |
| [Freshchat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/freshchat) | 10 | Not documented | Not documented | No | No | Yes |
| [Smartsupp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/smartsupp) | 1 | 25 / month | 14 days | No | 10, one-off | Yes |
| [Lime Connect](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/lime-connect) | 1 | 200 | Not documented | Not documented | No | Chat only |
| [Chatwoot](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/chatwoot) | 2 | 500 / month | 30 days | No | No | Chat only |
| [LiveChat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/livechat) | No free plan · 14-day trial | — | — | — | — | — |
| [Intercom](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/intercom) | No free plan · 14-day trial | — | — | — | — | — |
| [Zendesk](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/zendesk) | No free plan · 14-day trial | — | — | — | — | — |

_Read from each vendor's pricing and help pages on the verification date shown on this page. We have not installed these plans. "Not documented" means the vendor does not say._

[Free-plan audit: does your team fit a free live chat plan?](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/tools/free-plan-audit)

> **Scored on a public rubric, from pages you can open.** Every score on this site comes from five published criteria: free-plan usability, cost as you add agents, AI billing clarity, channels and integrations, and data location and compliance. Each price and limit is stored once, links to its source, and shows the same value on every page. Rubric v1.0 · We have not installed or speed-tested these widgets yet, and no page here claims we did. [Read the full method](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/how-we-review)

**Quick picks by situation**

- **No seat cap:** [tawk.to](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tawk-to) — Unlimited agents, chats and history on the free core; branding removal is an add-on.
- **Predictable AI billing:** [Freshchat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/freshchat) — Freddy AI Agent is billed per session: US$49 per 100 sessions.
- **Already on HubSpot:** [HubSpot Live Chat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/hubspot-live-chat) — Free for 2 users with no documented conversation cap; HubSpot branding stays.
- **Flat team price:** [Crisp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/crisp) — Essentials costs US$95 a month per workspace for up to 10 seats.

## Best live chat software in 2026

| Product | Score | Pricing model | Paid plans from | Free plan | AI chatbot | EU data hosting | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [tawk.to](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tawk-to) | 8.8 | Free, with paid add-ons | Free | Yes — Free | AI Assist — billed per credit | No | Budget teams wanting unlimited free agents |
| [Freshchat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/freshchat) | 8.1 | Seats plus AI usage | US$19 per seat per month, billed annually | Yes — Free | Freddy AI Agent — billed per session | Yes | Teams wanting many agents on a free plan |
| [HubSpot Live Chat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/hubspot-live-chat) | 7.7 | Seats plus AI usage | US$20 per seat per month, billed monthly | Yes — Free tools | Customer agent — billed per resolution | Yes | Two-person teams already on HubSpot CRM |
| [Crisp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/crisp) | 7.2 | Per workspace | US$45 per workspace per month, billed monthly | Yes — Free | Hugo — billed per credit | Yes | Teams wanting flat pricing and EU hosting |
| [Chatwoot](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/chatwoot) | 6.7 | Per seat | US$19 per seat per month, billed monthly | Yes — Hacker | Captain AI — billed per credit | No | Technical teams willing to self-host, or US-based teams |
| [Smartsupp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/smartsupp) | 6.7 | 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 |
| [Tidio](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tidio) | 6.1 | 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 |
| [LiveChat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/livechat) | 5.5 | 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 |
| [Intercom](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/intercom) | 5.4 | Seats plus AI usage | US$29 per seat per month, billed annually | No free plan · 14-day trial | Fin AI Agent — billed per resolution | On some paid plans | Support teams building around an AI agent |
| [Zendesk](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/zendesk) | 5.3 | 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 |
| [Lime Connect](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/lime-connect) | 4.5 | Seats plus AI usage | €87 per month, billed annually | Yes — Free | Connect AI Agent — billed per conversation | Yes | Teams that need chat data stored in Germany |

## Live chat software reviews

- [Tidio review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tidio)
- [Crisp review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/crisp)
- [LiveChat review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/livechat)
- [tawk.to review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/tawk-to)
- [HubSpot Live Chat review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/hubspot-live-chat)
- [Freshchat review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/freshchat)
- [Intercom review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/intercom)
- [Zendesk review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/zendesk)
- [Smartsupp review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/smartsupp)
- [Lime Connect review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/lime-connect)
- [Chatwoot review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/chatwoot)

## Head-to-head comparisons

- [Tidio vs Crisp](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/tidio-vs-crisp)
- [LiveChat vs Tidio](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/livechat-vs-tidio)
- [Intercom vs Zendesk](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/intercom-vs-zendesk)
- [Crisp vs Intercom](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/crisp-vs-intercom)
- [tawk.to vs Tidio](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/tawk-to-vs-tidio)
- [LiveChat vs tawk.to](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/compare/livechat-vs-tawk-to)

## Alternatives to popular tools

- [The best Intercom alternatives](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/alternatives/intercom)
- [The best LiveChat alternatives](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/alternatives/livechat)
- [The best Tidio alternatives](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/alternatives/tidio)
- [The best Zendesk alternatives](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/alternatives/zendesk)
- [The best tawk.to alternatives](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/alternatives/tawk-to)

## Pricing, plan by plan

- [Tidio pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/tidio)
- [Crisp pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/crisp)
- [LiveChat pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/livechat)
- [tawk.to pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/tawk-to)
- [HubSpot Live Chat pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/hubspot-live-chat)
- [Freshchat pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/freshchat)
- [Intercom pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/intercom)
- [Zendesk pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/zendesk)
- [Smartsupp pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/smartsupp)
- [Lime Connect pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/lime-connect)
- [Chatwoot pricing explained](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/chatwoot)

## Guides for buyers

- [Is a free live chat plan enough for your team?](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/is-a-free-live-chat-plan-enough)
- [Per-seat vs per-workspace pricing: what your team size does to the bill](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/per-seat-vs-per-workspace-pricing)
- [How live chat vendors bill for AI](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/how-live-chat-vendors-bill-for-ai)
- [Live chat vs chatbot vs AI agent](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/live-chat-vs-chatbot-vs-ai-agent)
- [Does a chat widget slow your site?](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/does-a-chat-widget-slow-your-site)
- [Live chat, privacy and the law in the United Kingdom](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/guides/live-chat-privacy-and-the-law)

## How the scores are built

Each product is scored on five weighted criteria using only public vendor documentation: pricing pages, help-centre articles, and legal and security pages. The rule behind every level is published, so you can check any score yourself. Nothing on this site has been measured on a live website yet.

| Criterion | Weight |
| --- | --- |
| Free-plan usability | 25% |
| Cost as you add agents | 25% |
| AI billing clarity | 20% |
| Channels and integrations | 15% |
| Data location and compliance | 15% |

## Recently updated

- 18 September 2026 — Site published with 11 products. Every price, free-plan limit and AI rate was read from the vendor's own pages on this date.
- 18 September 2026 — Rubric v1.0 published on [How we review](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/how-we-review). It rates public documentation only; widget speed is not scored until we have measured it.
- 18 September 2026 — Recorded two vendor contradictions instead of picking a side: tawk.to lists two different prices for removing its branding, and HubSpot shows three different Starter seat prices. See the [tawk.to](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/tawk-to) and [HubSpot Live Chat](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/pricing/hubspot-live-chat) pricing pages.
- 18 September 2026 — Userlike is listed under its current name, [Lime Connect](https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb/reviews/lime-connect), following the vendor's rename.

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Canonical: https://live-chat.reviews/en-gb