Enter how many people will answer chats, how many conversations you expect a month, and whether the vendor's logo must come off the widget. The audit checks each product's free plan against those needs and, where it stops fitting, finds the cheapest published paid route. Every limit is read from the vendor's own documentation. We have not tested these products.
Does the free plan still fit? from vendor documentation
Free planCheapest published route
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.
What we assume for each product
- Tidio: The worked examples use Tidio's monthly-billing prices read from the pricing page's embedded data, pick the smallest Customer Service tier whose conversation cap covers the scenario, and leave out Lyro AI Agent and Flows, which are billed separately.
- Crisp: The worked examples use Crisp's monthly prices, the only ones it publishes, treat Mini as capped at 4 seats, and leave out VAT and any Hugo Pay-As-You-Go usage beyond the included credits.
- LiveChat: The worked examples use LiveChat's monthly-billing price per person, skip Starter for any team larger than one because it is labeled for one user, and leave out the AI Agent, which requires a separate Text or ChatBot.com plan.
- tawk.to: The worked examples are free at every team size because tawk.to documents unlimited agents and conversations; where branding must come off, the arithmetic uses the help center's $39 monthly price, the higher of the two figures tawk.to publishes and the only one tied to a stated billing period.
- HubSpot Live Chat: The arithmetic uses HubSpot's $20 Starter list price from its Product & Services Catalog, not the $7 or $10 new-customer offers, and leaves out one-off onboarding fees and HubSpot Credits.
- Freshchat: The arithmetic treats the Free plan as fitting on seat count while flagging its undocumented conversation limit, and prices the paid route at Growth's monthly rate of $23 an agent without any Freddy session packs.
- Intercom: The arithmetic prices every seat on Essential at $39 billed monthly and excludes Fin outcomes, usage-charged channels and add-ons, so the real bill for a team using Fin will be higher.
- Zendesk: The arithmetic prices every agent on Suite Team at $69 billed monthly, the cheapest plan with messaging and live chat, and excludes automated resolutions beyond the included allowance and add-ons such as Copilot.
- Smartsupp: The cost arithmetic uses Smartsupp's EUR list prices on monthly billing, excluding VAT, prices extra Expert operators at €29 each, and leaves out Mira AI Agent blocks and Enterprise quotes.
- Lime Connect: The cost arithmetic treats Pro's €105 as a flat price for 3 seats with no published extra-seat price, so it reports no published plan for teams larger than that and leaves out all add-ons.
- Chatwoot: The cost arithmetic uses Chatwoot Cloud's per-agent list prices, the only rate the pricing page shows, and leaves out self-hosting, server costs and extra Captain AI credits.
How the audit works
Each product's free plan is recorded in six columns: seats, conversations a month, chat history, branding, AI and channels. Each cell links back to the vendor page it came from. The interactive check uses three of them: seats, conversations and branding. If your needs exceed a documented limit, the audit names the limit that breaks.
For the paid route, the audit works through every published plan. A per-seat plan costs its price times your seats; a per-workspace plan costs its flat price plus any published extra-seat price. Plans with a seat or conversation ceiling below your needs are skipped. If you need the logo removed, only plans that remove it, or that sell a published branding add-on, qualify. The cheapest total is shown in the vendor's own currency, on the billing period you choose.
What it cannot tell you
- Limits the vendor does not write down. If a vendor enforces a cap that is not in its documentation, the audit cannot see it.
- AI usage costs. Charges per resolution, session, conversation or credit are left out, because they depend on your volume. The AI billing guide explains each unit.
- Taxes. Prices are shown as published. Several vendors, including Crisp, Smartsupp and Lime Connect, state that VAT is added on top.
- One-off fees. HubSpot's mandatory onboarding fee for Service Hub Professional ($1,500) is not part of the monthly figure.
- Quote-only plans and promotions. Enterprise tiers without a published price are excluded, and so are limited-time offers.
