tawk.to is still free for unlimited agents and chats, so switch only for a clear reason. For AI chat, a team inbox and a CRM with no vendor badge from $19 a month, try CRMsoftware.pro. For a free plan with up to 10 agents, Freshchat. For the cheapest paid seats, Zoho SalesIQ. For a flat price per workspace, Crisp. For open source, Chatwoot. For a free CRM, HubSpot. For a small online store, Tidio. For a polished paid live chat, LiveChat.
We checked every price on the vendor's own pricing page on October 5–6, 2026. Prices are in US dollars, billed yearly unless we say otherwise, before tax. Zoho showed us prices in euros only, so we quote them in euros. CRMsoftware.pro is our own product, so we list its limits too. No made-up scores or tests: each tool gets its real price, its pros and cons, and who it suits.
Is tawk.to still free in 2026?
Yes. The core platform is free with no limit on agents, chats, contacts or chat history. It now covers more than live chat: a shared inbox, contacts, a pipeline board, tickets, a knowledge base and apps for iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. tawk.to makes money from four paid add-ons and from staffing services:
| What you pay for | Price on tawk.to (Oct 6, 2026) |
|---|---|
| AI Assist (AI agents and workflows) | Free Hobby tier with 100 message credits a month; paid plans from $29/mo ($290 a year) |
| Whitelabel (removes the "Powered by tawk.to" badge, adds custom domains) | $29/mo per property |
| Voice Agents (AI that answers your phone) | From $49/mo plus usage; waitlist |
| Data Enrichment (identifies companies visiting your site) | From $59/mo; waitlist |
| Hired chat agents (tawk.to staff answer for you) | From $1 per hour |
Why teams look for a tawk.to alternative
- The free AI allowance is small. Every AI reply, AI command and Smart Reply uses a credit. If the AI sends about 3 replies per chat, 100 credits cover roughly 30 chats a month.
- The badge costs $29 a month on every site. tawk.to bills add-ons per property, so removing the badge on 5 client websites is $145 a month before any AI.
- Add-ons stack. One website with paid AI and no badge starts at $58 a month, and AI plans for heavier use cost more.
- Some new features are not live yet. Voice Agents and Data Enrichment were on a waitlist when we checked.
- You need something tawk.to does not focus on, such as deep Shopify automation, self-hosting or a full marketing CRM.
tawk.to alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Entry price (checked Oct 5–6, 2026) | How AI is billed | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tawk.to (for reference) | Free human live chat | Free; add-ons from $29/mo | AI Assist credits: 100 free a month, paid from $29/mo | Yes, unlimited agents |
| CRMsoftware.pro | AI chat + inbox + CRM, users included | $19/mo for up to 8 users, no badge | AI messages included (1,000 a month on Launch) | Yes, 3 users, 100 AI messages (AI only) |
| Freshchat | Free plan for a larger team | $19/agent/mo | $49 per 100 AI sessions | Yes, up to 10 agents |
| Zoho SalesIQ | Cheapest paid seats | €7/operator/mo | Bot sessions included; the answer bot that learns from your site is on Enterprise (€20) | Yes, 3 operators, 100 chats a month |
| Crisp | Flat price per workspace | $45/mo per workspace (4 seats) | Credits; $5 included on Mini | Yes, 2 seats, no AI |
| Chatwoot | Open source and self-hosting | $19/agent/mo (cloud) | Captain credits; extra $20 per 1,000 | Yes, 2 agents; or self-host |
| HubSpot | A free CRM behind the chat | $20/seat list ($7 limited-time offer) | HubSpot Credits | Yes, live chat for 2 users |
| Tidio | Small online stores | $24.17/mo (100 conversations) | Lyro from $32.50/mo for 50 AI conversations | Yes, 50 conversations a month |
| LiveChat | Polished paid live chat | $19/user/mo (Essential, now sold as Text) | 10 AI resolutions a month on Essential, 200 on Growth | No, 14-day trial |
What 3 agents really pay
Most tawk.to users are small teams, so here is one realistic month: 3 agents, 1 website, 500 chats, the AI answers every chat first and fully resolves about 250, and the team handles the rest. Billed yearly, list prices, before tax.
