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The 8 Best Live Chat Support Apps & Plugins For WordPress (2020)

Do you want a more personal way to connect with potential customers? Have you been looking to improve the way you offer support to current customers?

Live chat apps provide a wonderful way for you to connect with potential and current customers alike in real time. In this post, we’re going to cover eight different live chat apps you can use with WordPress.

These are external tools that integrate with WordPress but operate separately, ensuring your new live chat functionality isn’t reliant on your own server’s resources.

8 best live chat support apps for WordPress

1. LiveChat

livechat homepage

LiveChat is a dedicated live chat application that works with a variety of different content management systems, not just WordPress. It has an extensive list of features and allows you to customize just about every part of the live chat and ticketing system.

What are some of LiveChat’s most notable features?

  • Tags – Add tags to conversations for easy access later on or to categorize common topics.
  • Chat Transfers – Agents can choose team members to transfer chats to on the fly when they’re presented with problems outside of their area of expertise.
  • Canned Responses – Save responses to frequent questions as hashtags and access them with a few simple keystrokes.
  • Customized Experience – Send automatic greetings to customers based on profile behavior, choose where live chat sessions appear and send customers to specific chat agents or groups depending on where they are on the website.
  • Engaging Customer Responses – Set up pre-defined, multiple-choice questions for customers to answer that’ll help guide them toward a solution or to the correct support member. Answers can be presented as buttons, cards and more.
  • Share Files – Send and receive a variety of different digital files to and from customers within live chat sessions.
  • Security – SSL certificates encrypt chat sessions, and you can also hide passwords and credit card information. Agents can even ban visitors on the fly.
  • Reports – Reports and analytics allow you to see how many tickets your team has solved, their average response and resolution times, and more. Customers can even rate chat sessions and take post-chat surveys.
  • Multiple Messaging Channels – Chat with customers through the live chat widget, a chat page, email, Facebook or even Apple Business Chat.
  • ChatBot – LiveChat integrates with ChatBot, allowing you to set up automated responses, chat transfers and more based on customer activity.
  • Multi-Platform App – The LiveChat app is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android along with major browsers. It connects to WordPress via a free plugin you can install from the plugin directory.

LiveChat pricing

You can get started with LiveChat through the Starter plan at a rate of $192/year per agent or $19/month per agent. This plan limits chat history to 60 days and includes basic widget customization, LiveChat’s ticketing system and data security.

You can unlock a 14-day free trial, unlimited chat history and more features with the service’s Team plan.

2. Tidio Live Chat

tidio live chat homepage

Tidio Live Chat is a dedicated live chat application that integrates with a variety of different content management systems, from WordPress and Wix to ecommerce platforms like Shopify. It also integrates with tools like Zapier, Zendesk, HubSpot and Pipedrive.

What features does Tidio Live Chat offer?

  • Visitor List – View who’s visiting your website in real time, and have your customer service representatives start conversations with them.
  • Viewed Pages – See which pages your visitors have viewed so they can target the messages they send to customers more effectively.
  • Chat Transfer – Transfer conversations from one agent to another seamlessly when sales or support topics need to be transferred to another department. You can also transfer conversations over to email from live chat to follow up with customers once live chat sessions end.
  • Security – Prevent spammers from taking up too much of your support staffs’ valuable time by blocking malicious IP addresses.
  • Canned Responses – Set up pre-answered responses that allow customer service representatives to answer common questions quicker.
  • Chatbots – This feature is available as a separate plan but can also be bundled with the live chat plan. It’s a marketing tool that allows you to set up automated messages based on your visitors’ actions.
  • WordPress Plugin – Tidio integrates with WordPress seamlessly through a plugin you can install from the official plugin directory.
  • Dedicated Apps – Chat with customers anywhere with Tidio’s iOS, Android, desktop and Facebook Messenger apps.
  • Reports – A built-in analytics tool allows you to see how much chat traffic your site receives along with how well your agents perform.

