Including reside chat to your help lineup could be a sport changer. It’s a win-win for each clients and companies.
For patrons, reside chat means they get instantaneous assist — no extra ready for emails or navigating complicated telephone menus. For companies, it’s an economical option to handle a number of chats without delay and maintain issues operating easily.
There’s a ton of free reside chat software program on the market, every with its personal perks. That will help you discover the fitting one to your workforce’s wants, we dug deep into the options of dozens of platforms to place collectively this checklist of the eight greatest for 2025.
What options are must-haves in reside chat software program?
Free instruments can generally have extreme limits on the sorts of options you get entry to, so earlier than you begin purchasing, it is good to grasp what options must be non-negotiable:
Ease of use and fast set up: Search out choices which might be fast to arrange and intuitive to make use of. Have just a few totally different individuals take a look at out an choice to get the perfect perception.
Multichannel choices: Firms are inclined to get chat messages from quite a lot of sources, together with their very own web sites and social media platforms. A platform that may pull in requests from a number of sources could make life simpler for brokers.
Reporting: It’s good to have insights into issues like what occasions of day and days of the week are hottest for chat and what questions are most typical. Each may help you higher prioritize and plan methods to use your given assets.
AI capabilities or automated responses: It’s pretty widespread for patrons to make use of chat for extra primary requests, so options like AI drafted solutions and chatbots can cut back work for human brokers.
Relying in your wants, you could need to add just a few extra objects to this checklist. Nonetheless, we predict the checklist above is a good place to begin for narrowing down your choices.
The 8 greatest free reside chat software program
There’s no scarcity of free reside chat software program choices in the marketplace, however most individuals haven’t got time to take a seat down and examine lots of of choices. Fortunately, we have performed the work so that you can compile this checklist of the eight greatest reside chat software program in the marketplace in 2025.
1. Assist Scout — Finest for buyer help groups
Assist Scout’s free plan permits you to embed a widget in your web site and/or in your app that can be utilized to ship each reside chat and self-service help.
The free plan permits you to serve as much as 50 contacts monthly and comes with limitless customers. It additionally contains Fb Messenger and Instagram integrations that allow you to reply to requests from a number of sources utilizing a single interface.
Along with having help brokers reply to clients, you can even have AI reply to questions. Assist Scout’s AI solutions (coming quickly) is skilled in your information base (which can also be included within the free plan) and supplies solutions to clients routinely. If clients do not get the solutions they want, they’ll begin a reside chat together with your workforce from the identical interface.
Assist Scout’s AI can be used to summarize reside chat conversations after they’re accomplished, regulate the tone or size of a response, and even translate your response into different languages.
Along with reside chat and a information base, you get entry to a shared inbox to deal with electronic mail and social requests. You possibly can create as much as 10 saved replies, views, and workflows, ship auto-replies, and add tags to tickets — all of which aid you handle tickets extra simply and effectively.
Rounding issues out, you can even arrange 10 focused Messages to proactively have interaction with web site guests and also you additionally get entry to a month’s price of reporting information. Stories embody issues like what occasions of day and days of the week are busiest and what sorts of requests are most typical.
What’s included in Assist Scout’s free plan?
Limitless customers
Dwell chat, electronic mail, social for as much as 50 contacts monthly
AI help, summarize, drafts (electronic mail solely), and solutions
One Beacon (chat widget)
One Inbox
One Docs (information base) web site
10 saved replies
10 views
10 workflows
10 Messages (excludes surveys and NPS)
100 tags
Stories with as much as one month of knowledge
Upgrading to a paid plan
In case your workforce scales past what’s out there in Assist Scout’s free plan, you may improve to a paid plan, which begins at $50 monthly. The Normal plan contains every thing within the free plan, plus an extra Inbox and Docs websites, limitless Messages, entry to as much as two years of reporting information, integrations, 100 contacts to start out, and extra.
2. HubSpot — Finest for gross sales and advertising and marketing
HubSpot’s free chat software program is greatest suited to a gross sales or advertising and marketing use case. With it you may add a chat widget to your web site. The widget’s customizable, so you may match it to your present design, and you can even create no-code chatbots to automate interactions and assist with issues like qualifying leads.
Chat conversations are routinely added to a shared inbox on a free model of HubSpot’s CRM. From there you may reply to requests, add notes, create follow-up duties for a particular interplay, and even schedule a name. In addition they have a Slack integration so that you will be notified about incoming chats there and even reply to these messages from Slack.
