Best Free Live Chat Software 2026: 6 Options Compared

Free live chat software lets visitors message you from your website, and the plans differ mainly in how many agents and conversations they allow. Tawk.to is the best-known free option because live chat, ticketing and a knowledge base are free, and it makes money from add-ons such as removing branding. Crisp's free plan is limited to two seats, and Tidio's to 50 billable conversations per month, so they suit small shops testing demand. Chatwoot offers an open-source product you can self-host, plus a hosted Hacker plan of 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, live chat only. Rocket.Chat has a Livechat widget as part of its omnichannel features and can be self-managed for free. HubSpot Service Hub includes a free live chat with HubSpot branding for up to two users. The decision usually comes down to what happens after the chat. If you want chats to flow into a CRM or ticket queue, pick a tool in that ecosystem. If you only need to answer pre-sale questions, a simple widget is enough. Check whether the widget shows a vendor badge, how long history is kept and whether chat transcripts reach your email, because those are the things free plans quietly trim.

tawk.to

Live chat, ticketing and a knowledge base are free, and its AI Assist has a free plan for limited chat volume. Removing branding costs $29 a month. A strong default for a small site.

Price: Free (Live chat, ticketing and knowledge base free; AI Assist has a free plan for limited chat volume); paid from $29 per month (remove-branding add-on) (tawk.to pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Small sites that want unlimited chat for free.

Worth knowing: Live answering by hired agents is $1 per hour.

Compare: tawk.to alternatives

Crisp

Free plan with 2 seats and 100 customer profiles and no AI credits. Paid plan starts at $45 a workspace per month. A tidy inbox, but the free plan is small.

Price: Free (2 seats, 100 customer profiles, no AI credits); paid from $45 per workspace/month, billed monthly (Mini, 4 agents) (Crisp pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Startups with one or two support people.

Compare: Crisp alternatives

Tidio

Free plan with 50 billable conversations per month; paid starts at $24.17 a month, billed monthly. Easy to set up on online stores, but the cap on conversations arrives fast.

Price: Free (50 billable conversations per month); paid from $24.17 per month, billed monthly (Starter) (Tidio pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Online stores testing chat.

Worth knowing: Annual option includes two months free.

Compare: Tidio alternatives

Chatwoot

MIT-licensed. The Hacker plan allows 2 agents and 500 conversations a month, live chat only, with 30 days retention. Self-host for no seat limit, or pay from $19 per agent a month.

Price: Free (Hacker plan: 2 agents, 500 conversations/month, live chat only, 30 days retention); paid from $19 per agent/month, billed monthly (Startups) (Chatwoot pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser, Self-hosted. MIT (repo also contains an enterprise folder) (open source).

Project activity: 38.4k GitHub stars · latest release v4.19.1 (Oct 24, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026

Best for: Teams that want to self-host chat.

Rocket.Chat

MIT core with a separate license for the ee folder. A free self-managed workspace with no user cap stated; docs describe a Livechat widget for websites as part of Omnichannel. You run the server.

Price: Free (Free self-managed workspace; no user cap stated) (Rocket.Chat pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. MIT core with a separate license for the ee folder (open source).

Project activity: 46.3k GitHub stars · latest release 8.9.0 (Oct 5, 2026) · last commit Oct 28, 2026

Best for: Teams already using Rocket.Chat internally.

Worth knowing: Commercial plan pricing is quote-only.

HubSpot Service Hub

Free for up to 2 users, with HubSpot-branded live chat and email. Starter is $7 a seat per month. Chats can connect to HubSpot CRM contacts.

Price: Free (free for up to 2 users, HubSpot-branded live chat and email); paid from $7 per seat/month (Starter) (HubSpot Service Hub pricing, checked 2026-10-22).

Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.

Best for: Two-person teams on HubSpot.

Which one to pick

• You want unlimited chat on a small site: tawk.to
• You want chats to land in a CRM: HubSpot Service Hub
• You want to self-host: Chatwoot
• You run an online store and want a quick setup: Tidio