There's no single best live chat tool, because they're built for different jobs. Intercom and Zendesk are full helpdesks with AI that's billed per resolution. LiveChat is polished live chat priced per seat, now with AI bundled in. Tidio and Crisp start cheap and grow through add-ons and tiers. RetroChat is live chat with no-code chatbot flows on every plan and an AI assistant with a flat monthly allowance, aimed at small businesses that want predictable costs. The right pick depends on how much you want AI to do, which channels you need and how much your bill is allowed to move from month to month.
All prices below are in US dollars and were checked on each vendor's own pricing page and help center on 5 November 2026. Where a plan can be billed monthly or yearly, both are shown. Vendors change pricing often, so confirm before you buy.
The six tools at a glance
| Built around | Cheapest paid plan (yearly / monthly) | AI pricing | Rule-based chatbot flows | Remove the vendor's branding | Free plan / trial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RetroChat | Live chat + chatbot flows + AI | $15 / $19 (1 agent) | 20,000 AI replies a month on Autopilot | Yes, every plan | Business plan and up | 14-day trial, no card |
| Intercom | Helpdesk + Fin AI agent | $29 / $39 per seat | Fin: $0.99 per outcome | Workflows, Advanced plan and up | Advanced plan and up | 14-day trial, no card |
| Zendesk | Ticketing helpdesk | $19 / $25 per agent (Support Team) | 5–10 resolutions per agent included, then $1.50–$2.00 each | Being replaced by a new dialogue builder | Suite Enterprise only | 14-day trial, no card |
| LiveChat (now sold as Text) | Live chat | $19 / $25 per user | 10 AI resolutions a month included, then $49.50 per 50 | Not listed; workflows and AI skills instead | Enterprise only | 14-day trial, no card |
| Tidio | Live chat + add-ons | $24.17 / $29 | Lyro add-on, about $0.50 per AI conversation | Flows: 100 visitors a month, more as an add-on | Add-on on Growth, included on Plus | Free plan + 7-day trial |
| Crisp | Shared inbox, flat per workspace | $45/month (Mini) | Credits included (about $0.05–$0.10 per conversation) | Workflows, Essentials ($95) and up | Plus plan ($295) only | Free plan + 14-day trial |
What it really costs for a small team
List prices only tell part of the story, because AI, extra seats and branding are often billed separately. Here's a common setup: a team of 3, a chatbot flow, AI answering about 500 chats a month and no vendor branding, priced from each vendor's published rates. Yearly billing is used where it's available, and the estimates round a little.
| Tool | Monthly cost | How it adds up |
|---|---|---|
| RetroChat | $229 | Autopilot (yearly): 6 agents, chatbot flows, 20,000 AI replies, no branding. Same price however many chats the AI handles |
| Crisp | $295 | Plus is the only plan without branding. 20 seats, Workflows, about $75 of AI credits |
| Tidio | about $340 | Growth + Flows add-on + branding add-on + about 500 Lyro conversations |
| Intercom | about $750 | 3 Advanced seats ($255) + up to 500 Fin outcomes at $0.99 ($495) |
| Zendesk | Custom | Hiding the widget logo needs Suite Enterprise, which is quoted by sales |
| LiveChat | Custom | Hiding the widget branding needs Enterprise |
Two things stand out. First, per-resolution AI pricing grows with your traffic: at Intercom, every extra 100 AI-handled chats adds about $99. Second, removing the vendor's logo is often locked to a top tier or a paid add-on. RetroChat includes it on Business and Autopilot.
RetroChat
RetroChat is built for small businesses that want a person available, a chatbot that asks the right questions, and AI that helps without surprises on the bill.
- Live chat on every plan, with a shared inbox, saved replies, tags and chat search. Team adds private notes, assignment and CSV export; Business adds reports, satisfaction ratings and typing previews.
- No-code chatbot flows: messages, button questions, free text, email, phone and number questions, forms of up to 10 fields, IF/ELSE branches and handoff to a person. A "Talk to a person" button stays visible.
- AI assistant on Autopilot: answers from your knowledge base, files and web pages, in the visitor's language. It hands off to your team when it isn't sure and suggests replies to your agents. 20,000 AI replies a month, the same price whatever model or answer length.
- Pricing: Starter $15/$19 (1 agent), Team $39/$49, Business $149/$179 (1 agent, 10,000 automated replies a month), Autopilot $229/$249 (6 agents). Extra agents are $49 a month. See RetroChat pricing.
RetroChat focuses on your website: it doesn't cover WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger or phone channels.
RetroChat vs Intercom
Intercom is a full customer service platform: a shared inbox, ticketing, a help center and Fin, one of the strongest AI agents on the market. Plans cost $29, $85 or $132 per seat a month billed yearly ($39, $99 or $139 monthly), with no seat minimum. Fin costs $0.99 per outcome, such as a resolved question or a qualified handoff, with a monthly minimum. The rule-based Workflows builder and removing the Intercom attribution both need the Advanced plan. Source: Intercom plans and Fin pricing.
Choose Intercom if you're a software company with high chat volume, need a help center, tickets and many channels, and are comfortable with a bill that grows with AI usage.
Choose RetroChat if you want flows and live chat without paying per seat for Advanced, and want AI on a flat allowance instead of $0.99 per outcome. Reviewers often name Intercom's cost and hard-to-forecast bills as the main drawback for small businesses.