| Tool and plan | How the bill adds up | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|
| tawk.to | Free for 3 agents; AI Assist paid plans from $29 (the free 100 credits are far below 500 AI-handled chats); Whitelabel $29 to remove the badge | From $29; from $58 without the badge |
| Zoho SalesIQ | 3 × €7 = €21 on Basic; 3 × €20 = €60 on Enterprise, where the answer bot learns from your web pages | €21–€60 |
| CRMsoftware.pro Growth | $49 flat for 20 users; 3,000 AI messages included (about 1,500 used at roughly 3 per chat); no badge | $49 |
| Chatwoot Startups (cloud) | 3 × $19 = $57, plus AI credits beyond the included amount ($20 per 1,000) | From $57 |
| HubSpot Service Hub Starter | 3 × $20 = $60 at list price ($21 on the current $7 offer), plus HubSpot Credits for the AI agent | $60 + AI |
| Crisp Mini | $45 flat (4 seats); 500 AI conversations at about $0.05–$0.10 each, minus the $5 of credits included | About $65–$90 |
| LiveChat (Text) Growth | 3 × $79 = $237 with 200 AI resolutions + one pack of 50 more at $49.50 | $286.50 |
| Freshchat Growth | 3 × $19 = $57 + 500 AI sessions × $0.49 = $245 | $302 |
| Tidio Growth + Lyro | $49.17 (250 billable conversations) + $291.67 (500 Lyro conversations), from Tidio's calculator | $340.83 |
tawk.to stays among the cheapest options. The gap opens when the AI does real work: tools that bill per AI session or resolution cost several times more at 500 chats. With fewer than about 330 AI-handled chats a month, CRMsoftware.pro Launch at $19 also fits. Your numbers will differ, so try our free AI chatbot pricing calculator, and the live chat staffing calculator to see how many agents your volume needs.
tawk.to charges $29 a month per property to remove the badge, so 5 sites cost $145 a month. CRMsoftware.pro Growth covers 5 websites and 5 bots with no badge for $49 a month. Start free on one site, or see pricing.
The 8 best tawk.to alternatives
1. CRMsoftware.pro: best for AI chat plus a CRM
CRMsoftware.pro puts an AI chat and voice agent on your website, trained on your own content, with human handover, a unified inbox and a sales pipeline in the same workspace. A chat can become a contact and a deal, and the AI can book a meeting. The AI replies in 95+ languages.
- Price: Free (3 users, 100 AI messages and 3 AI voice minutes a month, 1 bot, 1 website); Launch $19/mo for 8 users, 1,000 AI messages and 2 websites; Growth $49 for 20 users, 3,000 and 5 websites; Scale $99 for 50 users, 10,000 and 10 websites. Monthly billing: $24, $59 and $119.
- Pros: users, AI messages and badge removal are in one price from Launch; WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Messenger and Slack from Launch; bookings, quotes and invoices built in.
- Cons: the free plan is AI-only, and human handover and the inbox start on Launch; fewer users on free than tawk.to; the API starts on Scale.
- Best for: small businesses that want the AI to answer first and the same people to close sales.
2. Freshchat: best free plan for a larger team
Freshchat is free for up to 10 agents, and paid plans start at $19 per agent per month billed yearly. The Freddy AI Agent costs $49 per 100 sessions. Freshdesk Omni, which adds full ticketing, starts at $29 per agent.
- Pros: the closest thing to tawk.to's free team plan among paid vendors; WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and SMS channels.
- Cons: the free plan has no AI; AI sessions get expensive at volume; Freshchat and Freshdesk Omni overlap, which makes the choice confusing.
- Best for: teams of 5–10 that want messaging channels with no seat fee.
3. Zoho SalesIQ: best for cheap paid seats
Zoho SalesIQ combines live chat, visitor tracking and bots. The free plan covers 3 operators and 100 operator chat sessions a month. Paid plans are per operator, billed yearly: Basic €7 with 1 chatbot and branding controls, Professional €12.75 with unlimited operator chats, and Enterprise €20. The Answer Bot that learns from your web pages and the built-in AI answers are on Enterprise.