- Features and quality. The audit checks limits and list prices, not whether a product suits the way your team works.
Where a vendor's pages contradict each other, the arithmetic uses the higher figure. For example, tawk.to lists two prices for removing its branding, so the audit uses $39 a month, the help-centre price for monthly billing.
How to read "Not documented"
"Not documented" means the vendor does not publish that limit on its pricing page or help centre. It does not mean unlimited, and it does not mean the feature is missing. When your needs run into an undocumented limit, the audit reports that it could not check it rather than marking the plan as a fit.
Freshchat's free plan, for example, documents 10 seats but no conversation cap, so a conversation check against it comes back as unknown. Before relying on such a plan, ask the vendor to confirm the limit in writing, and keep the reply.
Read next
- Is a free live chat plan enough? lists every documented free-plan limit and a checklist.
- Per-seat vs per-workspace pricing explains why the paid route changes so much between 2, 5 and 10 seats.
- The best free live chat software ranks the free plans using the same data.
- How we review sets out the rubric and where every figure comes from.
Frequently asked questions
Is the free-plan audit based on testing?
No. It reads each vendor's pricing page and help centre. We have not installed these products or run a free account to its limits.
Why does a product show as unknown instead of a fit?
Because the vendor does not document the limit you asked about. The audit will not assume a missing limit is unlimited. Ask the vendor in writing before relying on it.
Does the paid price include AI or taxes?
No. The figure is the list price for seats or the workspace, plus a branding add-on if you asked for one. Usage-based AI charges, VAT and one-off fees are extra.
Why are prices in different currencies?
Prices appear in the currency each vendor publishes and are never converted. Lime Connect publishes in euros, Smartsupp publishes euros alongside other currencies, and most others publish in US dollars.
How current are the limits?
Each page shows the date its prices and limits were last verified. If you find a limit that has changed, the editorial standards explain how to report it.
Sources
- Tidio pricing — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Lyro AI Agent — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- About Tidio — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- The free version and downgrading your account — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- The monthly conversations limit — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- The Lyro AI agent limit — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- The monthly flow limit — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Automatic upgrades — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Chat history — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Change and add languages in your chat widget — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Lyro multilanguage support — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Privacy Policy and GDPR compliance — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- How are security matters handled at Tidio — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Tidio trust centre — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Tidio integrations — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Tidio mobile SDK — Tidio · September 18, 2026
- Crisp pricing — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Getting started with the Free plan — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Hugo pricing and billing explained — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- How to increase my limits and quotas — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp EU GDPR compliance status — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp compliance status with SOC 2 — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp compliance with ISO 27001 — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp sub-processors — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- What languages are supported by Crisp — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Chatbox SDKs — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- About Crisp — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp live chat — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Crisp AI Core Update (Hugo launch, AI replies become paid) — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- Summer 2026 Crisp product update — Crisp · September 18, 2026
- WooCommerce integration — Text · September 18, 2026
- LiveChat pricing — Text · September 18, 2026
- Text pricing (plans with the AI Agent) — Text · September 18, 2026
- ChatBot.com pricing — Text · September 18, 2026
- Pay-per-agent pricing model — Text · September 18, 2026
- LiveChat subscription policy — Text · September 18, 2026
- Data storage policy — Text · September 18, 2026
- Data Processing Addendum — Text · September 18, 2026
- List of sub-processors — Text · September 18, 2026
- How to change the chat widget language — Text · September 18, 2026
- LiveChat Marketplace — Text · September 18, 2026
- LiveChat features — Text · September 18, 2026
- tawk.to pricing — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- tawk.to add-ons — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Add-on pricing and key features — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Why is tawk.to free? — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- tawk.to live chat — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- How to manage billing for AI Assist — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- How to add message credits (overages) to your AI Assist plan — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- How to purchase tawk.to's Hired Agent service — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Why do you need my personal data? — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Data Processing Addendum — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Sub-processors — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Data protection — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- GDPR — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- What languages does tawk.to support? — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- An introduction to integrations in tawk.to — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- How to add the tawk.to widget to your mobile application — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Viewing, deleting and exporting your chat history — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- Q1 2026: omnichannel grows, automation expands and AI gets smarter — tawk.to · September 18, 2026
- tawk.to company profile — Dealroom · September 18, 2026
