Live chat and AI chatbot alternatives, compared
SupportVia vs Tidio, Intercom, Zendesk, LiveChat, Chatbase, SiteGPT, tawk.to, Crisp and Freshchat, side by side. SupportVia is one product for both halves of website support: an AI that answers from your own pages, and a shared inbox where your team takes over. Most alternatives are either a bot with the human side added later, or a live chat suite that charges for its AI separately. The table shows how each charges, as of October 2026, and each comparison says when to pick the other tool.
How each tool charges for AI, as of October 2026
| Tool | To start | How the AI is charged | Your team’s chats counted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SupportVia | $29 a month | 150 to 1,500 AI conversations a month in the plan, then extras at $0.30 to $0.40, up to a monthly cap you set once we agree a limit with you; your own AI account works on every plan and never uses them | No. Unlimited on every plan |
| tawk.to | Free; AI Assist “from as little as $29 a month” | AI Assist is a paid add-on, with a free plan for low chat volume | No. Live chat is free |
| Tidio | Free; Starter $24.17 a month billed yearly | Lyro conversations, sold in their own tiers | Yes: billable conversations are a meter |
| Intercom | Essential $29 a seat a month billed yearly, $39 monthly | Fin: $0.99 per outcome | No, but each teammate needs a seat |
| Chatbase | Hobby $32 a month billed yearly | Message credits: 700 a month on Hobby | No helpdesk inbox on Hobby; inbox from Basic (3 members) |
| Crisp | Free; Mini $45 a workspace a month | AI credits in each plan ($5 on Mini, about 90 chats) | No; seats per workspace (4 on Mini) |
| Freshchat | Free up to 10 agents; Growth $19 an agent a month, billed yearly | Freddy AI Agent: $49 per 100 sessions | No; priced per agent |
| Zendesk | Support Team $19 an agent a month billed yearly, $25 monthly | 5 automated resolutions per agent on the Team plans, then $2.00 each | No; priced per agent |
| LiveChat | Essential $19 a seat a month billed yearly, $25 monthly | AI resolutions in each plan (10 or 200), then $49.50 per 50 | No; priced per seat |
| SiteGPT | Starter $39 a month billed yearly, $59 monthly | Messages in each plan: 4,000, 10,000 or 40,000 a month | No live inbox on Starter; inbox from Growth (4 members) |
As of October 2026. Prices change, so check the vendor’s own page before you decide. Sources: tawk.to pricing, tawk.to AI Assist, tawk.to WordPress plugin, Tidio pricing, Tidio Lyro, Tidio help: switch between projects, Intercom pricing, Intercom help: plans explained, Intercom help: seats, Intercom: Fin pricing, Intercom help: Fin AI Agent outcomes, Intercom: Fin in web and mobile live chat, Chatbase pricing, Chatbase docs: live chat action, Chatbase docs: sources, Crisp pricing, Crisp AI, Freshchat pricing, Zendesk pricing, LiveChat pricing, SiteGPT pricing
The pricing page has SupportVia’s full plans, billed monthly or yearly. The AI chatbot pricing study compares the cost of one AI answer across more tools.
Three kinds of tool
Website-bot tools, such as Chatbase and SiteGPT, build an AI agent from your content. The bot comes first; a team inbox, where there is one, often starts on a higher plan.
Live chat suites, such as Intercom, Zendesk, LiveChat, Tidio, Freshchat and Crisp, started with people answering. Their AI is sold beside the seats: per outcome, per session, in its own tiers, as credits or as a set number of resolutions in each plan. tawk.to is free live chat, with its AI as a paid add-on.
SupportVia is both in one: an AI that answers only from your pages and shows where it read it, and the inbox your team takes over from in one click, on every plan. Plans count one thing, AI conversations. Our guide to chatbots that give wrong answers sets out the rules it follows.
What SupportVia doesn’t do
So you can rule it out quickly, SupportVia has none of these today:
- Channels other than website chat (no WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, SMS or email)
- A mobile app for your team
- Ticketing, tags, canned replies or assignment rules
- AI actions such as bookings, refunds or order lookups
- File or PDF uploads as knowledge
- Zapier, webhooks or CRM sync
- White label or custom domains
- A free plan (there’s a trial of 7 days or 50 AI conversations, no card)
Every comparison
- tawk.to alternativeSupportVia vs tawk.to. Free chat answered by people, or an AI that answers from your pages first.
- Tidio alternativeSupportVia vs Tidio. Three meters, or one: AI conversations, with your team’s chats never counted.
- Intercom alternativeSupportVia vs Intercom. A fee per outcome on top of seats, or AI conversations in the plan.
- Chatbase alternativeSupportVia vs Chatbase. A bot with a helpdesk from its second plan, or a bot and an inbox on every plan.
- Crisp alternativeSupportVia vs Crisp. A subscription per workspace, or several websites under one plan.
- Freshchat alternativeSupportVia vs Freshchat. Seats, AI session packs and Copilot per agent, or one plan.
- Zendesk alternativeSupportVia vs Zendesk. Seats plus a fee per resolution, or one plan with teammates included.
- LiveChat alternativeSupportVia vs LiveChat. Seats with a few AI resolutions, or AI conversations with teammates included.
- SiteGPT alternativeSupportVia vs SiteGPT. A bot with a live inbox from its second plan, or a bot and an inbox on every plan.
Work it out for your own numbers
- AI chatbot cost calculatorWhat each tool costs at your volume of chats.
- AI chatbot pricing studyPer seat, per outcome, per session and per conversation, with dates and sources.
- Best AI chatbots with human handoffWhich tools hand the chat to a person, and how.
- Tidio vs CrispTwo live chat suites side by side, with dates and sources.
- Why chatbots give wrong answersThe causes, and the rules SupportVia’s AI follows.
- Tidio pricingEvery Tidio plan, how Lyro is billed and worked monthly totals.
- Tidio vs IntercomLyro against Fin: plans, AI billing and handoff, with dated totals.
- Chatbase vs TidioA bot builder against a live chat suite, with a worked cost.
Questions
Which tool costs the least?
It depends on your volume and how your chats end. Tools charge per seat, per outcome, per session, per credit or per conversation, so the order changes as chats grow. The cost calculator works it out for your numbers, with each vendor’s figures and the date they were read.
Can I move from another tool?
Yes. Add your website, check what it learned and try it in the playground while your current chat stays up. Then swap the old code for SupportVia’s one line. Chat history stays in the old tool: SupportVia doesn’t import it.
Do you have a free plan?
No. You start with a free trial of 7 days or 50 AI conversations, whichever comes first, no card needed. Plans count AI conversations only, as a monthly allowance, and chats your team answers are unlimited on every plan.
Try it on your own website
Free for 7 days or 50 AI conversations, no card needed. Live in about ten minutes.
Answer every customer. Start free today.
Add your website, check what it learned, and paste one line. Your team sees the first conversation in the inbox.