Rounding issues out is the power to create workplace hours for chat and arrange electronic mail seize for occasions you’re not out there so you may comply with up on requests later. It is a good choice, particularly if you happen to’re already utilizing one other HubSpot product as you’ll have already got the wanted code in your web site so as to add the widget.
What’s included in HubSpot’s free plan?
Customizable chat widget
Chatbot builder
Common inbox
Slack integration
Workplace hours
Upgrading to a paid plan
HubSpot’s paid plans begin at $15/seat monthly. The paid plan permits you to create some workflow automations to scale back the guide work of sorting requests. There’s additionally extra in-depth reporting out there on the paid plans. Additional, you may take away HubSpot branding from chat widgets.
3. JivoChat — Finest for higher-volume groups
JivoChat’s free plan is comparatively naked bones in comparison with others on the checklist. It lets groups add chat widgets to an internet site. There’s no restrict on the variety of widgets you may add, agent seats, or chat conversations, so if you happen to’re a much bigger workforce, it may very well be a very good choice.
On the free plan you are able to do issues like customise the chat language for a widget — they help 25 languages at the moment. You can even combine with electronic mail, arrange an offline contact kind, and arrange pre-chat information assortment so brokers have all the knowledge they want earlier than diving right into a request.
One other fascinating function is the Instagram integration, which helps you to reply to Instagram direct messages immediately from JivoChat. On the free plan you additionally get entry to primary stats on chats and brokers’ efficiency and the choice to obtain a each day automated efficiency electronic mail to maintain updated with that information.
What’s included in JivoChat’s free plan?
Upgrading to a paid plan
JivoChat’s paid plans begin at $19/agent monthly. With a paid plan, there are integrations with extra platforms, like WhatsApp. You additionally get entry to superior efficiency stats, multi-agent chat, and chat switch capabilities. Additional, you may set enterprise hours for chat and edit messages after sending.
4. Freshchat — Finest for including reside chat to a cellapp
With Freshchat, you’re in a position to work together with clients by a chat widget and electronic mail, together with a shared inbox to centralize all of your incoming requests. You possibly can even set role-based entry on the free plan, that means you may restrict sure consumer accounts to which options they’ll entry and requests they’ll see.
One other distinctive function is the power so as to add the chat widget to a cell app. It’s not tremendous widespread on free plans, so if it’s one thing you want, Freshchat is definitely an choice it is best to think about. It might require some technical help so as to add the chat widget to a cell app, nevertheless it shouldn’t be horribly difficult to do.
Final, the free plan doesn’t have a dialog quantity restrict. So, if you happen to’re a higher-volume workforce, it may very well be a very good choice. That mentioned, it does restrict you to 10 brokers whole, so when you have a bigger workforce, it’s one thing it is best to consider.
What’s included on Freshchat’s free plan?
Upgrading to a paid plan
Freshchat’s paid plans begin at $19/agent monthly. On the paid plan you get entry to integrations with WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, Instagram, and extra. There are additionally real-time reporting dashboards to trace efficiency and uncover developments.
5. Crisp — Finest for ecommerce help
Crip’s free plan is pretty primary. You get an internet site chat widget with some primary customization choices, like altering colours, and so forth. Conversations come right into a shared inbox, the place workforce members can reply to and kind requests.
Crisp doesn’t have a dialog restrict on their free plan, which is good for higher-volume groups. That mentioned, they do have a seat restrict of two individuals, so it’s most likely not well-suited to bigger groups. In addition they have iPhone and Android apps, making it straightforward to answer requests even if you happen to’re away from a pc.
Essentially the most distinctive options are their WordPress and Shopify integrations. The WordPress integration makes including a chat widget to a WordPress web site fast and straightforward to do. The Shopify integration permits you to sync information together with your Crisp inbox to see issues like order historical past. You can even add a Crisp chat widget on to a Shopify web site.
What’s included on Crisp’s free plan?
Upgrading to a paid plan
Crisp’s paid plans begin at $45/month per workspace. The paid plan offers you limitless chat historical past, and you can even add as much as 5,000 contacts. Additional, you’re in a position to create chat triggers to proactively have interaction with web site guests. It additionally features a shortcuts function of pre-written responses and a Slack integration.
6. Tawk.to— Finest for big groups
Tawk.to is a novel entry on the checklist as a result of they solely have a free plan. Much like others, they provide a customizable chat widget. There isn’t a seat restrict, and there’s limitless chat historical past, so you may entry messages in perpetuity.