- Pros: low per-operator prices; detailed visitor tracking and lead scoring; works with Zoho CRM and other Zoho apps.
- Cons: the free plan caps chats at 100 a month; the AI that learns from your site needs the top plan; many settings to learn.
- Best for: teams that already use Zoho or want proactive chat based on visitor behaviour.
4. Crisp: best flat price per workspace
Crisp charges per workspace, not per seat. Free covers 2 seats with no AI; Mini is $45 a month for 4 seats; Essentials $95 for 10 seats with channels and the omnichannel AI chatbot; Plus $295 for 20 seats, ticketing and white labelling. AI runs on credits, about $0.05–$0.10 per full AI conversation.
- Pros: a clean shared inbox; predictable price for small teams; low AI cost per conversation.
- Cons: white labelling is only on Plus ($295); seat limits force jumps between plans. Compare more options in our Crisp alternatives guide.
- Best for: teams of 2–10 that want a modern inbox with AI at a fixed monthly price.
5. Chatwoot: best open-source option
Chatwoot is an open-source support inbox with its own AI agent, Captain. You can self-host it for free or use the cloud: Startups is $19 per agent per month, Business $39. The free cloud plan covers 2 agents and 500 conversations a month with 30-day data retention. Extra Captain credits are $20 per 1,000.
- Pros: open source; keep data on your own servers; many channels, including WhatsApp and email.
- Cons: self-hosting needs technical skills; the cloud plans are priced per agent.
- Best for: technical teams that want control over their data.
6. HubSpot: best free CRM behind the chat
HubSpot's free tools include live chat for up to 2 users and a free CRM. Service Hub Starter lists at $20 per seat per month, with a limited-time offer of $7. The AI agent runs on HubSpot Credits.
- Pros: chats land in the same CRM as your marketing and sales data; a large app marketplace.
- Cons: the free plan shows HubSpot branding and has 2 users; the AI agent runs on HubSpot Credits on top of seat prices.
- Best for: companies that already run sales or marketing in HubSpot.
7. Tidio: best for small online stores
Tidio combines live chat, a team inbox and the Lyro AI agent. The free plan covers 50 conversations a month and 10 seats. Starter is $24.17 a month billed yearly ($29 monthly) for 100 billable conversations; Lyro starts at $32.50 a month ($39) for 50 AI conversations. Removing the Tidio logo is a paid add-on.
- Pros: easy setup; Shopify integration; Flows automation for stores.
- Cons: two meters on one bill (people and AI conversations); the 50 free Lyro conversations are a one-time allowance. See our Tidio alternatives guide if the bill grows.
- Best for: small stores with low chat volume.
8. LiveChat: best polished paid live chat
LiveChat's pricing page now sells its new Text plans: Essential is $19 per user per month billed yearly with 1 AI agent and 10 AI resolutions a month; Growth is $79 with 200 resolutions. Extra resolutions come in packs of 50 for $49.50. The classic LiveChat plans (Starter $19 for 1 user, Team $49 per person) are still on a separate page. There is a 14-day trial and no free plan.
- Pros: a polished agent app with mobile apps; visitor tracking; works with 200+ ecommerce and CMS platforms.
- Cons: per-user pricing gets expensive; a white-label widget is on Enterprise only.
- Best for: sales-led teams with people online during business hours.
Free tawk.to alternatives
No other tool matches tawk.to's unlimited free agents. Here is what the other free plans include today.
| Tool | What the free plan includes (Oct 5–6, 2026) | Main catch |
|---|---|---|
| Freshchat | Up to 10 agents | AI is paid |
| Zoho SalesIQ | 3 operators, 100 operator chat sessions a month, visitor tracking | Low chat cap; no bot on free |
| Tidio | 50 conversations a month, 10 seats, 50 one-time Lyro AI conversations | The AI allowance does not renew |
| Chatwoot | 2 agents, 500 conversations a month (cloud), or self-host | 30-day data retention on the free cloud plan |
| CRMsoftware.pro | 3 users, 100 AI messages and 3 AI voice minutes a month, 1 bot, 1 website, a pipeline | AI only; human handover starts on Launch |
| Crisp | 2 seats, chat widget, basic inbox | No AI |
| HubSpot | Live chat for 2 users, free CRM | HubSpot branding on chat |
When to stay on tawk.to
Stay if you need human live chat for many agents, you have no software budget and the badge does not bother you. The free plan now includes an inbox, contacts, a pipeline board and tickets, which covers more than most free plans. If you only want AI on one site, compare tawk.to's AI Assist from $29 with the options above before you move everything.