RetroChat vs Zendesk
Zendesk is ticketing first. Support Team costs $19 per agent a month billed yearly ($25 monthly). Suite Team, which includes the fuller messaging widget, social channels and voice, costs $55 ($69 monthly), and Suite Professional costs $115 ($149). AI agents are included with 5 automated resolutions per agent per month (10 on Professional). Extra resolutions cost $1.50 each committed in advance, or $2.00 pay-as-you-go. Zendesk is retiring its older bot builder by June 2027 in favour of a new dialogue builder, and hiding the Zendesk logo in the messaging widget needs Suite Enterprise. Source: Zendesk pricing.
Choose Zendesk if email tickets, phone and many channels matter more than website chat, and you have time to set it up.
Choose RetroChat if website chat is your main channel and you want it working in an afternoon. Zendesk's WordPress plugin also hasn't been updated since 2023.
RetroChat vs LiveChat
LiveChat is one of the most polished live chat apps. New customers now sign up for its Text plans: Essential at $19 per user a month billed yearly ($25 monthly), with 60-day history and 10 AI resolutions a month, and Growth at $79 ($99 monthly), with unlimited history, routing rules, agent reports and 200 AI resolutions. Extra resolutions cost $49.50 per 50. Every person who answers chats needs a seat, and a white-label widget is Enterprise only. LiveChat's separate ChatBot product has been folded into Text, and its pricing page lists workflows and AI skills rather than a fixed flow builder. Source: LiveChat pricing.
Choose LiveChat if you have a dedicated chat team and want a very mature agent app with lots of integrations.
Choose RetroChat if you want a chatbot flow included, several agents without paying per seat (6 included on Autopilot), and no LiveChat branding without an Enterprise contract.
RetroChat vs Tidio
Tidio is popular with online shops, especially on Shopify. There's a free plan with 50 human-handled conversations a month. Starter costs $24.17 a month billed yearly ($29 monthly) and Growth starts at $49.17 ($59 monthly). The catch is add-ons. Lyro, the AI agent, gives 50 free conversations in total, then is sold separately at about $0.50 per conversation. Flows, the chatbot builder, covers 100 visitors a month on Free and Starter, with more sold as an add-on. Removing Tidio branding is a paid add-on on Growth and included on Plus ($300 a month). Macros, typing preview, satisfaction surveys and automatic assignment are Growth and up. Source: Tidio pricing.
Choose Tidio if you run a Shopify store, want Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp in one inbox, and your volume is small enough for the free or Starter limits.
Choose RetroChat if you want chatbot flows and AI without visitor caps or per-conversation add-ons, and a price that doesn't change as traffic grows.
RetroChat vs Crisp
Crisp charges a flat price per workspace, not per seat, which is great for larger teams. Plans are Free (2 seats), Mini at $45 a month (4 seats), Essentials at $95 (10 seats) and Plus at $295 (20 seats). Paid plans include some AI credits for Hugo, its AI agent, which Crisp estimates at about $0.05 to $0.10 per conversation. Workflows, its rule-based bot builder, plus WhatsApp and Instagram, start on Essentials. Removing "We run on Crisp" needs Plus. Source: Crisp pricing.
Choose Crisp if you have a bigger team (10 to 20 people) who all need seats, or you need many messaging channels in one inbox.
Choose RetroChat if you're a smaller team that wants chatbot flows from $15 a month rather than $95, and no vendor branding for less than $295 a month.
How to choose
- Decide who answers first: a person, a scripted bot or AI. Most small businesses do best with a short scripted flow, a person when it matters and AI for the repeat questions. See rule-based vs AI chatbots.
- Price your real setup, not the cheapest plan. Add seats, AI usage, chatbot add-ons and branding removal, as in the table above.
- Check how AI is billed. Per-resolution and per-conversation pricing follows your traffic, while a monthly allowance stays put. Estimate a busy month, not an average one.
- List the channels you actually need. If your customers mostly reach you on your website, a website-first tool gives you more for less.
- Try it on your own site. Every tool here has a free plan or trial. Build your real flow and answer real chats before you commit.
If RetroChat sounds like a fit, a free 14-day trial includes every Business feature and 10 AI replies, with no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best live chat software for a small business?
For live chat with chatbot flows and AI on a predictable bill, RetroChat is built for small businesses: flows on every plan from $15 a month, and 20,000 AI replies a month on Autopilot. Intercom and Zendesk are full helpdesks that cost more as you grow, and Tidio and Crisp put flows and branding removal behind add-ons or higher tiers.
What's a cheaper alternative to Intercom?
For website chat, RetroChat, Crisp, Tidio and LiveChat all cost less than Intercom for a small team. RetroChat includes chatbot flows on every plan and AI with a flat 20,000 replies a month, instead of Intercom's $0.99 per AI outcome on top of seat prices.
Which live chat tools include a chatbot flow builder?
RetroChat (every plan), Intercom (Workflows, Advanced and up), Crisp (Workflows, Essentials and up) and Tidio (Flows, with a visitor limit on lower plans). Zendesk is moving to a new dialogue builder, and LiveChat's Text plans focus on workflows and AI skills rather than a fixed flow builder.
How do AI chatbots charge for answers?
Three common ways: per resolution or outcome (Intercom at $0.99, Zendesk at $1.50 to $2.00 after its included resolutions, LiveChat after 10 or 200 included), per conversation or credit (Tidio's Lyro, Crisp's Hugo), or a monthly allowance (RetroChat Autopilot's 20,000 AI replies). Allowances are the easiest to budget.
Can I remove the "Powered by" branding from my chat widget?
Usually, but it costs extra. RetroChat includes it on Business and Autopilot. Tidio sells it as an add-on on Growth, Crisp needs its $295 Plus plan, Intercom needs Advanced, and Zendesk and LiveChat reserve it for Enterprise.