- Shopify integration — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- WordPress plugin — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Service Hub pricing — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Service Hub Preise (hubspot.de) — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- HubSpot Product & Services Catalog — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Service Hub pricing (HubSpot blog) — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Service Hub product page — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- HubSpot live chat — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- AI customer service agent — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Understand the customer agent — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- HubSpot cloud infrastructure and data hosting FAQ — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- HubSpot security — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Create and customize a mobile chatflow — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Our story — HubSpot · September 18, 2026
- Shopify integration — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- WordPress plugin — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshchat pricing — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freddy AI Agent and chatbot sessions FAQs — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Understanding Freddy AI features and pricing — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- How can I remove the Freshworks branding from the widget? — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Provide multilingual support to your customers — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Where are your data servers located? — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks sub-processors — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks Trust Center — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- What is Freshchat? — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshchat live chat software — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshchat developer documentation — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Freshworks announces winners of the 2026 Global Customer Awards — Freshworks · September 18, 2026
- Shopify integration — Fin (Intercom) · September 18, 2026
- WordPress plugin — Fin (Intercom) · September 18, 2026
- Intercom pricing — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Fin pricing — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Fin AI Agent outcomes — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Your workspace settings — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Early Stage program — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Usage-based channels — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Regional data hosting — Fin · September 18, 2026
- How data is hosted and processed in Intercom — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Intercom security — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Localize the Messenger to work with multiple languages — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Use Intercom in your preferred language — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Omnichannel helpdesk — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Intercom live chat — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Installing Intercom — Fin · September 18, 2026
- About Fin — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Today, Intercom becomes Fin — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Fin — Salesforce · September 18, 2026
- Salesforce completes acquisition of Fin — Salesforce · September 18, 2026
- Lightspeed customer story — Fin · September 18, 2026
- Intercom on the Vendr marketplace — Vendr · September 18, 2026
- Shopify integration — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- WordPress plugin — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk pricing — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk free trial — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- About automated resolutions for AI agents — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- About automated resolution tiers — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Announcing expanded access to AI agent capabilities for all Zendesk customers — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- About the Data Center Location add-on — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Regional Data Hosting Policy — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Messaging vs live chat: which is right for you? — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- About Zendesk Chat plan types (legacy) — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk Trust Center — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk live chat — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk AI agents — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk Copilot — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk for Startups — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Hello Sugar customer story — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk completes acquisition of Forethought — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Consortium led by Hellman & Friedman and Permira completes acquisition of Zendesk — Permira · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk press — Zendesk · September 18, 2026
- Zendesk on the Vendr marketplace — Vendr · September 18, 2026
- Smartsupp pricing — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- Can I remove the chat box logo? — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- Data privacy and GDPR — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- AI shopping assistant FAQ — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- Smartsupp integrations — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- About Smartsupp — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- Smartsupp product updates — Smartsupp · September 18, 2026
- Introducing Abugo — ABUGO Group · September 18, 2026
- Lime Connect pricing — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Lime Connect home page — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Data privacy — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- AI automation — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Lime Connect integrations — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Multilingual chat support — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Userlike is now Lime Connect — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Userlike becomes Lime Connect — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Userlike joins Lime Technologies — Lime Technologies · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot Cloud pricing — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot self-hosted plans — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- How AI credits work in Captain — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Captain AI credits and billing — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Fair use policy — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot security — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot home page — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot for enterprise — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot integrations — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot changelog — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot handbook: company — Chatwoot · September 18, 2026
- Chatwoot LICENSE — Chatwoot · September 18, 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