Tidio Live Chat pricing

You can get started with Tidio for free. This plan supports three chat operators, 100 unique visitors per month and unlimited chat sessions. Paid plans start at $18/month and include more features and increased limits. Additional operator seats are charged at $10/seat.

3. Chaport

chaport homepage

Chaport is a dedicated live chat tool that works with WordPress, Joomla and Ecwid.

What are some of Chaport’s best features?

  • Seamless Email Transfers – Customers can send chat requests even when your agents are offline, and they’ll receive email notifications when agents try to connect.
  • Automated Triggers – Set up predefined rules that initiate chat sessions with customers automatically based on specific behavior.
  • Built-In Collaboration – Transfer chat sessions to another agent, or have agents join group chats.
  • Multi-Channel Platforms – Customers can connect you with through your website, Facebook, Telegram or Viber. Agents can use the web or mobile and desktop apps.
  • File Transfers – Share images and files with customers.
  • Security – Chat sessions are protected by SSL, and agents can ban individual visitors.
  • Reports – View analytics on the number of chats you’ve served and missed, how long it takes agents to resolve chat sessions, and Google Analytics reports.
  • WordPress Plugin – Chaport connects to WordPress via its own plugin, which you can download from its website for free.

Chaport pricing

Chaport’s free plan allows you to use one chat operator and basic features. Premium plans are available at rates of $14/month per operator or $117.60/year per operator.

4. Gist

gist homepage

Gist is an all-in-one marketing tool designed for WordPress and WooCommerce. Live chat is a core part of this tool’s functionality, but it also has lead generation, list building, email marketing automation and inbox management features built in.

What are Gist’s best features?

  • GistBot – Set up questions designed to pre-qualify leads and route them to your sales team automatically. This tool can even schedule meetings when sales team members are offline.
  • Chat Assignment – Assign customers to specific agents based on their user profiles, or simply assign them to the next available agent.
  • Agent Collaboration – Agents can send private messages and work with one another behind the scenes when need be.
  • Multi-Platform Chat Experience – Connect Gist to your website through its WordPress plugin and use it there, or chat with customers on the go with the platform’s iOS and Android apps.
  • Unified Inbox – Send messages from chat, your email, Facebook and Twitter to your Gist inbox.
  • Email Marketing – Capture leads with automated messages and forms, and send targeted emails to segmented subscribers.

Gist pricing

You can gain access to Gist’s live chat functionality through its Support Suite plan or as a bundle with its Marketing Suite plan. You can get started with two users for free, but pricing for premium plans is based on the number of contacts you have where rates start at $29/month for Support Suite plans and $48/month for bundled plans. Annual plans are available at a 15% discount.

5. Sendinblue

sendinblue chat

Sendinblue is a dedicated email marketing service that offers a lite live chat tool as part of its growing marketing suite. It’s a multi-platform tool that works with WordPress, Shopify, Magento, Wix and more.

What features does Sendinblue offer?

  • Sendinblue Chat Inbox – This inbox allows you to communicate with leads and customers in real time.
  • Origin Page – See which page your customer viewed prior to initiating a live chat session.
  • Chat Assignment – Assign customers to specific agents based on the page they’re currently viewing or the problem they’re experiencing.
  • Email Marketing – Sendinblue’s email marketing platform allows you to acquire leads with landing pages, forms, segmentation and automation.
  • WordPress Plugin – Sendinblue works with a variety of different CMS’s and connects to WordPress through a plugin, which you can install through the official plugin directory.

Sendinblue pricing

Sendinblue’s pricing, as an email markering service first and foremost, is based on the number of emails you need to send per month but is also determined by features. You can get started with the free plan, which allows you to send up to 300 emails/day.

Premium pricing starts with the Lite plan, which cost $25/month or $270/year and allows you to send up to 40,000 emails/month.

6. Intercom

intercom homepage

Intercom is a marketing platform best used for business-to-business purposes, though it can be used by small businesses as well. It integrates with WordPress and Shopify, and you can even use it with help desk software like Salesforce and Zendesk Support.

What features does Intercom offer?