They provide some nice effectivity instruments like the power to create canned responses in addition to add filters to route messages based mostly on standards you set. They even have some extra superior options like display screen sharing and messages sneak-peak (which helps you to see what somebody is typing as they’re typing it).
Additional, you may create departments to maintain requests organized and with the fitting people. Rounding issues out is sentiment monitoring to raised perceive how requesters really feel about their interactions and superior reporting information to maintain observe of request developments and workforce efficiency.
What’s included on Tawk.to’s free plan?
Limitless seats
Limitless chat historical past
Canned responses
Display screen sharing
Sentiment monitoring
Superior reporting
Upgrading to a paid plan
In contrast to others on the checklist, Tawk.to truly doesn’t have a paid plan. That mentioned, they do have a few paid add-ons. For chat, the one one listed is video and voice capabilities, which is $29/month.
7. Chaport — Finest for small groups
Chaport’s free plan presents a very good quantity of worth to smaller groups. They’ve a restrict of two customers, however there isn’t a chat restrict. You additionally get entry to primary chat widget customization choices (you may change the colour of the widget). The chat widget can also be optimized for cell, which is a pleasant contact.
There’s additionally the choice to do one auto invitation, which is proactive messaging to web site guests. Additional, you may gather offline messages, making certain you don’t miss requests. You can even assign operator roles, which supplies every operator totally different permissions within the account.
Together with these options, you additionally get entry to primary reporting, which tracks the full variety of chats served and missed within the final 30 days. Total Chaport is an effective worth, nevertheless it does appear greatest suited to smaller groups due to the seat restrict.
What’s included on Chaport’s free plan?
Upgrading to a paid plan
Chaport’s paid plans begin at $29/month. Occurring a paid plan upgrades numerous these primary options — just like the design choices and stories — to extra superior variations. You can even do issues like switch a chat transcript to electronic mail, create saved replies to answer requests extra rapidly, and do group chats.
8. Tidio — Finest for video calling
Tidio is a buyer help resolution that permits you to talk with clients by a pair totally different channels. Together with reside chat, you additionally get entry to a shared inbox on the free plan. You are able to do as much as 50 conversations and have as much as 10 seats. You can even do some primary customizations to your chat widget.
One distinctive function Tidio presents is entry to their AI reply assistant, which may help with writing. The free plan additionally permits you to combine with a pair totally different platforms like Fb Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. You additionally get entry to some primary stories to achieve perception into buyer developments and workforce efficiency.
One other distinctive choice for Tidio’s free plan is the power to do video calls by the chat widget, which is usually a paid function for many. You can even create flows to automate sure duties and save move templates for straightforward recall later. In addition they have desktop and cell apps, providing you with choices on the way you work together with the software program.
What’s included on Tidio’s free plan?
50 conversations
As much as 10 seats
AI reply assistant
Video chats
Automations by flows
Fundamental stories
Fb, Instagram, and WhatsApp integrations
Upgrading to a paid plan
Tidio’s paid plans begin at $29 monthly. On the bottom tier you get 10 consumer seats and as much as 100 conversations monthly. You additionally get extra superior analytics in addition to the power to set working hours.
Choosing the right reside chat resolution for you
On the finish of the day, it’s arduous to say there’s one choice that’s the perfect. Actually, it simply comes right down to determining which one is greatest for you. To try this, there are some things it is best to think about:
Main use: Folks use reside chat for a variety of various things like real-time help or ticket deflection. Relying on what your major use is, it may imply sure options are extra vital than others.
Workforce measurement: It’s widespread for instruments to make use of variety of seats as a limiting issue at no cost plans. Figuring out how many individuals want direct entry will be a simple option to shorten your checklist of potential choices.
Anticipated chat quantity: One other widespread restrict at no cost plans is what number of chats you are able to do. For those who don’t at the moment have reside chat, realizing what your anticipated quantity is may very well be troublesome, however even a ball-park estimate may assist eradicate some choices from competition.
Extra instruments provided: Some choices on the checklist embody extra buyer help instruments (additionally freed from cost). So, if you happen to have been excited about piecing collectively a free suite of instruments, it is perhaps simpler to as a substitute search for an choice that already presents every thing you want in a single account.
Asking these essential questions ought to assist paint a clearer image of which software is best for you. For those who discover that not one of the free choices fulfill your wants, you can even take a look at our checklist of the greatest paid reside chat instruments.