Best live chat software to use in 2020 for small businesses

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Ksenia Tatarintzeva
Ksenia Tatarintzeva
Marketing Manager

Did you know that live chat has the highest satisfaction rate among all customer service channels offered by digital businesses, such as phone, email, or social media?

On average, 82% of consumers assisted by chat are satisfied with the experience, claiming that the speed of service, practicality, and ability to chat in real-time while also being able to multitask (such as keep browsing your store, for example) as huge advantages.

If you want to leverage online customer service to boost lead generation, drive sales, and retain more customers, pick one of the alternatives in our list with the best live chat software to use in 2020 and add live chat to your website.

1. JivoChat

JivoChat is the first option in our list, here is why: this is a live chat that is already present in more than 280.000 businesses worldwide. It offers all the features you'd expect to find in a professional chat solution, such as real-time visitor tracking, smart triggers to engage website visitors, a customizable widget that will match your brand's colors, follow-up reports with service metrics, and much more.

Being one of the best live chats, JivoChat offers integrations with CRM systems, email marketing tools, Google Analytics, and other messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Viber, and Telegram.

This gives you access to a complete solution that centralizes your communications and allows you to deliver an omnichannel customer experience to your customers.

JivoChat offers two plans: Basic and Professional. The Basic plan is completely free for up to 5 agents, while the Professional version offers all of its available features without limitations.

JivoChat

2. Kayako

Kayako is a Help Desk platform that also offers its own live business chat. It makes it easy to chat with visitors on your page in real-time, either through chat or the mobile app.

The tool is integrated with other channels, such as the email and its help desk solution. Kayako offers three plans: Inbox, Growth, and Scale. At the most basic level, you already have access to their live chat.

Meanwhile, the other plans offer additional features such as the ability to set up working hours, monitor your automated features, set up triggers to approach visitors, and more. There is no free plan, but you can try Kayako on your page for 14 days with their trial period.

3. Drift

We couldn't let Drift off the list with all the best live chat for small businesses. They offer Chatbots, which can help you organize your sales funnel from live chat sessions, as well as identify and qualify leads, and schedule follow-ups.

With Drift, you can customize triggers for specific individuals as they browse your pages.

As for its pricing, there are several ways to purchase and install Drift on your page. Their free plan offers live chat as well as calendar systems and smartphone apps.

In more advanced plans, you unlock features such as welcome messages, real-time visitor monitoring, and cross-platform data integration.

Finally, custom company bots and CRM integrations are available for enterprise plans.

Drift

4. LiveHelpNow

Another great option that offers an omnichannel customer service ecosystem is LiveHelpNow, a simple, convenient, and effective live business chat.

It's available through smartphone apps and allows its users to categorize chat conversations automatically or manually with tags, which helps you organize your communication.

Besides, LiveHelpNow supports SMS services and provides customizable satisfaction surveys that you can send to customers before or after each chat session.

When it comes to pricing, the costs are assigned for each solution offered by the company, such as their live chat, ticket system, self-service base, or call management tool.

5. Smartsupp

Smartsupp is one of the top chat software that also provides Android and iOS apps, alongside features such as welcome messages, customizable triggers, and allows you to see visitor's information through real-time monitoring.

Its free plan for up to three agents already offers the ability to customize the chat widget and window with your brand colors and lets you keep your chat history for up to 14 days.

Of course, if you want to boost your results by using Smartsupp, the company offers paid plans that bring more features to the table and clears out limitations.

Smartsupp

6. Chaport

Chaport offers tailored live chat solutions according to your company size, be it a Startup, SMBs, or a full-blown enterprise.

Their Startup live chat tool allows you to boost lead generation, provide quick customer service via chat, and easily collect customer’s feedback.

As for their pricing and plans, you can install Chaport free on your website for up to 5 agents or purchase a paid plan which unlocks all professional features.

7. PureChat

PureChat is a simple, customizable, and practical top chat software which allows you to chat with visitors and customers in real-time directly from your website.

PureChat doesn't limit your chats and also offers features such as chat alerts, integrations with other tools, canned responses, pre-chat forms, and other features you'd expect to find in a professional chat.

Regarding plans, PureChat offers a free basic package for up to three agents and two incremental paid plans for four and ten agents, respectively, which also provides features such as SMS notifications and visitor tracking.

PureChat

8. ClickDesk

With ClickDesk, you can chat with viewers in real-time via text or live video calls. The company's live chat can be integrated with their help desk platform, which allows you to efficiently and conveniently track all communications.

Also, you'll find features such as smart triggers, pre-chat forms, message prediction, and an automatic translator for over 90 languages.

ClickDesk's most basic plan is free for up to 10 agents, but it limits you to a maximum of 30 simultaneous chat sessions and 25 tickets. You can unlock unlimited chats by choosing one of their paid plans.

9. Freshchat

Freshchat is also one of the best live chat software in 2020. It allows you to engage visitors before they exit your website and to qualify leads with Bots, which can auto-upload them into your CRM.

They offer a wide range of plans tailored for businesses of any size, as well as integrations with other Freshworks solutions, such as their Help Desk software, marketing automation tool, project management software, and more.

Freshchat

10. Intercom

Last but not least, check out Intercom, a top live chat software for small businesses that also offer Chatbots alongside features such as smart triggers and the ability to include multiple agents in the same chat session.

You can integrate their live chat with your knowledge base, or leverage artificial intelligence Chatbots to solve simple problems or direct requests based on each customer's needs.

The company offers different plans according to your business' demands, which also includes the possibility of creating a specialized package for specific interests.

What do you think of our list with the best live chat software in 2020?

We hope you've found the ideal live chat tool, which will allow you to conquer and convert visitors into paying customers.

Here at JivoChat, we know how important it is to leverage high-quality customer support to increase sales, especially as a small business. This is why we offer a professional, customer-centric solution for free, don’t leave before checking it out!

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