  • Chatbots – Intercom allows you to set up predefined questions customers can answer to free up time for chat agents.
  • Management Tools – Customize your team’s workflow, such as routing leads based on company size.
  • Multi-Channel Conversations – Connect with customers through the web or mobile apps on your end while they can connect through your website, Facebook or Twitter.
  • Shared Inbox – Agents share an inbox and can message one another to collaborate on certain issues.
  • Email Marketing – Create email campaigns to further engage customers.
  • Reports – Customers can leave reports and feedback, allowing you to gauge agent performance.
  • WordPress Plugin – Intercom connects to WordPress with its own free plugin you can download from its website.

Intercom pricing

Intercom has four types of pricing and different tiers for each type. Three types are designed for different marketing solutions while the fourth is an all-in-one bundle. Pricing starts at $38/month for the marketing plans while the all-in-one plans start at $87/month.

Add-ons are available and start at $49/month.

7. Drift

drift homepage

Drift is an all-in-one marketing suite designed more for onboarding and less for support purposes. It allows larger businesses to turn website visitors into leads by initiating live chat sessions with them rather than using opt-in forms.

Drift’s best features

  • Routing – Ensure customers are transferred to the best agents as soon as they connect.
  • Chatbots – Automated messages are sent to customers if your agents aren’t online.
  • Predefined Questions – Use chatbots to ask potential customers predefined questions designed to pre-qualify them or route them to the correct agent.
  • Drift Playbook – Automatically convert customers your agents chat with into leads. You can also book them for meetings.
  • Chat to Call – Initiate phone calls directly from chat sessions.
  • Reports – See how many chat sessions you’ve accrued, and keep an eye on agent response time.
  • Marketing Automation – Turn potential customers into pre-qualified leads by guiding them through Drift’s email and marketing automation tools.
  • WordPress Plugin – Drift connects to WordPress via a free plugin available in the official plugin directory.

Drift pricing

Drift’s primary live chat functionality is available free of charge with one chat seat and up to 100 contacts. Pricing for premium plans starts at $400/month and includes custom chatbots, lead routing and CRM integrations. Additional chat seats cost $40/month each.

8. Zendesk Chat

zendesk chat homepage

Zendesk Chat is a component of an entire sales, support and customer management suite offered by Zendesk. It’s available for a variety of different platforms, WordPress included.

Zendesk Chat’s top features

  • Predefined Triggers – Send automated messages to customers based on activity, such as specific pages they’ve viewed.
  • View Customer Activity in Real Time – Agents can see which pages your customers are viewing in real time, giving them the perfect opportunity to swoop in and initiate a sales conversation.
  • Chat Routing & Tags – Use predefined tags and automatic chat routing to connect customers with the right agents on the first go.
  • Multi-Platform Conversations – Chat with customers through your website, mobile apps, Facebook Messenger and LINE. You can even transfer chat sessions over to email and phone calls if you’re connected to the entire Zendesk platform.
  • File Transfer – Send and receive files to and from customers to explain solutions more thoroughly and to better understand the issues they have.
  • Support Suite – Zendesk’s Support Suite includes apps for a knowledge base, call center, your sales CRM, customer analytics, a forum and customer engagement.
  • Reports – Chat analytics allow you to see the total number of page views, visits and chat sessions you’ve accrued. Customers can even rate chat sessions.
  • WordPress Integration – Zendesk has its own app to integrate with WordPress, and it even has a few apps for WooCommerce.

Zendesk Chat pricing

Zendesk’s chat feature is available as its own plan or part of the service’s Support Suite. You can use the chat plan and one concurrent chat for free. Premium plans start at $14/month per agent and unlock unlimited chats. Support Suite pricing starts at $89/month per agent.

Final thoughts

Since most of the live chat apps on this list have similar features, the one you ultimately decide to go with will depend on cost and what you specifically need live chat for.

Some of these apps work great as a way to connect with potential and current customers alike. Other apps work best when used to chat with potential customers and lead them down a sales funnel through integrated marketing automation features.

If you want more advice on how to choose and implement a live chat app, check out GetVoIP’s guide.

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