How to choose
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| want the AI to answer first, plus an inbox and a CRM pipeline, with no badge | CRMsoftware.pro |
| need a free plan for up to 10 agents | Freshchat |
| want the lowest paid price per seat | Zoho SalesIQ |
| prefer one flat price for a small team | Crisp |
| want to host the software yourself | Chatwoot |
| already run sales or marketing in HubSpot | HubSpot |
| run a small online store | Tidio |
| sell through live conversations during business hours | LiveChat |
| need free human chat for a big team | Stay on tawk.to |
How to switch from tawk.to in a week
- Export the contacts and chat history you want to keep.
- Load your help articles and website into the new tool's AI and test it with 20 real questions from your tawk.to inbox.
- Recreate shortcuts as saved replies. The live chat canned responses template saves time.
- Reconnect your channels and set routing and office hours.
- Set the handover rule: when does the AI pass a chat to a person, and who gets it?
- Run both widgets on different pages for a few days, then remove the tawk.to script.
FAQ
What is the best tawk.to alternative?
For small teams that want AI chat, an inbox and a CRM with no badge, CRMsoftware.pro. For a free plan with up to 10 agents, Freshchat. For cheap paid seats, Zoho SalesIQ. For open source, Chatwoot.
Is tawk.to really free?
Yes. The platform is free with no limit on agents or chats. tawk.to charges for optional add-ons: AI Assist from $29 a month, Whitelabel $29 a month per property, Voice Agents from $49 a month plus usage and Data Enrichment from $59 a month. It also sells hired chat agents from $1 an hour.
How much does it cost to remove the tawk.to branding?
$29 a month per property through the Whitelabel add-on, checked on October 6, 2026. It also lets you use your own domains for the Chat Page and Knowledge Base and send ticket emails from your own address.
Does tawk.to have an AI chatbot?
Yes, AI Assist. The free Hobby tier includes 100 message credits a month, and paid plans start at $29 a month ($290 billed yearly). Each AI reply, AI command and Smart Reply uses a credit.
What is the best free live chat?
tawk.to, for unlimited agents. Freshchat is free for up to 10 agents, Zoho SalesIQ for 3 operators and 100 chats a month, and Chatwoot for 2 agents in the cloud or without limits if you host it yourself.
Is there an open-source alternative to tawk.to?
Chatwoot is open source and includes its own AI agent, Captain. You can self-host it for free or use its cloud plans from $19 per agent a month.
Is tawk.to legit?
Yes. tawk.to has been running since 2013 and says millions of businesses use it. It earns money from optional add-ons and hired agents instead of seat fees, which is how the core product stays free.
How long does it take to switch from tawk.to?
A small team can switch in about a week: export your data, load the knowledge base, rebuild saved replies and routing, then run both widgets side by side for a few days.
Sources
- tawk.to pages checked Oct 6, 2026: Add-ons, Why is tawk.to free?, homepage and FAQ, AI Assist plans and subscriptions.
- Pricing pages checked Oct 6, 2026: Zoho SalesIQ, Crisp, Tidio (plans and calculator), LiveChat (Text) and classic LiveChat plans, CRMsoftware.pro.
- Pricing pages checked Oct 5, 2026: Freshchat, Freshdesk Omni, Chatwoot, HubSpot Service Hub.
- Crisp help center: Hugo pricing and billing explained, checked Oct 6, 2026.
AI chat without the add-on bill
AI answers, a team inbox and a CRM pipeline, with no badge from Launch. Free for 3 users; Launch is $19/month billed yearly for 8 users and 2 websites, Growth $49 for 20 users and 5 websites.
Start free See pricing
